Leap Season Begins

2020 is shaping up to be a leap year in more ways than one.  The word leap can be used as a verb—to jump a long way with force. It also works as a noun—a forceful jump or quick movement.  Whichever way it is used, it describes action.

Facts about Leap season:

• February 29 is a leap day.  This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the Earth does not orbit the sun in precisely 365 days.
• 2020 is a leap year with 366 days.  It rolls around every four years, except for years evenly divisible by 100, which are not leap years unless evenly divisible by 400. 
• March 8 begins Daylight Savings in the US. This means we leap ahead one hour and that day has 23 hours instead of 24.  I love this anonymous quote about daylight saving time:“Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”
• March 20 will be the day we leap into Spring.                                                                  

Other Leap Events in 2020:

• November 3 – Election Day.  In which direction will US voters leap? 
• Coronavirus – As we watch it leap from one country to another, we are concerned about its effects. As a result, the stock market has taken a giant leap downward. 

Leap to a better you: 

• Take a leap of faith.
• Faith is the opposite of fear
• Taking a leap of faith says that we believe God rather than what we hear in the world or what logic or fear tell us.
  
   

I can survive a Leap Year filled with uncertainties and scary changes if I take the unchangeable God at his word and rely on him through the next 366 days.

Take a Leap of Faith

Today is February 29, but some folks act as if the day doesn’t exist.  I attempted to read a selection in two of my devotional books, but there was none given for today. Now I know how “leaplings” feel who were born on Leap Day when they have a birthday only once every four years.

Adding a Leap Day every four years is an attempt to reconcile the Gregorian calendar with the rotations of the earth around the sun. Technically a complete orbit of the earth around the sun takes exactly 365, 2422 days to complete, so every four years we have 366 days to keep the calendar in sync with the sun. If a leap day was not in our calendar every four years, today would be July 10, 2017.

1996 was a special leap year for me. I took a leap out of my comfort zone and dipped my toe back into the dating scene. I had been widowed for ten years and was dealing with a terminal liver disease. The idea of dating and the fear of rejection were very scary. Charles and I met twenty years ago this week and soon discovered we were both looking for God’s will in our lives. It didn’t take us long to realize His will was leading us toward marriage. It was a risky leap of faith for both of us because of my health. Twenty years and one liver transplant later, we have no doubt that God was directing our paths.

In April of 1996, we started our company, Consulting Aviation Services. As an aerospace engineer, Charles believed his innovative ideas to improve aircraft performance and safety would benefit the aviation industry. Two patents and twenty years later, he is still working hard every day to accomplish his goal. This year he is working on both commercial and military contracts.  This will be our make it or break it year depending on results from flight tests in California and Germany. Every day our leap of faith into the unknown challenges our patience and perseverance.

Last weekend, we went to see the movie “Risen.” The Romans heard the rumors that Jesus would arise from the dead after his brutal crucifixion. When Jesus body disappeared from the tomb where he was buried, the Roman authorities were determined to find his body. They wanted to discredit the belief that Jesus was resurrected. A Roman soldier followed the early disciples in order to destroy the believers—instead his life was transformed by what he saw. He along with many others took a giant leap of faith and believed that Jesus was the long awaited Savior and Messiah.

What other leaps of faith await you during this Leap Year?

• Traveling to that dream destination on your “bucket list.”
•  Furthering your education in order to pursue a different career.
•  Forgiving a person from your past and working on reconciliation.
•  Making a personal commit to Jesus as your Savior or working toward a deeper relationship with Him.    

   A Leap Year is a good time to take a leap of faith.  

After all you have one more day to make it happen.

February Fun

February is the shortest month in the year and sometimes the dreariest as spring is still weeks away. But, if you put your mind to it, it can be a month for a good time. National Groundhog Day is behind us and Valentine Day is just around the corner. The groundhog did not see his shadow and we will have an early spring and love will be in the air, at least through February 14.

But do you know there are a lot of other fun days to celebrate in February? For example, who knew February 4^th is:

National Thank a Mailman Day

National Homemade Soup Day

National Create a Vacuum day

To celebrate, I will wave at my mailman, make a pot of soup for supper, and push my vacuum around.

We have George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to thank for being born in February. Our present line up of politicians running for President want to take Father George’s and Uncle Abe’s place in the annals of U.S. history. From the Iowa causes to Super Tuesday, there will be plenty of intrigue, entertainment, accusations, and speeches. As a political junkie, I’ve watched all the debates and have picked my candidate. Our absentee ballots have been mailed for our Super Tuesday vote here in Georgia. Now we get to sit back and watch it all unfold and, hopefully, celebrate when our candidate gets picked.

Think of how much you will accomplish this month if you take seriously the following:

·                                                                                February 11—National Make a Friend Day

·                                                                                February 14—National Organ Donor Day

·                                                                                February 17—National Random Acts of Kindness Day

Or for a more lighthearted approach, recognize these days:

·                                                                              February 6—National Lame Duck Day                                                                  

                                   February 11—National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day

·                                                                              February 16—National Do a Grouch a Favor Day

A lot of folks will be going to Mardi Gras for a super-sized party and folks born on February 29 will actually have a birthday this Leap Year.

Speaking of birthdays you can always celebrate mine on February 8. Isn’t February a great month?