February 2013 Flickr Upload

Good morning!! As usual you can see the entire STREAM, but here are my favorites! 

 Sparring with Mr. Rangel

 Look at that reach!

 Rare moment of being loving....

 Yumminess at work!

 Valentine's Tiramasu

 Game night at Church

Game night with Grampa

America's Got Talent...

OK, never watched the show, never seen Britain's Got Talent either.  I don't watch The Voice, I don't watch So You Think You Can Dance, or Dancing With The Stars, or any of them.  Really.  No, REALLY.

So it seems from my perspective that we are obsessed with having talent.  He has it, do I have it?  She's amazing, am I?  Could it be that in a country that is more materially blessed than any other, we would be this depraved, this unsure of ourselves?

And trust me, I get it. As many of you know, I've been struggling with who I am and where I am and what I do (for a living) for a very long time.  I was speaking with a friend this week over lunch (at my most favoritest of places!) and the topic of passion came up.  Now, don't go getting the wrong idea, not passion between people, but passion for life, passion for what you do.  Doing what you were made to do.

Each of us is uniquely made.  Each of us has a purpose.  Part of our adventure on this sphere is to discover our purpose, what we were made to do.

Don't get me wrong though, it still takes hard work to develop that talent.  That street dancer that you admire his crazy skills?  He may have been born to dance, but he also dances.  Every day.  He thinks about it, sleeps about it, eats about it.  He is drawn to it like a moth to a flame.  And all that time he spends doing it, is what develops that talent, that skill.  That singer who has the most amazing voice?  She sings.  Everywhere.  In the car, in the shower, outside, inside.  Everywhere.  If she didn't, she wouldn't have the voice that you admire.

Talent is like a lump of clay.  We are all given it, but it is up to us to decide what it ends up looking like.  We form it and shape it based on how much time we spend with it.  Spend a little and we get a little.  Spend a lot, and we get a lot.  And how do we spend a lot so that we can be talented?  It comes back to that passion thing.  What are you drawn to, what do  you think about doing everyday, want to do every day?  Then, start doing it.  As Jesus taught us in the parable of the talents, when you are faithful with a little, a little will be given to you, but when you are faithful with a lot, more so shall be your return.  You can't hide it away, you have to find it & live it, and then it will grow.

And of course, we as a society tend to focus on talent like singing, dancing, music, drawing, painting, sculpting, boarding or biking, but are there other talents too?  What about languages?  What about fixing things? Cooking?  But are there still others?

Are there some people that you know that are just very gifted for the way they treat people?  Or the way they can do math in their head?  Or make flattering outfits?  Or organize their closets?  Or challenge what you think?

So, what are your talents? Mine?  I thought I'd make a list.  And this is hard for me, because this is what I think, but what if you don't agree me with me?  What if I think I'm good at something that you don't think I am?  Will I be OK with that?  Do I have enough confidence in myself to not care?  I am a validation person, through & through.  Sometimes that is OK.  Sometimes it sows the seeds of doubt.

OK, so here it is (in no particular order):
1. Gardening
2. Scrapping
3. Photography
4. Drawing/sketching
5. Singing
6. Organizing/making lists
7. Project Management
8. Teaching
9. Being a mom
10. Running a household