Darling daughter is learning to dive.  On the first day of trying she
belly-flopped many a time.  The tears flowed and she wanted to give up. 
Ah, she is like me.  If I am not naturally good at it, I want to give
up.  She was tempted to give up.  But, she didn’t….

She has improved greatly, and dives in regularly.  The Olympics are helping with the drive to dive too.

Here are some new things people around us, and us, have tried this summer:

Nephew, Caleb, getting more comfortable in the pool and lake…then jumping in by himself.  Independence, joy and satisfaction splashed across his face.  Way to go bud!

Mother-in-law tackling knee boarding for the first time at a family gathering.  What a great example of being brave enough to try something new, as her kids and grandkids look on.

Esteban (in red) from Spain came to work at camp this summer.  New faces, new experiences, different culture- brave endeavor.  Blessing others with his willingess to risk comfort for growth.

After watching, “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” Hubby and I tried juicing.  We had to tweak the ingredient blend numerous times; but we turned over this leaf to try and be better stewards of our bodies and lives.

It was fun using Kale in our juice and then, having the one named it, try it.  He tolerated it more than the youngest.

These friends experienced some great results with, “Insanity”.  Hubby wanted us to try it too.  We were pretty nervous about how intense it would be.  We are now on Day 25 and have seen good results- mostly we feel better and stronger, and have found we can do more than we thought we could.  Thanks be to God for His strength, ability, and genius in creating the human body.

It was an inspiration and thrill to meet Chris and Roy from “Biggest Loser” while shopping in Amish Country recently.  Thanks to Caitlin for spotting them and striking up conversation with them.  They are such an example of trying a new thing: leaving the comforts of home, showing the world their weakness and success, and having the courage to change something they weren’t okay with.  They were so kind, looked great, and were so approachable.

Sunshine-head went to Day Camp for the first time this year and loved it.  Trying news things can help you discover a whole new world of adventure, people, and memories.

Trying new things can also help you realize things you don’t like, aren’t good at, or shouldn’t do again.  Is there a new thing in your life you haven’t tried, but know you should?

Is fear keeping you from taking that next step toward the end of the diving board?
Is anxiety crippling you, keeping you from living free in the truth of God’s Word and love?
Is pride blocking you from improving on something that you know you aren’t the best in?
Are excuses and blaming others stopping you from changing a bad habit?

Praying that Christ will give you the courage to try a new thing.  To try a new thing that He is calling you to.  To learn a new skill, to offer friendship, to speak truth in love to someone who is wandering, to say “no” when you should or “yes” when you should, to follow through with your kids when you’d rather ignore the issue and hope it goes away (speaking to myself as well here), to open your home, to be more generous, to pray more faithfully.

We all fear failure, but today it’s about exercising courage; not about the result that follows.  I have many examples of attempts gone wrong, but whether success or failure, or just mediocre results; did you risk trying?

In light of the Olympics, I think this conversation is fitting.  I like to see people win medals along with the rest of them.  But what about just celebrating the fact that they attempted a 3 1/2 flip dive into the water?

The courage to try.

I’d love to hear your stories about trying new things.  What did you do?  How did it go?
 
2 Chronicles 15:7  “But you, be strong and do not lose courage (do not let your hands drop), for their is reward for your work.”