Take the Leap of Faith

Hanging with my sweet grandson always leads to talking about animals -- after all, he has 32 animals of his own. Seems we integrate some kind of animal story into just about every conversation. After all, I've dubbed him the "animal whisperer" because all of those critters seem to calm in his presence.

I heard a very interesting message about the Impala, a medium-sized African antelope. The only "Impala" I ever knew about was the Chevrolet Impala -- particularly because it was my husband's first car. Little did I realize that the name "Impala" was selected for the Chevy because of the characteristics of the animal, the Impala. The Impala's most characteristic movement is its unique leap. In the wild, they can run at very high speeds and jump to heights of 10 feet over bushes and even other Impala, and they can cover distances of up to 33 feet in one leaping bound. That's quite amazing that their inbred abilities give them that extra "protection" against being prey for more dominant animals.

But, here's the most interesting fact about the Impala. If they are held captive in zoos by a mere 36-inch wall, they will not act on their natural instincts. That's because they simply can't see what's on the other side of that little wall. What stands between them and freedom is taking a leap of faith.

Friday night we watched a "Running Wild With Bear Grylls" TV episode with Deion Sanders as his guest celebrity to take to a challenging adventure that included jumping a canyon and eating snake. As fearless as Deion might have seemed as a running back for the Dallas Cowboys, we witnessed him being paralyzed with fear to have to jump a canyon. No positive words that Bear spoke to him had enough motivation to give him the courage to jump. But when Deion started praying HARD out loud and in tongues, within a few moments, he had gained the courage to take that "leap of faith"....and he did so successfully.

What a testament to God's stamp of approval with this post today when I looked up at my friends' glass case and I saw an Impala inside (pictured here) -- never saw it before, but on this day, I knew God was giving me a high-five on this message for us!

Perhaps we are like the Impala -- if we can see where we're headed, if we know what our destination is, if we know the end result -- we'll give it all we've got. But what if the way isn't clear? What if there's a killer-gap between our start to finish? What if we don't know what tomorrow holds? What if we don't have all the answers? But still, what if we take a LEAP OF FAITH even though we don't know what is on the other side? It's about TRUSTING in He Who already knows and has the plans for our tomorrows. We simply TRUST. Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths" -- and, I might add.....even give you extra turbo-charged energy and power to "run through a troop and LEAP OVER THE WALL!" Psalm 18:29.

Maybe we should sing along with Diana Ross....'There ain't no mountain (or walls) high enough to keep me from..... leaping over them!"

This is Crazy! This is Awesome!

I enjoy reading Bible stories that start out "This is crazy" but end up "This is awesome". For example, a little shepherd boy with a mere sling and stones, going up against a giant Philistine -- wearing the toughest, rock-solid armor ever must have been a "This is crazy" moment, but we know how it ended. The headlines in the morning news: "Notorious Philistine Taken Down by a Shepherd Boy" -- "This is Awesome!"

What about Moses leading millions out of Egypt and facing the Red Sea, along with Pharoah's army in hot pursuit. "This is crazy". If we could have read Moses' thoughts, I wonder if they had been "This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!" The headlines on that day must have read: "Millions walk through the Red Sea unharmed. Pharoah's entire military loses lives in the waters of the Red Sea." "This is awesome!" I remember hearing about an agnostic who said: "The only reason the Israelites were able to cross that sea was because that time of year the waters were only one foot deep." And the reply by a believer was "WOW! That's awesome then, Pharoah's army drowned in only one foot of water!" LOL!

Have you had some "This is crazy" moments that turned into "This is awesome" moments? I did. When my husband convinced me to take flying lessons and the day my instructor got out of the airplane and said, "You're ready. Go on and do three take-offs and landings.....alone!" In flying, a pilot’s First Solo is a huge milestone. After hours of training and ground study, you finally take to the air on your own. I thought "WHAT? This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!!" But as I was all alone in the sky, I actually felt quite comfortable -- I started thinking "This is awesome, this is awesome, this is awesome."

I went on to succeed at my first solo flight. And I had the ripped shirt to prove it. In-line with tradition, my instructor cut up the back of my shirt. Before modern electronics, in-cockpit communication was mainly through shirt tugging and hollers from the instructor that sat behind you. Cutting off the back of the shirt symbolizes this very important step -- as the instructor won't need to be yanking on it any more. At the end of that thrill-ride, I shouted "THAT WAS AWESOME." On the other hand, my husband was mush. He said that he couldn't believe it when he saw my instructor get out of the plane and his wife take to the skies.....ALONE! He admitted he had never been so nervous in all his life! For me, it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.

So it was a no brainer for me to be strapped into the safety harness when we were in Mexico a couple of weeks ago, and go parasailing. The same for jet skiing. I've learned that if we aren't willing to put ourselves in some "This is crazy" situations, we'll never experience "This is awesome" moments. If we aren't willing to run a marathon or parasail or ride a camel (I did in Israel) or give a speech before a large audience or start a business or ride a roller coaster, we'll never fly above circumstances of life that tend to keep us grounded in fear. By the way -- all those crazy things we may do sure makes for above-average prayer life. We can't NOT pray when we are flying solo in an airplane. And the same is true when we take a leap of faith in anything we hope to accomplish!

At some point in our lives, there comes a time when we have to make a decision. We need to decide to go for it (take a leap of faith) or to be complacent. I want to live with child-like faith in my all powerful Father. I wanna' live like that!

