Every new year I ask God to give me a word, scripture or theme as a focus for the next fifty-two weeks. It was January and I was in the middle of the Bahamas on the Klove Cruise. Still no word for the year but I was determined to hear God speak. I asked my friend and cabin-mate Angie to pray and believe with me.
Little did I know my word for the year would be thrown at me (literally) before I had my second cup of coffee the next morning.
We made our way to the front of the theater to get up close and personal with Bob Goff for our early morning devotion. If you’ve ever heard Bob speak or read his book, Love Does, you know he has a habit of giving away medals of bravery and such. As he was talking about brave and courageous, he tossed a medal to the audience and it landed right at my feet. I knew instantly this was the word I’d been asking God for but part of me wanted to leave it there on the floor (or throw it to my neighbor). Because BRAVE is a big word, right? Brave is for the hard stuff. Brave is the leave-your-comfort-zone and jump-off-the-cliff and look-fear-in-the-face-and-do-it-anyway kind of word.
All the stuff I’d been posting about but never really doing.
Yes, brave is a big word.
But brave is for the small things, too. Brave is for all the things that look like the small things but are actually the big things.
Like believing God will do what He says He will do.
And trusting that even when we can’t, He can.
Like writing that hard blog post or finishing your book or speaking in front of a group or having that conversation you’ve been putting off.
Like keeping covenants when you don’t want to, sticking to commitments even when it’s hard, going when God says go, and staying when God says stay.
So this morning I made a list of faith statements for those times my heart wants to feel the opposite of brave, whether in the big things or the small things. And maybe life is requiring you to be brave, too? This is me, friend, throwing you a medal. 
- If I have faith the size of a mustard seed, I will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to me (Matthew 17:20).
- With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
- I will be strong and courageous. I will not be terrified or discouraged because the Lord my God goes with me wherever I go (Joshua 1:9).
- Because I know His name, I will trust in Him. He has never forsaken those who seek Him and He will never forsake me (Psalm 9:10).
- I put my hope in God alone and my soul finds rest (Psalm 62:5).
- I will trust God and acknowledge Him in all I do and He will make my paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).
- God has not given me a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)
- Because I have set the Lord before me, I will not be shaken or moved (Psalm 16:8)
Today, I’m joining Suzie Eller and a host of other #brave women as we all learn to #livefree. You can read their stories HERE.
Shelly!! I love this and you. My word is COURAGEOUS and God has been showing me this too! Small or big I must walk courageously!!! Like driving with my teenager just now…or trusting God to be faithful with my dreams…or stepping out of my comfort zone…or apologizing first. Small things and big things. I love it!
Driving with your teenager is a BIG thing! haha!
Bravo for being brave, my friend. In all things . . . big and small. Love you too!
Shelly, sweet friend, SO glad to see you linking up with Suzie today! You are brave and I can’t wait to see what all God does through you. I love this list of verses and will be printing them off for encouragement. I really resonated with Psalm 16:8. Love you!!!
Hi Kim! What a GIFT to spend face to face time with you last weekend! Thanks to you I finally joined Suzie’s link up
Now to find YOUR post! Love you!
Shelly, I’m so glad I stopped by to see you from #LiveFreeThursday today. Truly. What an awesome experience to go on the K-love cruise and see Bob Goff! I’ve never heard him speak, but I’ve read his book and I just love him. And yes, talk about having a word thrown at you. Love it. Such a GOD thing. Thanks so much for sharing this and brightening my day. And I can totally relate. I’m working on the whole brave thing too. Let’s do this together. -Abby
Thanks for visiting, Abby! I’m so glad you stopped by, too! Looking forward to some #brave adventures together
xo
Love this and love all the great pictures!!!!
Thanks, Stephanie! Love and miss you!
Shelly, what a beautiful list of scriptures to remind us that Brave is for the small things, too! Visiting you today from #LiveFree!
Thank you, Ellen! So nice to meet you
I love those God moments, what a blessing! Thank you so much for sharing such a great list of verses to give us strength and encouragement. Visiting from #livefree
Hi Winter! Thanks for stopping by today!
I love this Shelly! I think we can overlook the fact that we need to be BRAVE for the small things and get our strength from the Lord. So often the small things turn into big things when we overlook them! Thank you for my medal today
Joshua 1:9 is my life verse so I am wearing it as I step out into this new day 
Love you friend xx
Thank you, Sarah! You are BRAVE. Love you!
Thank you so much for reminding me brave can be in the small–and sometimes that small is just getting out of bed in the morning and deciding to walk through the day. This is a sweet fragrant moment of inhale for me. Thank you.
Thank you for adding your words here, Heather. And finding your blog this week was a GIFT.