29 reasons to make the leap

Unless you've spent today under a rock, you probably know it's leap day. You've probably heard people urging you to "Seize the day," or do something different today.

If only we treated every day as leap day, a day to break out of our comfortable routine and shake things up a bit. No matter what day you actually get around to reading this, I've made a list of reasons to make the leap -- into whatever you've been putting off, whatever you have wanted to do but lacked the courage to complete.

My reason is simple and selfish: I've been putting off migrating this blog over to WordPress, and I figured if I told you, my dear readers, about the move then I'd actually follow through with it. So next week (at least, I hope it'll be ready by next week), visit my blog here to see news about the move and to find the new link. In the meantime, here's the list of 29 reasons to leap.

The first four are mostly a pep talk for me and a handful of friends who have considered migrating their blogs over, too, but the rest apply to any of you:

1. One-way conversations are simply no fun (I know people who are all talk and no listen, and being around them is annoying, and I don't want my blog to be like that un-fun). Plus, y'all have told me that commenting can be really frustrating or even downright impossible.
2. WordPress will give the blog a cleaner look for readers using smart phones and tablets.
3. I'll be able to blog more easily from a tablet (yep -- they make an app for that). So that means I can keep in touch with you more easily while I'm traveling or otherwise not chained to my desk.
4. I'll have more layout choices for the blog, which means it'll be more fun -- or at least easier -- for you to read and navigate the blog.
5. A leap like this can teach yet another small lesson about how to stop procrastinating. I believe this to be a lesson that will take a lifetime for me too learn, one that I won't get it right until the last possible moment, and even then, I may try to find a way to put things off a bit longer.
6. Leap year only happens once every four years -- so take advantage of the extra day to try something adventurous.
7. You won't have to keep wondering, "What if ..."
8. You'll gain a sense of accomplishment.
9. You'll gain a sense of peace.
10. Leaps usually aren't boring.
11. It's good to take your breath away from time to time.
12. You can quote Emerson, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Hobgoblin is just a fun word to say. Try saying it out loud to yourself right now. Does it make you smile a bit?
13. After the leap, you'll free up your mind to think about the next challenge.
14. Leaps give you an interesting topic of conversation.
15. They're also a great reason to pray.
16. And they're an even better reason to ask others to pray along with you.
17. Leaps can re-energize your mind.
18. Impress your kids and set a good example for them. A friend posted the words to one of my favorite Avett Brothers songs on Facebook today, and I thought it fit perfectly with this: And I want to stand up and I want to stand tall/If I ever have a son, if I ever have a daughter/I don't want to tell them that I didn't give my all./ And I just want my life to be true/I just want my heart to be true/I just want my words to be true/I want my soul to feel brand, brand new.
19. Impress your dog.
20. Leaps give you something to crow -- or tweet -- about.
21. Leaps can make your life better/easier/more exciting/richer (I don't necessarily mean material wealth, here).
22. A leap could make you a better friend/neighbor/expert.
23. You'll have a story to tell your grandkids one day.
24. Your leap may bring a blessing to someone else.
25. You might just learn something new.
26. You'll expand your options.
27. You may discover a new calling.
28. A leap could be the most exhilarating part of today.
29. A leap may be God's way of preparing you for an even greater leap -- and maybe each subsequent leap will be less and less scary to you.

Whether the next few days find you trying to decide to move your blog, quit your job, jump across a stream during a 50-mile trail race, start a new church, start a new hobby, or start a big new chapter in your life ... make the leap.

Legal disclaimer: I'm not encouraging you to try anything stupid, death-defying or death-enducing, but if you do something and don't manage to defy death, your family and friends can't sue me because of this list. However, if you follow my encouragement and moments of joy, freedom or even hilarity result, I hope you'll share them by commenting below.

When the acorn rolls away from the tree

I was at an appointment this morning with a doctor who is always conversational and tries to keep the visits light and fun. Today's conversation veered in the direction of faith and religion, after I told her I'd been busy working on a book about trees in the Bible.

She spoke first of her son, a pre-teen who has announced he doesn't believe in "all this God business." Maybe he's just going through a rebellious stage and trying to hit his parents where it will hurt most, but she's worried that he may end up like two of her brothers who grew up going to church and now, as adults, don't have faith.

She went on then to speak of her daughter, away at college, and her struggle with how hard to push her daughter about finding a church at college. She decided that she'd mention it once and then try hard not to nag or ask again, wanting her daughter to make her own choice about finding a faith community as an adult.

Isn't there an app for that?

Confession time, again: I'm addicted to my iPhone. But I don't have a ton of apps. I have exactly 26 apps on my phone, including three game apps (no, Angry Birds isn't one of them), a dictionary app and all of the apps that come preset on the phone.

Apple's web site touts 425,000 apps for iPhone. So no wonder they've trademarked the phrase, "There's an app for that."

I got really excited about one of those 425,000 apps the other day. My Real Simple magazine this month told of a free app called Leafsnap that could help me identify trees using pictures of their leaves. Knowing how I love trees, are you surprised that I'd be happy to download that app?