We’ve done it. Somehow, we’ve managed to talk about courage for a full 31 days.

And I. Have. Loved. It.

There is so much left to say, so much left for me to learn from you, so many more verses and Bible stories to discuss. Stick around… I don’t think we’re quite done with this topic yet. [Though I will be happy to focus on something different in November... like leaving Edinburgh. Weird.]

Speaking of Edinburgh, here’s something I forgot to tell you. In that little 31 Days of Courage button over there…. the grey pixelated background you see? That’s a map of Edinburgh. I thought that was a cool thing to build my courage button over.

I don’t know about you, but this month has been really great and terribly hard. I didn’t expect this series to cause the kind of stir in the spiritual atmosphere that I’ve been experiencing. I mean, I’m sure it is a bunch of factors [including being on the front lines of a church plant in Edinburgh], but having all of you considering courage is a major thing and I think the battle for your hearts is a major battle. And a worthy battle it is.

Because if we all choose to embrace courage in our every day lives, we will change the atmosphere of the world in which we live.

And that, my friend, is no small thing.

So what now?

Now you have to be brave. Now you have to do that thing that you are scared to do. Or say that yes that makes your heart feel like it will burst out of your chest. Or say no because you know it is the right thing to do. It’s time to go or it’s time to buckle down and stay. Remember, it doesn’t have to be extreme [but it can be!]. Courage is simple and daily and yet, it changes everything.

It’s time to be a people who may hear the whispers of fear, but we don’t listen to them. Instead, we choose the braver voice in our ears.

In one year, October 31, 2012, I’m going to ask for your story of courage, the simple and profound moments that shaped you. I wonder how our lives will be different then…

And, if you would permit, I’d like to end this month praying for you.

Father,

Thank You for these friends who stop by here every day. I am beyond grateful that You have created a place where we all share our thoughts and a place where we can challenge each other. God, my heart is to see this community really embrace a courageous lifestyle. I know everyone’s story will be different, but I pray that You would speak to each heart individually and show them their path of courage. I pray that lives all around us would begin to be influenced by our moments of simple bravery. And I pray, above all else, that You would be glorified in our courage. It’s all for You.   … Amen.

Yesterday, I listed for you a few of my favorite resources in the courage department. And I would be remiss if I didn’t share a few resources from the Bible.

The greatest reminders to be brave can be found on page after page of the Bible.

We already talked about some brave Bible characters:
Jesus
David
Queen Esther
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

You could also read up on Peter, the disciples, Gideon [as Jules mentioned], Noah, Caleb, John, Rahab, Paul, or Ruth… just to name a few. There are many. Tons. Legion. Masses. It’s what I love about the Bible- it constantly reminds us of the variety of people God can use and the variety of ways courage can be displayed.

Looking through my journal and Bible and using BibleGateway.com, I’ve made a short list of verses that speak of a lifestyle of courage. If you are on a journey toward a life of greater courage, why don’t you pick one or two to memorize? These are some of my absolute favorites.

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“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

“You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to You.” – 1 Chronicles 17:25  [Courage to pray? We talked about that.]

“Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.” – 1 Chronicles 19:13

“When I called, You answered me; You made me bold and stouthearted.” – Psalm 138:3

“The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” – Proverbs 28:1

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13

“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.’” – Acts 18:9

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” -Philippians 1:20

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16

[It is taking all the willpower I can muster up in my soul not to write a paragraph about each of these verses. So. You're welcome for keeping this below 5000 words. ]

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Is there a favorite brave Bible character I forgot to mention? Or do you have a verse that reminds you to be courageous that isn’t in this list?

Today for 31 Days of Courage, my sister Tatum is sharing about her super brave life. As in, she’s brave. I’m not. If you’ve ever considered a life of full time missions, she’s your girl.

Tatum, take it away.

. . . . .

When Annie asked me to write a post about courage, I thought to myself “I don’t really have anything to write about that…I’m not particularly brave…my life has been easy and awesome…my courage hasn’t been tested.” But the longer I thought about it, I realized two huge, amazing reasons why I don’t feel brave. So I guess I’ll write about those.

