Annie F. Downs - 100 Days to Brave

ZONDERVAN

100 Days to Brave

Copyright 2017 by Annie F. Downs

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ePub Edition August 2017: ISBN 978-0-310-08963-6

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Interior design: James Phinney

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Contents

D ear friend,

This says a lot to me, you being here. It says you are feeling what I sometimes feellike there is more than this. Your this may look different from my this, but its true all the same.

So Im really glad youre here. And I hope youll stick around all the way to the end because there is something here for you. At the least, its an invitation to run after a life that might require a bit more courage but will certainly offer more joy and more than this. At the most, everything changes. And that can be pretty awesome.

I hope you have a journal, or will buy a journal, to take alongside you in this daily story you are writing about your life. These 100 days are special to me, and I hope they will be to you as well. Ive pulled together some of my favorite thoughts on courage and bravery and mixed them with lots of new ones that God and life and people have taught me over the last few years. And I think together with whatever God is already doing in your life, this could be a really interesting journey for you.

I know Im not really there beside you, but in my heart it feels like I am. Think of me as the friend whos across the table from you at the local coffeehouse, just here to talk and process and think with you as you walk this road toward your most courageous self. Im cheering for you.

Sincerely,

You were always meant to be brave.

For I am the L ORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

I SAIAH 41:13 NIV

B rave. What is it? Truth is, there is no formula and there are no rules. There is the Bible, our guidebook for all things, but other than that, being brave is organic and spiritual and a unique journey for each person.

I wont be saying, Here is exactly what courage looks like or If you want to really risk in a way that impacts the people around you, do these particular things. I dont think that works. I dont think you need me to tell you what to do. I think you know. (Or if you dont, you will.) I think you just need a little pregame warm-up. A little something to oomph you along. An understanding of the map you are holding.

For the next 100 days, I want to show you that you are braver than you know, and with that knowledge in your back pocket, you can change your world.

Courage is doing things even when youre scared. Being brave isnt something that happens when youre not scared anymore. Brave people dont stop hearing the whispers of fear.

They hear the whispers but take action anyway.

Being brave is hearing that voice of fear in your head, but saying, Okay, but the truth is, God made me on purpose and for a purpose.

I can tell you that the moments of my greatest fearsthose times when I was sure I was going to wimp out under the pressure of it allhave also been the open doors to the greatest changes in my life. So I step out, full of fear, but trusting that God is on the other side in new and wonderful ways. And so far? He always is.

Brave people dont stop hearing the whispers of fear.

They hear the whispers but take action anyway.

He will be for you too.

B E B RAVE : Tell one person (a friend, a spouse, a coworker, a mentor) that you have begun this 100-day journey toward a braver life.

We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now.

2 T IMOTHY 1:89 MSG

I got to travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, to speak at a conference. One afternoon I walked into the Kailua Starbucks to write for a bit and saw zero tables available. I didnt really have a plan B for where to write, so I got in line for my drink anyway.

A table opened up between a vacationing couple and three tan and adorable surfer dudes. The surfers were talking about their marriages, so I tuned out because, ya know, they had wives already.

I began to unpack, and just because of proximity (the tables were close, yall), I couldnt help but check back into their conversationand I heard them talking about absolute truth and how God is the only thing that is absolute, and suddenly I realized I was watching two of them share their stories of Jesus with the third.

My heart began to race. That conversation takes courage. Sharing your story takes guts.

I know. Maybe you think Im being dramatic, but listen. That guy? Hearing how Jesus is the answer? His life is forever different and his future is forever altered because those two surfers were brave enough to say the things about Jesus that they know to be true.