Life took flight for me in 2009 and I was 53 at the time. I read a book by a dear friend of mine, Cathee Poulsen, Thresholds and Passages and it encouraged me to take some risks, lose the fear and to live more fully. I credit her for lighting the fire for this adventuresome personality I developed when I re-invented myself as a lion chaser.

portal to the only life that matters

As Cathee states, “the book is both an awakening and an invitation to real life and it illustrates the choices we have to walk to the edge of our old life in order to cross a threshold into authenticity.” Cathee and her co-writer friend Fran Lankford describe a series of portals or passageways to the only life that matters, the one lived in union with our own hearts and the one heart of God.

dangerous wonder

Thresholds and Passages encouraged my risky curiosity. “To say Yes to the beckoning call of Christ is to hear the snow crunch and breathe the cold air, to smell the wood smoke and sit in a circle around the fire. To turn away is to miss the dangerous wonder, the mystery of godliness and the adventure of a lifetime.” I knew I wanted “dangerous wonder.” I also wanted “a life not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.”

stuck in a spiral

Cathee’s book helped me to overcome my fears and I realized if the worst happened, I would be in heaven. Part of the new me came from being personally introduced to Jesus and I now had the assurance of my final destination. Another part of the new me was wanting to break free from a revolving door of poor choices that did not bring happiness. I needed to re-invent myself as a person I actually liked and live with a purpose that was God’s will for my life. Cathee said “it is easy to be comfortable and stuck.” I remember the day she told me “when you are stuck in a spiral, to change all aspects of the spin, you need only to change one thing.” I was ready to change the downward spiral, to let go of the only life I had ever known and to cross over to a new life…an astonishing life. I craved dangerous wonder, risky curiosity and wild abandon to a place beyond even my own vivid imagination. I chose to pursue the life Jesus came to give me.

wildest ride of your life

I am going to try to recapture the many chapters of this journey. They may not be in chronological order, but all were important and they may provide a road map of how you can live the life you were meant for. This journey does not guarantee smooth seas and calm passage, in fact, it pretty much guarantees the wildest ride of your life. You will be beaten, hammered, pounded and put through fire when one day you realize God was preparing you for events yet unseen. And just like a grain of wheat, it has to die and be buried before it can burst forth with new life. Jesus promises to transform you and He will be there every step of the way, if you trust Him.

To order the book by my friends Cathee and Fran, click here Thresholds and Passages.  Fulfilled by Amazon.