If you look at my life, there are some situations that people would think required courage. God radically changed my life when I was 12, and since then the only job I could imagine for my future was being a missionary. I’ve had the privilege of pursuing that dream since I graduated high school. A big part of that pursuit has been working with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) periodically since 2000 then full time since 2008. I’ve had quite a few adventures since then that might look brave:

2 months in India as a 19 year-old (before digital cameras…sorry)

over a year in Ghana

traveling around Asia (mostly by myself…meeting up with people in different locations)

and 2 months in Vietnam.

But here are the reasons I don’t feel brave.

1. My people. I have never known what it feels like to NOT be supported. (I know that’s a double negative, but stick with me here.) For my entire life, I have been surrounded by people who know how to love and encourage well. People who have believed that God had an awesome plan for my life, and loved me enough to push me toward Him. Parents who have allowed and even encouraged me to follow the Lord even when that meant me living far away and not having the life they envisioned for me.

2. The biggest reason: my amazing God. We have a Heavenly Father who cares more about us than we can ever imagine. Jesus loves us SOOOO much that He left His home and His Father (we can’t fathom that sacrifice!) and suffered here on Earth, dying a humiliating death…all so that He could defeat death and sin in order to have relationship with us again. So what do I have to be afraid of? He’s already taken care of the danger and pain, and He’s proven that His love for me is greater than any risk I could ever face. Our Heavenly Father is all-powerful, all-knowing, just, righteous, and good. He IS love. So even if a situation seems scary or looks painful, we have a wonderful Father that we can trust to take care of us. And even when a situation does hurt, we can trust that He is hurting with us, that He sees the bigger, eternal picture, and that His plan is greater than our minds can comprehend.

I turned 30 last week. [Thirty, flirty and thriving! Right? Anyone? 13 Going On 30? No? Ok.] I know that my life is all about missions, but I have no idea where I’ll be living or exactly what I’ll be doing after February. Here is what I do know: I have an awesome Father in Heaven. And it is an honor to walk through these unknowns with Him, following His lead, and experiencing His gracious love. When I start to feel the fear creep in, I remind myself of who our great God is and how He loves me. And I lean into trusting Him more.

On the outside it looks like courage..on the inside it is choosing to trust the Lord of all creation.

It doesn’t feel so brave when I think of it like that.

Courage isn’t a complicated topic to write about. I mean, we all desire to be courageous and we all respect people that we think are brave.

But living life courageously is quite another thing.

As mentioned way back on Day 3, a lack of courage is nothing more than a lack of understanding. If you are afraid to be brave, you have forgotten one of these things:

1. Who you are. [That was Day 8.]
2. Who loves you. [That was Day 17.]
3. The eternal impact you can make on this world. [That's today!]

I see someone else trust God for finances, for a husband, for a job, for friends, for a future and I think, “then I will trust Him too.”

If I can watch you be brave in your world, then I can be brave in mine.

I have lots of hopes and dreams about this season in Edinburgh. But one of the top things I hope so much is that others will now be brave enough to serve God across the world. See, I watched someone else do it. I saw their courage and I saw that they survived . They made an eternal impact on me. And everyone who reads these words or somehow chooses courage because of my life, they are a ripple effect of the people who impacted me.

We are eternal beings with eternal futures and we have the opportunity, here on this temporal Earth, to make an eternal impact.

Whether that is in your job, your family, or your mission field- its time to be brave. It’s time to realize that people are watching. It’s time to make the kind of eternal impact that will create a culture of courage.

I know this post feels serious and bossy [and long], but I must confess that I feel pretty passionate about this. We cannot keep living like our lives are just about us. They aren’t. 

I don’t know what this looks like for you. I wouldn’t dare to guess. Maybe you don’t know either, and that’s okay. Ask God. Just ask. Just ask God for opportunities to be courageous and make an eternal impact and He will give them. I promise.

Be brave in your world and watch as that ripples through your community. 

All hail the Queen.

I love the book of Esther. It’s a fairly short read, I highly recommend it. It’s an amazing story of sacrifice and courage starring this one young girl. Or one little vegetable, as the case may be.

I wish we could watch the whole episode together and just chat about it. Veggie Tales does this thang where they make Bible stories super easy to understand and talk about. Especially for us simple-minded folk – meaning me.

Here’s a quick overly-simple explanation of the story of Esther.

