Learning Along The Way

What’s in a Metaphor?

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Eighteen years ago when my mentor recommended that I try riding a tandem with my husband I had no idea the breadth of what adventure was ahead.

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I began the journey petrified to be on a bike without my own brakes and steering (or way to see!). I struggled with the lack of control!

I still deal with the residual affects of years of asserting myself into every situation as the one who “knew it all”. That is not pretty. Also, it lacks a Christ-like characteristic…

Humility

I will be the first to tell you the bike started as the focus but God used this bike and the process of learning to let go of control as one of the biggest tools in the process of my sanctification. And I’m still in process by the way.

So what’s in this metaphor of a tandem bike? Of Living in Tandem with others? With God?

Well I’ve learned to see things from quite a few different perspectives.

But God…

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Has shown me one ride at a time, one day at a time, no, one MOMENT at a time that I am not the One in control. That role belongs to Him only.

But God…

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Has given me many opportunities to learn to follow Him by listening and letting go.

Letting go is hard.

But God…

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Has given me Himself instead of the physical and emotional things I have hung onto out of fear.

But God…

Has given me a relationship with my husband that has grown into a friendship of epic proportions.

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Colin at Apple

And I know I wouldn’t be the woman He has grown me into today if I’d said

“I could NEVER do that!” The metaphor of a tandem bike has changed my perspectives.

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What are you saying No to God about today? What shift does your perspective need to take?

Building Muscle (Learning to Trust)

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Disclaimer: This is not a post about body building.

It seems the natural reaction to doing something for the first time is often fear.  Picture a swimming pool for a moment. You’ve probably seen a child standing on the edge of a diving board, looking down at the water and waiting. So much uncertainty. You may have also seen a child turn around and walk back off the board. Or perhaps you know one who refused to climb the ladder in the first place. Or get their face in the water.  The unknown can be overwhelming.

When I talk about riding a tandem bike with my husband I am met with one of three responses: “That would be so fun!” OR “That would be terrifying!” OR “I could NEVER do that!”  Interestingly when I first considered sitting on the back seat and actually riding the bike with my husband terror was what gripped me.  It wasn’t because I didn’t know what riding a bike was like; I’d been riding bikes since I was 7.  It was because of trust.  Or coming face to face with the need to leave my comfort zone and the real potential for getting physically hurt!  I didn’t say I would NEVER do that, but I did feel fear grip my insides.

Trust can be a fuzzy thing. We toss the word around so nonchalantly. We say things like “I can trust him with my life!” or “Don’t trust her she’s a practical joker.” But when fear wells up inside, your Trust muscle needs to take over.

I said trust can be fuzzy; I guess what I mean is that it’s a big idea that can be explained by experiences and other words that are also big ideas. It’s not like Tree.  You can look at pictures of trees. But to define trust you need experiences and other words. Faith. Belief. Trust. They are all synonyms and can be used to help bring clarity to the big idea.

When I realized I was afraid to trust my husband with all the control on the bike a new awareness began dawning on the edges of my consciousness. Not just that I was a control freak. I had had that fact pointed out on many occasions and not always in light-hearted ways. No, the new idea that began as a flicker of recognition on the horizon of my awareness was: if I don’t trust him, do I really love him?

Of course I wanted to be able to say I trust my husband. But at that moment when I climbed onto the back of the borrowed tandem 18 years ago my heart was racing and fear was running rampant and all I could say was “Try not to kill us!” Not a very trusting statement.  Fortunately all body parts were intact after the 10 minute ride through the neighborhood. That one ride didn’t cure me of my freak nature but it did build my trust a teeny bit. He proved he knew how to steer and brake safely. We didn’t fall down or crash. (All good things to avoid when possible)

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(my view from the tandem)

Trust is like a muscle. It has to be used to grow. And it has to be strained to get stronger.

My trust of my husband’s cycling ability wasn’t going to go off the charts with one 10 minute ride.  But if there was a meter to measure the increase of trust , I know mine began to go up that day. And as trust went up, my need to control started to loosen its grip on my life.

Aren’t we like that with God? We’re not sure if He’s trustworthy so we only give Him a little bit of room in our lives. When He shows Himself faithful (like He says He is) then our trust goes up.

Here’s a thought: You can’t fully trust someone you don’t know.

