Yesterday while Abby was hangin' out with her friend, we took JoJo to the swimming pool. There were 2 fun slides in the children's section, and, when I encouraged him to try 'em out, he cutely (and politely) said, "No thank you." I think they made him a bit nervous. But then, he saw a bunch of kids his age going on them and having a lot of fun; so he was pretty anxious to give 'em a go when I re-suggested that option.

When he went, I cheered loudly, jumped up and down, and high-5ed several times (of course)! Then he did the slides about 4 more times! What fun it was... and what a great accomplishment for our almost-4-year-old!

That night, as I thought about our pool activities with Josiah, I thought of another great explanation of courage from a movie I saw last week... Green Lantern. In it, the main character and hero Hal Jordan presents himself to the world as a cocky, fearless, and daring test pilot, but beneath his mask, fear is a powerful motivating force in his life, since he witnessed his father's death as a pilot. Later, his girlfriend informs him there's really no such thing as fearlessness, just overcoming fear, which is called courage.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)