**Welcome to my Glorygram and to my table! Pull up a chair and join me for a plate of flavorful Grilled Italian Chicken with Balsamic-Strawberry Salsa. Each week I write this letter as an arrow pointing you back to God's glory and the ways He is working in our world. I use this space to get to know you better so please introduce yourself and share your stories in the comments too!
Every week my mom serpentined through Chicago traffic during rush hour to get me to piano lessons on time. I could not be late. Dr. Whang was strict, but with good intentions. She desired for her students to be the best they could be. With her subtle but firm tone, she taught us that precision and practice were paramount for progressing pianists.
In the early years of piano, I was required to practice 30 minutes a day. I stumbled through scales and struggled to follow the metronome that helped me keep time. Competence was born out of repetition. But through the years, I began to look forward to this daily date with the ebony and ivory keys. My practice sessions extended longer as the pieces grew harder. The music moved through my fingers and settled my soul.
My mama was from a blue-collar family that couldn’t afford piano lessons when she longed for them as a child. She often listened from the kitchen while I practiced. She was chopping onions and swirling ruby red sauce in the pot, while my fingers danced over the keys.
Mama told me over and over — sometimes with tears brimming in her eyes — how much my practicing and performing blessed her. She believed I had God-given musical talent and wanted me to have every opportunity to pursue it.
Dr. Whang believed in me too. She challenged me with concertos and inspired me with symphonies. She even supported me beyond my lessons. One time she took the train from downtown to come see me sing as Liesl in “The Sound of Music” at my high school.
I ended up taking piano for nine years — performing in recitals, winning local contests, and playing special numbers at church. I discovered that God grants us gifts and talents that need to be tended over time.
We don’t just wake up one day as a concert pianist. Playing a musical instrument requires practice, patience, and plenty of perseverance.
The apostle Paul gives us perspective about perseverance in his letter to the church in Collossae: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV).
Paul was helping to reframe our efforts. Everything we practice or work at presents an opportunity to serve God wholeheartedly. We can look beyond the expectations of earthly masters and measures of success.
Maybe you’ve never played an instrument, but you have practiced a sport or rehearsed for a play or concocted a new recipe. Maybe you feel frustrated or forlorn because that book you wrote was rejected or you weren’t chosen for the part. He gives us gifts and talents to grow. We don’t start with a perfect product or a pristine performance.
Gifts and talents take time to bloom.
My new kids book, Kailani’s Gift, echoes this same message. Kailani needs to have the courage to try something new. Even though she doesn’t master it right away, Kailani perseveres. The tinikling dance is challenging, but it is also rewarding when she can offer it as a gift to her grandparents. We all might be clumsy with new things at first, but if we push through the awkwardness and have fun, we can bless others with what we have learned.
I wrote the first draft of Kailani’s Gift more than a decade ago. The manuscript was rejected and praised throughout the years. I consider it a sweet gift that my girl will finally grace bookshelves. Despite years of discouraging setbacks, the time is now.
The good news about gifts and talents is God takes the same posture as my mama did about my piano playing. He is proud of us whether we are stumbling through practice or performing on a stage. He does not require perfection. God cares more about the orientation of our hearts.
We are called to use our talents and passions to bless those in our community for His glory.
Peter illuminates this: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV). In this way, we offer our gifts back to the Giver.
Now my 15-year-old daughter plays keys for the school worship band. She helps lead music with her team in chapel service every couple of weeks. My heart swells as I listen to her practice late at night and play with the student band. She writes lyrics and composes songs that carry us through our grief. Her creative gift of music blesses my mama heart in much the same way I had the opportunity to bless my mama years ago.
Do you have a gift or talent that needs tending? I’d love to hear about it in the comments so I can cheer you on and pray over you!
Glory recommendations
Each week I like to share links to some of my own work or resources that are inspiring me and my family to chase after God’s glory! Here are five for you to check out this week:
Kailani's Gift is my newest picture book, released on April 16! It's a book for kids of all ages about perseverance and using our gifts to bless others.
-Local Fresno friends, come join me for a Book Launch party 4-5:30 pm on Saturday, April 27 - complete with activities for kids, Filipino food, tinikling dance performance, and a reading of the new book. Invite your friends, your families & don't forget to RSVP here!
-I’ll also be sharing the book in Denver, Colorado at Second Star to the Right bookstore for their Storytime at 10 a.m. June 17. Save the date if you live in the area!
-Don’t forget to order your copy today! When you read it, please share a review here or one of your favorite retailers. Reviews help more people hear about the book and retailers to carry it. Deeply grateful for your help in this!
Listen to the (in)courage podcast for a conversation with Becky Keife and me about cultivating our God-given talents and the beauty of learning about other cultures.
We touch on these takeaways:
Perseverance is key in developing our gifts, even when we face challenges and setbacks.
God delights in the process of our growth and development, not just the final product.
The orientation of our hearts, focused on worshiping and honoring God, is more important than striving for perfection.
Trusting God's timing is essential, as He has plans that are higher than ours.
Each month I do a fun giveaway with a book I’m loving. Sharing good resources with you is such a joy for me. For April, I’m featuring a children’s poetry book in honor of Earth Day and National Poetry Month. Bless this Earth shows the miracle of our planet Earth through beautiful imagery and delightful poetry, calling all people, young and old, to care for our wonderful world. This sweet and welcoming anthology for children ages 3-7 knits together our common humanity and the natural world in an engaging way that is simple for young readers to understand. Bless the Earth contains approximately sixty selections of original as well as classic poems. Comment below if you’re interested in winning this one!
Last week I attended the Festival of Faith and Writing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This was truly an epic event, drawing more than 1,100 writers from all different genres. I shared these highlights on Facebook and Instagram if you want to take a peek. If you were there, please let me know some of your highlights!
Friend, I’m so grateful you are a part of my Glorygram tribe! For the past eight years, I've been sharing reflections and resources on grief, running, leadership, food, family, and faith. I count it an incredible privilege to connect with each of you through this Glorygram. Are you interested in more perks and robust content? For $50 per year (or $5 a month), you'll gain access to my full archive, bonus posts, recipes, and sneak peeks of my coming books! While the free weekly emails will continue, our subscription-only content will be an extension of the foundation we've built together. To subscribe and unlock this exclusive content, simply hit the Subscribe Now button and choose what level you’d like. Founding members will also get a personalized, signed copy of one of my books! Thank you to so many of you who have already generously given!) I am so grateful for all of your prayers and support!
Your story resonates with me. I so wanted piano lessons as a child, but my parents couldn't afford it, either. When we received an old, upright piano from one of my husband's relatives, we would hear our oldest son down in the basement picking out tunes. We found a piano teacher who said he couldn't take on any more students, but he would "test" our son. He was so amazed that he took him on as a student. Joey took lessons from him from 4th grade through sophomore year of high school, which, at that point, his teacher told us that he had taught him all that he knew and couldn't teach him anything else. I am still amazed at my son's ear for music, which has gotten passed down to his son, too. My son is now part of the worship team at the church he goes to. I am so blessed everytime I hear him and I thank God for the talent he has. (That 4th grader is now 51!)