“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

We’ve all heard the saying "actions speak louder than words." But words are so much easier than actions. It’s easier to make a promise than follow through on it. It’s easier to give lip service to an idea, or a resolution, than actually following through on it.

Over the last few months, I have been thinking about the idea of DOING versus SAYING. Sometimes we are held back from actually doing something because we doubt our own abilities. Sometimes we are afraid of our own decisions, and that’s why we don’t act. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way, said "We say we are scared by failure. But what frightens us even more is the possibility of success."

At this point, maybe we shouldn’t be asking "why" anymore. Maybe we should just be DOING. I fall into the trap of questioning, examining, and then finally doing something. The reaction should just be to act. To offer to help that person you see struggling. To pull up a word document and start typing that story. To open the Bible and start reading.

The book of Matthew is chock-full of thought -- and action -- provoking parables. One that jumped out to me recently is found in Matthew 21:28-32, the Parable of the Two Sons. Both sons are asked to work in the vineyard, and one agrees to do so and one says he will not. But in the end, only one son follows through on the request. Spoiler alert: it's not the son who said he would.

Read it for yourself, and see what you think. And this week, I challenge you to ACT.