Amy Scott's Thoughts

Roomies!

I got to spend the weekend with a hundred plus Bethel ladies at the Oregon Coast. It was a pretty good time. There were lots of laughs and insightful moments spent with friends. The weather even cooperated! There is nothing better than strolling on the beach with the sun shining (note I didn’t mention the temperature – that was still chilly).

It’s been a few years since I last went on a retreat with our church and I have to admit I was surprised by the sessions. The teaching was powerful – I totally expected that. What I didn’t expect was taking a bunch of tests. Oops, I mean assessments!   There were no wrong answers and cheating off of your neighbor certainly wouldn’t have helped you get a better score. We took 3 different assessments. One was a spiritual gifts test, one was the DISC test with a twist, and one was core values test… Assessments… You know what I mean!

The Spiritual Gifts assessment was good for me because I hadn’t really taken anything similar to that since high school. Two gifts tied for top spot on my list – teaching and faith. Seriously, this is me! If you ask me what is most important to me, the one thing I never want to stop doing – it would be teaching! Teaching about what? Faith! These two go hand in hand for me so I think it’s special that they shared top billing! My next gift was encouragement/exhortation.  I see my passion for mentoring in this gift. I love to encourage people and bring a bright spot to their day. I love helping people sort through life. I can see this gift in full swing in a lot of my relationships. Love it! These things get me excited and I really feel like I’m living my purpose when I’m doing these things!

The next assessment was the DISC and I have to say that I had already taken this test just over a year ago. I planned on not taking it since I knew who I was. Honestly, my head was spinning from all the numbers and adding in the last assessment and I didn’t want to do another one… But I did. I felt I little quilted into it, but oh well, it’s was good for me. The twist to this test caught me off guard. At first I thought my scores were identical to the last time I took it. However, that fell under a new category – “What is expected of me”. The next category – “Who I am” – still had me as a high C, but it also added a lot of S to my mix. I have to admit at first I was upset that my score had changed. Then I realized having more S in my life was probably a good thing. Both S and C are passive, but one is task-oriented and one is people-oriented. I think this more accurately fits me. I am a high C which means I’m very focused on quality and correctness (my perfectionist nature). However S adds stability and support to my personality. The Biblical advice for both these categories was so awesome because I can see what I need in it: For my C – be more positive, avoid a bitter and critical spirit, don’t worry. For my S – be bold and courageous, be confident and fearless, be more enthusiastic.  Seriously, that is me! I need all of those things and all of those things God has already been speaking to me about. You know God is talking to you when things line up and the same voice is coming from multiple sources!

Assessments don’t define you, but they can help you figure out how you tick. I have taken many and really they have helped me convey who I am to others. Like the Myers-Brigs assessment, I know I am an ISTJ (look it up and you’ll find a perfect description of me – http://www.personalitypage.com/ISTJ.html). I can use these terms to help other see how I process. I think that taking assessments in large groups can really open eyes. You see who you are. You see who others are. Instead of it being a matter of preference or taste, you can see the honest truth about others. No judging, no trying to make them like you! We’re all different. Even the boxes we filled in on these pages can’t truly contain us. God knew what he was doing when he wired us this way. I often wonder about why God made me this way. There are so many things I would have done differently. However, after year of assessments (not tests) I can see myself for who I am. The more comfortable I am with “me”, the freer I am to be “me” – not just by myself, but with others!

The next assessment was super powerful and probably the HIGHLIGHT of my entire weekend! Totally rocked me and almost caused a panic attack! I’ll share that tomorrow, so come back and check it out!