The view from the front porch is looking nice. Some talented young men have transformed a yard covered in pine cones, limbs, and straw into a nice lawn. Wow! I certainly appreciate their hard work.

                I don't like yard work very much, and I am not really good at it; however, I can teach a Sunday School class or cook big desserts for Monday night. I use my computer, but I have to call someone when I have a problem because I am not really computer savvy. I love good singing, but my family laughs when someone asks me if I sing. I also love for things to be organized, but I am not a good organizer. I am good at some things, but I am not good at everything. The blessing is that God can take all of us and use our different talents to make something wonderful and powerful.  We have different people who landscape the grounds, clean and decorate, teach and preach, cook, keep the books, run the projector, sing and make music, drive the van, organize fundraisers, lead groups, oversee the houses, counsel people, visit people in the hospital, send cards, type the church and Celebrate Recovery programs, pray with people, do the jail ministries, and the list goes on and on. Together we are a family and a ministry, and God has blessed us so much.

                When we all bring our talents to God, He uses them to make us a light to the community. We work together as a part of God's family to do the work He has called us to do. However, when we drop by the wayside, we leave our work unfinished. We have seen so many people come and go, like workers who abandon their tools and talents by the side of the road to take the journey of the prodigal son, wasting their lives in riotous living. Of course, some people have gone back to their homes, and they are continuing to work for God in their communities, which is wonderful and commendable. The ones who break my heart, however,  are those who have an important work to do, but cannot turn loose of the world. At first, they are excited about working for the Lord, but the first little problem sends them straight back to their old lives. In the parable of the sower, they would be the seeds that spring up quickly, then are choked by the weeds. The truth is that unless they are transplanted in the good ground, they will never bear fruit for Christ. They are trading their eternal ministry for something that will not last, something that will bring only momentary pleasure and will ultimately destroy them.

                God is the giver of talents, and He is the one with the power to enable us to use them . He is to us what electricity is to a lamp--we will never fulfill our divine mission without His power and direction. When we allow Him to make us and mold us into what He wants us to be, and we work together, however, the results are often miraculous.

                And talking about miracles, you should have seen my yard a week ago and look at it now! Thank God for people who use their talents to bless others.                                                                                                                                 Pat James