LNora's Blog

Easier said than done, right? Sometimes the call is subtle, and at other times, the call is loud and penetrable. Either way, at some point in our life, we are faced with a crossroads: whether to pursue our life’s calling or ignore it. Let’s look at what happens if we miss our life’s calling. Would you say there is a nagging sense of not accomplishing your goals or mission? Would you feel like something is always a bit off-kilter even if you couldn’t define it? Would you wonder how things might be different if you pursued your calling? We all know there is more to life than what we may do as an occupation. Our calling may have nothing to do with or everything to do with work. What is essential is a sense that we are following a path that we know is for us. If we look at those who answer the call, their life may all have a common theme. The life of someone operating with a sense of flow realizes they are in the right place at the right time. A sense of balance, synchronicity, and alignment indicates they are on the right path in their life. The next time you wonder if you should answer the call of your life, think about the positive benefits of living a life full of hope, then ask yourself, why would I want to ignore the call of my life? What do you have right now to offer the world and those around you? Carpe Diem!

LNora

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I am honored to know that you have taken the time to read this post. Anyone who reads another’s writings should count it as a privilege that someone is taking their time and effort to absorb the material. The exchange between writer and reader is what I call, The great exchange. It is where the writer and reader create a dynamic, memorable, imaginative, personal and unique world. That is how it works between writer and reader, but the Great Exchange occurs anytime we have a gift that we share. Are you a gardener, a painter, or a scientist? The medium is not as important as the exchange of the gift or The Great Exchange. While the phrase, ‘A man’s gift makes room for him,’ is biblical, it applies to every area of life, secular and non-secular. It does not equate to a religious only phraseology; if you take the time to exchange your gifts, whether for fortune or fame or charity, the exchange of that gift will make room for you to share it.

In my last post, I wrote about how your gift comes effortlessly to you. My follow-up question is, why would you not want to share your unique gifts? Sharing can be as intimate as your friends and family or as expansive as the world. Only you know how your talents can be shared with others. We can start with our inner circle, which organically grows over time. Like any actual living essence, the growth process is a part of living in the great mystery. Not all things unfold at the same rate or time. A more concrete example of a great exchange is during a celebrated holiday. Take any holiday of your pick, like Valentine’s Day or Christmas.

People are typically in a mad rush trying to find that perfect gift to exchange. We tend only to exchange gifts that we deem valuable to others. You wouldn’t willingly exchange junk as a gift (unless it was a prank); it is the same concept as our God-given talents. You were given with great care, a precious gift to share. Some of us are given multiple gifts that may fall into one central area or radiate into a prism of gifts. I would dare say you’ve been given priceless gifts! Whether you know it or not, your gift is worth the great exchange. It’s up to you to find, mine, cultivate, and share it. The entire biblical phrase coined is: A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. (Proverbs 18:16). That is a compelling statement and is a solid and encouraging reminder that we should want to take advantage of our gift and enter into the great exchange. Your gift can expand your horizons and cause you to experience more abundance in life. The abundance of health, happiness, and purpose is not only monetary. The call to action is to allow your gifts to make room for you- today! LNora

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That is right. You read the title correctly. Sometimes it is hard to believe that something we do well is a natural gift we can share with others. We hear it often said that what you do efficiently is, more often than not, your gift. Your gift can be so native and natural to you that you might miss it altogether. We often dismiss our natural abilities because they are easy for us to do. When I started as a Project Manager, I was awful at managing projects before writing full time. While I eventually grew the skills needed to do an average job in the PM role, I recall a seasoned Project manager, my boss at the time, telling me that my gift seemed to be writing and that they could never write books the way I do. My former manager encouraged me to keep writing! At the time, I did not see it as a compliment. It stung to hear in so many words; you stink as a project manager but keep writing! But in hindsight, it was true. I was forcing something less innate than my natural abilities. At the time, I wanted to be a superstar project manager. I recall her saying; that she believed we should leverage our natural strengths instead of going against the grain. It would take me less time and effort to write several books than it would both energy and engagement-wise to manage many projects.

Your gifts can have this superpower ability to make you happy because they are typically something you love to do. Your skills will allow you to open your life up in ways only God can help manifest. Your gifts are bigger than you, and you can foster a more excellent vision by realizing your talents and finding ways to bring them into the world, even if it’s part-time. Part-time is better than no time. We should want to share what we do naturally and well.

My husband is terrific with anything tactile hands-on. He can fix just about anything you put in front of him. Do you know those fix-it manuals that tell you how to put a piece of furniture together? I am at ground zero, totally lost, trying to figure those guides out, but my husband will take one look at the instructions, and before I know it, we have a new bed frame up or a fixed humidifier or anything. I admire him and others for their unique gifts. My husband would probably fall over if I told him to write a book.

We mustn’t take our gifts, any of them, for granted. Honoring your gifts is a great way to thank God for the ability given to you. If you cannot use your skills for whatever reason, injury, illness, etc., there might be ways of teaching others or expressing them in other ways. The point is to never give up on what you can do with your God-given gifts. Remember, it is your gift given to you to share with others. Go forth and share today!

I would love and welcome your thoughts.

LNora

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There’s nothing in life more fulfilling and rewarding than understanding your life’s purpose. Connected to the grounding of finding your purpose is a sense of belonging as a birthright. Most of us trudge through life, wondering why we are here, what is it all about, what am I supposed to do now? It’s a quest for life to find our purpose. Sometimes purpose is born of challenges, and other times, it is birthed through inspiration. There is a common denominator between challenges and inspiration as it related to purpose, and that is your approach to how you interpret and make meaning from those experiences. Most of us fundamentally know who we are and why we are here. Others need time to live and explore what it means to gather life experiences, and through this journey, we unveil our purpose. It happens in its own time. It happens in its season. Sometimes our purpose is veiled behind other’s expectations of who we ‘should be’ or who we ought to become. These expectations can dull our most profound and fundamental experiences of who we are and misdirect us from finding our purpose, our gifts. Once you tap into the purpose of your life, you are fueled with the vibrant energy to fulfill your mission. You are focused and grounded in what you can provide in the form of gifts to others as a service. If we take the time to look within, we will find the hidden treasure. Part of life’s awesome adventures is unveiling who we truly are. It’s like finding a diamond born of pressure. Take the time to mine your mind and explore all of who you are meant to be in life. It is only then, you will be able to discover your gifts and lead the life God has purposed for you.

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It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. I will be honest. I was struggling with where to focus my attention. Most of us have more than one area in our life that requires our devoted time and attention, but if you want to follow your gifts, you have to discover what your talents are. Sometimes that means taking a detour or the longer road to find out not only what you are good at, but also what you are passionate about. I’ve found the formula to success is talent plus passion equals a byproduct of happiness on some level. Personal achievement can go beyond monetary gains or other accolades. Sometimes hearing someone comment and compliment you on your artwork or story or embroidery is enough to send a signal to yourself that you are providing a service to others that helps them to connect to something larger than both giver and gift. That joy is what fuels you towards knowing you are doing the right thing at the right time. You’ve probably heard the adage of, follow your bliss, which is more about honoring your gifts and talents. So, the next time you doubt what your next step should be, take the time to explore not only what you are good at but also what brings you a sense of joy and peace.

LNora

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You’ve heard of the saying, people are more afraid of success than they are of failure? Well, it’s somewhat true. There is really a phenomenon known as the fear of success. It can happen suddenly or over time.

When your life changes to be successful, the interesting thing is , that success can lead to the same feeling of anxiety that arise as if you were dealing with a fear of failure. The phobia manifests the same way. There are natural and legitimate concerns and feelings surrounding what to do about being or becoming successful.

Questions arise such as: How do I manage it, sustain it, control it? While I am not a psychologist, I am a psychology graduate and I’d say, learning to manage anxiety well is one

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We are here but only for a finite amount of time. We all have the same number of hours as our neighbor, our co-worker and anyone else who is living on the planet. Time-how should we handle such an awesome amount of power and responsibility? It is a fudamental question we face but often one we shy away from. Many people desire very much to change their life. They are passionate and want to accomplish their dreams, tomorrow.

But, let me let you in on a small secret. There is no tomorrow. Only today can transcend your tomorrow. Ecclesiastes 3 states there is a time for everything. A time to live and die to reap and sow.

