This month of 31 Days to Living Bravely I’ll be sharing on Sundays the verses I have come to cling to, rely on, believe in on this journey. Find some index cards and start your own list of go to verses. They have been life changers for me.

 

This is day 6 of 31 Days to Living Bravely. If you’d like to catch up on the series, just click here.

We’ve been talking about steps of bravery this week. This song by Matt Redman keeps coming to mind. Powerful words. Powerful truth. Take a listen…

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did you leave us on our own
You are faithful
God, You are faithful
Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we are breathing out Your praise
You are faithful
God, You are faithful

 

 

Missed a day? You can just click here to get to the index.

 

 

 

Yesterday was about what brave is not. (here it is) So what’s next?

“Do the thing afraid” has become my mantra. It’s something I whisper, mostly shout, to myself daily. At first I thought it was the decision and action of taking that first brave step. But for me it turns out that bravery doesn’t begin with a step, it starts by taking a knee.

Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care. Ps 95:6-7

To kneel means to bow one’s self. When I choose to kneel, I lay down all that I’m not and believe in all that He is. It’s not running away from the brave thing. It’s a surrender knowing I cannot even begin to take a first step without bowing, worshiping, taking my rightful place under His care. Then, and only then, am I ready to take the first brave step.

My prayer for you and me today…

My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes! Ephesians 3:14-21

Thank you for joining me on this journey to living bravely.

Missed a day? You can just click here to get to the index.

Thank you for joining me for day 2.

Sometimes I think I need to figure out what something isn’t before I can know what it really is. Make sense? (I’m imagining nods in agreement.)

So…what is brave not?

Brave is not fearless.

If we wait until we don’t feel afraid, we’ll stay stuck and do nothing. And that nothing becomes so comfortable. And safe. There is no bravery in that.

Living bravely is choosing to do that thing – whatever that is for you – and then taking a step, a teeny, tiny step forward. We’ll be talking about that first step tomorrow. But for now, please know that without a little (or a lot of!) fear, there is no place for brave.

I used to be the queen of fear. I wore the crown well. Secretly, but well. It was my security blanket. My comfort place to go to when I didn’t want to step out and do something new. Part of me longed to do the brave thing, but usually fear won.

Until several years ago when I attended a women’s event by myself. Yes, all by myself. At the time I was scared to death, but looking back it seems like a pretty brave step. At one point the speaker said, “Want to be brave? Are you scared? Do the thing afraid! Do the thing afraid!”

The light bulbs started going off in my head. Waves of understanding rushed over my heart. Brave does not mean fearless. Brave is doing the thing afraid.

I had been waiting forever for the fear to leave, but how could it when I was treating it like royalty and giving it such a high place of honor in my life? Over the course of that weekend, I decided to lay down my crown of fear. I went from being the queen of fear to a recovering fear girl. Recovering because each day, each moment requires me to make a choice. Living bravely or living fearfully.

Do you have your own brave is not statement? I’d love to hear it. Please share.

Missed a day? You can just click here to get to the index.

Day 1

Welcome! For the month of October I’m linking up with The Nester for a series of 31 posts on one topic for 31 days. Yes, me, who is a random blogger at best is joining in with I don’t even know who many other bloggers from all over the world. You really need to check it out…just click here.

I hope you’ll join me this month in discovering how to live bravely. It’s a daily pursuit. One where we’re braver when we do it together.

Over the next 31 days we’ll learn what brave is and what it’s not. We’ll practice living bravely in several areas of our lives. Some days there will be short posts. Some days quotes of inspiration. And maybe some days where you share with us how you do living bravely. Those will be the sweetest days of the month.

To be honest, I’m not feeling very brave. 31 days is a lot of blogging. Blogging is something I can let terrify me. But in the midst of all those waves of fear – let’s just call it what it is – is an overwhelming sense of excitement. I’m choosing to go with excitement. You, too?

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you come back often. Let’s be brave girls together.

 

Day 1   31 Days to Living Bravely (this post!)
Day 2   What Brave is Not
Day 3   That First Brave Step
Day 4   Sometimes It’s All In A Song
Day 5   Some Saturday Inspiration
Day 6   Sunday Reflection
Day 7   Loving Ourselves Brave
Day 8   When It Starts With Finish
Day 9   Loving Bravely
Day 10 & 11 – technical difficulties…thank you for grace
Day 12  Saturday Reflection
Day 13  Sunday Inspiration
Day 14  Brave Like A Mom
Day 15  Living Bravely is Messy
Day 16  What Half Way Has Taught Me
Day 17  A Celebration of Living
Day 18  Habit of Surrender
Day 19  Saturday Inspiration
Day 20 Sunday Reflection
Day 21  Bravery After A Wounding
Day 22  Where Are The Brave Girls?
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27
Day 28
Day 29
Day 30
Day 31