100 Days to Brave: You Can Be So Brave

You’re invited! We are launching Summer Book Club for the first time ever! We will be reading Annie F. Downs’s awesome new devotional 100 Days to Brave together and would love for you to join us in a journey towards courage, faith, confidence, and a deeper walk with Jesus.

What if we were brave? What could happen?

What if the fear that hunts us met with the shield of faith? What if that thing we always wanted to do, we just started doing it? What if that idea from the Lord actually got our feet moving forward? What if we stopped letting the voice of the enemy dictate our days? What if in 100 days we were far more brave?

I don’t know about you but I’ve done my dance with fear for far too long. I’ve let intimidation, and negative “self” talk (who’s really talking, hmm?), and the bully of fear stop me from ministry I could have done, and friends I could have made, and adventures God and I could have gone on… and I’m done! Do you know what I want as my life verse?

She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future. — Proverbs 31:25

How about you?

Join the book club today (it’s free, easy to follow along, and not a huge time commitment — plus you’ll get some free goodies when you sign up!) and discover that you are braver than you know and stronger than you ever thought possible.

#BraveSummerBookClub

Learn more and get the free downloads here

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Brave Enough to Speak Kindly to Yourself

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. — Proverbs 18:21 NIV

This morning when I did not like the look of the jeans I put on, I told myself so. Old Annie would have continued a barrage of ugly remarks about my looks, but instead, I looked in the mirror and said, “Hey, put on a different pair. No biggie.” And I shook it off and changed.

See how Proverbs 18:21 says everything you say is either producing life or death? It’s just as true when you talk to yourself as when you are speaking to others. Just like with my jeans this morning, I have to choose words of life over words of death. That’s the kind of conversations I want to have with myself — the ones that are truthful, kind, and full of life.

Friend, stop being mean to yourself. Seriously.

If you are going to be the person who does the brave things God is calling you to do, speaking life and developing beautiful things in others with your words, it begins with doing that for yourself.

Self-talk is a big part of everyone’s life. We constantly and subconsciously have thoughts running through our minds that direct our days. You need to listen to those. The negative ones? The ones that cut you down and make you feel unloved and afraid? Time to chuck them. Stop yourself, identify the lie, and say the truth in its place.

Speaking kindly to yourself will make you brave.

And if you’re having trouble finding reasons to speak kindly to yourself, remember: It’s not that you have earned the love of God or that you deserve love. God loves us, even though we don’t deserve it (1 John 4:19).

You haven’t earned this love; it’s a gift. We don’t attempt to beat the lies and believe the truth and love ourselves because we are perfect. We do it because in our imperfections, God loves us deeply and has made us just the way He wanted.

You can speak kindly to yourself because God loves you deeply because you are His. Speak kindly to yourself, as Jesus speaks kindly to you. Those words have power, and if you believe them, you will be brave.

Be Brave: Write yourself a quick note and list three things you are thankful for about yourself. (Seriously. Do it.)

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Brave Enough to Believe You Are Never Alone

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. — Matthew 28:20 NIV

When God made it clear that He wanted me to move to Nashville, I was terrified. I barely like to go to the bathroom alone — I certainly didn’t want to move to a new state alone. To live in a place other than Georgia felt absolutely foreign.

On New Year’s Day, I told two of my best friends, Haley and Molly. We sat on Haley’s living room floor as I shared the story, and thankfully they were on my side — the side that said moving was a lunatic idea and I had for sure made it up. “If you want to be a writer,” Haley said, “can’t you just do that in Atlanta? There have got to be a lot of Atlanta writers around.” For a solid twenty minutes, we brainstormed. Then we stopped, and tears leaked down our faces as we realized the truth. God was asking me to be braver than I had ever thought possible, and it was going to bring sadness to us all. I was about to willingly walk into a season when I would feel very alone.

Then August came along, and all of a sudden, it was done. The thing that had been in the front of my mind and prayers and worries was no longer off in the future. It was here. I was here.

No friends. No church. No family. No idea where to find the post office, grocery store, or hospital. Alone.

Or at least, I felt alone. But I wasn’t. Do you know what Immanuel means? It is one of God’s names and means “God with us.” Because Jesus paid the price for our sin, God is always with us. Jesus said He would be with us until the end of time.

See? Even when you feel alone, you actually aren’t. He is the One who sticks with you no matter what. And you are brave enough to believe that what He said is true. He is always with you. Believe it. Do the hard thing God is leading you to do. You are never alone.

Be Brave: Just look in the mirror today and say to yourself, “Friend, you are never alone.” (I do this a lot — such a good reminder.)

Excerpted with permission from 100 Days to Brave by Annie F. Downs, copyright Annie F. Downs.

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Your Turn

Sometimes building our brave muscles happens differently that we think it should. Sometimes it means trusting the Lord that when He made us, He did something really good! And sometimes it means trusting that whatever “lunatic” idea He puts in our hands is the right and good one. Today, let’s be brave and believe it! Come share your thoughts with us on our blog. We want to hear from you! ~ Laurie McClure, Faith.Full

Please join us for the 100 Days to Brave Summer Book Club! Learn more here.