February 2018 – Page 2

February 5, 2018May 26, 2018

Being Brave: A 40-Day Journey to the Life God Dreams for You

Part 1 of an interview with Kelly Johnson,Author of Being Brave: A 40-Day Journey to the Life God Dreams for You

The world can be a scary place, and the fear it produces can spiral us into a sort of paralysis that keeps us from speaking truth, living boldly, and encouraging others. To spur us back into action, life coach Kelly Johnson has written a devotional, Being Brave: A 40-Day Journey to the Life God Dreams for You (Abingdon Press), to help fan the flame of bravery that lies in wait within everyone.

Q: How did your daughter first start you on the journey to study about being brave, and what role did she play in encouraging you to write this book?

When my youngest daughter was nine years old, she was having a particularly tough day. She had worn me out with her growing list of worries, complaints, aches, pains, and fears, and I told her I didn’t know what else I could do for her. I had depleted my reservoir of mommy tricks in my efforts to help her get to the other side of her increasing angst and finally said to her, “Brooke, I don’t know how to help you.” She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Mommy, I just need you to tell me that I’m a brave soldier.” Her response to me that day began our family’s journey with the power of naming one another brave.

When Brooke left for college a few years ago, she wrote me a letter inviting me to step out and be brave in this new season of my life. Through my curiosity around the word brave, I started writing, reading, and wondering about what being brave meant for women like me who wanted to live lives of meaning and purpose but were sometimes scared to step out of their comfort zones. In October 2015, I offered my first Being Brave retreat where we explored God’s vision for our life, the barriers to fully embracing that braver life, and the part our connection to one another played in hearing God’s voice more clearly. This book was originally created as a resource and follow-up for my retreat attendees to go more deeply into the concepts we covered at the retreat.

Q: How is being brave tied into our faith and identity as Christians? Why is it powerful to be called brave?

The most often repeated command in scripture is “do not fear.” God knew we would need encouragement to help us deal with our tendency to be sidetracked by our fears, so we find hundreds of scriptures about fear and courage in the Bible. Every exhortation to set aside our fear includes a reminder of God’s presence. Because of God’s presence, we can defeat the power of fear in our life and live in the fullness of who God made us to be. Because of God, we are brave. The theme verse for our journey is found in 2 Timothy 1:7:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity,but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.

Remembering we are brave reminds us of our identity as children of God and sets us free to do the next right thing with confidence. Naming one another BRAVE, calling out the brave soldier in each other, is a powerful way of speaking out loud the following message of solidarity and inspiration: “I see your struggle. I see your brave, hard work. I believe in you, and I’m here if you need help.” When we are reminded of our inherent, God-given courage, we can turn down the volume on the voice of our inner critic and turn up the volume on God’s voice. Remembering we are brave helps us tap into the part of ourselves that is creative and resourceful.

Q: You describe part of being brave as being bold, confident, and resilient. What encouragement do you have for the woman who doesn’t feel like she is any of those things?

My experience both personally and in my interactions with friends and clients tells me many of us would have trouble describing ourselves with those words most of the time. While we might be willing to acknowledge confidence, boldness, or resilience in ourselves in some areas, many of us are much quicker to see those qualities in others. We tend to compare our insides with other people’s outsides and reach the conclusion that others possess something we just don’t have. I would encourage the woman who struggles to identify those qualities in herself to ask a trusted friend or family member for help in the discovery process. We are always more connected to our courage in the context of community. Find the people who encourage you to step out and exercise your confidence muscles and offer them the gift of encouragement in return.

I would also encourage her to determine what she thinks being bold, confident, and resilient looks like and act that way until she begins to feel that way. One of my favorite quotes about being brave is from Aristotle. He says, “We become brave by doing brave acts.” I believe scripture tells us that God created us to be brave, bold, confident, and resilient. Until we remember what that feels like, we need to encourage one another and practice doing brave things. Do one thing that scares you every day, no matter how small, and catch your friends being brave.

