Are you a Risk Taker?

“When you risk walking into the unknown that God is calling you to, you will potentially encounter your own transfiguration moments on the mountaintop. You will become changed, from the inside out, for the better. But remember, sometimes we must die to the old in order to experience the new”-Laurie Beth Jones

Life is all about risk taking. Personally, I feel as though this is my word for the year. As I think about risk taking, I can’t help but think of the mighty people of the Bible. Honestly, in many ways, they were all risk takers. Just take a few minutes to glance over the stories of these remarkable individuals:

• Abraham-Abraham risked everything when he agreed to follow after a God he had not seen and to a place he did not know.
• Esther-Saves her people after risking her life by approaching the king when he had not called for her.
• David-Risked his life when fighting against Goliath. In the end, he becomes a hero.
• Deborah-Risked her life when she agreed to go out into battle.
• Daniel-Risked his life when he refused to worship a pagan God.
• Ruth-Risked her life and dreams when she agreed to follow her mother-in-law.
• Noah-Risked his reputation when he agreed to obey what God was asking him to do.

These are just a few examples of the extraordinary men and women of the Bible who took risks. What I have come to realize is that if you truly want a life of purpose, you must be willing to take risks. As Laurie Beth Jones states, “You must risk to get the reward.”

Where in your life may God be asking you to get out of your comfort zone and take a risk?

• Being open to change whether it is a geographical change, career change, or behavior change?
• Needing to make a personal sacrifice of time, energy, and/or money?
• Do you need to forgive someone?
• Do you need to ask someone to forgive you?
• Do you need work on restoring a relationship?
• Is God calling you to go back to school?

Is God nudging on your heart and asking you to take a risk? When was the last time you took a risk? “Risk is what separates the dreamers from the doers, the wannabes from the victors” (Laurie Beth Jones). Are you content with being a wannabe or are you ready to be a victor? What will you risk today?

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your dreams before a crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure
But to risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing is one who does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrows, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow, or love.
Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave - he has forfeited his freedom.
Only a person who takes risks is FREE (Author Unknown).

Are you ready to be a risk taker? If so, contact Jennifer today!

Laugh Daily

When was the last time you had a good laugh? Did you know that laughter can actually help reduce stress and may even help protect you against a heart attack?

Personally, I try to not take myself nor life so seriously. I try to see the humor in my every day activities. Let me share a recent "laughter" moment I had.

While vacationing in North Carolina, my husband, son, friend April and I were wandering at the mall. While we were wandering, we came across one of the stands that promises to make you look 100% times better by shaping your eyebrows. The method for shaping the eyebrows was some kind of "floss" like contraption. Well, our friend April was all about doing it-me on the other hand, I just wasn't sure. First off, the last thing I want is people watching me while I get my eyebrows shaped. To me, it just screams-I'm hairy and I need help. Second, I'm a big wimp and quite frankly that floss like contraption looked like it would hurt. Third-the lady who was shaping the eyebrows looked at me and said, "Oh, you really need to do this". Honestly, I couldn't believe that she said that to me. I mean, my eyebrows are not that bad. Its not like I have a unibrow.

I ended up saying yes and really, I questioned myself as to why I agreed to even do this. It HURT!!! I had to make the "eyebrow goddess" stop multiple times because it was hurting me so much. The reality was that all I could do was laugh. If I didn't laugh, I would just end up crying. The funny thing is that the laughing not only helped me survive the pain, but it created a memory that I truly will never forget! And yes, my eyebrows did end up looking much better!

Let me encourage you to make it a priority to find the humor in your day to day life. Not only will you feel better, but ultimately, your life will be much less stressful! Laughter is good for the soul.

When was the last time you had a really good belly laugh?

Be Content

Today was a sad day. My husband returned the cable box to the cable company. Why? Well, my husband and I are on a journey to save money! What do I mean by this? We truly want to cut back on expenses for a variety of reasons and the reality is, cable is one way of saving. Now, when I say cable, what I mean is that we no longer have 600 channels to choose from; we now have 72. Not only are we cutting back on cable, but we are getting rid of our house phone (who really uses a house phone anymore anyway?), Luke (my husband) will now be our lawn man, and we are looking at switching cell phone companies. All of this in our quest to save money. Additionally, we have been cutting back on eating out (we have done FANTASTIC the past two weeks!).

It’s interesting to me that all of this cutting back is taking place right as we look at what it means to be content. In our world today, it is so easy to get wrapped up in wanting more and not being thankful and grateful for what we do have. It’s easy to look at what others have and in turn, wonder why we can’t or don’t have what they have. It’s easy to compare our “things” to the “things” of others. When I get caught up in thinking that I need a bigger house, I think of my neighbor. First off let me say, we have WONDERFUL neighbors right beside us and across the street from us. Let me tell you about both of them!

Our neighbor’s right beside us have three beautiful children. They live in the exact same model as our house which means, their house is exactly the same size as ours. And you know what? They make it work with three children under five years of age!

Across the street we have our other great neighbors. What I love about them is they really know how to save money by eating at home and not eating out so much! Both of my neighbors inspire me in so many ways, and I don’t think they even know it!

The reason I say all of this is because again, it is vital that we learn to be content with what we have and what we can afford. If we desire to live lives of purpose, we must learn to be content with what God has blessed us with. Here are a few things to consider:

• When was the last time you thanked God for what He has blessed you with?
• Take some time to walk around your home thanking God for not only the home He has blessed you with, but what you have inside your home.
• Do you need to cut back in some areas?
• Are there things that you really can’t afford that maybe, you need to give up?
• Do you find yourself comparing your life to those of others? If so, ask yourself why?
• Does your bank account demonstrate your contentment?

Take some time this week to truly thank God for the many blessings in your life. Learn to be content with what you have and if you find yourself with things that you really can’t afford, look for ways to cut back. I’m on this journey with you!