I wonder, are we too soon settled and satisfied doing things the way that is comfortable and familiar?  What kingdom of God opportunities and adventures do we miss because we can’t precisely predict the outcome?   We have all been to motivational conferences in our lifetime. We’ve been challenged to ‘step up’ or ‘step out’, or ‘step over.’   We leave with the full intention of doing all those ‘new and novel’ things. Somewhere on the road back home, we begin to calculate the risk.  By the time we get back to our familiar surroundings, we remember that old dogs like predictability. Curling up on a mat by the fireplace is a fairly comfortable, predictable and risk free endeavour.  Eventually, we settle for watching  those other young dogs, starring  in the TV competitions. We bark for them, and settle for so much less than God intended for us, our family, our Church, our Community.

My 60-some year old friend was just certified as a hang glider instructor. He was telling me what it felt like, during his mountain training, to stare down over a 4000 foot precipice, knowing that in a moment you’d be suspended in mid air by a sheet of nylon and some aluminum tubes.  Two things keep me away from that activity, fear and wisdom, but I do want to live on the edge of kingdom adventure, in the now of what the Spirit of God is doing.  I’d love to be just like Caleb, not jumping off one mountain, but claiming the whole range as my God given inheritance. 

So when someone challenges you to jump through some new hoops, and attempt some things for the kingdom that you have never done before, go for it!  Don’t just howl, or growl or roll over and play dead. Old dogs can learn new tricks.

In the blogs ahead, I hope to provide some good resources to keep us all in shape.

Love you all

Al

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