We have been through dry spells of finding good help just like anyone. During one of these times, Dixie prayed that if this business was indeed His, ‘would you send us the people (help) we need?’ And he has more than abundantly blessed that prayer! We really have some of the most amazing people in our business. We have never wanted clones of ourselves, and we often hire people with different skill sets or ‘gifts’ than Dixie and I have.
One of the most important things we have done to help recognize the gifts that our team has, is ‘Affirmation Day’. The first time we did it was with our kids. We have three, and it was one of those times that they were just mean, calling names, fighting, and at each other’s throats. We sat them all down, and made them say 2 things that they thought the others were good at or that they appreciated about them. It was pretty amazing to see their attitudes change immediately when they realized ‘my brother (or sister) appreciates something about me’!
Now, we do this regularly with our family. AND we have started doing it with our Pure Dixie Team. NO, they don't fight or call each other names! But we use it to help each other recognize gifts that we may not see ourselves. Pastor JD Greear lays out a way to recognize each of our gifts: Ability (what abilities/skills have you been given?) Affinity (what are you passionate about?) and Affirmation (what gifts do others affirm in you?). Where these 3 overlap, may be the way that God has designed each of us to be gifted to bring glory to Him. The last one, Affirmation, you cannot do yourself! We have set aside time to affirm in others what their gifts are. When it is your turn on Affirmation Day, we go around the table (or the zoom call) and each person says 2-3 things that they see you being gifted at.
The result? In simple terms, affirmation of gifts. More specifically, confidence in what you are doing well, sometimes surprise in something you never thought of before, perspective on things you cannot easily see yourself, and most important: TRUTH when it is easy to hear lies about our inability from others, or most destructive, lies from ourselves!
We just did this last week. It is a way of affirming those closest to us, how they have been gifted, and how God can use each person to His glory.
In Romans 12:6-8, the Bible says: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
It might be easier to focus on weaknesses. “she needs to work on this”, “I wish he was better at that”. But here, we focus on strengths and gifts and how to grow them. Among many other things, Dixie knows she has the gift of leadership, Micaiah knows she is gifted in organization, Cheri knows her positive energy flows to other people, Taylor is an encourager, Emily is gifted in design, Amanda has the gift of hospitality, and Misty is great at customer service because she truly wants to help people! Burris is a protector, Neacy is gifted with animals, and Thayne has one of the craziest attention spans I have ever seen. Through this, others have affirmed in me my ability to be patient in teaching or solving a problem. I don't feel like I am patient, but when other people say that, it makes me confident and want to get even better at it!
My two greatest takeaways from Affirmation Day:
- Never pass up the opportunity to encourage someone. Affirmation Day is about making this encouragement intentional.
- If someone affirms something in me- I write it down, I have a list. I look at it occasionally and I am still surprised at what I see, but it keeps me from lying to myself about inabilities.
Affirmation Day is a great thing to do with your spouse, kids, parents, friends or coworkers. It might seem strange at first, but it is fun to see how people respond to being told what they are good at! We are so thankful for our Team that God has sent us and to see the gifts they have been given!
