S.H.A.P.E. Assessment Results

Thank you Lisa Weldon for taking the SHAPE Assessment. We encourage you to meet with a Church Leader that you respect, to go over your results, so that they can help you discover a place to serve in the church and/or community, and also to help you fine-tune your 5 Main Focuses/Priorities listed at the bottom of this email under the ‘Wrapping it up’ section. May God Bless You!

[S]piritual Gifts

Here is how your spiritual gifts scored:

50%

87%

90%

56%

65%

43%

53%

81%

53%

To see descriptions on the Spiritual Gifts and how you can use them to further Christ’s Kingdom on earth, visit this link.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I have known for a long time that I have the gift of encouragement. My friends, co-workers, and family tell me this often. I was married to an abusive alcohol for 9 years and so encouraged him on a regular basis. Also, because of that relationship I made sure to encourage my kids to look to God and to never loose faith or give up. Worked very hard to teach them about God and His promises. I’ve also been blessed to be encourage others from-to-time to never give up and explain to them that they have a Father that loves them dearly.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
Not sure about this one unless it’s because Rev. James Black told me one time that all the horrible things I survived through but be worth it if I could help other women that are experiencing the same thing. I survived eleven years of being abused both physically and mentally. I has been have been heartbroken over the damage my son’s father causes him by not being in his life because alcohol and drugs are more important than our amazing son. I have watched both of my parents die. My Dad an extremely horrible and slow death from cancer. I cared for him and did wound care of the most horrific kind. His death was anything but peaceful. My Mom died 2 weeks after she had a stroke. During that time she was in vegetative state which included her eyes being open, her twitching, non-responsive to her loved ones, and trying to pull her IV and tubes out so badly that she was strapped down. She passed away peacefully though because she was in a hospital. My Dad wanted to be at home and it was anything but peaceful. He passed away 11 years ago and his death still haunts me to this day. My Dad was 62 when he passed and my Mom was 67 when passed away 4 years ago. We were extremely close and they were extremely involved with my kids. It was and is hard on all of this to this today. Between the abuse from my ex-husband and the way my Dad passed I’m pretty sure I have some PTSD. I have raised my kids alone and at times pretty much begged Christian men to spend time with my son. Since he was only 9 when my Dad passed he never had another male role model around. God did supply that need at times (Baseball- Richard Daniels and later on Drew Startup and Stephen Cochran), Ronny Nally and his family briefly spent time with him hunting(that is his passion), had a retired CHS teacher (Ken Foster) that mentored him for a couple of years, and he had an amazing Karate instructor for 4 years. I know God supplied that need. Problem was that none of them were around when he needed them the most. I quite honestly didn’t know if he nor I would make it through ages 15-18. My son has always has a heart for God though. I feel like losing my Mom broke him though. It was the beginning of his sophomore year and at that time he had lost most of friends because he was taking his Bible to school at CHS and his friends were making fun of him. Between that and losing my Mom the pain from the absence of his Dad intensified and he became bitter and filled with disappointed and pain for the next couple of years. By the grace of God we made it through. He became a teenage Dad so he graduated from high school with a baby. He married right after graduation because he knew it was the right thing to do and he wanted to honor God with that union. His Dad still battles alcoholism and drugs and doesn’t have anything to do with Jesse except seeing him at Christmas. That still torments my son and myself. I’ve told my son for so many years though that he has testimony that can touch and help so many people (teenagers especially) if he could just allow God to give him to confidence and strength to share it. I’ve went through 2 divorces and also suffered trough miscarriages, years of infertility problems which required many surgeries, I have Crohn’s Disease which has caused me to have surgery on 2 different occasions where over a foot of my intestines had to be removed each time, I’ve been a victim of sexual harassment, and I am in a virtually impossible to get out off financial situation. Saying all of this scares me really badly because I’m afraid you won’t want me in your church. I was a member at Raccoon Creek Church for many years and felt like God painted me a picture of why and how my life became what it was. The enemy stills attacks me by making me think I’m don’t fit in anywhere, that I’m ugly and not worthy of everything God blesses me with, and I carry a lot of guilt for marrying my son’s Dad. Again, his absence from my son’s life is an every day pain he carries. I’ve been to a Spiritual Warfare Class which was awesome and we spoke a lot about forgiveness. I have forgiven my son’s Dad for what he did to me but i still relive the abuse in head almost daily. My problem is forgiving him for still hurting our son by not being in his life. By the way I also have a daughter that is 29 years old and a teacher at Cartersville Middle. She saw what I went through and somewhat feels more like a parent to my son than his sister. She is well though … married with 2 sweet little girls. I don’t know if all of this has anything to do with Evangelism however I want to help others with any and all the situations God has brought me through. I don’t just want to help others I need to help others. Please don’t judge me for what all I’ve just shared. I realize it was far too much information. I love God and by His grace I have made it this far. I give Him all the glory for giving me the strength and wisdom to raise my wonderful kids. They have both been saved, baptized, and love the Lord. We are all joining your church. That is the hugest blessing to me…. I cannot even come up with words that describe the joy of having us all in the same church. I spent many times sitting on a pew all my myself after Jesse and I started attending Rowland Springs church. He sat with the youth group and loved that church. I never really felt like that was where I was supposed to be but I knew that if my teenage son wanted to be there that I would. He needed feeding God’s word at that time more than I did. I felt more alone when I left church though than before I got there. Getting off topic again …. Sorry! Hope you’ll still accept me and perhaps help me to serve where God wants me to serve.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I am clearly a servant and everyone that knows me well knows this. I am the happiest when I am caring for others!!! I’ve been on my job for over 28 years and co-workers tend to scold me for doing so much for my family. I love people and enjoy taking care of folks. Whether it be cooking for my kids and their families, mailing cards for all occasions and even no occasion to people, visiting with some elderly people I know that don’t really have anyone else that comes to visit, or just smiling and striking up conversations with strangers. I am definitely a care giver! No doubt! 🙂

