{"id":6667,"date":"2015-11-13T08:39:17","date_gmt":"2015-11-13T12:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/frankviola\/?p=6667"},"modified":"2021-01-06T10:38:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T14:38:16","slug":"adventures-in-saying-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/frankviola\/adventures-in-saying-yes\/","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Saying Yes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Carl Medearis has written a new book. It\u2019s called Adventures in Saying Yes: A Journey of Fear to Faith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I caught up with Carl recently to discuss his book.<\/p>\n

Enjoy!<\/p>\n

Instead of asking, \u201cWhat is your book about?\u201d I\u2019m going to ask the question that\u2019s behind<\/em> that question. And that unspoken question is, \u201cHow are readers going to benefit from reading your book?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carl Medearis: Well, I think they will have a good time, first of all. We recount lots of stories\u2014crazy stories, true stories\u2014that remind us that God really does invite us into the adventure of a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Following Jesus is the furthest thing from boring. But I think so often we unconsciously do our best to make Jesus small and manageable; somehow we use Him to justify the walls of fear and security we\u2019ve placed around ourselves. But, in the end, we wonder, \u201cIs this really what I signed up for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Our hope is that readers will be inspired to love and follow Jesus more\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. to overcome the fears that hold them back and to trust Him in those places where life feels scary, or the big Kingdom dreams He\u2019s put in their hearts seem unachievable. I think we all want our lives to matter, right?<\/p>\n

And, if we consider ourselves people of faith, or followers of Jesus, most of us desire that impact to not only be for the \u201ceternal by-and-by,\u201d but for the here and now. I think readers will see through the book that the awesome things of God that we want to see and be a part of don\u2019t just happen.<\/p>\n

We have a choice in the matter. And most of the time, it is an \u201cunfolding\u201d of sorts. Choosing to say yes to God in those places we feel nudged, privately and publicly\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. not being sure of what the outcome will be. Trusting God with that\u2014that\u2019s the key to living the abundant and fruitful life that Jesus came to give.<\/p>\n

Share with us a teaser of the story, to give readers a flavor of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carl Medearis: Well, my wife and I moved to Lebanon in 1992 with our two little girls, right after the civil war. And, it was great\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. at first. I was crazy busy, teaching small groups, speaking in churches, passing out Bibles, doing all the things good missionaries do. And, everyone, including myself, thought I was great.<\/p>\n

Lots of kudos were coming from back home for all the \u201ctough work of the Kingdom\u201d I was doing in a \u201chard\u201d place like Lebanon. I spent hardly any time at home with my wife and babies, and we lived in a small apartment with barely-there electricity and water. I was exhausted every day, but it felt good thinking I was \u201csacrificing\u201d for God. But something was off.<\/p>\n

And, deep down, I knew it. It took the painful honesty of my wife and some close friends to help me see that I was saying yes to a whole lot of \u201cgood\u201d things, but maybe not to Jesus. Lots of \u201cactivity\u201d was happening, but my family was suffering and it was really questionable whether any of the \u201cfruit\u201d I was seeing would last. God broke through to me in that difficult time, helping me see that what was driving me were the opinions of people and my own need to feel important and successful. Lots of things, but not Jesus.<\/p>\n

And, thankfully, I began to learn what it meant to say yes to Jesus, to discern those adventures\u2014or places of risk for the sake of the Kingdom\u2014that He was inviting me into. I began to discern the fears that held me back. And, I began to be free\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. free of fear and free to see the amazing things that happen when we let God take the reigns and say YES to what He is doing!<\/p>\n

Give us two or three insights from the book that would be helpful to Christians.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carl Medearis:<\/p>\n