The Blazi Nation: Tiny Truth's Thursday...." I don't need swimmies".....

We just got back in town from vacation on Tuesday....whew...two weeks away is tough! We had a ball and I will post many pictures of the grand time that we had....pictures that I took with my new camera(Canon T1i) that my awesome husband got me as an early birthday...late mother's day...and early anniversary gift! I haven't seen my close friend Stephanie in over two weeks and I was going through some major with drawl. We met up at a friend's pool to relax and swim for a few hours.

We were all in the pool....the big kids were going off the board while Steph and I swam with the little ones in shallow end. We spent time catching up...talking about serious stuff...and silly stuff! It was so nice to talk to my friend in person. I love this lady and her 3 beautiful blonde haired children.

Jesse...my 2 year old...has been in the water for two straight weeks and to put it mildly...he has gotten really comfortable in the water. We had only been swimming about 30 minutes or so when I look at him on the steps and he has ripped one of his swimmies off and chucked it onto the concrete around the pool. He promptly states "I don't need 'simmies' Mommy!" which I responded with..."Uh, yeah you do big guy...you can't swim". He comes off the steps..in one swimmie...and swims around and goes back to the step and gives me a look like he is saying "Uh...see"! I am laughing at this point because he is crazy ...seriously...he's 2! He then proceeds to try and take his other swimmie off stating his reason..."I don't need any simmies Mom!". At this point I'm going to allow this child to sink...I mean he needs to learn a lesson right? Water is dangerous..it makes me nervous...I wanted him to sleep in swimmies while he stayed at my in-laws out of fear he would jump in the pool! Kid's need to know that water is no joke...so I set out to let him learn that lesson.

"Ok Jesse, take it off and swim to Mommy"...all the while I give my friend a look like this ships about to sink and he will never take those swimmies off again. He is standing on the steps...big 'ol smile on his face...water dripping off his fat cheeks...and he jumps in to me......and he swims. Yes, you heard me right...he swam...like 6 feet. He put his face in and kicked his little feet and moved his fat little arms and swam across the pool to me. The only time he struggled was when he needed a breath...he couldn't figure out how to come up for air! I was in awe...I looked at my friend...with my mouth hanging open..."he is blooming swimming"! He jumped off the step and swam to me several more times until I made him put his swimmies back on...just so I could watch my 4 year old jumping off the diving board for the first time with no swimmies on! Freedom from swimmies was ringing up in the Blazi family that day. It was a big day...one I'll never forget for sure!

Jesse was confident...confident in his own ability to swim and he didn't need help from silly 'ol swimmies anymore. He took the first step...swimming with only one...just to test it out...to boost his confidence. I can see him saying to himself "I got this thing...I don't need no swimmies". When he felt confident enough he got rid of the next swimmie...he took that big step...and he swam!

In my life, on too many occasions, I have been afraid to step out there and do something that I know I am supposed to do. ..maybe I'm fearful that God can't use me anymore. Sometimes...just sometimes...I'll take a step towards it to see if I can do it. When I realize that I can, then I'm ripping off those "swimmies" and diving in head first. I pray that I would be brave like Jesse...that I would trust in my God given strengths and talents and just jump in....sans swimmies!

One of the verses that God has been using in my life as of late was one that Jonathan Falwell shared on the first Sunday of '10. I was in town visiting my family for Christmas and he shared his dad's, Dr. Jerry Falwell's, favorite verse....the verse that he preached on every first Sunday of the new year.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

I remember God using that verse...one that I had heard a thousand times...to encourage me that day. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is called the author and the finisher of our faith. And we have got to realize what God has begun He is going to finish. He is not like me. He doesn't start a lot of projects that He doesn't finish(I am the world's worst about that by the way)! By virtue of the fact that God has begun a work in my life, I am confident that God is going to complete that work in my life. I'm so glad He is not done with me yet! I pray I'm never confident in just myself because of who I am...but because of WHOSE I am!

That verse now is in my blog header...as a gentle reminder that He's not done with me and has big things for me...now all I have to do is trust Him and take those swimmies off!