I’d been married to my husband for 6 years when we first shared that ride on a tandem bike. It wasn’t as if I didn’t know him. But I discovered then that I didn’t fully trust him.

My need for control in all areas of my life was revealing my lack of trust; of people, but ultimately of God, too. If I was going to be able to loosen the grip of the control freak role in my life I was going to have to exercise my trust muscle in new and harder ways. I was going to have to learn to trust.

I could learn more about my husband. I could practice riding with him. But if it’s true you can’t trust someone you don’t know, how do we learn to trust God?

You can get to know Him in a million little ways.  More tomorrow…

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What’s Your Why?

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Some of the things I spend my time doing daily are have to’s and some are want to’s.  I imagine that is true for you as well.  Figuring out the difference between the have to’s and want to’s as I go through my day can be helpful, but a lot of the time I find myself asking “why am I doing this activity?”

Knowing my Why makes all the difference.  Not just in the short term to help me stay motivated but in the long term to help me FOCUS.

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When I began to learn about how I could be a better wife I discovered the learning wasn’t just for being a wife. I was learning how to be a better person. A better Christ follower.

And learning how to follow Christ is the exact place that the enemy of our souls wants to trip us up. I believe that’s in large part why God’s construct for submission has been so criticized and degraded. Yes, I know and agree there have been MANY abuses of submission. Lots of people have used the concept to control rather than to love & shepherd well.  There has been MUCH hurt: physical, emotional & spiritual, because of the misuse and misunderstanding of Biblical submission.  But God…

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His plan is good. His Word is for our good. People misunderstand, take portions out of context, stripping the Word away from the full counsel of God, and have made submission like profanity.

And it is not!

Now mind you I’ve had years of wrestling with the way I’ve thought about submission because of the cultural era in which I grew from child to woman; as a result of all the mixed and mistaken messages I have gone to God’s Word again and again to look at the good that has come from His headship and the woes that have happened by going my own way.  I’ve asked myself many times why is submission important, and what does the Bible say about it really?

If you are  familiar with Scripture you may think the place to go to get a good understanding about submission is in the Apostle Paul’s letter to Ephesians. It’s the most quoted and taken out of proper context verse on the topic. But that’s not the place I want to begin.  That abused verse isn’t going to help answer the Why.

Instead let’s take a look at Jesus the Son. In the Garden of Gethsemane. In anguish over what was coming, He went to beg His Father for a different Way, a different outcome. He prayed 3 times. And He said this: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

“not as I will, but as you will”

This is submission.

Having a conversation with God, expressing His concerns, desires, fears and trusting that the Father’s will for Jesus was better than the Son’s desires for Himself in Christ’s full humanity; that was His Why. And being fully God He had full knowledge of the bigger Why; the redemption of all humanity by His sinless death on the gruesome cross.

In having my own conversation with God, expressing my concerns, desires, fears and trusting that God’s will for me is better than my desires for myself; that’s the Why.

Husbands are called to submit to wives, wives to husbands and all of us to authorities. And we all are to submit to/surrender to/follow Christ.

We have a voice. We have rights. Jesus had both. But God in those circumstances had a different plan with Jesus’s submission. A much bigger plan with hard, horrible circumstances.

I don’t want to gloss over the pain of both the Father and the Son at the crucifixion and run quickly to the outcome on the 3rd Day. It is terribly disrespectful to what Christ endured for each of us to simply say there’s our model. We are not little Jesus’s nor are most called to literally sacrifice life for the good of mankind, but the pain and struggle of submitting one’s will is my FOCUS today.

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Learning biblical truth is not like studying for a test. To have success, you have to train — you have to practice for success. It doesn’t happen in a 10 week Bible study.  Learning is demonstrated by the effect on a life. Following is like submitting. You are not in charge. The Captain is.

And Living in Tandem is a life long journey.

Who’s in Charge Here?

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Who’s in Charge Here?

On the second day of this #write31days series I shared how beneficial being mentored had been for me. Having a mentor speak into my life was literally transformational.  I am not the same woman I used to be thanks to the Lord intervening through Peggy’s willingness to speak the Truth in love.

