Brave?

I've never considered myself a brave person. I was the kid who couldn't go near water after seeing Jaws (Okay, I admit it, I still spot imaginary fins once in a while and catch myself wanting to run for dry land.) or sleep without the hall light on. I avoid confrontation as if it were the equivalent of skydiving without a parachute, and I am terrified of air travel. People think I'm gutsy because I am not only willing to speak, sing, or perform in front of an audience but will be the first to raise my hand for solo auditions. But when it comes to the scary life stuff, I would much rather play it safe. At least that is how it has been until lately.

Without delving into all the drama, the last few years have been filled with moments when I had no choice but to face the unavoidable head on and make choices that required huge risks. Cowering and avoiding simply weren't options. At the time, it seemed like I was only doing what I had to do. I was scared out of my mind 99% of the time, so I didn't consider my actions all that courageous. When friends started telling me, "You are one of the strongest women I know," or responding to my stories with, "That took a lot courage," it took a while for me to realize that they were right. That's when I recognized that perhaps I was braver than I gave myself credit for, but that I couldn't take the credit. Maybe I had brave all wrong. Is it possible that God's wants us to be a bit fearful so we will cry out to Him when life crashes down, and give Him the glory when we get to the end of a crisis and realize that we just faced something that should have sent us running in the opposite direction? 

Now, I see that being brave is about more than sleeping in the dark, swimming with sharks, and skydiving; it's about standing strong when life seems to be crumbling and making the tough decisions knowing God is with me. I have learned through all this that, like grace and strength, courage is something that God given when we need it, and that the more we see Him take us through, the more we are able to say, "I am scared to death, but I'm going to try this anyway."

How brave are you when you really think about it? What are you afraid of? What have you done lately that required a lot of guts?


Now that I'm feeling so strong, perhaps I'll try swimming in the ocean. On second thought, I'm not quite that brave.


 
    

From Tentative to Courageous

I'm pretty bold . . . so I thought. And then God began to reveal areas where instead I am tentative or hesitant, where I might have some hidden fear.

Even something as simple as saying what is important and true and on my heart--with confidence and conviction . . .



. . . with courage.



Courage is my theme word for this year. I plan to be more aware and watching for how God works that in me in the coming months. I laugh at myself when my first thought is, "That could be scary." Okay . . . courage, Jan.

God told his people in several contexts, "Be strong and courageous," and each time that was accompanied with a promise that he would be with them. (Deut. 31:6; Joshua 1:6-9, 10:25; 2 Ch. 32:7)

So courage as my theme word for the year will also mean bumping up my awareness of all the ways God is with me.

How about you? Do you have a sort of theme going on, a new way to think or be that God is calling you to?

http://www.jankern.com/
http://www.courageousmoves.com/

Quote Challenges

I love quotes. Last night at a friend’s graduation I was inspired by a few I’ve heard before, but the context of the ceremony and the students’ speeches revived their challenges for me. Here are some:

“I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

—Thomas Edison (who tried 10,000 alloys before discovering the filament that would work for his electric bulb)

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

—Seneca, Roman Philospher, 1st Century AD

"The greater danger for most of us lies in not setting our aim high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark."

—Michelangelo

All of these quotes challenge me to push forward, dig deeper, and aim higher; to enjoy the process of determined attempts even when I have to start over; to see the hope in changes even when good things seem to have come to an end; to strive for goals that are, no doubt, out of reach even when I could fall short.

Just wondering. In the above quotes, do you happen to see some scriptural parallels in stories or verses you’ve read recently? Up for sharing them here? And please also feel free to share some of your favorite quotes and what they inspire for you.

Jan

New release:

Eyes Online, Eyes On Life—A Journey Out of Online Addictions

(A story of a Colin’s journey of courage and others like him—guys and girls—who've discovered a way out their traps of compulsive Internet use.)

www.jankern.com

Be bold

So, I was at this fiction writers conference this weekend. And since we’re all novelists, we get kind of emotional and spiritual and weird and weepy.

A friend of mine came to the decision this weekend, “Darn it! I’m not going to listen to the trends of the publishing Market anymore, I’m just going to write what I think God wants me to write!”

Because, of course, God trumps Market every time.

(She’s probably going to kill me for telling this story, but it’s a perfect illustration of what I want to say.)

So she pitched this WAY COOL (and yes, I’m shouting) and incredibly unique (read: unmarketable) story idea and got a very positive response. It was like God was saying, “Yeah, girl, you obey Me and we’ll go places!”

Here’s my point: Forget trends and peer pressure and just do what you feel God telling you to do. You know what I’m talking about. It’s an urging in your heart that’s been bugging you for weeks. It’s a burning on your tongue that you try to stifle because you’re afraid you’ll sound stupid.

God will NOT let you fall on your face. He doesn’t work that way. He always brings some kind of good out of any action we do for Him. And most of the time, it’s really really good.

I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but God wouldn’t ask you to do something without giving you some divine help to do it.

And if you’re not feeling that urging or that burning right now, then store up this info for when God does set that in you. He can call you anytime to do some really awesome things for Him.