When You Align Your Gifts With Purpose, You Become the Gift!

Back in April of this year, I felt moved to write a piece about utilizing your gifts (if you have not seen it, you can read it here).  At the time, I had no idea that some six months later, I would be asked to conduct a breakout session at an annual Music & Arts seminar being hosted by two of my lifelong friends.

Well, in not wanting to commit too quickly, I responded, "Let me think about it.  Can I give you an answer tomorrow?"  My friend agreed and we continued our phone chat a little while longer, laughing and joking as we usually do.

After hanging up, I gave her request some thought, and recognized it as an opportunity to inspire others (something I've always been passionate about).  I called her back to accept the invitation, but what was I going to talk about?

Well, typically when I'm invited to be a guest speaker, it is usually to discuss the subject matter of my book ("From Fear to Faith: A Survivor's Story").  This time though, because I was given the freedom to discuss whatever my heart desired, having an interactive discussion about "gifts" was the first thing that occurred to me.

I had spoken about gifts to a youth group a summer earlier, and had written about it in my blog back in the Spring; but this time, I knew that I'd be talking with a group of my peers.  As I sat down to write out the talking points, the underlying message began to spank me...

"Ghee whiz!  Here I am... about to talk to a group of adults around my age—some younger, some older—and this message is just as much for me.  My God, I'm not fully utilizing the full breadth of my own gifts; how can I give this message to someone else?"

Well, wisdom teaches us that to a thirsty man, the appearance or condition of the container holding the water is not nearly as important as its contents.  "Is there sufficient water there to quench my thirst," is all he cares about.

Fast forward to the end of the session delivered on Saturday, Nov 17th, 2018... The number one question/comment I received was, "Did anyone record your session?  I want to share it my family and friends."  Because I had not arranged to have someone record the breakout session, due to popular demand, I went into the office one evening and ran through it again, this time as a live streaming session. 

For your convenience, I have posted the replay to my YouTube channel (link below).  View it at your leisure and if you like it, please click the thumbs-up icon and subscribe to my channel.

All the Best!
–MT

Matt D. Talford is a writer, narrator, and the author of "From Fear to Faith: A Survivor's Story" – a memoir about overcoming a rare form of what he calls "the C-word." The book is currently available in paperback on this website—click the "Products" link in the menu—and at Amazon.com. It is also available in eBook format on Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks, and in audiobook (narrated by Talford himself) at audible.com, and at many other sites where audiobooks are sold.