Because of our friendship Peggy earned the right to give me earnest counsel. She saw up close where my heart was turning bitter and gently pointed it out.  She helped me consider another way of being and thinking as a wife that I had not seen in my family of origin.  We talked about the “S” word and I learned that Biblical submission is not about holding down a woman’s will and making her a doormat to step on.  There would be no demeaning of my humanity as it is perceived in the world view of submission.

I was on my second marriage at this point and things weren’t going so well. In fact, this second marriage was starting to have elements of my first marriage. Had I made another tragic mistake? Or could it be the issue was in the common denominator in these two marriages? Oh wait! That would be me!  Peggy spoke into my life a very hard truth: I had to stop looking back at the marriage that didn’t last, seek healing and learn to live & grow in the marriage I was in. I was no longer the other guy’s wife and so for this young second marriage to be healthy I would need to do some changing. Hmmm.

Peggy shared a different picture of submission this way: imagine you are standing in the pouring rain without an umbrella. Along comes your husband with an umbrella and invites you to stand under it. You don’t have to but you choose to.  The rain represents the full weight of responsibility of life. The umbrella represents a covering that the husband provides; a way of doing life together.  Yes you can have your own umbrella and be independent but when you share an umbrella you can learn to walk together more closely.  Sometimes it’s awkward and adjusting has to happen. But as the umbrella covers us from the rain, so learning to come under the headship God provides is the covering of submission.

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Peggy’s umbrella picture stuck with me. I began asking God to show me how I could love my husband, how I could love God better through practicing acts of submission.  What would I gain? What would I lose? Those were questions I began to wrestle with in prayer before God.

It’s a big idea, submission. It’s a perfect concept that has been misused and misunderstood for millennia. I can’t unpack all that I have learned in one sitting.  But I want to share with you the beauty and freedom that comes when Biblical submission is lived out.  I’m not in charge. God is. He’s really the One sitting in the front seat on the tandem of my life.

I know this topic stirs up lots of thoughts…share them in the comments and let’s open the discussion okay?

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The Basic Elements of Living in Tandem

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As I’ve pondered this bicycle metaphor I’ve been alluding to so far in the first 10 days of this series, the metaphor has gone deep into God and wide out into the world.  A tandem bike? Really?

Really.

Here’s why: as a Christ follower we live this earthly life learning to…well… follow. That implies someone is ahead, leading. Showing the Way. But we don’t live this life independent; we’re closely connected, to the One who is leading. Christ is constantly present with us. We have His strength, His wisdom, His love to guide our lives.

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There are 3 basic elements to this tandem metaphor that I’ll spend the rest of this series exploring:

Getting to Know the Captain;

Getting to Know Our Part; and

Working as a Team.

I’m really excited to share the Biblical basis for each of these elements and hope to inspire you to begin deeply considering where you are in your relationship with Christ; how aware you are about your role in relationship with Him; and the vital part you play as a member of the Body of Christ.

Let’s take a look at this photo together for a moment.

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What are the stand out elements for you?

For me at first glance I see the light in the clouds. Then I notice the things that are in the foreground.  You might have approached it differently. I’d love to hear.

What’s my point? We see a similar circumstance differently. Nothing is wrong with different perspectives. They are just different. Difference can enrich life. But sometimes we can let difference divide us.

The idea of our spiritual life being like riding a tandem bicycle is an idea, a perspective, that has been formed through my experience riding on the back seat. God has used these experiences to deepen my awareness of Him, to help me learn more about myself in relation to Him and others, and the experiences on the bike have helped me see value in the part I play. These are good things. But they are my perspective.  You might see things differently. I’d love to engage with you to hear your thoughts as this series unfolds.

You may comment here, over on Facebook or Instagram or even on Twitter. I’d love to have you share your perspective!

When a Soul Needs Quiet

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All morning long I’ve been juggling calendar and email; sending and receiving texts; straightening up around the house; taking care of business. It’s only 11:00 am and I feel spent. Part of me feels as if nothing has gotten done. My infamous to-do list has boxes checked so if that’s my measuring stick I know I am ok.

But something is still not settled.

My soul needs quiet.

It has been a long, slow journey to awareness of that fact. Detoxing from years of too full calendar space and changing habits has not come easily to me.

I have lived a life of performance to earn favor. A life bound up by believing lies that perpetuated the performance even after following Christ.

