I am strong! ...who knew?

Wouldn't it be awesome if there was some force that magically came into the world and endowed each person with special powers that will make him or her specifically equipped for a unique world-changing purpose? Well, good news - there is! His name is God (aka Jehovah, Yahweh, etc.), and he loves you so much that he has given you a special combination of strengths. These gifts, when used to the fullest, can make you happier and more productive in growing His kingdom here on earth. Isn't that sweet and brilliant of him?!
This summer I have been learning about and exploring my own strengths. The United Methodist Church has started using a test by Gallup to identify a person's strengths. I took the long assessment and was fascinated by the results! I wasn't very surprised by my top five strengths, but I have loved unpacking them and exploring what they will mean in my life and ministry.
My top five strengths are:
1. Positivity
2. Adaptability
3. Connectedness
4. Includer
5. Empathy

After the jump I talk a little more about my strengths. I also have a few questions you can answer about me that will help me use my strengths to their fullest!  (just click "read more" below)



I have been working with an amazingly sweet and impressive relative of mine, Kathleen Lalor of 4Discipleship Ministries in Nashville, to help me realize and utilize my strengths.

My number 1, Positivity, is pretty obvious when you meet me. When I told them that my top strength was positivity, several of my friends laughed and said "duh!" I have always been a happy person; I am just so grateful for everything and everyone I am blessed with that I can't be sad for long.
I blame my Adaptability skills on my childhood as a PK. You can't move around that much as a child and not be flexible. It is extremely valuable in my adult life too, because I can go with the flow and don't get as stressed as many people do.
Kathleen called Connectedness and Includer my "power pair" because they are so important in making relationships and showing love to others, my main mission in serving Jesus Christ by serving "the least of these."
Empathy is a really cool strength to have, in my humble opinion, because I can usually see multiple points of view in any situation. I have no problem walking in someone else's shoes. I am really bad at debate, though, because whenever anyone makes an argument, I say "oh, that's a good point!" It doesn't mean that I change my mind every time I hear a differing opinion, I just understand where they're coming from.

I am talking a whole lot about myself in this post. It's making me a little uncomfortable, but there is one more interesting thing I wanted to write about. When Kathleen was telling me about my strengths, she said that there are four categories that all of the strengths fall under. Apparently all five of my strengths are in the "relationship building" category. Kathleen was surprised by this. Apparently it is very unusual for all of a person's strengths to be in the same category. She has done thousands of these strength profiles and couldn't remember seeing one like mine. I'm not sure whether to be excited or worried that I am only good at one thing!
Now that I know my strengths and can recognize them at work in my life, I need to experiment and figure out which kinds of ministry will work best with my unique group of strengths. Here's where I need your help: where have you seen my strengths at work in our relationship, whatever it is? What kinds of things do you think I would be good at in ministry? I really value your opinions. I also encourage you to find out your unique bundle of strengths. When you use the gifts God has given you, you will feel happier and more fulfilled!