Taking Next Steps with Jesus

I was a young teenager. It was a Saturday evening, and I had asked if my dad would drop me off at the college.  There was a guy who was giving a talk that I remembered someone mentioned in youth group last weekend, and for some reason I thought I should go and hear him. For me this was odd. At this point in my life I was very much a home-body.  I didn't get out much, if at all.  I really only went to church on Sunday, and youth group on Sunday evenings.  I had just started a new school, and we had just come to a new church and it was a place where I actually liked going.  I think that this was the first 'event' that I ever went to by myself. I'm not sure what my parents were thinking actually.  I remember walking into the field house arena, and there were literally 1000's of people there--and I didn't know a single one.  Did this cross my mind--nope, I was oblivious.  It didn't even dawn on me to ask myself what in the world I was doing here.  For so

What are you afraid of? I used to be afraid of heights. Standing on the edge of a tall building made my palms sweat.  Leaning over the edge to take a look made my heart race and my legs turn to jelly.  I did not like that feeling.  Never mind that fact that there was a railing, bolted into the ground, strong enough to catch a Buick...my mind still couldn't convince my body that I was safe.  Or, was I? It is true that I was very high in the air.  It is true that if I were to fall off the edge, I would certainly not like the outcome, let alone survive it--and my panicked response did nothing to help steady my footing around the edge.  I really could get hurt. I remember the day that my fear of heights changed.  When was that?  The day I took up rock climbing.  Yes, you heard me, rock climbing. I remember my first climb.  My instructor, who was a world class climber, had just finished tying me in, and was reminding me of the strength of the rope, the stability of the anchor,