Lisa notes

“I don’t know how old you are. But I know the lie you hear. You are too young. You are too old. You don’t know enough, or you know too much. The truth is that courage doesn’t have an expiration date. Courage doesn’t have a marker that says, ‘You must be taller than THIS to ride this ride.’”
– Annie F. Downs

Do you feel brave?

If yes, skip this (unless you want to understand how the rest of us feel).

I rarely feel brave. So when I need to do brave things, I either (a) don’t do them, or (b) do them scared.

I learned a long time ago that I can’t wait to (c) lose the fear first.

A year ago, I wanted to take this trip. But I was uncertain. I was skeptical. And I was scared. So I let it pass me by.

This year, the trip came back. Again I wanted to go. Again I was scared.

But I’m going anyway. I’m getting my brave on. (Pray for me please?)

What do you need to get your brave on for?

In Let’s All Be Brave, author Annie Downs says “courage looks different for each one of us.”

“We each just have to be brave in our own ways.
Maybe you do want to be a missionary in a foreign country. My friend, that is brave. It really is. But so is being a stay-at-home mom. And so is being a counselor. Or a professional athlete. Or a writer. Or an event planner. Or a technician.
Courage looks different for each of us.”

What takes courage for you and what takes courage for me can totally differ. Maybe traveling overseas is nothing to you, but visiting the elderly in a nursing home is too uncomfortable. Or maybe you can speak sermons over crowds, but you won’t risk being vulnerable to your spouse.

The circumstances differ, but the fears are similar.

When Annie was afraid to move away from Georgia, she took it one step at a time.

“I never felt brave. I never had a moment of extreme courage or belief that this was going to be the best decision I had ever made.
I just did the next thing.
Quit my job.
Sold my house.
Packed my belongings.
Said good-byes.”

That’s how we can do it, too. Just do today’s next thing. Maybe it’s committing to prayer for a season. Maybe it’s verbalizing your dream to someone. Maybe it’s investigating details for a trip out of your comfort zone, even if that’s just down the street.

One step at a time. That’s the only way I put on my brave. First I asked God about Guatemala. Then I talked to Jeff about it. Next I researched the specifics.

And this week, I’ll zip up my suitcase, step into an airplane, and step out into Guatemala, Lord willing.

I’ll still be shaky, but I’ll also be excited and invigorated and expanding.

Because I won’t be alone. God never calls us to do a brave thing on our own. He goes with us. In us. Ahead and behind us.

“And really, the thing that keeps us from the brave thing? Fear that we’re in this by ourselves. We. Aren’t.
In Matthew 28:20, Jesus says one sentence that slays that fear: ‘And surely I am with you always…’ Surely he is.”

Surely he is. With us at home. With us in the air. With us in the mountains of Central America.

Whatever brave thing you choose to do today, don’t think it’s too small to be significant. I love how Annie puts it:

“Making the brave choice in your life is going to change the world. At the least, it will change your world.“

I know I won’t change Guatemala just by my presence there.

But God can change me by his presence there.

“Do whatever it takes to expand your map. Because if you will go where you’ve never gone before, you will see God like you’ve never seen him before.”

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How are you being called to be brave this week? What is today’s next thing for you? Please share.

Related:

• Need perspective? Try 10/10/10
• Book review of Decisive
• Grace in El Salvador

My thanks to BookLook Bloggers
for the review copy of Let’s All Be Brave

“Connection is why we’re here. We are hardwired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering.”
– Brené Brown

What you know matters. What I know matters.

But there is something that matters more. Who you are. Who I am.

Showing up to each other—letting each other be seen by the other—is a daring venture. But such vulnerability is “the center of meaningful human experiences,” so says Brené Brown in her enlightening book, Daring Greatly.

“To love ourselves and support each other in the process of becoming real is perhaps the greatest single act of daring greatly.”

One key to letting ourselves be real is to release any shame we feel about not being enough.

Brené describes her “three ninja-warrior gremlin moves” to eliminate shame:

1. Practice courage and reach out!
2. Talk to myself the way I would talk to someone I really love and whom I’m trying to comfort in the midst of a meltdown.
3. Own the story! Don’t bury it and let it fester or define me.

It takes courage to be vulnerable. We’re more comfortable hiding. Three ways we hide are (1) we expect the worst, (2) we try to be perfect, and (3) we numb our pain with other things.

To counteract (1) foreboding joy, practice gratitude. Turn loose your (2) perfectionism through being more creative. And realize that when you (3) numb pain, you’re also numbing experiences of love, joy, and belonging; make peace with being uncomfortable.

It’s okay to allow ourselves to be vulnerable. It means we’re in the game, and even though we may pick up scars from playing, we are triumphant from having participated.

Here’s the quote from Theodore Roosevelt that inspired Brené to write the book and pursue wholehearted living. May it inspire each of us as well.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,

because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;

who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. . . .”
– Theodore Roosevelt

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Get free downloads of Daring Greatly checklists here.

Is it hard or easy for you to be vulnerable to others? Why or why not? Let’s share in the comments.