Birthing

I remember about a year into my running hobby I stated to my buddy, “One day I want to be a runner.” He said to me, “You are. You are doing it.” I think many times we think we know what something looks like and want to emulate that dream when in reality, we ARE that dream. I was a runner. I am a runner. (Definitely not as much as of late but still a runner) I birthed every step on that pavement, I am a runner. I suppose I defined a runner as someone I perceived as “good at running”.

I am an author. There, I said it. Out loud. God has been nudging me for years to publish my musings and I just never knew what that looked like. Never could wrap my head around it. All of my writing is wee bits of randomness. They may be wee bits, but I birthed each word onto paper. It was a labor of love.

I prayed off and on for years that God show me what this whole book thing looked like since every single thing I have in journals and notebooks is simply my thoughts about something that happened to me or something I observed. One night about a month ago, I had a dream about what this book looked like. In the dream, God showed me what the cover looked like, how I was to tie all my stories together to make it more than just a memoir, and he showed me what the overall message was to be. Here is the scary part-I had to quit my job. That was in the dream too. It’s scary to step out on faith and follow God. Fear is not of God. I keep telling myself that.

It is also scary to give a voice to radical behavior. Quitting your job for no tangible reason is radical. I was afraid there would be rumors that something happened or some scandal surrounding my leaving. Nothing happened. I told God if He wanted me to quit my job that I would, He just needed to show me when and how. He did. And I did. It was radical. I loved my job and I was good at it. People were shocked. I didn’t give notice. I just left. I got the cue from God. I was obedient. I got home and was like, “Ok that is over, now what?” To my knowledge, there were no rumors or shockwaves surrounding my departure from work which is a testimony to the fact that I did the right thing. Had I come up with this radical plan it would have flopped. I am sure Peter was afraid when he stepped out of the boat to walk on water toward Jesus.

Matthew 14:22-33 New International Version (NIV)Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,”he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God”.

We can’t walk on water if we don’t get out of the boat. It’s scary to get out. Peter was afraid. He had to be. He trusted but he was also human. I trust but I am also human. I trip over my own humanness sometimes.

I wrote the book exactly the way the way that God told me to in that dream. It is out there for the world to read. My toilet book. I remember telling a friend years ago that if I ever did write a book it would be a toilet book. One you could read while you were on the toilet. All I could understand about what my book looked like was a toilet book. The actual published book is way more than a that. I guess God isn’t in the business of toilet books. He is in the business of using His people to do His work. He is still in the business of miracles. Our part is to believe and do the next right thing, whatever that is. Sometimes the next right thing is to get a cookie. Sometimes it is to quit your job. Sometimes it is to get out of the boat. What is God calling you to do? Get out of the boat so you can see that faith moves mountains.

​My book is being sold sold on Amazon in paperback and Kindle edition.

Fun Thoughts on Life: Learning that You are Enough in a World of Too Much https://www.amazon.com/dp/1087285178/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_avOuDbX6CV359

You can also purchase an immediate download under the tab at the top of your screen, as well as purchase the paperback and merchandise including a #flawesome T-shirt! Be the coolest kid on the block with that T-shirt! I’m pumped about it. I got out of the boat. You get out of the boat. Step out on faith. Be radical.

#flawesome T-shirt