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

Thank you Nora Hoffman 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:

78%

87%

84%

93%

90%

65%

56%

78%

65%

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 genuinely believe that my purpose is to help as many people as I possible can while here on earth and giving of my time, talents, money, etc. is the easiest thing that any of us can do on a regular basis.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
We all need mercy and grace at some point in our lives for various things. Knowing what God and Jesus have sacrificed for us, showing others mercy comes very easy to me. I’m not saying that there are not times that it may be hard, but in general, I view life through many perspectives and do my best to try and understand other viewpoints, whether I agree or with them or now, because we all have a story.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I have to honestly say that this one was a bit of a surprise to me. I have always openly expressed my faith but never on a “cut-throat” or “shove it down your throat” kind of way. I never hide my love for Jesus and will talk about him to anyone that will listen, but when I think of evangelism, people that are constantly at the forefront and in front of large crowds preaching the gospel are who comes to mind, not folks like me who spread his love in smaller groups or one individual at a time. Maybe I don’t quite understand what evangelism really is and will be doing some research after I finish this assessment. 🙂

[H]eart

1. I love my family with all my heart, even the ones that may not like me. It gives me great joy to make my family proud and to do simple little things that may brighten their day and just let them know that I’m thinking about them because they are loved… this is especially true of my husband and my 95-year-old grandmother!

2. HELPING OTHERS! I just love to put a smile on someone’s face!! Whether it be holding a door, picking something up that someone dropped, volunteering, or doing something, ANYTHING on a whim that just appears in front of me, I will jump on an opportunity to help someone in any way that I am able.

3. I love music and have found it to be an easy way to share God’s love with others because music is something that most people can relate to, secular, Christian or otherwise.

I love to work with people… age, type, etc. really does not matter to me.

Not a current issue, but in the past, we left a church because all the pastor talked about was money and giving to the church. I’m really am not being dramatic either. There were some other concerns too that I saw first and then eventually my husband did as well. Years after we left, we actually had friends reach out to us and tell us that they now understood exactly why we had left… still makes me very sad but sometimes you just have to do what’s right for your family and move on.

A big concern that I have with society in general is how easy it is for someone to condemn Christianity while “preaching” about inclusion and tolerance at the same time. When I worked in sales, I was and will always be a no-pressure person and the same goes for my faith. I will do my best to provide someone with all of the pertinent information that they need to make an educated decision but ultimately know that the decision is theirs. I prefer to always leave the door open for future interactions than to be so pushy that they want absolutely nothing to do with me or whatever it is that I may be “selling”.

Abortion/sanctity of Life
Poverty/hunger
Policy/politics

[A]bilities

I am currently the manager for the rental properties that we own but I also volunteer as much as I am able.

I have a very extensive background… medical (patient care), insurance, taxes, bookkeeping, security, customer service, payroll, sales, marketing, PR, secretary…

I enjoy interacting with people and marketing of events that promote interests that are important to me. Not exactly sure how it all came about, but I seem to have a knack for being able to lead a group. I have actually come to enjoy it very much but will more than happily be just another face in the crowd.

I owned a tax franchise so taught tax classes for several years. I have not taught any other specific classes or seminars but have trained others one-on-one in my various employment/volunteer roles.

…helping out wherever I am needed the most! I know this sounds extremely vague, but I genuinely think that a person can be utilized in multiple areas which may or may not be considered of importance to others. Sometimes the most important tasks are done behind the scenes.

[P]ersonality

50-50 Extrovert/Reserved

50-50 High/Low Risk

50-50 Peace Maker/Challenger

50-50 People/Project Driven

50-50 Follower/Leader

Variety

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

Otter- Otters are very social creature. Otter personalities love people. They enjoys being popular and influencing and motivating others. Otter can sometimes be hurt when people do not like them. Otter personalities usually have lots of friends, but not deep relationships. They love to goof-off. (They are notorious for messy rooms.) Otters like to hurry and finish jobs. (Jobs are not often done well.) The otter personality is like Tigger in Winnie The Pooh.

Strength: People person, open, positive
Weakness: Talks too much, too permissive
Limitation: Remembering past commitments, follow through with discipline

Lion- This personality likes to lead. The lion is good at making decisions and is very goal-oriented. They enjoy challenges, difficult assignments, and opportunity for advancement. Because lions are thinking of the goal, they can step on people to reach it. Lions can be very aggressive and competitive. Lions must learn not to be too bossy or to take charge in other’s affairs.

