I Need Thee Every Hour

Beautiful a capella choral version of this gorgeous and powerful hymn.

Courage

I’m not much of one for making New Year’s resolutions. They’re usually pretty nebulous… “Lose some weight,” or, “Get into better shape,” or “Be nicer to people”. Like most people, my resolutions don’t usually make it to the end of January. Like the end of the first week of January, maybe! Anyway, this year I decided that I would set some goals for myself — something that I can measure and say that I did it or didn’t make it. I’m also sprinkling it with grace this year, which is something I never allowed myself with resolutions.

Part of my goal-setting came from what was, for me, a stunning realization. That was that I don’t have to wait until I’m retired to start enjoying life — I can do it NOW! That’s probably a “well, DUH” to most people, but it was revolutionary for me. I started thinking about what I really want to do and experience in life and started making a bucket list. Some of these goals can be accomplished this year and some will come in the next few years. Some of them are so far out there that I have no idea how or when they may come to be, but at least I have my goals written down so that I won’t forget about them.

There are some things that I want to do which I’m scared to death to do. The truth is that I have always tried to portray myself as fearless when in actuality I’m afraid of almost everything. I’m not afraid of heights per se, but I am afraid of falling from a height, so one of the things on my list — hang-gliding — flies in the face of that fear. Why do it when I might be terrified? Well, because of the word that the Lord gave me for 2014: COURAGE. Courage is not the absence of fear, but it is acting in spite of being afraid. I can’t think of a better way to kick fear in the face than to take courageous action. So, for my birthday in March, I’m going hang-gliding in Chattanooga! I’m so excited about it! It will be a great experience, I am sure.

In what ways are you stepping out this year? What word did the Lord give to you for the year?