It’s been an enjoyable, exhausting, and exciting week for me! Monday and Tuesday were spent finalizing the details for posting the new e-book, THE ABC’s of T2:3. I humbly confess that I left too many things until the last minute and may have set an unrealistic deadline; but the deadline was met, and I am grateful beyond words! This book was the culmination of many hours of study which began last year. I told myself at the conclusion of the class I taught in 2011 on this material, “Someday I need to put those notes into print.”
Wednesday was spent putting the finishing touches on a new business website that will serve as a point of reference and/or a point of contact for PEP Writing Services. This is a new proofreading, editing, and publishing company that I just launched. My prayer is that this will be a business through which I can promote my freelance proofreading and editing, and eventually provide freelance work for others as well. This company is, in part, the result of my thought that “someday I should just start my own company and work directly with those for whom I can provide proofreading, editing, and publishing-preparation services.”
I tell you all of that to share three reasons to make “someday” today!
1. Every moment is a gift.
James 4:14 states: “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone” (NLT). Every moment is a gift. Use that gift for the glory of God. Use that gift in a manner that will leave no regrets. Use that gift wisely. But use it! There is no guarantee of “someday.”
2. Gifts are given to be used.
Romans 12:6 (NASB) reminds us, “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly….” Nearly everything in my home is functional. Even those items that just sit on a shelf and look good have the function of sitting on the shelf and looking good! But the gifts, talents, skills, and abilities that God has given to each of us are to be used! He has entrusted them to us, and our stewardship of them is a means of demonstrating faith in His enabling power!
It’s important to insert that the gifts given to one person will differ from those given to another person. But using the analogy of the body that Scripture uses, if each of us had the same gift (if each were an eye, for example) the body would be incomplete. Each part, each role, each skill is necessary! The gifts God gives are meant to be shared, not compared!
3. Using a gift demonstrates gratitude to the Giver!
Matthew 7:11 (NASB) reminds us of the love of the greatest Giver of gifts: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
Sometimes in the human realm we receive gifts that are not useful to us. Even so, we must demonstrate gratitude. Let’s say that you receive an “un-useful” gift. I encourage you not to be so tacky and ungracious as to tell the giver you probably won’t use their gift so they can just keep it. Instead, out of a heart of gratitude, acknowledge with sincerity the thoughtfulness behind the gift.
But the gifts to which we are referring in this post, and where I want our focus to remain, are designed specifically for us. They are given to us by our Father in heaven because He knows they will equip us to accomplish the purpose for which we were created! The end result is a life lived in gratitude to the Giver of life.
Are you a perfectionist like I am? I think everyone has some area in which they are a perfectionist. Generally the area about which you are most concerned is the area in which your greatest talents reside. Therefore, I urge you not to let the evil one paralyze your progress with the demand for perfection. Instead, train, study, develop, learn, grow, practice—do whatever it takes to properly utilize the gifts God gave to you and expects you to use! In so doing, your life will demonstrate gratitude to the Giver.
So don’t wait. Let the Scriptures used above propel you forward. Pray. Plan. Prepare. Use your God-given gifts and begin living your “someday” today!
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Thank you for taking time to read this post. Is there something you’ve been putting off and plan to do “someday” that you could begin today?