But God…

Whispers quietly to come be still and know.

But God…

Invites me to Come to Him when I am weary and burdened and He will give me rest.

But God…

Speaks words of comfort as He promises to never leave me or forget me.

Those are literally my two favorite words in the Bible. I have them circled in my Bible…

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When my life feels overwhelming and tasks feel impossible to accomplish

When I feel my internal world swirling

When I slip into listening to the lies I have heard so many times

I know my soul needs quiet.

How can quiet happen when it seems there is so much noise?!

It’s a discipline. A thing to try. A habit to be formed.

I have learned to say those two amazing words But God…

And remember God has a different idea for me.

He is bigger than any issue we face. He knows. He cares. He longs to have us aware of His abiding Presence; to come to Him in a breath to slow down and be quiet.

Our souls need to be filled up before we are poured out in our days. And refilled in the middle of the day! And throughout the day!!!

Living in Tandem is a journey. A soul journey of learning to live aware.  A journey implies a beginning and an end. I believe the end will be when He calls each of us to our promised eternal home with Him.

The beginning? Well that depends on you.

What’s your response to His invitation to get on the bike with Him?

But God…

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Living in Tandem with Others

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Do you ever wonder how you would handle (respond) a friend pointing out you’re out of line? I don’t mean a literal line like at the grocery store. I mean when how you’re thinking about something, or acting in response to someone, is out of line with what God has in mind.

When my friend Peggy pointed out my bad attitude toward my husband’s way of leading our family it wasn’t easy to hear.  I can imagine it wasn’t easy for her to hear me whining and complaining in the first place!  I was often confiding in her about the little things Colin did or didn’t do that were driving me crazy.  She listened and then asked me how I was helping the situation. I said things like “well I tell him what’s bugging me- I don’t keep it hidden.” Peggy laughed and then asked, “Do you tell God as often as you tell Colin?”  I just stared at her and simply said “No”.  Her question didn’t come with criticism or condescension. It was her simple way of planting a seed for me to nurture.

Peggy prayed with and for me. She listened to, laughed with and encouraged me. She watched our baby boy and invited our kindergarten son over to play with her kindergartener. But most importantly, Peggy pointed me to the Truth.  She was (and is) a woman of the Word.  Peggy didn’t lecture; we didn’t do Bible studies together. She would simply weave God’s Word into our conversations with gentleness and grace. Peggy was like the big sister I never had. We had lots of deep conversations and laughed a ton. She always had Kleenex for me when the waterworks started (which was regularly!). In a word, Peggy was my mentor.

I didn’t ask her to mentor me. I don’t know if she even thought about our relationship in that way originally.  But her way of doing life was so helpful for me to witness and her friendship was such a gift that God used Peggy to shape me ever so slowly.  Our friendship allowed her to speak of hard things to me; to point me to the Truth in a way that I could both hear and receive.

Proverbs 27:9 says Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

A mentor can be that kind of friend in your life. A friend who hears your heart and points you to Jesus. A friend who counsels you with wisdom and grace as well as humor. Learning to listen to words like these is a part of living in tandem. Webster defines tandem as “a group of two people or things that work together or are associated with each other.” Allowing yourself to be mentored by someone, whether it is in a work setting, spiritual setting or a combination, is a way of living in tandem.

I am a better human being because I have been mentored. We all have many areas to grow and change in life; I’ve had the privilege of several mentors speaking into my life through different seasons.  I believe mentoring is helpful, fun and, dare I say, vital, for each of us.

The other side of mentoring is becoming a mentor.  But more on that aspect of living in tandem in a future post!

How do you find a mentor? What do you and a mentor do? Should it be formal or casual? Is this a commitment for life?  (You might say Yikes!) Sure there are lots of questions but there are just as many answers because there isn’t just one way of having/being a mentor.  I’d love to hear some of your questions/concerns about mentoring.  Or maybe you have a story to share that can encourage another woman?  Please chime in!

A Couple Dozen Reasons

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Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and SnapChat didn’t exist 24 years ago. Neither did the internet for that matter.  And frankly, I’m glad.  My life to that point had been a series of fender benders, speeding tickets and finally a train wreck; all of them culminating at this day, our wedding day. July 20, 1991.

