Dianne Christner 
                                                        Inspirational Romance  

      

Are you Expressive?

Or Driven?

Knowing the answer might change how you pray and your self image.

It might make a difference in your success.

Let me explain. Whenever I'm between projects, I do excessive soul searching. I pray for direction. Sometimes I plead, grovel, and agonize over DOING the right thing. I want to know God's will before I embark on a project that glues my bum to my chair for a year and prevents me from doing other stuff.

When I get to heaven, I don't want the regret of not volunteering or spending more time with my neighbors. But honestly, if I try to be more of a doer, I will end up being a quitter because I'll hate what I'm doing.

This morning some Bible verses changed my perspective:

Isaiah 44:26 "He carries the words of his servants."

I Samuel 4:19 "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up and let none of his words fall to the ground and Samuel's word came to all Israel."

I'm not a doer. I'm a word handler and He carries my words. 

I'm certainly not a prophet like Samuel, but words are my thing. My greatest joys are intimate conversations, listening and giving advice (ahmmm...when asked, of course) reading and writing. Peter Urs Bender calls this personality type an Expressive. God wasn't  telling me what TO DO because I'm not a doer. Why would he tell a mouth where to walk?  I'm a mouth. Now I knew I was a writer, but I didn't know I was a mouth. No wonder I love to eat!

Since I'm more Expressive than Driven, (a doer) I should be praying about my expression instead of my projects. Whether I'm talking on the phone, writing a novel, helping someone, cooking a meal, or babysitting--my journey's all about interaction and communication--not projects.

So if you're an Expressive like me, don't guilt yourself for not being able to multitask like the lady in the Driven photo above. I do all those things, just not at the same time. And maybe not as often as others? On second look, that apron probably means she's a fantastic cook too. Fine, it's clear I'm not a Driven. But hey, I'm good with that because God created the world with words, didn't he?

On the otherhand, I'll bet He's passed out more of the other gifts... because the world would be noisy with many loose ends if there were too many Expressives sitting around on their bums. My advice (ahmmm....I hope you don't mind) ...

Find your gift, your particular love journey and embrace it!

Then see if your prayers fall in line a bit differently. 

Learning about mine helped me recognize how I can break my prayers into smaller, more specific bits. Praying for words session-by-session or word-by-word if necessary, rather than just praying for a writing project. It's not so much about checking if He wants me to sit at my computer as it is in holding His hand all the while.

I tape note cards around the house with verses about controlling my tongue (which I hide before company comes, of course). What I'm saying, sometimes it's easier to recognize our type or giftedness by identifying our most annoying weakness. In fact, if I'm honest, other people point these out for me!

Discovering my strengths and weaknesses...

helps me accept and love myself.

It helps me get more specific in prayer.

How I pray affects the way I live.

  It affects my relationshps, successes, and productivity.

For short descriptions of four personality types Analytical, Amiable, Driven or Expressive - their strengths and weaknesses, click below.

I love the way Bender helps us find our type by describing our office. Certainly fit me to a tee.

 http://www.peterursbender.com/quiz/swtable.html

Which type are you?