The Push

Do you know anyone who knows they need to do something but they are afraid to step out? Perhaps it's starting that new business or talking to a large group or telling a parent they forgive them for hurts from the past. Maybe it's a high schooler staring at the phone for hours wondering if he should call that girl in his class and ask her out.

So do you know anyone like this? Is it you?

In either case, we can do something about it. The above video is a great example of how the encouragement of others can help someone to step out in faith. Oftentimes we think of encouragement as being a kind word; however, encouragement can also be a push.

In the video, the mother eagle wonders, "Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of falling?" Though she had this question in her head, she knew the most loving thing she could do for her children was to give them a push out of the nest.

The same holds true for us. Do you need someone to give you a push? If so, find that person and ask them to help you. Also, be on the lookout for others who might need help. Then give them a push!

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

Fear Not!

Last Thursday, Ray Hilbert was in town to conduct a seminar entitled Trusting God In This Economy. As you can imagine, fear was one of the primary subjects.

Ray mentioned seven things that fear can do to a leader:
1. Fear replaces faith
2. Fear destroys dreams
3. Fear steals our joy and blessings
4. Fear spoils victories
5. Fear paralyzes us
6. Fear robs us of memories (gives us amnesia)
7. Fear causes us to hesitate because of disbelief

He then shared 12 words to live by that will help eliminate fear:

• Nothing to lose
• Nothing to hide
• Nothing to prove
• Nothing to fear

Nothing to lose - we must remember that everything is God's. If we feel like it’s ours, we will be fearful to lose it.

Nothing to hide - if your local newspaper was to do an expose on you or your company, would they uncover dirt? If your hiding something, that produces fear.

Nothing to prove - If we can live with the knowledge that God’s love is enough, this will eradicate the fear of people finding out we are not good enough.

If we can learn to live with these 12 words at the forefront of our minds, I believe we will have much more peace in our lives!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Living in the Moment

Yesterday, we hosted a seminar entitled, Trusting God in this Economy. Ray Hilbert, the founder of Truth at Work led the session and there were some great points made.

One that really got my attention is that God made our minds in such a way that we cannot think of two opposing thoughts at the same time. For example, it is impossible to be angry with someone and be praying for them at the same time. We can waffle back and forth, but we cannot do both at once.

Along those lines, a great way to live your life is to live in the moment.

Ray shared that we only have three options. We can live in the past, in the future, or in the moment. When we live in past, we can experience guilt. When we live in future, we can experience fear. Living in the present is the only way to truly experience joy and peace.

A great attitude to have is this, “There is nowhere in the world I’d rather be than right here, right now.”

I AM
I was regretting the past and fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking.
“My name is I AM.”
He paused. I waited. He continued,
“When you live in the past with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there.

My name is not I WAS.
When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WILL BE.
When you live in this moment it is not hard. I am here,
My name is I AM.”

When Fear Abounds...

As if you didn't know, we are living in different times. Times are tough. Jobs are being lost daily. Stock portfolios are shrinking. House values are dropping. Fear abounds. Yet...through it all, God is in control!

A passage that has really captured my attention recently is found in Isaiah 26:3-4:

You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.

I don't know about you, but those words are very comforting to me. I need to continually be reciting this and I have been the past couple of days.

My good friend Ray Hilbert, founder of Truth At Work had some great things to say on this topic in his most recent post including the following:

Fear Grips our heart and produces 6 Effects:

Fear Replaces faith
Fear Destroys dreams
Fear steals our joy and blessing
Fear spoils victories
Fear paralyzes us
Fear robs us of memories
Fear causes us to hesitate because of disbelief

The opposite of fear is faith, trust, and belief.

Check out the rest of this excellent post here.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Calm as a Cat

This is a picture of one of our two cats, Frisco, aka "Fat Cat." Both of our cats do some crazy things that keep us laughing and they are a lot of fun. However, almost every morning they can be pretty annoying as they do a great job of waking us up so they can get fed. Thankfully, most times it is right around the time my alarm goes off which was the case this morning at 5 AM.

