Emails, newscasts, preachers, politicians all fill our minds with their view of the world and who is right vs. who is wrong. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I disagree. It doesn't matter that much.The question I try to ask myself is, "Does any of this help me become the person, and in particular the peacemaker, that Jesus describes as "kingdom people"?" There are so many ways to build walls, Jesus came to bring them down!!!

Do you think we are a generous people? I am sure we could have a lively debate over whether or not our country, or our particular generation, is generous, but this week we talk about what hinders us from being generous.I heard this definition years ago from Pastor James Ryle...."The spirit of poverty, is not the state of not having, it's the fear of not getting, that causes us to hold onto what we have."Brilliant.... and convicting!!!!

"A poverty mindset is not the state of not having, it's the fear of not getting that causes us to hold onto what we have." (Pastor James Ryle)This weeks discussion includes an interview with Ashley Delatour, co-founder of JamBam Inventions, the creators of the Pillid (http://www.thepillid.com). She shares the story and purpose of developing this wonderful product.Generosity begins in the heart, not the pocket book and takes on many more forms than just check-writing. Generosity includes hospitality, listening, being creative, true entrepreneurship and much more. More often than not, we approach the subject of generosity with a deficit or poverty mindset. In other words, we start by looking at what we can't do or can't give, rather than looking at what we can do or can give.

Faith is one of those things that is uber important to our relationship with God, but do we really understand how it grows and develops in our lives? If you ask the question, "In what ways do you see yourself living out your faith on a regular basis?", you will find that it is difficult to answer beyond attempting ot think and act "christian-ly". But, is that enough to grow our faith? Is it only about how we think and act, or is our relationship with God also meant to change our willingness to trust God FOR the issues of life?

We wrap up our conversation about spiritual gifts with a Q&A that prompted some great discussion!

Have you noticed that the Apostle Paul was big on lists? There are lists in Corinthians, in Ephesians, in Romans, in the letters to Timothy. Lists, lists lists. Depending on how i read those lists, can greatly affect my understanding of the point of the text. If I read them as prescriptive, definitive and exhaustive, my whole may be spent trying to "live up to" the content of the list, or not knowing what my spiritual gifts are because they are not listed.If on the other hand, I read them as being "illustrative" of the types of character, fruit, gifts, etc.... that God, by the Spirit, works into our lives, a world of possibilities opens up to me!!!

The topic of spiritual gifts stirs up a lot of varied emotions and thoughts. In this discussion, we lay the groundwork for how we understand the gifts listed in the Bible and how we can follow the instruction to "not be ignorant" about them.

This week we hear from Lionel Thompson about what he has learned about hearing God's voice. The differences between Misha's experience and Lionels are both beautiful and instructive. Take a listen!