I have had two conversations in the past couple days with two completely different people blessed with the same perspective gained from painful experiences. One is a successful business owner who just suffered the painful loss of a son and the other is a lady on disability because of a 29 year drug addiction. She told me a gruesome story riddled with drug addiction and alcohol abuse that has lead to personal injury and a wrecked family. He shared how the slow loss of his son changed him emotionally through the pain but in another breath said " God did it" "he is in a better place" "I would be selfish to want him back and not want him to be in heaven away from the pain and suffering of this world". She said "It is a miracle I am alive and I want the world to know about my Jesus and how He saves people". When talking to these amazing people it was obvious how real heaven is to them. I want that perspective of hope but I don't want to go through what they went through.

3Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Get To Know Me Like I Did

This has been a great year for me. Both good and bad but thankful for all that has happened. The big thing this year has been self awareness. I wanted to share a couple tools I have used to become more self-aware. I was amazed by how unaware I was as I took these tests. I really thought I new myself better : )

The Myers Briggs Test was the first one I took. I started with a paid version but here is a link for a free one. I have used it for friends and family and even compared my personal results to the one I paid for and it has not failed me yet.

Pay-Myers Briggs
Free-Myers Briggs
My results-Google Doc

Strengths Finder-This one cost me $25. If you buy the book you get a code to take the test online. Here are my top 5 out of 35 strengths.

Below are my top five themes of talent, ranked in the order revealed by my responses to the Clifton StrengthsFinder.

How well do you think these themes describe me?

Input

People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

Futuristic

People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

Activator

People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

Arranger

People who are especially talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Ideation

People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

To learn more about the Clifton StrengthsFinder and how you can discover your top five themes, visit http://strengths.gallup.com

And my favorite tool for self-awareness and growth has been the Chazown spiritual gifts test. Here are the results.  

CORE VALUES

• Character
• Efficiency
• Faithfulness
• Family
• Grace
• Growth

2

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

• Administration / Guidance
• Encouragement
• Music
• Teaching
• Wisdom

This assessment was free!