{"id":14423,"date":"2016-03-04T08:30:30","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T13:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/?p=14423"},"modified":"2016-03-02T12:10:43","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T17:10:43","slug":"14423-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/14423-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Skydiving or Flying? by Edie Melson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, Ephesians 3:20<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sometimes (more often than not) I get caught up in the process of life. I\u2019m an analytical sort of person, and I\u2019m definitely a planner. With every project I tackle, I make plans, trying to anticipate any possible potholes and pitfalls. I build timelines and set expectations.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also a recovering perfectionist.<\/p>\n

For years I didn\u2019t realize I was a perfectionist, but I definitely am. My perfectionism shows itself in strange ways. In the past it has kept me from trying anything I thought I couldn\u2019t succeed at. For me, failure wasn\u2019t an option. That translated into a hurdle that kept me from pursuing my dreams.<\/p>\n

Truthfully, that issue does continue to crop up from time to time. (I can anticipate the snickers this engenders in my family and close friends as they read this.)<\/p>\n

In the past I\u2019ve gone to great lengths to build in safeguards that keep failure at bay when I tackle a difficult project. I always thought of these things as packing a parachute. They\u2019d be a built-in safety net that would keep me from crashing and burning if I hadn\u2019t covered all the possibilities.<\/p>\n

Then one day I felt a metaphoric tap on the shoulder from the Holy Spirit. He asked me a question I\u2019ve never forgotten.<\/p>\n

Are you skydiving or flying?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You see God is in the business of helping us to fly. He\u2019s not interested in skydiving, and He has no need of parachutes. Sure there are things we need to do to get ready to fly, but packing a parachute isn\u2019t one of them. God wants us to fly free, chasing the dreams He’s set into our hearts. His plan doesn’t include the encumbrances of safety nets and\u00a0parachute. When He’s in control, they’re just extra baggage that can hold us tethered to the ground.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So whatever dream you\u2019re chasing, leave the parachute home and get ready to fly.<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

\"Edie<\/div>\n
Edie Melson, author, blogger and speaker, is a leading professional within the writing industry, as well as a popular instructor and mentor. Her heart to help others define and reach their dreams has connected her with writers across the country.\u00a0She\u2019s the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and a prolific writer, with numerous books and thousands of articles. Her popular writing blog, The Write Conversation<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, is a well known resource.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One thing I know is that when I\u2019m at my weakest God\u2019s glory increases so that\u2019s why agreed but I feel pretty inept.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":14427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1547],"tags":[512,896,255,2293,2006,123,944,699,67,192,32,530,1118],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nAre You Skydiving or Flying? by Edie Melson - Inspire A Fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You see, God is in the business of helping us to fly. 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