Q: Who was Being Brave written for?

The Being Brave journey is for women who feel stuck and want to get un-stuck. This book is for the woman who dreams of a life of deeper purpose and passion, even though she isn’t sure she has anything significant to contribute. This book is for the woman who feels lonely, even though she has 750 friends on Facebook, and for the woman who loves Jesus, even though she doesn’t always feel like she fits in at church. This book is for the woman longing for deeper connection to God and to other women like her. This book is for the woman who needs someone to tell her she is brave, her story matters, and the party won’t be complete without her.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the format of Being Brave. How did you intend for the book to be used?

The book is formatted as a forty-day devotional journey. Using our theme scripture from 2 Timothy and an acronym of the word BRAVE, we explore six facets of being brave. On this journey, being brave includes being Bold, Resilient, Authentic, Vulnerable, Engaged, and Empowered by the Spirit. Each day explores one of the six facets of bravery with two scripture verses, an illustration, three thought-provoking questions, and a prayer. Along the way, we take inspiration from Jesus and His brave followers during the final weeks of His ministry, in addition to examples of courage from my own community.

My prayer is that readers will find an accessible guide to thinking about being brave in a new way and be willing to consider the idea that our Creator is willing and able to accompany us on the journey. I hope Being Brave is a book that both seasoned devotional enthusiasts and those who have never used a daily devotional before will find meaningful. In less than thirty minutes, most readers will be able to explore the daily offering and consider ways to incorporate the various facets of bravery into their day.

February 2, 2018April 22, 2018

Is God Calling You?

Worthless, reject, loser, hopeless … the words played over and over in her head. She tried to ignore them but they had awakened something deep inside her. An overwhelming sense of inadequacy and despair washed over her. These were words she had heard many times before. She felt trapped by them. No matter how hard she tried to escape them they sat there deep inside like an anchor. They weighed heavily on her. The truth was, somewhere along the line she started to believe them.

Words have tremendous power. We can use them to call out the best and inspire strength. Alternately, we can use them to plant distortion, limitation and shroud others with a crippling sense of incapacity. Before Jesus was crucified and his disciples were tested he choose to call something out of them. He called out hope, restoration, purpose, identity and promise. His exact words were:

“…You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.”

“You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil.” (John 15:15-16, The Message Bible)

Jesus removed the labels that limited and restricted. He uproots them and plants life. He secures what he seeds in their hearts and minds with a reminder. “You didn’t choose me, I chose you,” he said. These words remind them that there is no dependency on them. Who they were or what they did had no influence on his choice. Their identity was solely dependent on him. The fact is nothing they would or could ever do had the power to uproot what he established in them. He called them his friends. That declaration inspires awe, humility and deep gratitude.

What are you letting others call you? What identity have you adopted that is not your own? Let it go and let God’s declaration take root in your heart. He calls you chosen. He calls you friend.

February 1, 2018January 15, 2024

How to Stand With God Through the Storms of Life

A lady was driving along with her father. They came upon a storm, and the young lady asked her father, what should we do? He said to keep driving. Cars began pulling over to the side of the road as the storm was getting worse. What should I do, the young lady asked? Keep driving, her father replied.

On up a few feet, she noticed that eighteen wheeler lorries were also pulling over to the side of the road. She said I must pull over as I can hardly see ahead. It’s terrible, and everyone else is pulling over. Her father told her not to give up, just keep driving!

Now the storm was horrendous, but she never stopped driving, and soon she could see a little more clearly. After a couple of miles, she was again on dry land, and the sun eventually came out.

Her father said, now you can pull over and get out. She said but why now father? He said because when you get out, you’ll be able to see that all the people that gave up are still in the storm and because you never gave up, your storm is now over.

Have you ever been in a serious thunderstorm or maybe even a hurricane or tornado? This is a testimony for anyone who is going through “hard times” right now. Just because everyone else, even the strongest, gives up. Doesn’t mean you have to. If you keep going, soon your storm will be over too and the sun will shine upon your face again.