Colin was not to blame for any of those earlier events. In fact he turned out to be the Knight in Shining Armor sent by the King of the realm unbeknownst to this Ragamuffin.  The Wise King knew exactly what it would take to win back this bruised, broken and unlikely heroine.  Because He causes all things to work together for our good, this is a tale of redemption and healing; a story we all want to have woven into our own lives.

One doesn’t expect a story to end well that has a rough beginning. Many tales that begin badly end worse. But God has had a different plan for me that I often couldn’t see or hang on to.  Yet He continues to persevere in working ALL of my life’s circumstances for His good purposes.  IMG_6655I certainly don’t deserve His mercy. But because of Who God is, mercy and grace is what He has poured out on me. On us. Three kids became a family 24 years ago today. In homemade clothes, with the help of family and friends, we began simply. Making a commitment we didn’t really understand but have remained faithful to. Raising not one, but eventually two sons, both now men. Good men. God’s abundant grace poured down.

Two cats, three dogs and one goldfish were all members of our family. There were the two rats, two anoles and one snake that had their stays but they weren’t really an integral part of the family. Raising people and animals gives one a perspective of the importance and difficulty of sacrifice; a small inkling of what God has done for each one of us.

Letting go of old hurts, choosing the path of forgiveness over bitterness have been gentle nudges from God through Colin and our sons.  It seems time and again, I’ve been the one to need the most shaping, the most re-working on an emotional and spiritual level; the loves of my life have been some of God’s shaping tools. Reading and studying His Word, growing up together, learning humility, expressing kindness sincerely, and looking to one another’s needs have been life lessons we have learned along the Way.

I am awed by what God has done through our marriage.  Our sons are real people with real choices who know real acceptance by both their heavenly and earthly Fathers.  They have great relationships with Colin and each other; of which I am amazed. These are results out of my hands people. I joke about holding up a sign that reads: Don’t Go This Way! and yet young people seek us out, asking for time with us to learn how to walk this life. Humbled is not a big enough word to express my feelings when a young woman asks me to meet for coffee. Tears of thankfulness to our good God stream down my cheeks as I write this.

There are at least a couple dozen reasons why this marriage should have crashed and burned at various points over these couple dozen years.

But God.

He has intervened again and again, saving, sanctifying, guiding and directing us back toward one another and upward to Him.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

How Pinballs, Tandem Bicycles and Lent Hold Hands

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I’ve been reflecting on one verse of scripture today. Well truth be told I’ve been thinking about this for almost 2 years. It’s been bouncing around in my head, bumping up against my to do list of laundry, dishes, email, responsibilities and deadlines; you know the list.

 

Every time it bumps into something in my head it feels like a light goes on. One thing has stood out over and over: God is the initiator. He started this whole change process. Let me back up and explain.

The verse I’ve been reflecting on is Romans 12:1

I urge you therefore brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship.

For a long time (like 20 years long time) I’ve looked at this verse as part of what I’m supposed to do as a Christian. The focus has been on me. But that perspective is changing.

By the mercies of God…

Five little words that have been bouncing around in my head like the silver ball in a pinball machine (do you know what a pinball machine is?)

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lighting up the objects it bumps into before it drops through the hole at the bottom; these 5 words all rolled together as one phrase.

By the mercies of God.

Any thing I do regarding the rest of this verse happens by the mercies of God. So then I want to know: What are the mercies of God?

Earlier in Romans we’re told that while we were still sinners, still enemies of God, He sent His only Son Jesus to pay the required sin sacrifice to buy us back from the enemy of our souls. (Rom. 5:8)

Telling you this much information without context is like walking into the family room in the middle of a movie that everyone else is focused on and you don’t know what’s going on. The point?

God is the Initiator.

He is the Creator, Sustainer, Equipper, Comforter, Provider, and the list goes on.

So by the mercies of God I am able to present my body, my whole self, as a living and holy sacrifice which is acceptable to God … do you see it? By God and to God. God is the Initiator.

 But what are His mercies?

So many places in the Bible speak of the mercy or mercies of God. And like so many words that get said over and over I had to stop and remind myself exactly what the word mercy means.

 Mercy–compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.

God, Who created, ex nihilo (out of nothing) has within His power the right to punish or harm us for falling short of His perfect Law. But from the very beginning of humanity’s rebellion, God initiated a Way back to Him. He promised to send a Savior for humanity. (Gen. 3)

God is the Initiator.