Take the Leap of Faith

Day 187 of Photo Inspirations -- Take the Leap of Faith
I  heard a very interesting message about the Impala, a medium sized African antelope, last weekend.  The only "Impala" I ever knew about was the Chevrolet Impala -- particularly because it was my husband's first car.  Little did I realize that the name "Impala" was selected for the Chevy because of the characteristics of the animal, the Impala.  The Impala's most characteristic movement is its unique leap. In the wild, they can run at very high speeds and jump to heights of 10 feet over bushes and even other Impala, and they can cover distances of up to 33 feet in one leaping bound.  That's pretty amazing that their inbred abilities give them that extra "protection" against being prey for more dominant animals.

But, here's the most interesting fact about the Impala.  If they are held captive in zoos by a mere 36 inch wall, they will not act on their natural instincts.  That's because they simply can't see what's on the other side of that little wall.  What stands between them and freedom is taking a leap of faith.

Perhaps we are like the Impala -- if we can see where we're headed, if we know what our destination is, if we know the end-result -- we'll give it all we've got.   But what if the way isn't clear?  What if we don't know what tomorrow holds?  What if we don't have all the answers?  But still, what if we take a LEAP OF FAITH even though we don't know what is on the other side?  It's about TRUSTING in He Who already knows and has the plans for our tomorrows.  We simply TRUST.  Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways, acnowledge Him and He will direct your paths" -- and,  I might add.....even give you extra turbo-charged energy and power to "run through a troop and LEAP OVER THE WALL!" Psalm 18:29.

I don't know about you, but as for me, I'm climbing over, digging under, and even leaping over those walls that stand between me and my goals and dreams and answered prayer.  "There ain't no mountain (or walls) high enough to keep me from leaping over them!"

Take the Leap of Faith

Day 14 of Photo Inspirations.
Today I went to see my little 18-month old great neice who is a "regular" at my mother-in-law's every Monday.  I took this photo of her and her Gamma, my sister-in-law.  This little angel girl loves climbing and using her hands and body to learn all about this world around her.  She is completely unburdened by responsibilities, time and where to get her next meal.   She lives in a world of wonder, awe and joy.  Okay -- so I'm a little biased, but I think this little angel girl is amazing and is super fearless.  You can tell in these photos that she is so secure in knowing that her Gamma will catch her.

She was performing for me today -- yes, she is also quite the entertainer.  When I saw how absolutely confident she was in climbing the stool (apparatus -- LOL) and jumping into her Gamma's arms, I thought about that total confidence she had in the one who loves her so much.

Along the way, it is just expected that she will lose that sense of security and confidence. But, she doesn't have to -- and neither do our children.  It's up to you and me to be truly fearless leaders, because we have total confidence in the ONE Who is always there to lead, guide and protect us.  And, one of the most effective ways of teaching our kids is to lead by example. Our children look up to us and mimic the behaviors they see in us -- their parents and grandparents.  If they see us happy, comfortable and at peace, they will have a sense of security, confidence and peace.

If  we live our lives fearless, our kids will see that and it will serve as a powerful lesson for the people they will become.   It's up to us to be sure we live it wherever we go -- at work, at home, at their school -- and when they see the confidence we exude, they'll follow our lead.

And, by the way, in case you, yourself, aren't that fearless leader today,  at least strive to raise fearless kids, because in the process, you will perfect and refine your own journey toward fearlessness.  This job of parenting is as much about our growth as much as it is for our children.  As we teach, we learn.  And there's no richer or rewarding path than to be fearless ourselves.  So, let's go ahead and mount that apparatus or circumstance or situation.....and TAKE A LEAP of faith.
#LeapOfFaith #Fearless

Superman vs Clark Kent Faith

Some life situations call for a spontaneous, heroic faith that is swift to action -- those situations that don’t allow time to survey the situation or even pray for hours to muster up our courage.

That’s when our spiritual “Superman”, who lives inside us and is infused with God’s wisdom and power wants to take charge, but the “Clark Kent” mentality of holding back, and even stopping us dead in our tracks, takes over.

But remember THE Superman who lives in us -- God Almighty!! There just may be situations today that call for an immediate response of faith -- like a friend in pain, and we quickly offer to pray with them, or someone in despair, and we don’t hesitate to encourage them, or helping a friend in need....NOW, or taking a leap of faith in making a family decision or jumping into a new business opportunity. Let’s charge up with God’s “super” powers and make the difference in our world today!!

Child Like Faith -- I Wanna' Live Like That

Daddy says, “Jump! Trust me!” A leap of faith means the child has to put aside all inhibitions and fears. But, no problem. She has child-like faith. That faith that shows all-out, undaunted trust that her Daddy is going to catch her. And she jumps to her beloved Daddy. No fear – only trust! And sure enough, she lands, safely in her father’s arms.

Remember that kind of trust? We had that trust because of the secure relationship we had with our parents. We completely trusted in their words and promises. Did we ever think our father would miss us, and we would fall? Not hardly. We believed, and we had faith because we trusted in who He was to us.

I know there are those who didn't experience the love of a Godly father like this, but I know how we all can know this love. That’s the kind of faith we can, and should, have in our Heavenly Father. Having childlike faith isn’t perfect faith. There's room for doubt, but the doubt doesn’t win – hope, trust and belief prevails! What pleases Him the most is our heart of sincerity that says, “God, I know You have my best interests at heart. Please bolster my faith in You." He answers that kind of prayer. Bottom line, no matter how impossible our situations may seem, if we have that unwavering faith of a child, we believe He can accomplish anything.

And, there is something so precious about the thought of getting to be a child again, and knowing we have a Father who will take care of us. He can bear the burdens of life while we can just enjoy ourselves, like we did when we were children, without having to worry about the nitty gritty details. God will take care of all that. We don’t need to perform, we don’t need to be constantly striving for this or that; the burden is on God’s shoulders -- not ours. I wanna' live like THAT!