As I went downstairs to start my routine (feeding them, working out, quiet time with God) I was struck by how normal this morning was. The cats were acting exactly the same as they have just about every other morning. To them, they are going to have a great day with no anxiety...life is good...they are getting fed.

I thought about how different that is for many people who are waking up this morning with fear or anxiety because of the election results. I have to admit I had a little twinge of doubt in my mind as well.

However, I believe God wants us to be like my cats. Make it a great day...life is good...God is in control!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

The Inmates Running the Asylum

Baylor Professor, Robert Marks

A professor at a Christian university (Baylor University) has been forced to remove his research from the internet which challenges Darwin's theory of evolution and helps to further prove the existence of God's design. This according to an article in Christian Business Daily:

"As many of you have heard, Marks, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been conducting research that ultimately may challenge the foundation of Darwinian theory. In layman's terms, Marks is using highly sophisticated mathematical and computational techniques to determine if there are limits to what natural selection can do," he wrote. "At Baylor, a Christian institution, this should be pretty unremarkable stuff. I'm assuming most of the faculty, students and alumni believe in God, so wouldn't it also be safe to assume you have no problem with a professor trying to scientifically quantify the limits of a blind, undirected cause of the origin and subsequent history of life?

"But the dirty little secret is university administrators are much more fearful of the Darwinian Machine than they are of you," he said.

"Here's what's going on: Somebody within the scientific community let [Baylor dean Ben] Kelley know that Marks was running a website that was friendly to intelligent design. Such a thing is completely unacceptable in today's university system – even at a Christian institution. Kelley was probably told to have the site shut down immediately or suffer the consequences," Ruloff said.

"What are those consequences? The ultimate penalty is to have Baylor marginalized by being designated as not a 'legitimate institution of higher learning.' So designated merely for the 'crime' of allowing Neo-Darwinism to be questioned, since conventional elitist wisdom holds it's no longer a theory but an inviolable truth."

My first reaction to this is that this is like the inmates running the asylum. How can this university operate out of a position of fear like this?

Then it hit me that probably all of us operate out of fear on a regular basis. I hate when I have painful realizations like this. Oh how I need God!

We'll Miss Ya Dan

On August 17, Dan Patrick will broadcast for the last time on ESPN. This will be a sad day for many, me included as I love his subtle humor.

When asked in Sports Illustrated why he is leaving this is how he responded:

It's (ESPN) a protective cocoon I've been in for a long time. I had started to take it for granted. I don't think I challenged myself, and I don't think I was doing great work.

There is a lot we can pull from and learn from those few sentences but the primary thing that hits me is that he has realized that he has been in his comfort zone.

That is where we all naturally want to be - our comfort zones.

However, if we want to grow, the only way this will happen is if we get outside of our comfort zones. We must break through our fear.

So what are you putting off doing out fear?

The Big 5 Challenges in Life - Part 4

Number 4 on John Maxwell's list of the Big 5 Challenges we will face:

4. Fear

Fear has the ability to exaggerate itself and spread throughout our life. When fear grips us, we are frozen and incapable of action. Worrisome thoughts fill our mind with distractions, and we are powerless to be productive.

How to “Fix” Your Fears

(1) Discover the Foundation of Fear.
Fears are more often based on feelings than facts. To control fear, search for its underlying emotion. More often than not, you’ll find fear has no rational root.

(2) Accept Fear as the Price of Progress.
Whenever we venture into new territory, we are met with the fear of the unknown. We must be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and face the fear of the unfamiliar.

(3) Feed the Right Emotion, Starve the Wrong One.
Many times we cannot hope to avoid the emotion of fear. Despite our best efforts to have courage, fear settles into the pit of our stomach like a rock. We may never eliminate fear, but we can refuse to let it dominate. If we act according to hope and optimism, eventually our action will transform our emotions.