I stood there hesitating.  I had intended to snowshoe through this undisturbed field of snow, but once there, competing thoughts rumbled through my head.

"It's easier to stay on the well worn path already made by others."
"You know, you're alone."
"Snowshoeing through undisturbed snow this deep will be a lot of work."
"Don't mess up this beautiful site by your snow shoe trail-when there are other trails to take.
"You can make a new path for others to follow."

As I listened to all these competing thoughts, a stillness overtook me. Whether I walked through the virgin snow or walked in an already established path was really of no consequence.  What mattered was to walk.  Every year up at the cabin, I take a winter walk by myself. Usually I take it at night, but the sub zero temps and my lingering head cold made me rethink the night time walk. I take this special winter walk to reflect on the past year, and refocus for the new year. I ask God for direction and for words of emphasis as I pray during my snowy winter walk.  It is a special time of silence, cold, and crunching of snow beneath my feet. And if I am really fortunate, it is a time of looking into a crystal clear night sky at the thousands upon thousands of twinkling stars.

Though it wasn't at night, this years walk didn't disappoint.  It was a beautiful bitter cold day, with the bluest sky punctuated by a scattering of feathery clouds. For this walk, I had snow shoes strapped to my feet. As I stood there looking at the pristine  undisturbed snow, I thought of walking out into that snow, and leaving a trail that others might follow.  Then my mind drifted to the paths we take in life, and how once we have stepped into a new day, or even a new minute, there is no erasing it.  Our footprint has been left, our words have been heard, our actions have been observed.  Every day, we leave a legacy.  

I've been thinking a lot lately about legacy, as my husband and I have consulted a trust attorney to set up a will.  He asks interesting questions.  What do you want to leave, and to whom?  How will you leave it?  What is most important to you?

Loosely defined a legacy is something of value left by someone in the past.   In that sense, we all leave a legacy; we all leave our footprint upon others. Whether we are young or older, every single human leaves something of themselves in whomever they encounter.  But do we leave something of lasting value, something imperishable?  

I don't want things or money or belongings to be my legacy.  I want my legacy to simply be one woman's life journey to know, love and serve the Savior.  One woman who sat at the feet of Jesus.  A woman who tried to bring light to relationships and daily encounters in her life. I also hope others see my struggles, my battles with Satan in prayer, and the triumphs; that Satan didn't win.  I hope they see forgiveness in action, both the giving of forgiveness and the many times I went to the deep well of forgiveness for the times I stumbled.    I want my legacy to point right to Jesus. I pray my footsteps  lead others to deep study of the word of God, fervent prayer, and joyful worship while serving God and others.   

To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.  To be strengthened with power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  Colossians 1: 10-12

This is my aim, this is my goal, this the the imperishable gift I so long my footprints to lead to.  What about you?  What will your legacy be? Something to think about every day, whether young or old. Don't wait until you  begin to  contemplate setting up a trust or will. What IS of upmost importance to you?  Figure it out and start living your legacy this very day.  Leave footsteps to follow.

Much time, thought and energy goes into the perfect gift to give this time of year.  The holiday season we call it.  I looked up the definition of the word holiday,  and this is what I found:

~a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done.

Hmm... I think to myself, a day when no work is done.  So a holiday season would therefore be a season when no work is done.  Uh yeah, right!  Most of us women go into hyper overdrive during the 'holiday' season.  Stress descends upon us like an unwanted fog as we muddle our way through the 'holiday' season trimming the tree, the house, the dog, the car, whatever we can find to trim.  Writing the cards, crafting or hunting for those perfect gifts, tossing our spare change into those Salvation Army tins, and then rushing home to bake those cookies and pies.   Ahhh, relaxation, right?  Mmm, not so much.  Maybe, just maybe, we need to rethink this American tradition of ours, this holiday season in which we work ourselves into a frenzy.  Maybe, we Christians need to purposefully not conform ourselves to the mold of the 'holiday' season, and instead think outside the "traditional Christmas gift" box.  
 
Ponder this question: What is the greatest gift, the most perfect gift you want?  I will tell you mine.  

It is time I want.  Uncluttered, unplugged, unstressed, unabsorbed, unadulterated by this world, TIME.
Quiet time, slow time, peaceful time.  Time with those I love, time for those I love, not doing, just being.  Now that is my definition of a holiday!  

And I wonder if perhaps it isn't THE gift we should give to others?  What would my husband, friend, sister, father, mother, child want most, that I can give?  A thing?  A trinket? A toy?  When I look back on my childhood, I really don't remember the presents opened.  I remember moments;  Moments spent with people who loved me, and how I felt when in their presence. Those moments seem suspended-forever frozen in time- within my memories.  They are precious, and can be recalled to comfort as needed.    