[H]eart

1. Being with my family – I keep my grandbabies quite regularly and cook for my kids and their families on Sunday evenings. I spend a lot of time with all of them. I’ve had to be their Momma and their Daddy and since my parents are gone I feel like I need to love them extra for them too. Being a “GaGa” to my four grandbabies is the such an amazing blessing. I prayed and ask God to breathe life into my our little family after we lost both of my parents and he sure did answer that prayer. I have 4 grandbabies under 3 years old!!!

2. God -My heart yearns for a deeper relationship with Him. He is the only one that can heal my broken pieces. I want desperately to be the person he created me to be.

3. Not sure about a third … Maybe be out in nature. My kids and I both love the outdoors. My Dad use to tell me that the closet he ever felt to God was when he was sitting in the woods deer hunting and watching the sun come up. I’ve went with my son a few times and I get it!!! Being in the woods, seeing the ocean, seeing snow (my favorite), seeing rivers, etc. just make me in awe of God!!!

I can work with any age but prefer folks close to my age. I prefer to work with honest people with positive attitudes.

I need a church family. I need sisters in Christ.
Concern would be that I won’t fit in because I’m not married (I chose to not re-marry so that I could devote all my attention and time outside of my job to my kids. I’ve experienced being treated like I was somewhat invisible since I didn’t have a husband in some churches I’ve attended. It is sad to feel more alone when you leave a church that when you got there.

Abortion/sanctity of Life
Homelessness
Drug abuse/recovery
Alcoholism
Abuse/violence
At-risk children
Divorce
Disabilities

[A]bilities

I do Utility Billing at the City of Cartersville. I’ve been there for almost 29 years.

I’m compassionate and love helping others

Kindness

[P]ersonality

Reserved

Low Risk

Peace Maker

People Driven

Follower

Team

Routine

Your Primary was ‘The Retriever’, with your Secondary coming in as ‘The Beaver’, and here are the descriptions of your Personalities, and how they can be used for God

Golden Retriever- Good at making friends. Very loyal. Retriever personalities do not like big changes. They look for security. Can be very sensitive. Very caring. Has deep relationships, but usually only a couple of close friends. Wants to be loved by everyone. Looks for appreciation. Works best in a limited situation with a steady work pattern.

Strength: Accommodating, calm, affirming
Weakness: Indecisive, indifferent, unable to express emotional, too soft on other people
Limitation: Seeing the need to be more assertive, holding others accountable

Beaver- Organized. Beavers think that there is a right way to do everything and they want to do it exactly that way. Beaver personalities are very creative. They desire to solve everything. Desire to take their time and do it right. Beavers do not like sudden changes. They need reassurance.

Strength: High standards, order, respect
Weakness: Unrealistic expectations of self & others, too perfect.
Limitation: Seeing the optimistic side of things, expressing flexibility

