"Oh what I would do to have the kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in"

Here's another old one :)

I teach preschool...at church. I have for a while now, and I love it. Mind you, they still drive me crazy from time to time, but for the most part, it's a joy. To watch a child's faith form, is an incredible thing. That wide-eyed innocence is amazing. I co-teach with my mom. And we do VBS (vacation Bible school) all year round now.

Usually, we spend two weeks on one lesson. So last week's and yesterday's lesson was about Jesus walking on the water.

Just a quick re-cap. The apostles were in the boat, and Jesus went up a mountain to pray. There was a storm, and the boat was being tossed around. So, Jesus, being the Savior that he is, started walking on the water towards the boat.

Let me just pause for a second and say... WOW... I think, because I was raised in a Christian household, and I've heard it all my life, that I take that kind of stuff for granted.

WHO ELSE could walk on water but my Jesus?... no one...that's who.

Ok..back to the story... So the apostles (being the silly humans they were) got freaked out because people really can't walk on water...And Jesus told them "Don't be afraid...It is I"... So Peter (who proves time and time again to be lacking some common sense) says "Alright, if you're really Jesus, then let me walk out to you"... So Jesus says "ok...come on"Peter starts walking on water towards Jesus....and instead of fixing his eyes on Jesus, he looked down at the waves and the wind, and got scared! Then he started to sink (serves him right!)

And of course Peter yells "Jesus! Save me!"And Jesus extended his arm and pulled Peter up...then says "Why didn't you trust me?"

Why didn't Peter trust Jesus?...

And then it hit me... I'm Peter... I've been trying to raise support for AIM and I've completely left God out of it. Why haven't I trusted Jesus?

I've sent support letters, I've made calls, I done presentations...but what haven't I done?

PRAYED!

I'm Peter... I'm sinking and I'm yelling for Jesus to pull me up out of this water I'm in. I'm splashing around making a big scene...but all I have to do is have faith.

I'm tired of being Peter. I'm trusting Jesus. He knows what He's doing. God has called me to missions... and He's trying to teach me something. But I won't shut up long enough to hear Him. I'm sorry, Jesus for hurting you and losing faith.

So from you, my faithful readers, I bequeath prayers. Pray for me to maintain faith and walk out on this water and NOT LOOK DOWN even when the waves are above my head.


As you well know...music is such a huge part of my life and while I wrote this blog, I was reminded of the Casting Crowns song "Voice of Truth"

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again.
"Boy, you'll never win!""You'll never win!"

Chorus: But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth