Westminster’s “Orange Idea” is a monthly, family-friendly, 1-page resource to help you live out your faith at home. But what is “Orange,” you might ask?

As Julie and Matthew explained, it’s not just a colour—it’s a way of thinking: Yellow represents the light of Jesus shared by the church. Red represents the blood and bond of the family. So when you put Yellow and Red together you get…

Orange!

So an “Orange idea” is when the church helps people live out their faith in their families and homes. After all, the home is the primary place where faith is formed.

So this monthly resource will help people of different ages learn about and live out their Christian faith in tangible, practical ways.

So here’s the Orange Idea for April 2018: Discover and Develop your Talent.

Here’s where we’re going with this one:

In 1 Peter 4:10 we read, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”

Here’s the connection.

We have been fearfully and wonderfully made by God (Psalm 139:14), on purpose and for a purpose. But sometimes we’re not sure what it means to live with godly purpose. God wants us to share and show the love of Jesus. And one of the ways we can do this is to use our special, God-given talents. The Bible calls these “spiritual gifts.”

With this in mind…

This month grow your talent by using your talent. Your talent isn’t necessarily the same as your “spiritual gift,” but it helps you start to realize that God has given you something special to build up his church, to bless others, and to glorify himself.

If you’re not sure what one of your talents is, check our helpful hints below. Discuss with family or friends things that you feel you are talented at, and how or when you can use it.  Maybe you are musically talented and you’d like to play or sing something, or maybe you are talented with numbers or words and can help someone with their learning. Maybe you’re good at making friends and can include others and make them feel important. Whatever the talent is we challenge you to use it!

Here are a few tips:

1. During your family time discuss what you feel God has given to you as a special talent.

2. Brainstorm some ideas of how you can use it, where you may use it, who might benefit from your talent.

3. Not sure what talent you have? Try these ways to discover your talent:
a. Look back at your past to things that you were most proud of
b. What did/do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
c. What are you good at?
d. Ask others what they see your talent as being.
e. If you’re not sure maybe try some new things that might develop into a talent.
f. Here’s a list of just a few ideas that may spark an idea: music, sports, cooking, cleaning, making friends/hospitality, the arts, listening, giving advice, caring for the environment, organizing, working with numbers, reading, praying for people, teaching, listening…

4. After you’ve used your talent, talk with your friends or family about how it helped or encouraged someone else, and how it has glorified God.

In April, discover and develop your talent. As you do that, glorify God, build up his church, and bless others in the process. You are made to make a mark!

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The orange philosophy originates with Reggie Joiner in his helpful book Think Orange.