{"id":5085,"date":"2018-01-04T11:45:45","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T15:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/?p=5085"},"modified":"2018-01-04T11:45:45","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T15:45:45","slug":"i-dont-paint-fingernails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/2018\/01\/04\/i-dont-paint-fingernails\/","title":{"rendered":"I don’t paint fingernails"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Braelynn\"<\/a>
Our granddaughter Braelynn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cry from down the hall chilled me to the bone.<\/p>\n

\u201cBapa, do my nails!\u201d my 4-year-old granddaughter called.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t do nails. I had already told her that Bapa \u2013 what she\u2019s called me since before she could say Grandpa \u2013 doesn\u2019t do makeup. That was when she called me into her room and asked me to play with her. Play, yes. Makeup, no.<\/p>\n

\u201cBapa?\u201d she called again.<\/p>\n

I trembled. But I also started thinking. If I would die for this little girl \u2013 and I would \u2013 can\u2019t I go in there and try to paint her nails?<\/p>\n

And after all, I\u2019ve told myself that I\u2019m not going to let fear stop me this year. I\u2019ve already tackled some difficulties in sewing. I\u2019ve challenged my own writing. And I\u2019m taking on a huge challenge next month. Surely I shouldn\u2019t let fear keep me from painting my granddaughter\u2019s nails.<\/p>\n

So I went in and I went to work, following her directions to paint her nails in blue and silver, alternating. It wasn\u2019t perfect, but I have to say, it wasn\u2019t nearly as frightening as I expected and it came out nice.<\/p>\n

The same is true of the challenges I took on in sewing and writing.<\/p>\n

And it got me thinking.<\/p>\n

If I would die for Jesus \u2013 and I like to think that I would \u2013 is there anything I ought to be afraid to do for Him?<\/p>\n

In fact, can\u2019t I trust Him to never ask me to do something without making it possible? Isn\u2019t fear really a manifestation of a shortfall of faith? If so, then fear is an inappropriate reaction to God\u2019s invitation to take the next step with Him.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019ve agreed to pursue a slightly different ministry this year (more on that in the coming weeks) and taken on a ministry challenge this spring (more on that next week).<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why I want to ask you:<\/p>\n

What are you afraid of?<\/p>\n

More specifically, what is it God is asking you to do that scares you?<\/p>\n

And wouldn\u2019t it be better to take that not as a challenge, but as an invitation to trust Him and learn and grow and be blessed?<\/p>\n

You see, there\u2019s something heart-warming and life-affirming in the delighted smile of 4-year-old \u2026 and in pleasing our Lord and Savior.<\/p>\n

Let me know what you\u2019ve been afraid of, and I\u2019ll pray with you.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pray <\/strong>that our team will be able to soon iron out some wrinkles that came up at the end of the year, so we can plunge forward, united and effective, into 2018. Please drop us a line to let us know you’re praying.<\/a><\/p>\n

Give while you caffeinate: <\/strong>With Coffee for Thriving Churches, you can support our ministry and drink it too. Take a look<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Strategic giving: <\/strong>This week we have an unfunded ministry need of $100 for an upcoming trip. Isn\u2019t that cool? Gifts in smaller amounts can quickly add up to $100, or a single $100 gift could meet that need immediately, so however God prompts you, you can play an important part in providing for God\u2019s work. At our blog, you can give online and see other giving options.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cry from down the hall chilled me to the bone. \u201cBapa, do my nails!\u201d my 4-year-old granddaughter called. I don\u2019t do nails. I had already told her that Bapa \u2013 what she\u2019s called me since before she could say Grandpa \u2013 doesn\u2019t do makeup. That was when she called me into her room and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,1198],"tags":[46,448,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-5085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-family","7":"category-ministry","8":"category-prayer-request","9":"tag-choices","10":"tag-ethnos360","11":"tag-pray","12":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5085\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}