Strength: Goal-oriented, strong, direct
Weakness: Argumentative, too dictatorial
Limitation: Doesn’t understand that directness can hurt others, hard time expressing grace

[E]xperience

I initially accepted Jesus into my life one summer at church camp when I was only 10-years-old. Growing up in the church, including being a PK since I was around 6-years-old, I completely understood the decision that I was making but it wasn’t until my 20’s that I really took my commitment to God serious and made some really important changes in my life. There was a time in my life that I was as low as someone could get with feeling overwhelmed and hopeless but God LITERALLY saved my life and I thank him EVERY day for the opportunity to finish the story that he has created for me!

I’ve volunteered at every church that we’ve attended doing various tasks – helping with meals, organizing/promoting fundraisers, website/social media administration, youth group chaperone, missions…

When it comes to volunteering, I purposefully seek out organizations that are faith-based. I have served with Habitat for Humanity, The Kiwanis Club, Compassion International, Creation Ministries, Operation Christmas Child, The Premier Foundation and most recently started working with Coastal Hospice.

Our family was heavily involved with Isaiah 61 Ministries, a homeless outreach organization, in the Harrisburg, PA area for many years. For a time, I was also secretary of the board. We prepared and served food each week in the parking lot of a local bank and also took food to other locations as needed. In addition, we also provided blankets, clothing, toiletries and other items as needed. For Christmas and Easter, we would hold celebrations at a church with a service and meal and also provide transportation to those wanting to attend since the location was outside the city.

Most recently helped lead a group of 32 people for a mission excursion during the K-Love Cruise with The Premier Foundation. Our team was responsible for helping The Great Commission Ministries in Nassau, Bahamas with meal preparation/serving/delivering, cleaning/organizing their clothing bank, and building a block storage structure.

My parents have been a huge influence on me. Knowing their life journeys and what they have overcome has deeply made an impression on everything that I am.

Some may view this as a negative experience, but even in times of financial turmoil, we have always been taken care of and I truly believe that is because God always has our back. We may have had to work harder than other times in our lives but in the end, we were fine.

I know I already mentioned my parents, but I’m also going to put my Mom up on her own pedestal. She would NEVER want this recognition but she so deserves it more than most people I know. Of course, she is not perfect, as no one is, and as mother and daughter, of course we butt heads from time to time (lovingly of course) but her selflessness when it comes to helping others is always in abundance! This may also be from the way she grew up as a poor farmer’s daughter in Northern Thailand. I truly believe she doesn’t take things for granted because of her roots and how her life is so different today from when she lived overseas. She makes the best egg rolls and always delivers them to friends and folks that are shut-ins as well as picking/delivery berries too. If someone needs help, she will help them, no questions asked. Her English is great but there are still moments when words are used in the wrong context but she is able to laugh it off and has overcome racism her entire life. I love her SO much and should tell her that more often, so THANK YOU for making me write this as a reminder to self!

I was a teenage mother and became wed at a very young age. Although that marriage ended, I truly believe that everything (good and bad) surrounding that entire experience has made me the strong person today that is willing to stand up for others when they cannot do so themselves.

Unfortunately, we do not currently have a relationship with our daughter. We never thought that our family would experience such a falling out but it has really given me a perspective that I wouldn’t otherwise have. Sympathy for parents that have children that seem to have chosen a road that goes against all they were raised to know has turned into empathy… and I’m okay with that. I gave this trouble to the Lord a long time ago and he gives me peace every day knowing that there is always hope that our relationship will one day be mended.

In my lifetime, I have seen our society change in some very negative ways. Taking in so many opinions and seemingly what used to be considered wrong now becoming right and sometimes the norm, it has caused me to be a more patient person. Why? Sometimes there are things that appear one way to only be quite the opposite and then other times, things can completely be taken at face value. I have learned to listen first, and then ask so I may try to understand the “opposing” point of view. I am able to kindly agree to disagree when needed and can objectively leave a conversation if things are getting out of hand. It may be easier said than done sometimes, especially when the topic hits close to home or it’s something I’ve very passionate about, but in the end, I always try to remember how patient God is with me EVERY SINGLE DAY. I know I can be bull-headed at times and am very thankful for the love, kindness and grace that others show to me, even when I don’t deserve it. Just makes sense to pass it on…

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. I became a small business owner to be able to go on a mission trip each year; still working on this goal!

4. I would be honored to be a disciple like Billy Graham. If I can leave a legacy even a tad bit comparable, that would make me so happy!

5. I need to help as many people, in any way, that I am humanly able.