By His mercies we are objects of Love not objects of wrath. By His mercies we can be forgiven for our fallen nature and every act or thought of rebellion against His Way. (Eph. 2:3; Col.1:21)

By His mercies we are invited close, called sons & daughters, co-inheritors with His Son. (Eph 2:13; Heb. 9:15; 1 Pet. 1:4)

By His mercies we are transformed, changed into the likeness, into the family resemblance of Christ. (Eph. 4:24)

Bottom line here: it is God Who is at work in us and through us. He is the Initiator.

Our responsibility is to live life in tandem with Him. A tandem bicycle is not designed side by side but one in front of the other. A captain and a stoker.

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He’s the One in front, steering, braking, shifting, guiding.  He invites us to join Him.

All we have to do is stay on the bike, on the saddle and peddle in sync with His power, His direction, His will.

As we begin this season of Lent I encourage you to ponder, to reflect, to listen, to let go. Let a portion of God’s Word bounce around in your head like your own pinball machine.  Think about what it would take to be on a tandem bike with God the Initiator.  Let these images and ideas hold hands during this season.

We have been given the gift of responding to His love, to His plan, to His sacrifice for us.

This adventure is amazing!

 

 

 

 

3 Common Traps that Hold us Back

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It has been far too long since I’ve written…

ever start a long overdue letter or email with that phrase?

You may have thought to write many times but just haven’t sat down to actually follow through.

That’s been me.  Here.  And other places too.

I’ve been wrestling and waiting…with myself mostly and for what exactly?  I’m not sure.

But I decided I wanted to get some of this out of my head and onto the page.

I’ve been wrestling the thoughts of ‘not good enough’ and ‘you don’t matter’ for several months now.  And I was actually getting ready to give into those lies.

But God had a different plan.

I listened to the IF:Gathering this weekend. And I was reminded why I write. Why I can’t help but write.

For far too long you and I have allowed three traps to catch hold of us and hinder us from being all that we truly are in this with God life. We compare, we criticize and we compartmentalize.

Trap #1: We Compare

We look out at the world and then look at ourselves.  Most of the time we believe we’re not enough. Not good enough. Not smart enough, or talented enough or cute enough or…fill in the blank.  The world doesn’t love you.  It doesn’t love me. The world gives messages through media that reinforce our doubts and fears.  So what’s a girl to do?

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Instead of compare, LOVE. Allow love to come into your heart. The world doesn’t love you but God does.  He knows your faults, limitations and loves you because you’re you.  Not in spite of those things but because of them.  The hard work is to believe God.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

I call you Friend.

You are My Beloved.

Let those seep into the cracks of your broken heart; You are LOVED as you are. No need to compare.

Trap #2: We Criticize

I know we’re unique people but in talking with many women I have heard similar patterns that match up with my own thoughts and this second trap is common.  We criticize ourselves and others.  We tear down with hurtful words; sometimes only we hear them as we speak to our own thoughts. But the result is the same…not good enough. We get caught up in the critical trap and suddenly lash out and start using our words to tear down others too. Maybe to make ourselves feel better? Maybe to “help” someone grow? Neither reason fits with how God sees our words.

A harsh word stirs up anger…but a gentle answer turns away wrath.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in setting of silver.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice.

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Instead of being caught in the Trap of Criticism, look for the good in the imperfection of life.

Trap #3 We Compartmentalize

Too often I find myself saying the words “if only” or “should” “ought” or “must”. I put myself and my circumstances into a box.  It’s often the box labeled Perfectionism. All these words keep me from taking action. Keep me on the sidelines rather than actively in the game of Life.  And while I’m compartmentalizing myself I do the same to others; putting them in a box of my own design.  Too old. Too young. Too … (fill in the blank)  And again, this trap is just that; a way of hindering my with -God life from being all that He offers me.

For freedom has Christ set us free; stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

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At the end of the IF Gathering we were asked what our next step of faith is.

Mine is to step forward with Courage…sharing gifts that He gives daily.

So in this step of courage, what Trap do you find yourself caught by most often?  What step will you take to keep from being caught in the trap next time?

 

Follow Me…

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