What IF:Gathering Meant to Me w/ Sowmya Gali

If you missed the IF:Gathering, you missed big!  Don't worry, we plan to participate again next year.  Here Somwya Gali shares what the experience meant to her:

Growing up I attended children’s retreat at my church in Hyderabad, India every January. During animportant Hindu festival, schools were closed for three days. My dad’s aunt who used to stay with us used to accompany me and my sister to this retreat. We used to pack our lunch boxes and head out every morning. All our Sunday school teachers and close to 200 kids used to gather in the big sanctuary.

‘The Ten Commandments’ was the theme every year. All the teachers use to divvy up the Ten Commandments among themselves and a lesson was taught on each commandment. Kids who accepted the Lord as their personal savior would share their testimonies. We were taught new songs by older kids. Little skits were performed by teachers. Prizes were given for memorizing all the Ten Commandments. Sometimes quizzes, competitions and fun games were also conducted. This was what retreat meant for me. As I grew older, I was tired of the same old commandments repeated year after year. I felt I was too old for such childish things. Every attempt to skip the retreat in my 13th & 14th years drew the ire of my folks. However, in my 15th year, I skipped the retreat due to an important examination at school. Ever since, I never attended a retreat again. Until IF, that is.

IF Gifts: Part 3 - Got Skillz

Did you identify some skills?  Did you spend some time reflecting over how God developed them in your life?  Would love to hear about them in the comments!

Now - how to use them...

Bezalel and Oholiab were asked to use their skills for 3 reasons.  Let's examine those and see what that has to say about how we use ours.

What were they building?  A tabernacle.  Exodus 25:8 says:
"Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them."

image source unknown

IF: Gifts Part 2

Last time I wrote that God cares more about his gifts than yours.  True dat.  At IF:Gathering we were encouraged to bravely use our gifts to serve God and those around us.  So, what if you DO have a "gift"?  (Gift in quotes for lots of reasons.  Briefly, so much work goes into honing a "gift" that it's often a building, not a blessing.  For example - I'm a great musician.  No, really!  But what started as a propensity to enjoy music over other forms of entertainment or expression required years of study to learn/hone/articulate.)

So, what if you DO have a gift/talent/passion that you sense God asking you to use?

IF: Gifts Part 1 - What Are Your Gifts?

We recently attended the IF:Gathering from here in sunny Santa Monica.  Gathered in our sanctuary, we worshipped, prayed, laughed, learned and more as we watched the broadcast from Austin along with thousands of other women worldwide.  The experience was rich; the speakers were great.

However.

Sometimes when emotions are high, or speakers are rushed, the whole story never gets stated or the truth doesn't get fully fleshed out.  So, I want to clarify something.

At IF:Gathering there was much talk of gifts and talents: How does God want to use your gifts and talents to do something amazing for Him? What are your talents and passions because those are the muscles you need to flex - that's how God will use you in a mighty way.  If you spend years not using your talents and gifts you're turning your back on the who God made you to be.

Hmm...