A couple of days ago I posted my top 5 strengths from the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test. Today I am continuing what I call the “Who Am I” series of posts by looking at my spiritual gifts.

God has gifted every Christian with spiritual gifts. Gene Wilkes defines a spiritual gift as “an expression of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers which empowers them to serve the body of Christ, the church.” If you are wondering, or have ever wondered, where God has gifted you to serve His church; take a spiritual gifts survey to discover the gifts God has given you.

Here are my top 3: Giving, Administration, Service/Helps.

Giving (24)
Members with the gift of giving give freely and joyfully to the work and mission of the body. Cheerfulness and liberality are characteristics of individuals with this gift (Rom. 12:8).

Administration (18)
Persons with the gift of administration lead the body by steering others to remain on task. Administration enables the body to organize according to God-given purposes and long-term goals (1 Cor. 12:28).

Service/Helps (16)
Those with the gift of service/helps recognize practical needs in the body and joyfully give assistance to meeting those needs. Christians with this gift do not mind working behind the scenes (1 Cor. 12:28; Rom. 12:7).

What are your spiritual gifts?

You can download and take the Spiritual Gifts Survey from LifeWay Christian Resources. You can also download the list of gift descriptions and scripture references as well. Both files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Spiritual Gifts Survey

• Spiritual Gifts List

Related links & References:

What Are Your Strengths?

LifeWay Christian Resources

Chances are, most of us don’t have the opportunity to do what we do best every day? Most of us spend more time trying to overcome our weaknesses instead of focusing on and developing our strengths.

I picked up a copy of Tom Rath’s “StrengthFinder 2.0″ a couple of weeks ago after reading a post by Lindsey Nobles, Thomas Nelson’s Director of Corporate Communications. Lindsey had posted the results of her StrengthsFinder test on her blog.

Now, I know what I consider my strengths to be, but wondered what this test would reveal. I was amazed at how accurate my results were. The test also provided me with a report of my top five strengths along with an action plan for applying my strengths.

I’ll tell you how to get your StrengthsFinder test at the end of this post. For now, here are my Top 5: Analytical, Belief, Deliberative, Discipline, & Responsibility

Analytical
People who are especially talented in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes.
They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.

Belief
People who are especially talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are
unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.

Deliberative
People who are especially talented in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious
care they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles.

Discipline
People who are especially talented in the Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure. Their
world is best described by the order they create.

Responsibility
People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership
of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and
loyalty.

So, what are your strengths?

Here’s how to get started:

1. Visit to your local bookstore and buy StrengthsFinder 2.0, Strengths Based Leadership, or Now, Discover Your Strengths.
2. Find 30 minutes or so of uninterrupted time.
3. Go to www.strengthsfinder.com and take the online test.

Done any Whittling Lately? The Gift of Being
by Dan Miller

Webster’s Dictionary defines whittle as to cut away aimlessly at a stick. Okay, but is cutting away aimlessly on a stick a waste of time, or a useful part of a balanced life?

Last Sunday on a leisurely afternoon drive, Joanne and I found ourselves in Lynchburg, TN.  This is the town made famous for one product only – Jack Daniels.  It‚s not all about making whiskey; obviously, lots of people there were involved in growing corn, barley and rye as well as other components of a vibrant community.  But we found some very quaint memorabilia around this little town, calling people back to a simpler kind of life.

One small sign read:

To the casual observer, carving and whittling may appear to be similar pursuits.  But the two are related only by the fact that each requires a sharp knife, a good piece of wood, and, as with most things round here, a fair amount of time. Here’s how to tell the difference.  If a person is carving, he is making some sort of useful object.  Odds are he will end up passing this object on to somebody who will appreciate the gesture greatly.  In whittling, on the other hand, the process itself is the thing.  The result of this effort is simply a poke of wood shavings.  It is important to note that this does not make whittling any less important than carving.  Each is useful in its own way, and rarely does a person excel at both.

I remember as a small boy running up to the old guys sitting on the park bench in our little town, to see what they were making with their knives and sticks only to be disappointed as the stick disappeared totally with no meaningful object appearing at all.  I always assumed they were disappointed as well as they somehow missed the critical cut where they could have shaped a dog or a whistle.  Now I see that perhaps it was I who missed the point of the process.

Maybe in our rush to ‘do’ we miss some of the opportunities to just ‘be’.

