RENEWING GOD’S HOUSE THROUGH LEARNING AND GROWING:  Joshua 1:9 I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

In life we all have our comfort zones.  I know I have mine. From who we hang out with, to what we eat, to what we do, comfort zones are everywhere.  It takes a lot to get me out of my comfort zone, but when I have gotten out of my comfort zone, I’ve found out that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  For instance, in 6th grade my friends told me to try out for the school musical.  I agreed, and it turned out to be very fun and an experience that I would keep doing for the next two years.  Other times, my parents will suggest a book for me to read, and I think that it will be boring and something I wouldn’t like.  Later I would become pleasantly surprised when it would turn out to be really good, and something I would read over and over again.  This happens a lot to everybody every day.

Sometimes though, you might step outside your comfort zone and the result might not meet your expectations.  This has also happened to me many times usually leaving me thinking “Why did I do this?” and vowing not to step outside my comfort zone again.  Currently, Salem has a capital appeal which could make major changes on our building and change a lot of what we do. So why should we step outside our comfort zone on this if there is a chance we could fail?  We have to trust in God and believe that we will succeed and that stepping outside our comfort zone will give us good rewards. I feel that the quote “Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and think of what could go right”, and a quote by Helen Keller “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all” symbolize our capital appeal.  With the power of God on our side, he will give us strength to step outside our comfort zone, so we can have success.

Dear Lord, Please give us strength as we start this Capital Appeal, and help us to have faith in God that it will be a success.  Amen.