{"id":3550,"date":"2014-08-20T12:48:17","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T12:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=3550"},"modified":"2014-08-21T12:49:03","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T12:49:03","slug":"peabody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=3550","title":{"rendered":"Peabody"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

My husband and I were heading east on Highway 52 last evening. We were chit chatting and listening to the Colorado Rockies play. We each noticed something off to the side of the road. I thought it was a tire alligator (you know, those large pieces of tire that remain after a semi has a blowout). My husband thought the same.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Peacock\"<\/a>However, as we passed this object, we were surprised. It was a peacock! Just standing by the side of a busy road in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I immediately said, \u201cturn around\u2026I have to get a picture of this!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We turned around and located this strange bird. He must reside nearby, because we found him walking along a driveway.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This beautiful, graceful creature seemed out of place and yet, he acted as if it was the most natural place for him to be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I believe we find ourselves in similar situations. At work, we\u2019ve been talking about a speaker we heard last week at a leadership conference named Susan Cain. She has written a book called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can\u2019t Stop Talking<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Each of us is called to be light in this dark world and share the Gospel with those who need to hear it. But for the introvert, this may be very difficult. For the introvert, it may be impossible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So how do we, as introverts accept the challenge?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must rely on God\u2019s Spirit. I believe an introvert is the very example of many verses of Scripture we use to get through our day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For instance, take Paul\u2019s word from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV). \u201cBut he said to me, \u2018my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness\u2019\u2026when I am weak, then I am strong.\u201d <\/em>Perhaps as an introvert I can\u2019t do it on my own, but with God\u2019s grace and strength, I can.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Philippians 4:13 (NIV) is another verse introverts cling to. \u201cI can do everything through him who gives me strength.\u201d<\/em> An introvert may not be able to approach his or her neighbor on their own, but with God\u2019s strength it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And take a look at Moses when God asked him to lead Israel from Egypt. He was in a desert with sheep. He had a speech issue. He did not want to be the center of attention. What did God tell Moses? \u201cI will be with you.\u201d<\/em> (Exodus 3:12 \u2013 NIV) Those five words gave Moses the confidence to stand before Pharaoh. These are confidence building words that each of us can hold tightly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s going to be easy. What I am saying is that when we feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit, we need to listen. We need to obey. We need to trust. It\u2019s in those moments that we will find God\u2019s confidence to move.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was exciting to see this beautiful peacock last night. I can\u2019t wait to see him again. I believe I shall name him Peabody\u2026because I can.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Donna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  My husband and I were heading east on Highway 52 last evening. We were chit chatting and listening to the Colorado Rockies play. We each noticed something off to the side of the road. I thought it was a tire alligator (you know, those large pieces of tire that remain after a semi has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,246,17,21],"tags":[73,2920,119,2919,542,817,2916,2918,488,2917,2873],"class_list":["post-3550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-believing-god","category-honoring-god","category-obeying-god","category-trusting-god","tag-2-corinthians-129-10","tag-exodus-312","tag-holy-spirit","tag-introverts","tag-moses","tag-paul","tag-peabody","tag-peacock","tag-philippians-413","tag-quiet-the-power-of-introverts-in-a-world-that-cant-stop-talking","tag-susan-cain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3550"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3555,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550\/revisions\/3555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}