I read this on one of the blogs I follow and thought it was great. Here are 29 things you can do to have a better life.

• Take a 10-30 minute walk every day and, while you walk, smile. It’s the ultimate anti-depressant.
• Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes a day.
• Tape your late shows and get more sleep.
• When you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to _________ today.’
• Live with the 3 E’s – energy, enthusiasm and empathy.
• Play more games and read more books than you did last year.
• Make time to pray. Prayer provides us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
• Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6. Appreciate their genuine nature, strength and innocence.
• Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
• Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.
• Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid.
• Smile and laugh more.
• Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
• Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
• You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
• Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
• Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
• No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
• Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In 5 years, will this matter?’
• God can heal any hurt.
• However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
• Your job won’t take care of you when you’re sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
• Envy is a waste of time.
• No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
• Do the right thing!
• Call your family often.
• Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
• Enjoy the ride. Remember, this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
• Glorify God with your life.

What would you add?

“We are either progressing or retrograding all the while. There is no such thing as remaining stationary in this life.”

~ James Freeman Clarke

Rules to Living the Good Life
by Bryan Dodge

1. The fundamental rule: Be willing to change
I think the word change is unsettling for a lot of people – especially in business – because it’s been used as a code word for things nobody would want to hear. “Changes” in market mean we have to make some “changes” in the organizational structure. Even when the word doesn’t mean the potential loss of a job, it can cause some fear. You hear that you have to change because it’s good for the company, or change for your career, or change because the world is changing.  Here are the six steps to successful change:
a. Commit to the change.
b. Make a “no” list.
c. Create a plan.
d. Ask for help.
e. Execute.
f. Celebrate.

2. Three Key Points: E.A.T.
Eager – What do I mean by that? What have you learned yesterday that you can apply today in order to do things differently tomorrow? These are times that are forcing people to better their business, their habits, and their marketing strategies to position themselves and their companies to catch the next wave. It is easy to know if you are truly open minded or not … it comes down to one word which is found often in children ages 3-5: Why? Why am I doing what I do? Why is it important to change? Why are things happening to me? The key is to always remember this: those that focus on the how always end up working for those that focus on why.

Argue – People don’t shoot down people that are already down, they don’t waste their bullets. They only shoot at people making a difference. The key to success in this recession is to be more thankful for the bullets.

Thankfulness – I’m not talking about how blue the sky is and how green the grass is. I’m talking about the most important thing of all and that is how you live your life. Are you living the good life or are you living an average life? During these difficult times it’s hard for you to hide. The truth, based on the way you live your life, becomes evident, not only to you but to the people depending on you. Good people always appreciate what they have when they have it. Average people only appreciate what they have after they lose it. How much has to be taken away from you until you start living a good life?

3. Bring Energy Home!
The three words that will travel for life: Bring Energy Home! When I say that to an audience, I look in their eyes and see how it touches them personally. When a client, customer, or boss walks up, you have more energy and enthusiasm than you will ever see. But then you go home to your family and say you don’t have anything left for them. That is hypocritical. You give energy to someone who doesn’t even know your name and then can’t give it to the people who give you their lives. If you live by bringing energy home you will thrive during the wave.

4. Forty-Eight Hour Law
A principle that falls into the most powerful part of The Good Life Rules book is the 48-hour Rule: The Truth of Diminishing Intent. You have 48 hours to act on what comes to your heart or your mind or society will distract, derail, and steal it from you. I challenge you to email your goals to me at goals@bryandodge.com within 48-hours. I promise to send a gift to every person that does that. The most important part that you have never heard before is the power of the “no” list. It is a list that you make along with goals that consists of the things you are no longer going to do. This is not a New Year’s resolution. It is life changing. Always remember you can’t add on to your goal list until you learn how to subtract from the past. The “no” list helps you add on to your goal list. During these times of change it is what we call a “Wake-up call” to let certain things you’ve done for too long go forever. Send me your goals and your “no” list at goals@bryandodge.com and I will send you a gift. You have 48 hours.

This article is an excerpt from Bryan’s book The Good Life Rules: Eight Keys to Being Your Best at Work and Play.  For more information about Bryan visit his website www.bryandodge.com.

I just received my review copy of “Rick and Bubba’s Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage” from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I will be reading this book in the coming days and will post a review of the on my blog in very soon.