That is what I want to give.  My sweet grandchildren, my children, my friends, my extended family and church family and that wonderful man God gave me to journey through life with;  I want to give of myself to them,  my time, my energy, my words, those feelings of warmth I have for them. And I want those feelings, those memories  to be with them, long after I am gone.

But I have a confession to make.  Sometimes, it is easier for me to give things and spend money rather than give my time.  I am selfish with my time.  I have agenda's and lists of things to do, practically every day.  I have a morbid sense of pleasure from crossing off items on lists.  I don't usually put "Share time" on my list.  Oh, I have the 'scheduled' time on the agendas;  time with a struggling young Christian, Bible studies,  work projects for others.   The 'scheduled' time is easy, it is the  unexpected moments of need that arise, when someone really needs to talk or needs my time- on their timetable.  I struggle with this type of sharing time. It is this that I have asked God repeatedly over the years to help me with.  And He is gracious to guide me and help me in this request.  It is as if I feel Him putting His hands on my shoulders, squaring me up, getting me to focus -not on myself-, and then quieting my spirit, so I can give freely of myself and my time to others.  I have learned to abandon my agenda, and take on His.  Or rather I should say, I am learning.  As a result, my house is not as tidy as it once was, and projects get left undone.  And I am perfectly OK with that. 

Yes, I am talking to you.  You have amazing talent.  Yes, you!  I love seeing people discover, develop and use their talents.  Perhaps that is why  I like watching America's Got Talent.  I take heat from my family for that.  But I turn an ignoring ear to them, and watch anyway.  I guess I like all the unique types of talents, and how the show doesn't just focus on one talent, that of singing.   In an odd way, it reminds me of summer camp talent shows where everyone has to show off their 'talent', which can range from balancing spoons on noses, to burping the alphabet.  I suppose we all have hidden talents that get discovered in odd ways.  

 Starter bread ~ starter faith
Don't think too highly of yourself, but think as to have sound judgement, for God has given to all a measure of faith.  Romans 12:3


Have you ever received the gift of "Friendship bread", from someone.  You know the kind that you wait so many days, then add things to it, so that it produces a loaf of bread?  And you keep adding to the starter...F-O-R-E-V-E-R?  It got a bit overwhelming for me, so my starter has been sitting in the freezer for quite sometime!  Anywhooo...this verse reminds me of that.   Did you notice it?  We shouldn't be thinking "we are all that",  because we have ALL been given or allotted a measure of faith.  I liken it to a little bit of yeast that is activated with warm water and sugar, like in that starter bread.  We all have a starter to our faith.  But if we do nothing with that faith...i.e. don't use it, or put it to work for HIM, or add more sugar and water (food from the word and edification from each other),  then that faith kind of fizzles out and doesn't produce much...certainly no fruits of the spirit in our life.  So do something with your starter...don't put it in the freezer.

 
We are one yet many, the same yet different
We have many members in one body, and all do not have the same function, so we are many, yet individually members of each other.  Romans 12: 4-5

Here is revealed the purpose of the gifts.  We NEED each other.  We are supposed to be different, and use those differences to help the body of believers grow and function the way it should.  That means EVERYONE has a part.  Not just the preacher, teacher, or elders!  Everyone...and yes that means you ...and me have an important role in our congregation.   


 The Grace gifts
We have gifts that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them accordingly...
if prophecy according to the proportion of his faith, if service, in his service, he who teaches, in his teaching, or he who exhorts, in his exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. Romans 12: 6-8

We have all been given grace, the saving grace from our Lord.  But it doesn't stop there...we are also given gifts of Grace;  talents or abilities, that we need to use for the benefit of His kingdom.  Every single one of us!  Yes you....and me.  The hard part is often figuring out which gift, or talent God has given you.  And yes, you might have more than one.

So, let's look at each gift mentioned.  
      Prophesy:  Oh boy...I can hear you saying "whoa there...back up the bus... are you saying we can have the gift of telling the future, or hearing from God directly and revealing that to others????   You are crazy lady"!   Point well taken...and NO, we are NOT talking about foretelling the future or divine revelation.  That has ceased as I Corinthians 13 tells us.  However, the word prophet was used three different ways in the Bible.  One was a teller of the future,  another was as one who gets divine revelation from God, and the third was a spokesman to speak the already revealed word of God.   Exodus  7: 1-2 clearly shows this last meaning of the word prophet.

 Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.  And you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel to out of his land."


God revealed His word directly to Moses.  Moses was a prophet of God. God revealed His words and what Moses was to say,  but it was then Aaron who spoke those words to Pharaoh.  So Aaron was speaking the already revealed word of God. In that sense, the grace gift of prophecy is simply to speak to others the already revealed word of God.  And notice that this gift is to be used  in proportion to ones' faith.  You can only speak what you know, and as you grow in faith you know more, and therefore can speak more. 

Service:  to look to aid others to serve others in anyway needed.  This person doesn't need to be told, they are able to sense the need and serve, willingly, happily.


Teaching: the desire and ability to impart the truth of God's word in a teacher/student type setting.  This may be childrens' classes, small or large ladies group settings, on a small one on one type of Bible study.  The key is desire...you like to study and you like to be in front of others teaching them.

Exhortation:  the boldness  and patience needed to instruct when another is not quite grounded in the truth of God's word.  The ability to ask the hard questions that spur growth and self examination in another.  Another aspect of exhortation is that this person is one who easily encourages or edifies others, and sees when one is doing well and tells them.

Giving:  of self, time, energy, and resources to the well being of another.  One who does this also looks for ways to give of themselves for the benefit of helping the struggles of another. This is done selflessly, willingly, and without any fanfare.  

Leading:  the strength and wisdom needed to look out for and guide others.  It is done humbly, depending of God, not self.  It is done with much effort and diligence...a 'stay the course', -keep working at it- attitude. This person is well grounded in the word of God, and shows evidence of the word working in their life.  They are not afraid to be in the lead, to take charge, but the motivation is love;  love of God, and their brethren.

Being merciful:  one who always sees the best in others. One who is compassionate, and easily expresses it.  One who easily forgives, and is slow to judge.  This person is a graceful person, who shows their joy in the Lord.  This person is of good cheer, and usually others feel their love and acceptance of them.  


These gifts differ according to the grace given us (verse 6),  but we all have them. Which means YOU, yes you, have at least one of these grace gifts.  These are all still very much needed for the proper working of a body of believers today.  Can you imagine a church without these attributes?  It wouldn't be a very inviting place would it?  It probably also would not be very healthy.  Everyone is needed to do their part or your congregation will suffer.  Too many show up occasionally to worship God, giving little thought to what they can offer to the group. They see others as doing it all, or having all the abilities needed for the congregation.  That is a lie Satan has us believe.   You will never grow, and your brethren will suffer if you have that attitude.  YOU do have a talent, a gift from God that He wants you to use for His glory.  What is your talent?  I pray you find it, and start exercising that gift in service to your brethren.  They need you .

Author's note:  For a deeper examination of Romans 12  click on the Bible studies page and scroll down to the Romans 12 powerpoint. 

There are so many opportunities to serve God, right where we are.   One just has to have open eyes to the souls in our home, our neighborhood, our place of work, and  even in our own congregation.    One does not have to leave and go anywhere, to do the work God has called them to.  We just all need to find our part in the work of the Lord, put our hand to the plow and labor on. 

The Apostle Paul urges us in this endeavor, (emphasis mine)

"... walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God..." Colossians 1: 10


Is it a good work to raise Godly children?  Is it a good work to care for aging parents?  Is it a good work to love our neighbor, to serve our brethren,  to labor in the work place, and be good stewards of what God blesses us with? Yes, of course.
But we don't see these as a 'work' for the Lord, we see them as the mundane everyday aspects of life.  The truth is these are all examples of good works that we are to bear fruit in.  Fruit for the kingdom of God.  In everyday life, without having to get a passport, board a plane and travel to a foreign land. (Much less lugging around that bug spray!)


 My husband and I feel so blessed and grateful  that God has answered our prayers, to be able not just to serve here, but to go to someplace completely foreign to us.  So, we are going to Dominica, a tiny island nation in the Caribbean, to work with a group of relatively new Christians, trying to share and explain more of the gospel, hoping to strengthen and encourage them.  I pray we will get the opportunity to sit around a table with Bible's open and teach someone about Jesus Christ, and that they would hear with an open heart, and heed the call to become His.   


And I have a feeling I will have plenty of opportunity to get dirty and sweaty, and use that bug spray!



Author's note:
 I may or may not be blogging during the two weeks we will be gone. I am not sure what to expect in amenities or technology.   But hopefully God will allow me some experiences that will reverberate in my mind, eventually becoming thoughts and words that I can share in this blog.  
Oh, and if you are so inclined,  prayers would be greatly appreciated :-)