[E]xperience

I’ve prayed and wanted/needed God’s presence in my life since I was a teenager. My parents were very moral and wonderful people. They taught me to not drink, smoke, cuss, lie, etc They spent time with me and gave me attention and provided well for me. They did not however raise me in church nor did I ever see them pray. I know my Mom was saved and baptized as a child and her and my Dad always spoke about believing in God. Based on that and my own insecurities hasn’t made belonging and being active in church easy for me. I’ve wanted it though for since I was in high school. I had an emptiness that I know only God could fill. I prayed the sinner’s prayer so many times over the years. I’ve went to Christian counseling and I’ve been baptized twice. First time was sprinkling at Faith United Meth Church and 2nd time was immersed in a creed by Pastor James Black at Raccoon Creed Baptist. Both my kids and I were baptized together in that creek. One of the best days of my life!!!!!! The enemy tries to trick me because I don’t have an actual date but I know of many many times I prayed the prayer and begged God to save me. I pray and talk to God still on a regular basis. Right before my Dad found out his cancer had come back and was inoperable he called me to tell me he had been saved. My Dad was a jokester and had a great sense of humor. I immediately got on to him and told him that wasn’t a joking matter. I had talked to him about him not just believing in God but giving himself to God. Well, he proceeded to tell me that my pastor (James Black) was at his house and told him he needed to tell someone. I cried out in joy and thanksgiving!!!! It went on though to break my heart that he finally gave his life to Christ and his health went progressively downhill from that point. I know he is in Heaven and I praise God for that but there was a time I was very angry. My dad even mentioned at how ever since he was saved the cancer just spread and ate him up. He told me though towards the end that he wasn’t angry. He saw God’s love displayed from my people at my church, friends, neighbors, etc. He was even baptized by Pastor James at his house. He couldn’t be immersed but James improvised by pouring a whole gallon of water on his head – not a sprinkle but a whole gallon. That was 2 months before he died. He got it!!! I was devastated though because he was my best friend and the best granddaddy ever to my kids. My Mom actually told me during one of those times that he was at Emory that she heard him pray for the first time. He thought Mom was asleep. He prayed about my son. He prayed that God would send men into his life that would teach him to hunt and watch over him. My Dad had a horrible operation to try reroute his digestive system. The tumor that had grown from him originally having colon cancer and wrapped around his stomach like a hand squeezing it his doctors told me. The operation didn’t work and ruined any quality of life he could have had his last several months. The incision all the way across his stomach opened up and couldn’t be closed. He had a whole in his side for the tumor to drain out of. His bowel movements came out of the huge whole on his stomach. My Mom had muscular dystrophy so couldn’t use her hands so i did the wound care. God gave me the strength to that for sure. It was horrible. His whole stomach stayed blistered up from where i had to put gauze and tape on it several time a day. It smelled horrible and hurt him so bad that i had to do it. I wouldn’t have had it any other way though. He was my Dad. When it came time for him to pass it was horrible. He moaned and screamed and i could literally feel him fighting to stay but he had to go. It was horrific and still haunts me. Took me about 2 years to get over my anger and trying to regain my faith was difficult. I praise God that my Dad knew and I knew he was going to a better place though. Praise God for that!!!

Taught the 2-3 year old Sunday School class at Rowland Springs Church for maybe 6 months. It’s in Cartersville.

All of the terrible things I’ve spoke of above have me stronger and more importantly have me know without a doubt that the only way i have survived is through God’s grace. Also, i have wonderful kids that are both here from answered prayer. I praise God for allowing me to be their Momma. There is a lot more i could say but it’s now 2:25a.m. and I need to get to bed.

See above answer …
I never knew how bad alcoholism or drug addiction was until i feel deeply in love with my son’s Dad. He promised me we would stop all of it and also promised me church. He told me he’d never had anyone in his life that didn’t “party” or do the things he did. I help so sorry for him and went on to feel sorry for the guys in his band. None of them had been raised like i had. They didn’t have good parents that provided for them and spent good quality time with them. It made me have so much more compassion for people. It raised my kids by always telling them to not judge or have harsh feelings toward people that did them wrong because they did not know what those kids went home to. My daughter sees that a lot now with her being a teacher. I told her that she may be the only sign of Jesus some of her kids see so to love them and pray for them. God delivered me out of dangerously abusive relationship but good came from it. I feel like i became a stronger, more independent, more compassionate, less judgement , and had to rely on God more then than ever to get me and my kids out of that relationship safely. Also, I got my wonderful son from it. Going through what i did with my Dad made me want to help those battling cancer.

Wrapping It Up

The Challenge: Based upon your S.H.A.P.E. Assessment above (the way God wired you), If you knew you couldn’t fail … and ‘lack of money, or time’ was not an obstacle… list your Top 3 Things you would ‘Focus’ your Life on, next to #1 Loving God & #2 Loving Your Neighbor (these would be your ‘3 God-Sized Dreams’ for your life)?

1. My Relationship with GOD

2. My Relationship with Others

• Putting Your Spouse First
• Your Kids Second
• Everyone Else After those

3. Deeper relationship with Christ

4. Helping people other than just my family

5. Assisting peope that have gone through some of same difficult situations i have