King Xerxes is married to Queen Vashti.

Queen Vashti angers him and in a drunken rage, he sends her away forever.

So he sends some of his dudes on a search throughout the land for a new queen. And they collect up lots o’ pretty girls and bring them back to the King’s palace. One of these girls is a young Jewish gal called Esther. She’s gorgie-poo and super sweet and lovely. Her uncle, who is like a father to her, Mordecai, works at the palace. So he checks on her a lot during the months of beauty treatments before she meets the King.

[I told you this was a simple retelling. Just hang with me. Or read the book yourself. Or both. ]

King Xerxes loved her and makes her Queen. Bam. He doesn’t know she’s a Jew, and she doesn’t tell.

Soon, one of the King’s top guys, Haman, comes up with a plot to kill all the Jews in the land. And Mordecai hears and tells Esther that she must save her people.

Here comes the courage part…. as if the whole becoming Queen process wasn’t courageous enough.

It was totally illegal for Esther to approach the King. It was also illegal, thanks to Haman’s new No Jews Allowed thing, to be Jewish.

So when Mordecai said that Esther had to stop this plot and save the Jewish people by talking to the King, she originally said no thanks. [I like this girl. I like her so much.]

Then Mordecai sent her this note:

He sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4)

My friend Melissa, one of the missionaries in Prague, and I were talking about this exact section of scripture. Can you imagine God giving you a chance to be courageous and you turn it down, knowing that He will find someone else to do it? I would never want that. I’m sure I’ve done it before, but it breaks my heart to think that my NO to God caused Him to offer my courageous choice to someone else.

You really should read the rest of the story. It doesn’t get much more dramatic and suspenseful and amazing than this.

Spoiler: Her courage pays off. Big time. [Just like courage still pays off today.]

I want to be like Esther. I want to proudly stand in the positions the Lord has given me and act courageous right there. It’s not about being the Queen. It’s about being brave right where you are.

We have to know that God has placed us HERE for such a time as this. You are not an accident. You were made on purpose and placed right where you are to be brave and bring Him glory.

. . . . .

Where have you been placed for such a time as this?

FYI. I am in Prague. Three of my best pals from my time at the Wesley Foundation in Athens are missionaries here. And I figured this is probably the best time to get to see their digs. SUCH a beautiful city! Have you been here? Anything I MUST see?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch [meaning America], this week has been very exciting for a couple of my friends. So I’ve shoved aside the scheduled post about courage to give you another post about courage.

That works out nicely.

Here’s the thing about Nashville. It’s full of good artists. And brave people. And brave artists.

You watch people work and work and work. Make art day after day. Write lyrics that are so raw and honest that they make you cringe. Sing past their easy place. Eat Ramen noodles and go on low attended tours. I’m telling ya, there are people all over that town who have spent their lives like this. Being brave as an artist [writer, actor, singer, etc] over and over and honestly, it rarely pays off.

But I have two stories to tell you today to remind you BE BRAVE. Because sometimes, you win big.

. . . . .

#1. Dave Barnes

Dave has been a singer/songwriter a long time. But this week marks a monumental moment.

Dave wrote the NUMBER ONE SONG IN COUNTRY MUSIC! And then he did a great thing by writing a blog post explaining songwriters and singers and how AMAZING this is that Blake recorded his song and took it to #1. Listen to the lyrics of God Gave Me You and you will hear courage woven throughout. It’s an amazing song… no wonder it is #1.

. . . . .

2. Mike Hobert

You may remember Mike – he screened a movie in Nashville that we all LOVED. He’s lived in LA for a long time, worked really hard, tried and tried again to get a break, and it has finally come.

Mike and his brother have created a TV show that got picked up by NBC. I’ll be sure to let you know when it is actually going to be on your television. But for now, this is terribly exciting.

. . . . .

So what am I saying today about courage? Courage means hard work. Courage means don’t quit. Sure, not many of our lives will involve having a #1 country song or being on NBC, but I think these are two amazing examples of men who were brave enough to do what their hearts wanted to do.

And on the stage of their lives, we are able to watch that courage pay off. I, for one, am grateful, because I am encouraged to keep being brave and trying hard and putting my art into the world.

On the success side of courage, it all seems worth it.