Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

(psalm 27:14)

I hate waiting. I hate waiting in line, on line, or lined up. Waiting seems like a waste of time, standing still and going no where. Yet, there may be a divine connection between waiting and courage. It often takes courage to wait, to be patient, to not rush to action. Maybe my impatience edges God out? When I hurry, I am often anxious. However, if I wait prayerfully and quietly for a sense of peace and strength and courage.....it comes.

Road Trip

We departed this morning for a quick trip to South Carolina to celebrate my 25th anniversary of graduation from seminary. On Thursday I will serve as the emcee at the Alumni Luncheon but more about that later. Today we drove as far as Chambersburg, PA. which left us enough time to visit the Cabela's store in Hamburg, PA. This was our first opportunity to visit a Cabela's and this is the largest one in the chain. It was like visiting an outdoor museum. There was an aquarium containing every kind of freshwater fish found in the country, dioramas of African Animals, and a Northwestern Mountain. Here are some pics.

John liked the beavers best.

More thoughts on Courage

The Latin root of the word "courage" is "cor" meaning heart. According to Webster, heart can be defined as "the whole personality including intellectual as well as emotional functions or traits." In other words, the presence of courage or the lack of it helps identify us as individuals. Maybe God tells Joshua four times to have courage as a reminder of what is in his heart.....the promise that God is with him. The ability to "try again tomorrow" grows out of that promise even when today seems hopeless.

COURAGE

I've been thinking about "courage" today. This train of thought was triggered by Joshua 1:1-9 where God admonishes Joshua four times to be strong and courageous. Then I discovered the following quote.

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.Alan Cohen