“Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 MSG

I have not always been a public speaker….emphasis on the ‘public’. ​However, my family and friends would affectionately say that I have always been a “speaker”….hence the nickname, Gabby! (Wink) Actually, I was a muralist by trade while my kids were growing up. Customers would hire me to take pages from story books and paint them onto walls. I can still remember the squeals of delight that would fill the room as a Mom watched their child’s space come to life! The transformation from ordinary to something magical was special. However, taking something from obscure to a sought after dwelling place was the greatest reward!

This was a natural bent for me. I have always loved color and have never been able to limit myself to an absolute favorite. I adore seeing colors layered in shades. l love it bold as much as I admire a passive pastel. But my all time favorite is to see patterns and colors that should in no way be mixed together—all displayed in one project—in order to create something full of personality and passion!

An image of us, as a unified body of women, stands out in my head. God uses our individual “colors” to create a specific environment. We all have special hues of color we represent based on our talents, personalities and spiritual gifts. And none of us are exactly the same! We may have some similar shades of a color— kind of like a paint strip with different shades of the color pink. But some of us also have a little blue and green on our palette. While some of us have a little leopard (leopard is a color, right?? LOL). And thank goodness we aren’t all just one color! How boring would that be!! If the whole world was yellow, it would be a little blinding after a while. And if the whole world was red, some of us might feel frantic constantly thinking, “ok, there must be an emergency”!! Instead, there is harmony and delight when there is a balance of colors on the world’s canvas.

If we recognize that truth, why is it that sometimes we all want to be the same color? Or somebody else’s color? Or just a neutral background color that no one notices? Jesus says we are put on this earth to SHINE…which means there should be a whole lot of metallic colors splattered all over our areas of influence!! Psalm 139 tells us that from the moment of conception, God knit within us special gifts and talents unique to our individual roles on this earth. His desire is to use those qualities to enhance the lives of others around us—just like a designer would use color to create the perfect atmosphere. Their desire would reach beyond wanting recognition of the beautiful esthetics. The goal would be seeing that customer cozy up to a cup of coffee in that room. It’s as much about the function as it is the beauty. And that is God’s thought toward us too.

But would you go a step further with me? Let’s add some actual science trivia to the conversation we’re having! Did you know that when a flat color wheel—saturated with all the colors of the rainbow—is spun to a certain speed, the colors blend into white? In fact, in actuality they are blending back into their original form of white light! Whaaaat????

That should not get past us! We are created in the image of God…who is a gleaming representation of pure white in the truest form. Then we are given specific colorful traits unique to our individual calling. Next, we are placed on this ever spinning ball called earth—mixed right in with all of the other colors living here —-with one purpose—to become a unified body of believers reflecting that white light of purity to others. It’s actually so fascinating when you think of it!

You could be reading this and thinking, “Okay, whatever, little Ms. Artsy Fartsy!” But hang with me. In reality, embracing this is key to having confidence in regards to our gifting as well as contentment in our physical areas of influence. With social media allowing a window into the lives of so many others, it doesn’t take much looking around for Satan to plant a desire in us to want another gal’s gifts or wish to live another woman’s ministry. Before we know it, we are “copying and pasting” someone else’s life onto our ‘home page” and can’t figure out why we are striving and still feel unfulfilled. How many bible study lovers—including ME—have thought at one point, “Why can’t I be just like Queen Beth?” (AKA: the precious Beth Moore, for anyone who just jumped into studying God’s Word!) But am I right? She is so adorable!! But guess what? So are we! All of us were created with a unique purpose—a destiny crafted specifically with us in mind! On top of that, no matter your location—whatever your position—and whomever you’ve been given influence—that is EXACTLY where God wants to use your “color” to brighten things up!!!

So, here we go! 2018 is in full swing! Let’s Shine in Color! Let’s be a part of the most stunning portrait of God’s love that’s ever been painted in our generation! Remember, we are just messengers and errand runners with paint buckets—spreading the light of Jesus—all because God filled our lives with LIGHT and made us a reflection of HIM—all bright and beautiful.

Keep It Shiny Gals!

Love,