There is nothing quite like watching your home town sports team win a championship. It can be on a grand scale like the Super Bowl, World Cup or World Series, or your grade school, high school, or college team.

Living in St. Louis, it was so exciting to watch our baseball Cardinals in their 2011 come from behind victory to win the World Series. For weeks the entire city was caught up in the quest. It was exhilarating to cheer them on to victory.

Literally millions of Cardinal fans sat on the sidelines watching the Cinderella story unfold.

A Culture Watching from the Sidelines

It got me thinking of our culture. There are numerous reality shows and competition shows to find the next recording artist, chef, or interior designer. There is even programming of people watching people play video games. The list goes on.

Millions of people watch from the sidelines. How many of us get into the game?

It’s easy to say that it’s not likely to become a professional athlete if you are over fifty, but it would be possible to compete in a marathon with proper training and dedication or to volunteer for a sports team at a charitable event. Maybe you love to cook and could fine tune your skills by signing up for a cooking class or volunteer to cook for a homeless shelter.

Social media, thousands of entertainment channels and demanding jobs consume the only precious commodity we have, our time.

Immersing ourselves in positive programming, motivational seminars and quality books are all good, unless that’s all we do. We will be more positive people, but we’ll still be sitting on the sidelines!

Stepping Out in Faith

I’m reminded of this verse from James 2:17: “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead”. Faith is great, but if we don’t exercise our faith by doing something, our faith means nothing.

What have you wanted to do that you have been putting off? What dreams have you pushed down inside of you and told yourself you can’t do?

For me, I have been journaling almost my entire life. The profound lessons I’ve learned will not mean anything if I don’t share those lessons to help someone else. Sharing through this blog, putting the word Author on my Facebook Page, (before I became a published author), and writing the emails I send I was my stepping out in faith and getting in the game. Who knew it would lead to two published books, three meditation CDs, retreats, one-on-one coaching, and online courses?

That’s why I want to help others push through their fears and doubts to discover their greatness, God’s greatness within them.

If you are waiting for permission from someone, don’t wait any longer. Give yourself permission to move forward, one step at a time. Don’t sit on the sidelines, get in the game!

If you’ve made a step and feel bold enough, please share it here by leaving a comment below. Let us cheer you on.

Want to step out but don’t know what to do? Learning to be still and listening to the still small voice within you can be a first step. God speaks to us in stillness and silence. These guided meditations can help you receive peace, clarity and direction.