Courage
A few years back I was challenged to pick a word that would be a theme for my up coming year. This word was to shape what I would work on personally, professionally and spiritually. It was a hard concept for me to grasp but after weeks of brainstorming, prayer and talking it out with close friends, I felt God put a word on my heart. The word was... abandon. God wanted me to abandon my old ways of thinking and relating to Him and others. That year was transformational for my relationship with God and how closely I let others know me. I've since kept this practice of picking a word. This year my word is courage. Such a scary word for me! I am by nature more reserved, I like to calculate my risks (so they aren't risks, lol) and stay at arms reach from others opinions of me. So courage immediately throws me into a panic. I could look stupid. I could fail. I may be uncomfortable. I'll have to be vulnerable. Yikes.
But life is too short for my self-preserving ways!
I am learning this word has many meanings for me but the one I would like to focus on comes from this quote:
"Find the courage to make your life a blessing" - Hebrew Prayer
God is asking me to find the courage to be a blessing. To share all the victories, hurts, talents, creativity and resources that I have to help others. You can never know how your life will impact others and it is selfish to not share the gifts you've been given. This blog is a part of that journey. Before this year, I would have never had the courage to put my thoughts and life experiences out here for the world to comb through. Even as I write this I feel silly and reckless but I am committed to obeying God and am curious to see how He uses this!
I am thankful to be surrounded by friends who are taking crazy risks to share what dreams and gifts God has places on their heart. They inspire me to continue on this journey! I hope someday soon to share some of their stories. I also stay inspired by listening to stories of courageous entrepreneurs and their journeys to success. I've added one of my favorite podcast below and a few other resources that I hope will inspire you!
Here are some resources that have help me dig into this:
Scripture
Deuteronomy 31:6(MSG) “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.”
Podcast
Blog
The Crossroads Between Should and Must by Elle Luna
Song
