Fear

along with the giggles as i wrote about yesterday, i decided i wanted to take a trip. a trip in a boat out in the ocean. everyone knows my fear of water and knows that i get sick and tight chested at the sight of the salty beast. (i think its all the critters) but i digress...

here is a list of what ill need on my journey... be sure to read them all...

- 192 tablets of anti-seasickness medication
- 124 bottles of water / 62 liters in all
- 32 plastic vomit bags
- 31 cartons of emergency rations
- 16 wool blankets
- 10 life jackets each with an orange beadless whistle attached by a string
- 8 cans of beenie weenies
- 6 morphine ampule syringes
- 3 can openers
- 2 boxes of water proof matches
- 2 fishing kits complete with hooks, lines, and sinkers
- 2 hatchets
- 2 black ink ball point pens
- 1 hunting knife
- 1 very large metal barrell
- 1 Kermit the frog stuffed animal for cuddling
- 1 life buoy with an inner diameter of 40 cm and outer diameter of 80 cm
- 1 book of knots
- 1 survival manual
- 1 compass
- 1 notebook / 98 lined pages
- 1 bottle of barbecue sauce
- 1 spotted hyena
- 1 Bengal tiger
- 1 sack lunch complete with string cheese and granola bar =D
- 1 ocean
- 1 me
- 1 God



pardon for the language in that picture but i couldn't have described it better. God wants me to tackle my fears. tackling your fears is all about faith. now would i really take a trip on a boat? no. but just in case it comes down to it i have my list made up.



i showed you this video because 1) its funny. and 2) i use the hidden story in this video in my blog today

Read Matthew 14:24-31

faith is often the child of fear

fear propelled Peter out of the boat. he'd ridden these waves before. he knew what these storms could do. he'd heard the stories. he'd seen the wreckage. he knew the widows. he knew the storm could kill. and he wanted out...

look into his eyes tonight and see fear-a suffocating, heart-racing fear of a man who has no way out

but out of this fear would be born an act of faith, for faith is often the child of fear

if Peter had seen Jesus walking on the water during a calm, peaceful day, do you think that he would have walked out to him? nor do i.

had the lake been carpet smooth and the journey pleasant, do you think peter would have begged Jesus to take him on a small stroll across the top of the water? doubtful.

but give a man a choice between sure death and a crazy chance, and he'll take the chance... every time.

great acts of faith are seldom born out of calm calculation.

it wasn't logic that caused Moses to raise his staff on the bank of the red sea.,

it wasn't medical research that convince Naaman to dip seven times in the river.

it wasnt common sense that caused Paul to abandon the law and embrace grace.

and it wasn't a confident committee that prayed in a small room in Jerusalem for Peter's release from prison. it was a fearful, desperate, band of backed-into-a-corner believers. it was a church with no options. a congregation of have-nots pleading for help.

and never were they stronger.

at the beginning of every act of faith, there is often a seed of fear.