Carpe Diem

A friend of mine said this to me last night and I don't think he realized when he said it that it would become something so meaningful. I am going to take the rest of the summer to walk out this concept of seizing the day. I have lived a life of fear and in recent years God has been ridding me of it. I have stepped into things that I never would have before without analyzing and hyper-spiritualizing it to the point of paralysis.

What I have learned quite clearly in recent days is that you can follow all the 'rules' and the 'they says' and still end up flat on your ass. So I have been taking the bull by the horns a lot more than I used to and it has been great! I have scraped my knees a few times and taken a horn in the gut more than once. But it beats sitting on the sidelines worrying. I used to think that living life this way was ungodly...I mean, what if you make a mistake? What if you do something bad? What if...What if...What if..?

Well, WHAT IF???

What if God's love for me is so great, and Jesus' provision of grace so complete and the Holy Spirit's leading so perfect that I can step out onto nothing and still be held fast? What if when I fall, God is big enough to help me up, kiss my boo-boos and send me on my way again? What if it is completely possible to find Jesus wherever I go and whatever I do? Rob Bell in "Velvet Elvis" reminds me that all things are mine because I belong to Jesus. Everything on the Earth and in the heavens belongs to Him, and I am in Him and he is in the Father and we are one. What if the best way to work stuff out is to live it out, knowing that as long as I have my eyes on Him I'll be OK? And even if I lose sight for a time, He'll swoop down and catch me - like a parent eagle teaching his eaglet to soar.

So, I'm Seizing Life. My parents raised me well, they taught me well. I am going to take that and the wisdom that God gave me as a spiritual gift and I'm going to run the race. Not beating myself up if I trip and fall but getting back up and keeping pace with the rest of the Saints on the road!

Who wants to join me!!!

CARPE DIEM!

Comments

Francy said…
I want to join you! I'm a problem-solver so I hyper-analyze every possible scenario when I'm trying to make a decision about something. I've been wrestling with a decision lately which I prayed about, got my answer but yet I'm still analyzing the situation. I came across this quote from Mother Theresa that really spoke to me, "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." I'm always trying to figure out what might happen if I do this or that instead of just trusting God! I'm with you Helen! I say Carpe Diem!
7:12 AM
Helen Ann said…
I love that Mother Theresa quote!! I am stealing it! And I'm glad you're joining me on the road!! It's all about finding the difference between being wise and being fearful to the point of paralysis. We'll get there!
9:03 AM
cinciann said…
Love it, Helen! Go for it!
6:19 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Relationship vs. evidence

My reply to a blog post discussion with an atheist...I was not attempting to convert him. Just sharing my story.  What a neat discussion...I love it when people can talk about these kinds of things respectfully. How much we can learn from each other when we know that the other person is not going to ridicule or go off or resort to insults. THANKS! For what it's worth, my two cents are below. :) I grew up in Evangelicalism, but my faith became the most alive when I ditched the rules and the play-book of 'making converts' through arguing the Bible and defending God (God doesn't really need me to do that anyway). I made it about 'me and God', not 'me, the rules and how I can convince everyone that my religion is right by explaining the Bible empirically'. You can't do that. The Bible isn't a science book. It is a book of experiences and intepretations of experiences by other people - humans as jacked up and confused by life as I am than I was ...
Read more

Sozo Conference '08

Image
This gets a big Dan WWWWWOOWWWW... What a weekend! It was awesome, it was awful, it was amazing and it was a wild ride! Talk about a roller coaster. But I learned a lot and grew a lot and I am still processing. The Sozo folks from Bethel Church in Redding, Ca. are gifted teachers and administers of emotional/spiritual healing. I went on Friday to be in the "hot seat" for a Sozo with somoene from the Bethel team. This was good because it gave me a chance to see them in action. I was able to observe how they work, see what I did and did not like in how they did things and decide what to do and not do when we are ministering here. It was very confirming to see that they work very similarly to how we do on our Sozo team. YAY! And now, a few pictures from the trip. First of all, I needed a travelling companion. So I kidnapped a Horgan Gnome. He's the one who always moons us as we exit their house. So I called him "Gmoony". Here he is with my kidnapping accomplices. C...
Read more

Alan Alda's seven quick questions

I enjoy listening to Alan Alda's podcast 'Clear and Vivid' . At the end of every episode he asks his guest seven quick questions. Here are my answers: 1. What do you wish you really understood? Why the universe was created in such a way that violent death or death, in general, was required for the sustenance of its living creatures. The food chain - I'm not a fan.... 2. How do you tell someone they got their facts wrong? Generally, if I am having an actual discussion with someone (that is usually not in a FB comment thread) I will ask questions about sources where the person got their information in case I missed something or to decide if the sources are quality. I will present what I understand to be true and why. 3. What is the strangest question anyone has ever asked you? It was more stupid/rude than strange, but someone once asked me why I was here if I didn't want to have children...As if the sole purpose of my existence is to breed. 4. How do you...
Read more