Click on the cover for an inside the book preview.

Rick and Bubba are at it again, and this time it is all about marriage. Addressing such topics as apologizing (The Ten Worst Ways to Say I’m Sorry), communication (Grunting Is Not a Language), date nights (Worst Date Nights in History), finances (I Thought You Paid the Gas Bill), and playing sports together (I Did Too Let You Win), the two “sexiest fat men alive” will have couples everywhere tied in knots. With stories, top ten lists, and even a bonus addendum of their oft mentioned, “The Book of Blame,” this humorous look at marriage is long overdue. This book will revolutionize your way of looking at married life. And it might just remind you all over again why you fell in love in the first place.

Thinking it Through
by Zig Ziglar

Never follow a bad shot with a bad decision. As an avid golfer I’m often puzzled by the actions of the typical high-handicap golfer. He steps up to the tee box and with driver in hand takes his stance, thinks the shot through, and hits the ball about two hundred ten yards out and about forty yards to the right, where it lands in the midst of some trees. He walks or rides to the ball, looks at the six-foot opening and determines that all he’s got to do to reach the green is hit the ball a hundred seventy-five yards through that opening, send it over the lake and fade it over the bunker to land on the green.

Let me remind you of the scenario: He just missed a fairway roughly sixty yards wide with the ball teed up and in perfect position. For his second shot he believes he can go through a six-foot opening and make the ball act like it does when one of the top touring pros on the P.G.A. hits it. With the confidence that generally goes with ignorance, he steps up, fires away, and hits the ball in the lake. In anger and disgust, he then hits the ball over the green into a sand bunker. Two strokes later he is on the green where he two-putts for a disastrous quadruple bogey eight. He followed a bad shot with a bad decision and it cost him.

Too often all of us hit a “bad shot” (make a mistake, handle the truth loosely, etc.). Then we compound that “bad shot” by denying it, defending it, lying about it or rationalizing it instead of quietly thinking it through, acknowledging the mistake, and working through it in a logical, forthright manner. Think about it and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Zig Ziglar is a motivator and teacher. He is the author of 27 books and loved by millions of people world wide for his practical wisdom and his gift of hope.

Quit Analyzing and Use Your Intuition
By Lee J. Colan and David Cottrell

Tom Peters called intuition our greatest gift. It’s the feeling we get when what we are seeing doesn’t match up with the facts we think we know; it’s the sudden move we make without thinking that saves us from disaster; it’s the voice that tells us the truth rather than what we would like to hear.

Intuition is the ability to make quick and sound decisions based on a minimum of information. For instance, take a look at this paragraph…

Cna yuo raed tihs? I cdn’uolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonemnel pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rsereeachr at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteers be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig, huh? Yaeh, and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Isn’t it astounding how easily we can decipher words with information that is ambiguous, garbled, or less than complete? We are wired to see underlying patterns, fill in the gaps, straighten out the miscues, and discover the hidden meanings. The same is true of our innate ability to make decisions.

Applying the 80/20 Principle to our thinking can help us make smarter, faster, more intuitive decisions. The 80/20 Principle (also known as the Pareto Principle) is pervasive in our world:
• 80% of traffic jams occur on 20% of roads.
• 80% of beer is consumed by 20% of drinkers.
• 80% of classroom participation comes from 20% of students.
• 80% of profits come from 20% of customers.

In most situations, you can gather 80 percent of the relevant information in the first 20 percent of the time available. Generally, the remaining 20 percent of the data (which would take the remaining 80 percent of your time to obtain) would not substantially improve the quality of your decision. Your intuition is good enough to organize the data and fill in the gaps, just as it did in those nonsense paragraphs a few pages back.

Specifically, here’s how you might apply the 80/20 Principle to your next big decision. First, identify the top five pieces of information you need to make the decision. Then, decide which four of these five are highest in priority. Once you’ve gathered this information, you will have roughly 80 percent of the information you need, and the remaining 20 percent is less important. Now, harness all of your experience and your intuition to fill in the blanks and make a great decision-even faster!

This article is an excerpt from Dr. Colan’s latest book Winners Always Quit. Lee Colan is a high-energy executive advisor, author and leadership expert. He has built a track record of successfully managing the challenges of rapid organizational change.

Regina Brett’s 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on
by Regina Brett, columnist for The Plain Dealer

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here’s an update:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.