A Puppy and Her Pizzle

Sometimes God teaches me lessons in the strangest ways. Ruby Mae (a.k.a. The Scruffy Princess) has been loving online church. She gets to sit with us on the couch and cuddle while we watch church on my iPad.

But sometimes she gets bored and wants to play in the middle of church. That’s what happened this past week.

When Ruby got fussy, Mom gave the little princess her favorite treat, a pizzle. Now, if you don’t know what that is, go ahead and Google it. But don’t do it if you get grossed out easily. A pizzle is a disgusting and stinky treat, but Ruby loves it. She’ll chew on one of those for hours if we let her.

She’ll chew until her jaw gets sore and then she’ll try to hide it because she knows we’re going to take it away from her after an hour or so. But sometimes she does something silly. Like this Sunday.

Mom gave her the pizzle and she was absolutely giddy. She was so excited to get it that she immediately picked it up and started looking for a hiding place. She came out of one of the back rooms without it and looked at us with the smuggest face.

I fooled you guys, I hid it. You’ll never find it and you won’t be able to take it away from me!

Well, little one, the joke is on you. You could be enjoying your stinky treat right now if you weren’t hiding it!

We had a good laugh over this, but then I got to thinking. How often do we do the very same thing with the gifts that God gives us? We hide them and horde them and in our smug glee over these precious gifts, we forget to use them.

We’re just as bad as my puppy and her pizzle! Seriously though, what are we supposed to do with the gifts God gives us? Let’s take a look at just a few of the things God says about gifts:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~Romans 6:23, NIV

“As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!” ~ 2 Corinthians 9:13-15, NLT

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” ~Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” ~ 2 Timothy 1:6-7, NIV

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” ~ 1 Peter 4:10, NIV

The gifts that God gives us are meant to be accepted, enjoyed, used, and shared. Is that what we’re doing with them? This week, let’s take a look at the gifts God has given us. Have we accepted His gift of salvation, the forgiveness of sins? Are we accepting His gift of grace in our lives? Are we putting to good use the other gifts He gives us?

I’d love to know what special gifts God has given you and how you’re using that gift for His glory and to bless others. Drop me a note in the comments and let’s chat!

I’ll go first. I think God has given me the gift of encouragement. I hope this blog post has been encouraging to you. I try to encourage others often, but I appreciate God’s unique reminder to use the gifts He’s given me.

I’m so glad God used A Puppy and Her Pizzle to teach me a valuable lesson. He works in the most mysterious ways! #faith #gifts

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Until next time,

Josie