This story touched us! We hope it touched you too and feel free to pass it on to people you know and tell them the following:

“Dig deep & pull the roots of confidence from the ground of your being, standing firm in the raging storm until sunlight blossoms inside you.” ’- Curtis Tyrone Jones
In our own strength, we lack sufficient resources and abilities to meet life’s challenges. so God provides what we need. ’- Unknown
“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” –Emma Watson
Do not fear when the waves are dashing high against your soul, simply say, “Devil, if my ship goes down, I’ll just walk on the water.” ’- Unknown
“Faith can keep you alive in any storm.” ’- Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!
To never give up, because God will never give up on them. ’- Unknown
There are times when God will not get you out of the fiery furnace, but like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, God will keep the fire from burning you. ’- Daniel 3.16:27*
That there are times when you will end up in the lion’s den, but, like *Daniel*, He will shut the mouths of the lions for your sake. ’- Daniel 6:16-23
Still, there are times when He will not keep you out of prison, but, like *Joseph*, He will shower you with immeasurable favour in the prison walls. ’- Genesis 39:20-23.
And there are times when He will not take the cup away but, like *Jesus*, God will give you the strength to drink from the cup. ’- Unknown
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain. ~Vivian Greene” ’- Sandra Kopp, A Dark Moon Rises
“There are some things we learn on stormy seas that we never learn on calm smooth waters. We don’t look for storms but they will surely find us. The “God of the Storm” has something to teach us, and His love always drives His actions.” ’- Danny L Deaub
But in all these situations, there’s a *calm assurance* as Jesus said, “l am with you always, even to the very end”. ’- Matt 28:20.
“You cannot forever escape from the storm; you must learn to stand up to it!” ’- Mehmet Murat ildan
“I have both the violent turbulence of the storm and the quiet promises of God in the storm. And what I must work to remember is that something is not necessarily stronger simply because it’s louder.” ’- Craig D. Lounsbrough

February 1, 2018January 15, 2024

Is a Thorough Knowledge of the Bible Really worth More than a College Education?

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education. - Theodore Roosevelt

“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”
– George Washington

No other study will so ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration as the study of the Scriptures. No other book can satisfy the questionings of the mind and the craving of the heart. By obtaining a knowledge of God’s Word men may rise from the lowest depths of ignorance and degradation to become the sons of God, the associates of sinless angels.

“Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.”
– Charles Haddon Spurgeon

As an educating power, the Bible is without a rival. Nothing will so impart vigour to all the faculties as an effort to grasp the stupendous truths of revelation. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. If occupied with commonplace matters only, it will become dwarfed and enfeebled.

“Reading through the entire Bible provides an opportunity to better understand Scripture’s “big picture.”

In its wide range of style and subjects, the Bible has something to interest every mind and appeal to every heart. In it the most simply stated truths are involved – principles that are as high as heaven and that encompass eternity.

There is no position in life, no phase of human experience, for which the Bible does not contain valuable instruction. Ruler and subject, master and servant, buyer and seller, borrower and lender, parent and child, teacher and student – all may here find lessons of priceless worth.

“The first and almost the only Book deserving of universal attention is the Bible.”
– John Quincy Adams

But above all else, the Word of God sets forth the plan of salvation: shows how sinful man may be reconciled to God, lays down the great principles of truth and duty which should govern our lives, and promises us divine aid in their observance. It reaches beyond this fleeting life, beyond the brief and troubled history of our race. It opens to our view the long vista of eternal ages – ages undarkened by sin, undimmed by sorrow.

“The American nation from its first settlement at Jamestown to this hour is based upon and permeated by the principles of the Bible.”
– Justice David Joseph Brewer, Supreme Court Justice

Don’t forget to spend time in prayer. Thank God for giving you eternal life and His Word. Ask Him to teach and guide you so that you will become even more faithful in following Him.

If you have questions about the Bible, we would love to talk to you about this book, and what it can mean as a part of your life.