You Gotta Have Faith

Yes, it's a George Michael lyric. And someone else's lyric too, I'm sure. It's probably been restated over and over again in many inspirational publications, discussed in churches, you get my drift. But what I'm learning right about now is that it's one thing to remind yourself to have faith; it's quite another to actually feel and possess faith.

Taking a leap of faith can be very scary. I recently decided to do some contract legal work for a new company started by a friend, and I'm excited about that. I thought this would be a great way to supplement my income and help provide for my family, while still having the safety net of my salaried part-time job.

That was the plan, anyway, until my employer decided that I should go to contract status there too, effectively making me self-employed. In just one week.

I feel sort of like the baby bird who's pushed out of the nest just before she's really ready.

Photo from exploitsofmommyhood.blogspot.com

Follow-up: Brad and Angelina, Shrek and Fiona

One thing I want to start doing on the blog is following up on earlier pieces when the same or related issues come up later, as is often the case. For example, you may recall my piece on why marriage matters to kids, "If It's Good Enough for Brad and Angelina...".

In that post, I discussed the famous couple's initial commitment not to marry until marriage is legal for everyone, which they apparently (and understandably) considered revisiting when their kids expressed an interest in having married parents. I explained the intangibles, the feeling and the status conferred by the word "marriage," and how that impacts children, regardless of who their parents are.

Photo by Eric Ryan/ Getty Images