Fearless
Fear! The Verdict Is In–She’s an Eagle!
The Eagle takes Flight
I ended the first blog about Fear with the question,
‘Would I be a chicken or an eagle?’
Well folks, the verdict is in.
Fearless
Fearless
Fearless
Fear! Pre-Flight Dance
The Challenge
As you recall in the post entitled “Fear” I shared with you a fear of mine, the fear of heights. Although many people have phobias, a natural occurrence, fear can be crippling thereby controlling. I wanted to face this fear. I decided to face that fear by jumping out of an airplane. It’s easy to challenge yourself in your head but feeling it’s okay to back out later because no one heard you say you would do it. So I put myself and my word on the line and told you that I would go skydiving.
Fearless
Fear – What is it?
Fear Imprisons
Fear imprisons and controls its captive. Physiologically, fear is the unpleasant emotion that signals our brain to produce the adrenaline we need to remove ourselves from a perceived threat. The common reaction to which is either a flight, fight or freeze response.
Psychologically, fear is relinquishing control to the object of your fear where the object now has power over you. You may say, but what if it is something that can cause great harm or even death, does it not have power? The late Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were fully aware of their possible outcomes. Yet their belief in their cause overpowered the foreboding dread of what could happen.
Be Fierce
Fear!
The Genesis
A very real part of my existence has been overcoming fears…
I was running, running as fast as my seven-year-old legs could carry me. My older brother and sister are running behind me yelling for me to stop. I hear them but I kept running. Running all the way around the block. Their voices fade in the distance as well as the plan we had concocted for revenge. She was after me, the neighborhood bully. I was running for my life. I ran because my siblings could not quiet the fear of another beat-down.
Encouragement
Instant God – Seeing Eyes
God Still Performs Today
Oh, how gracious my God is! He is ever present in times of need! He is not just the God closed up between the pages of a holy book. He is not just a God that did miracles for us to pack away in moth balls. God walked among us through the prophets and Jesus Christ performing miracles to show His power thousands of years ago and He still moves among us today!
A few days ago I needed to head out to do a couple of errands…
Forgiveness
Forgive?
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).
Living, Breathing Letters
In this passage Paul is claiming the Corinthian Christians as the fruit of his labor. He presents them to the world as letters of Christ to be known and read by all. They are the Christ that the known world would experience in their time.
Recently we have witnessed firsthand in panoramic view a living letter such as mentioned in Corinthians. A living letter produced by the Holy Spirit in the person of 18-year-old Brandt Jean. It took one act, one brave unimaginable act to reverberate the gospel of forgiveness around the world.
Encouragement
He Knows My Name
The first Man was named Adam and the first Woman was named Eve. Every humankind after that was given a name.
Adam
The Hebrew word for “man”. Derived from Hebrew אדם (adam) meaning “to be red”, referring to the ruddy color of human skin, or from Akkadian adamu meaning “to make”.
Eve
From the Hebrew name חַוָּה (Chawwah), meaning “to breathe” or the related word חָיָה (chayah) meaning “to live”.
Parenting
Smart Parenting
Generational Parenting
Geez Louise! This may be more of a cry for advice on raising teens than giving any. As a grandmother raising teenage grandchildren I find my parenting tools don’t work as they did when I raised my children. Grandparents parenting grandchildren is not a new phenomenon. In 2001, 2,400,000 grandparents were raising grandchildren in the United States (Minkler, 2005). It is not the “why” I want to examine but the “how”.
Intimacy
Intimacy with God
Remember your first kiss? I should add, first memorable kiss. It was thrilling! The hairs on your neck stood up because you were experiencing something electrifying. Well, I have a secret. Shhhh! Quiet, I’m whispering now. I have to tell you… you’ve not really kissed until you’ve experienced a kiss from God.
Key Insight
You have the capability of nurturing holy intimacy with God.
Kiss and Tell
Many find it odd that Song of Solomon was canonized as holy scripture. At first, second or third read we might ask why was it included? It tells of what one might consider private, intimate encounters between King Solomon and the Shulamite woman, his soon to be bride.
Since all Scripture was inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), the Song of Solomon moves from a simple expression of love between a man and a woman to an allegory of the love between Christ and His bride, the Church.
Pursuit of Purpose
The Joshua Spirit Part 2
It was stated in The Joshua Spirit Part 1, that you must decide that where you are is no longer an option. You’ve envisioned your goal, now you just have to achieve it. Easily said, right? In this writing I’d like to share strategies extrapolated from Sun-Tzu’s Art of War that when theoretically applied, methodically ensures a victorious outcome.
Key Applications
- Knowing your Purpose
- Assessing your Promise
- Assessing Yourself with Respect to Purpose
- Setting Strategy based on Assessments
The Art of War
Sun-Tzu, a Chinese military strategist, derived principles of war over 2,500 years ago that still ring true today. His war strategies were compiled into a book called The Art of War.
The Art of War moved humankind from barbaric charges in battle to well planned maneuvers precisely executed. Sun-Tzu’s five-point premise for victory is, (1) the Commander must have characteristics that soldiers respect, (2) the soldiers must be committed to the Commander and the cause at risk of life, (3) every soldier, battalion, and officer are trained to carry out distinct responsibilities that are mutually supportive, (4) all aspects of the military operation are well managed and, (5) rules of engagement based on distance, terrain, climate and composition of the enemy are in place. These principles are not exclusive to formal military campaigns but are useful in setting strategy to achieve your Promise.