Fear of failure is an indicator of imminent success

I've always hated starting new things. Like understanding my i-phone or sat-nav or even the latest version of Photoshop or Dreamweaver. Or worse - Blogging! What's that all about? Facebook, Twitter. I always find these things complicated and threatening. They always suggest hours of reading to gain understanding. They don't make allowances for people like me who feel they need to know all about everything but without the bother of all that reading.

So what do I do? Give up? No way! I'm a risk taker. I join instantly! Life is too short to ignore any of it. The fear of failure is always the spectre on all our horizons - but at age 60, after a well expanded life of continuous risk taking, the 'fear of failure' has become more like an old friend because it simply reassures me that I am actually on the track of something new and exciting and above all - POSSIBLE!

So look out blogging world here I come. new goals, new friends, new experiences, new boundaries of excitement, new hope, NEW ME! I'm going to meet new people with refreshing interest in discovering their life assignment.

Life has got to be more than just a series of disconnected events that direct us from the cradle to the grave. Life must be more than us micro-managing those tiny and limited time-bytes within the limitations of our own creativity or imagination. Life should be; no - life IS challenging and as a fuller-life seeker I want to engage with others on their journey to self actualisation. To share experiences. To chart the unexplored, lay hold of it and make it known. Here's to 2009 - a new beginning.

Together we stand

If a team only finishes when the last man crosses the line then there are no celebrities. No shining stars. No stand out from the crowd, everybody look at me person who can often be addicted to adulation. Teamwork is central to the success of any venture. Jesus had to go back for the dissillusioned team who went fishing after he had overcome death.

A strong personality can pull a team, with it's goals and it's commonality, apart at the seams. BUT! When a team recognises it's need for mutual empathy and efficiency then it's members can change the world. Just look at what those regathered fishermen achieved.

Now in this "scientific" age criticism has become the national standard. An age when one can watch a half hour programme, (fashioned more for entertainment value than authenticity), and become an instant critic of informed judgment and process. The book of Judges called it "every man doing that which is right in his own eyes." Now more than ever the church needs to stand up and be counted. Not hidden behind brick walls but in the communities surrounding us. Not developing spiritual retreats but physical advances.

I recently read of a homeopathic doctor who claimed to have invented a medicine to cure cancer. Whether she actually has or has not, the British Board of Science had no relevant reason to believe in it. Where the relevance is clear to the poor, the sick and needy her credibility and therefore her visibility floundered. She had the remedy and the desire to share it but never got the message out. Sounds a bit like the modern church! We have it but are silenced and staying indoors with a perfectly effective remedy. It's time for the healing conduits to invade the darkness. BUT WHO WILL GO FOR ME SAYS THE LORD!