The icing on the cake for me was when I created another fun twist for a MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers). I was the MOPS Group Coordinator at the time, and I was determined to do a team-building exercise that would unfold before our very eyes. The leadership team was in the middle of an experiment, and they didn’t even know it!
We all gathered for a meeting. I was intentionally late that morning, so everyone was already together and waiting for me. As I walked up to the group of women, I said something to grab their attention. They all turned to look at me. I made my grand entrance carrying a huge, beautiful cake in my hands. Everyone was admiring the cake and listening to whatever I was saying that was important enough to hold their attention! Then it happened.
I stumbled and fumbled, and my arms began flailing. The cake flew up in the air like a beautiful, tossed pancake ready to land back in the sizzling pan. But instead, it came tumbling down to the ground into tons of pieces. I guess you could say, “That’s just the way the cookie crumbled.”
It was a mess, and so was the sweet scene that was quickly unfolding. It was working! That was a piece of cake. The experiment was underway, and they didn’t even know it. They were like kids in a candy store.
Suddenly, the women were at work. My memory has faded slightly through the years, but friends have reminded me of the chaos in the moment! They still remember it nearly 25 years later.
One woman took the lead, stepped up, and started directing people to help with particular tasks. A couple of the ladies immediately ran over to me to see if I was okay. One woman started running to the cake to salvage anything that was left. Another ran to grab napkins and a trash bag for cleanup. Others started discussing a plan to replace the cake, while others stood in disbelief, not knowing what to do.
Mission accomplished! It was a cakewalk. My goal was to prove to them in action that we all have different gifts, passions, and vantage points, and we all have a part to play in God’s Kingdom work. God has uniquely gifted and positioned us to help others, and He has invited us into His great plan. We get to have an active role in His mission every day!
1 Peter 4:10-11 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (ESV).
When we use the gifts we’ve received to serve others, together we make a real Kingdom impact. As we serve in the strength the Lord has given us, we bring Jesus the ultimate glory He deserves!
Romans 12:4-8 says, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (ESV).
When we work together, all having differing gifts by the grace of God, we are a powerful force for God’s Kingdom-advancing work and a force to be reckoned with for the enemy.
Are there gifts God has given you that you are not using? 1 Corinthians 12 outlines more about the unique gifts God has given us. Take a moment and feast on the dessert of God’s Word. After all, Psalm 119:103 says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (ESV)! Read 1 Corinthians 12 and ask God if there is something you can do or a gift you can use to sweeten someone else’s day or perspective on Jesus! Let it be the cherry on top of a beautiful day!
How can you make Monumental Moments and live to multiply His movement today?
