The Cost of Priceless

I've been very busy lately. Which is a good thing. I've been so blessed by God recently, and I know I'm on this spiritual high that won't seem to quit. Every time I get the chance to use my talents for the Glory of God's kingdom, it sends supernatural jolts through my system that ignites that fire within. Which, I know you'd understand this, is why I want to use them more.

I realized though, that there is a wrong way to utilize your talents for God, and that is, using them out of His timing. A little while ago, when I first got into doing paintings on stage, I remembered trying to "push" myself onto other people. I tried to use my talents to make money, and regardless of whatever spin I put on it, the efforts seemed doomed to fail. People keep telling me that I'm worth money, that my talents aren't to be taken lightly. Although I struggled with that at first, I am learning to see the value of what God has given me, and so I don't want to sell myself short.

However, I don't want to sell out either. Attempting to prostitute my talent away is only going to lead to it being taken away from me. Yes, I shouldn't just "give" my art away. Yes, my time and my talents are "worth" something. Yet, I can't help but feel bad when someone asks me "How much do you want for your paintings?" and I squirm on the inside because although I know I am worth something, I can't bring myself to ask that of other people. Maybe it's because I know that people can never pay me the "worth" of what my God has given me.

That old verse, "Freely you have received, so freely give" (Matthew 10:8) continues to run through my mind. My talent, painting to the images God gives me, because of His Spirit who lives inside me, because His Son who died to give me that Spirit, tell me, how can one put a price tag on that?

That which is priceless, should be free.

So when I finally came to that conclusion, I realized that I couldn't charge for a ministry. I SHOULDN'T charge for a ministry. I was standing there in a Night of Worship, seeing flashes of God's Glory, and I felt so compelled to paint. Yet there I stood, in the crowd, because that is where God met me. At the end of the service, I met with the Worship Pastor, and I told him that I wanted to paint at the next worship night, free of charge. He smiled and assured me that I could. I have yet to do so, but I truly believe it was that moment, where I was willing to submit myself and my talents to God's use, for FREE, was where God began to bless me.

Since that moment, I've had people call me to come and paint for them, instead of the other way around. First stop was Palm Beach Atlantic, Night with the artists. What an amazing opportunity it was, to both share my heart and to minister to people, as I really do love those college kids. They make me feel super young.

Because of that venue, I actually made another contact with an amazing woman of God known as Cindy Stewart. Turns out, she was looking for a Speed Painter to come and minister at the Women on Fire conference at Lakeview Church in Tampa. A friend of hers, Julie Hendricksen, (whose daughter, Jenny, I went to Bolivia with last March) saw me at the PBA event and mentioned me to Cindy. Wow. With God as my Marketing Manager, how can I go wrong?

The conference was an amazing spirit filled time of worship and refueling. Cindy and everyone involved were so gracious to me and bent over backward to bless me. When I was packing my things up to leave, Cindy told me, "I'll be giving your name out to everyone I know." I can only imagine what that means.

This month, I have at least two more opportunities to share my talent with the community around my house. I keep making contacts right and left, of people who have either heard of me, have a friend who knows me, or even people who have "Googled" my name. As a result, the money I owe for my latest mission trip, the World Race, is quickly being diminished. How amazing is that.
If God keeps giving me opportunities, I will keep painting. Even if He decides to stop allowing me to make money by using my talents, I will keep painting. It only seems right, after all. I have been told that my paintings bless people. I will not let what the world considers success to keep me from doing so. I just enjoy it too much.