Thankful Thought of the Day:
We have no shame when we are a part of the body of Christ. This is part of our heritage to be called a Christian and to belong to God.
Scripture of the Day:
Proverbs 14:26
“In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.”
Before we know God, we are as guilty as sin, steeped in our shame. Scrambling to feel ok about ourselves, we compare to those around us and try to find confidence in ourselves. The world’s solutions of fixing up the outside just don’t work or last when it comes to trying to be brave. They don’t affect the inside. And defining ourselves in an ever-changing world is not just hard, it is impossible. The world was never supposed to be where we get our meaning, worth or identity in the first place, but it is so very loud.
Self-worth is difficult to come by in a culture that tears women down. We are told to find our confidence in our appearance or our accomplishments, which both fade in time. As a result, the next generation of women is growing up without genuine confidence, yielding their bravery to the latest opinion or trend. Until Christ comes and shows us where our confidence should really be – in Him alone. Still, we struggle to apprehend this confidence. Until now.
On this final day of a month of giving gratitude to God, I want to share my gratitude for the bravery that God gives us as His children, and specifically, as His daughters. After recently being blessed to read Brave Beauty: Finding the Fearless You by Lynn Cowell, I could not more highly recommend this resource to moms and their tween daughters for instilling worth and bravery in the next generation. So, I am giving away a free copy to one of you (drawing at random) who comments on this post what you think keeps you from being a brave woman of God.
In Brave Beauty: Finding the Fearless You, Lynn bravely navigates topics we might rather avoid. We might not want to readily admit that we are insecure or looking to others for the confidence that we lack. Offering an introspective look for the readers, guiding them to really “know thyself”, Lynn then points them to their courageous call in Christ. With snippets relevant to our current culture crises, deep truths are offered in a mini-chapter format, making it easy to digest, with a continual focus on Christ as our source of courage.
When we ache for worth and acceptance, God whispers to our soul that He already defined our worth. We belong. We can be brave as we face this crazy world because we don’t face it alone. So go ahead . . . you can do it. Be Brave in this crazy world. As one of Lynn’s chapters says, “Do it Scared”, but do it, nonetheless.
