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Last week I shared with you about trust and my struggle with heights, the same story I had just shared with a group of women in Pittsburgh, PA at a women's conference. The day after I returned home from Pennsylvania, I took an exhilarating hike up one of Phoenix, Arizona's greatest peaks and was ready to start my day when my son said his friend was on her way over and they were going skydiving. Before I knew it, I was in the car, had a jump reservation, I was harnessed up and in a plane cruising at 13,000 feet before my instructor pushed me out and I was falling at 120 mph straight towards the earth. I know I was talking about conquering our fears, but this was not what I originally had in mind. But somehow, I did it. I don't think I really thought it through, but maybe that was to my benefit. If I had analyzed everything that could have happened, all that could go wrong and every possible scenario, I would still be the ground and I would have missed this.....one of the most exhilarating things I have ever done....and will be doing again! So in faith and in life...Refuse to stand firm in fear. Don't be afraid to jump...literally. Enjoy the video below which chronicles my first jump! Love you in the Lord, Mia
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 I struggle with heights, especially when there is nothing beneath me. I would definitely not make it as a tight rope walker. So, it is quite ironic that a few weekends past, I found myself 50 feet in the air on a wire looking down at the people below me. It was terrifying and thrilling at the same time  I somehow found myself signing up for the Ropes Course at the camp I was leading worship at. Once it began, the first thing I had to do was scramble up a tree, then walk across a wire bridge and step sideways across another wire with the aid of the hanging ropes. Apparently, I was doing a little to well, so the instructor had my put one hand behind my back and grab the ropes with only my right hand. I was tempted to reach with the other hand, but the challenge fired me up and I did it. I was feeling great....until I got the the swinging bridge. I took a step down...it wasn't steady. I put my arms out to balance myself. With each step, I could feel the distance between me and the ground, as the bridge wobbled just enough to unsettle my heart and stir up my fear. Then it happened, I froze. I froze and the thoughts and pictures in my head of the moment where it all ends and I fail and go crawling back down, a failure, flooded my mind.  The instructor coached me. She said I could do it. She gave me tips, saying that if I just keep moving, the bridge would be steady, especially when I have to go over the single six foot plank in the center. I didn't believe her. I knew what I felt. I knew that with each step, the bridge seemed to swing more. Yet, I made the decision to believe what she was saying and I moved forward quickly, flying across the plank (with my eyes closed) and I made it to the next tree. I could breath again! After that the swings were a breeze and I ended by sailing down on the zipline. I made it. I felt invigorated. I faced my fear and I conquered it. But, here is the reality. At no point was I actually in any danger of falling to the ground. I was safely harnessed to a secure line that would catch me if I fell. Yet, the fear was still there, the hesitation was real. Did I actually trust that the harness would catch me? At the time, no!
That's life. And that's life in Christ. How many times have I gone through trials and I look down and all I see is how far I could fall instead of looking up and remembering the harness that will catch me when I do. When I am wrapped in my fear and trials come, it is more difficult to hear and trust the voice that says, "Keep moving. If you trust me the way will be sure and you will make it to the end. You will not fall." All I can see during that time is how far down I could fall. In our fear, our vision can get blurry, but we also have the ability to choose to trust Truth. We can choose to trust those who see more clearly than we do and heed their wisdom. We can choose to take our thoughts captive and put them in obedience to the truth of Jesus Christ. Friends, when you are on the wire and you look down, may I encourage you to look up, remember that you are secure and harnessed to the anchor of your soul, Jesus Christ. It's true. Trust me, because I can see clearly now. Where are you struggling to trust? Today, try to take a tiny step forward in faith in that area and see if He is faithful. I loe you in the Lord, Mia  I remember my first visit to Haiti in 2009. I was with a dedicated group of missionaries who already loved the country and it's people. Little did I know at the time that I would leave pieces of my heart there which would call me back and call me to prayer for all those that I met. On our way to church that first week, I was informed that it was customary to give an offering. Well, the offering was someone sharing a word or song and I was "volunteered" to be the offering. I was nervous, I was scared. I didn't know why. Maybe the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by all I had seen over the past few days, being in a culture that was so different from mine, singing in what was, to the people of Haiti, a foreign language, to a people I did not know.....the fact was I was just plain terrified. The trip to the church found me praying relentlessly for God to take my fear away. Out of nowhere, I spotted a truck and painted on it was this... JER 1:17. I knew that it was for me. So, when I arrived at the church I read the passage and this is what God had for me. “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them." Jeremiah 1:17 Being a quite rebellious person by nature, God knows what I need to hear and how I need to hear it. I needed to be told..."DON'T BE SCARED OR I'LL SHOW YOU SCARED!" I got the picture and God did what He always does through obedience. He used me for His glory.   Maybe you grew up in a family or with a parent (or maybe it's you) that used this line. "Don't cry or I'll give you a reason to cry!" Not saying it's the best line, but maybe, just maybe it's a bit biblical? The great thing is that God says it with perfect love SO THAT we will do the good thing that He commands us to do. He goes on to say that as we stand and speak without fear that He will make us strong, that the enemy will fight us, but NOT overcome us BECAUSE God will rescue us. Now that is comfort to me. Comfort and encouragement to not be afraid (or else) knowing that God has my back. If He is for me who is against, tell me, WHO?....... NO ONE & NOTHING!! So, my friends, today, I say to you (and me)...... “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1:17-9
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The BlogA collection of writings from a life based on the truth that about midnight anything can happen. 
AuthorAs an imperfect servant of the Lord, I often feel I am fumbling my way through life, looking upward for guidance and outward to love. So, I write about it, to break up the noise in my head. Categories
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