Subject: Claim Your Strengths

December 2020 ♦ Issue 35

Claim Your Strengths

Nonto Masuku is determined to help women leaders grow. She and her husband own PACG & Co., which offers coaching in leadership and team development, strategic planning and innovation. They recently launched Accelerate Afrique, a global community for African women in leadership. 
 
For Nonto Masuku, leadership depends on a person being her true self. The person God made her to be.
 
“You are already fearfully and wonderfully made,” she said.

Those God-given gifts were bestowed for a reason and should never be compared to what someone else has. 
“You are already fearfully and wonderfully made.
It’s something she wishes she knew at the beginning of her career. Masuku earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and worked in accounting and banking for years in Zimbabwe. Then she became a business manager, while living in the United Kingdom. When Masuku and her family returned to Zimbabwe, where they currently live, she began some introspection. This intentionality began a journey to find her passion and focus on her talents. A CliftonStrengths Assessment online helped her name the talents and strengths she was already beginning to recognize.
 
“I’m a developer. I know that because I naturally love training and teaching,” she said.
 
Her assessment also revealed that she is a “maximizer,”  someone who likes “to take something good and turn it into something even better.”
 
Knowing her strengths and passions, she now focuses her personal development on those areas as well as her volunteer work at church and her business offerings. 
 
She encourages everyone to do the same, even if they are unable to change their career paths. You can find ways to use your strengths in the roles you currently hold.
 
“It’s never too late to claim your strength,” Masuku said.
— Michele Joseph, managing editor, Adventist Women Leaders newsletter
Connect With AWL and Invite a Friend
Antidote for the Pandemic

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1, KJV).
 
The year 2020 started out with great expectations. Spiritually, I wished for 20/20 vision, leading to more clarity and a closer walk with God. Then came COVID-19. My thoughts turned toward providing a spiritual antidote to help; why not turn the word “pandemic” into something positive by means of Bible texts? Here was the result:
 
P – “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17, KJV).

A – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28, NKJV).

N – “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Ps. 84:11, KJV).

D – “Do not worry so much about everything. When you pray, ask God for what you need. Don’t be afraid to plead with Him, but always do so with a grateful heart. God’s peace which is beyond human comprehension will guard your hearts and keep your minds on Jesus Christ” (Phil. 4:6–7, TCW).

E – “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Ps. 55:17, NKJV).

M – “My God will supply all your needs from His glorious riches which, because of Jesus Christ, now belong to you” (Phil. 4:19, TCW).

I – “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:1–2, NKJV).

C – “Come to me, you who are tired and worried, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28, TCW).
 
Father, may we daily claim your promises today and in the year ahead. Amen. 
— Gloriadine Bramble is a member and leader at the Bucks County church in Warminster, Penn., US
AWL is a community of women affirming, encouraging and celebrating God's goodness to those He has called to lead.

AWL Committee: Bonita J. Shields, chair; Celeste Ryan Blyden, founding director/secretary; Natalie Boonstra, Brenda Dickerson, Carolyn R. Forrest, Tamyra Horst, Natalia López-Thismón and Ann Roda 
AWL Support Team: Michele Joseph, managing editor; Carla Conway, graphic designer;
 Frenita Buddy Fullwood, event coordinator
Adventist Women Leaders, 9705 Patuxent Woods Drive, Columbia, MD, 21046, United States
You may unsubscribe or change your contact details at any time.