You really have nothing to lose when you start to utlize your gifts in the here and now. You have everything to lose if you defer your dreams yet another day into the future. You might think this is an unfair statement. You may think you have too many other pressing issues to handle to set aside time to work on your gifts. And while that may be true, there comes a point when you have to get honest with yourself and determine that it’s your time that counts. You get to look yourself squarely in the mirror everyday and proclaim a day of victory or a day of defeat.

Only you can make the necessary changes to move your life in the direction you want it to go. Remember, we choose by not choosing also. By saying, I’ll do it tomorrow, it is essentially sending the message that you and your dreams are not worth your time or effort. Why not get serious with your motives and desires and move your life one step closer to your dreams.

What can you do right now that would take you one step closer to using your gifts today?

LNora

Where Fact Meets Fiction

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This might seem like an obvious statement but for many, it’s not. If you are like me and perhaps most people, you’ll find that doing what you love is often thought of as a luxury to behold. How can I do what I love when…is usually the visceral response.

The better question to ask yourself is how can you Not do what you Love doing? Time, is that precious gift given to all but in measure. We are only here physically for a finite amount of time. And, as morbid as this is to say, time is not promised to us. Tomorrow or today even could be it. Lights out. This is a sobering truth.

So wouldn’t it be more productive to utilize the gift of time wisely, with a sense of purpose and passion? Some people may not consciously know what it is they love to do but many of us do know, deep down, what we love. It could be as simple as taking long walks in the park or it could be as complex as cataloguing the stars in space.

Whatever you love to do, it is worth your time and effort. Love it not self-destructive. Love is patient and kind. No harm can come from true love and no Love is too small or insignificant to pursue. It all matters. If you were to ask yourself today, would what I am doing right now, really matter a year from now, what would be your actual response?

Sadly, for many of us, the answer would be futile in that what we are doing with most of our time today, wouldn’t amount to anything now or later on. Not to get too religious on you, but as a Christian, there is a saying in the Bible where Jesus talks about our ‘work’ being tested by fire. 1 Corinthians 3:13 states ‘But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value’. God wants to ensure that we live our time pursing the gifts, talents and passion put in our heart.

This is critical. You don’t have time to waste so don’t wait another moment. What can you do today that can point your sails in the direction of what you Love?

LNora

Where Fact Meets Fiction

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Proverbs 18:16- A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.

Welcome to the Follow The Gifts blog. A space designed to encourage, inspire and challenge ideas on how to hone our unique, God-given talents.

Here, you can find motivating articles for anyone interested in honoring their unique gifts.

Take a look around to discover more.

Would love and welcome your thoughts on: Follow The Gifts.

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When writing a novel, novella, or short-story, a question that is often asked is what inspires me to create my characters and what inspires my characters ?

Characters are the essence of a story, next to plot, and tension in scenes. In truth, your characters can make or break a story. If you are anything like me, you take inspiration wherever you can find it in order to find that perfect set of characters for your story.

Some people enjoy people watching for inspiration, while others may take a walk, run, or even a train ride in order to feel the rhythm of the world around them. For me, and perhaps many others, my characters are inspired and come alive through my dreams. What’s in a dream? Where do dreams come from? Those questions may or may not have answers. It seems for me dreams, that hodgepodge of information somehow blends together to give me an Ah-Ha moment that lingers into the waking hours and forms the framework of my characters. Dreams for me are a muse of sorts. As mentioned earlier, a muse or inspiration, can be anything that inspires.

As with writing, inspiration is universal. We can all be inspired by someone or something. You too can look for ways to harness inspiration whether writer or non writer. Listen to great music, play an instrument, carefully observe how people speak and move. Pray those big, inspiring prayers that only God can answer.

Now you may wonder how do characters find inspiration? Surely us mortals can find inspiration but characters are life like creations and like you, characters also take on a life of their own. As may writers can attest to, characters often imbue traits which only that particular character has. Characters have their own unique set of desires and motivations and like life, events in a story inspire characters to leap, weep, laugh, and love. Life impacts our daily interactions and it’s the same with characters. They dream, and breathe, and take on personas of their own.

Next time you read your favorite novel, or enjoy a delicious meal, reflect on what inspires you and you’ll be sure to notice characters, anywhere you look.

LNora

Where Fact Meets Fiction

Author & Blogger

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