Push Upward and Bloom Where You Are Planted: Use Your Talents for the Kingdom of God

By Sandra Lloyd Cranford

Your talents are God’s gift to you. What you do with them is your gift back to Him. Push Upward and Bloom Where You Are Planted!
Sandra Lloyd Cranford

Push Upward and Bloom Where You Are Planted is a call to action to use your talents here on earth – for the Kingdom of God – for they bring about an eternal reward. Whatever your talents are, the principles in this book are the same: discover, develop and do!
• How Jesus’ Parable of the Talents Applies to You Right Now
• Identify and Use Your Talents for the Kingdom of God
• Signs and Nudges: Expect the Unexpected
• The Reasons for and the Benefits of Praise and Worship
• The Journey of a Praise and Worshiper
• Embark Upon Your Own Journey of Self-Discovery and Biblical Spiritual Growth

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Dec 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483440903

Book preview

Ministries

PUSH UPWARD AND BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED

Use Your Talents for the Kingdom of God

Sandra Lloyd Cranford

Copyright © 2015 Sandra Lloyd Cranford, M.Ed.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-4091-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-4090-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015918459

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 11/24/2015

CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Dedication

Acknowledgements

1.   Push Upward: Call to Action

-   Time Spent with the Lord Enlightens and Directs our Path

-   Examine Your Heart and Cultivate Your Ground

2.   The Parable of the Talents

-   Using Your Gifts: The Parable of the Talents

-   The Kingdom of God

-   Accountability

3.   Bloom Where You Are Planted: Application

-   Praise and Worship

-   The Journey of a Praise and Worshiper

-   Signs and Nudges

-   Expect the Unexpected

-   Reasons for and Benefits of Praise and Worship

-   Hebrew Root Words

4.   Singing and Leading Worship

-   Reflecting on Our Roots

-   Learning to Play a Song

-   Leading Worship

-   Roses and Thorns

-   Performance Pressure

5.   Songs

-   Songs in the Bible

-   David’s Song of Thanksgiving

-   Songs Birthed Out of Pain and Sorrow

>   It Is Well With My Soul by Horatio Spafford

>   Hallelujah by Heather Williams

-   Song Writing

6.   Using Your Talents for the Kingdom of God

7.   Living in the Son Light

Author’s Request: Share Your Story

About the Author

Notes

Recommended Reading

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The writing of this book began on my birthday several years ago. Now it was time to finish and give it birth. I often spend time on my birthday to thank God for the life He has given me, examine what I am doing with it, and seek His direction. I ask myself, Where is God leading me and am I serving Him with my talents? Where do I see myself in the future? And what am I doing today that will help get me there?

I challenge you to ask yourself these same questions, for you are about to embark upon a journey of self-discovery and Biblical Spiritual growth. Let’s identify your talents so you can use them for the Kingdom of God. I discovered the importance of praise and worship, and I hope you do too.

May God richly bless you as you read this book; and may you fulfill the purpose He has for your life. Your talents are God’s gift to you! What you do with them is your gift back to Him!

Push Upward and Bloom Where You Are Planted!

Sandra Lloyd Cranford

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to our Heavenly Father, Lord and Savior, the source of all creation. He is the essence of our being and the Creator of the universe, who by His Holy Spirit leads and enlightens us along the path of our life’s journey.

I also dedicate this book to my loving husband Robert, the love of my life, who supports my calling and unselfishly gives of his time and talent. God gave me a Special Forces Green Beret who consistently demonstrates courage and determination with his SF motto of Anything – Anytime – Anyplace! Robert, you pushed me up as we stepped out of our comfort zone to develop our musical talent, worship leadership, and sound system technology. Without your encouragement, I would not be who I am today, nor would I have followed the music ministry calling and the writing of this book. Thank you for encouraging me to follow my passion. Your support through all these years gave me the validation and encouragement – that you and the Lord