Courage & Faith

I loved reading the Divergent series. Today, I re-watched the movie in preparation to see Insurgent in the theater!  If you haven’t read it or finished it the series, don’t worry, this post does not have any spoilers.
But, I will tell you that one of the main themes in this story is

COURAGE to overcome FEARS.

There are many life situations that call for courage: Standing up for what you believe in, Standing up for a friend, Taking Risks, Doing something out of your Comfort Zone, Moving to an unknown area or country, and the list goes on…

When I need to face a challenge and need to choose to be brave or be deterred by the anxiety caused by a potentially uncomfortable situation, my best encouragement comes from the Bible. There are plenty of verses that talk about courage, but here are a few of my favorites…

“Be strong and courageous. Do no be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

“The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand…For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:10, 13

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”          1 Corinthians 16:13

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 

DOES YOUR FAITH GIVE YOU COURAGE?

If you haven’t read the Divergent series, I definitely recommend it! Check out this deal on Amazon!

This series includes “Four: A Divergent Collection: A companion volume to the worldwide bestselling Divergent series, told from the perspective of Tobias. “

I first heard about Jennie Allen about a month ago when I was introduced to IF:gathering. She is amazing! She is so passionate about Jesus and is so inspirational in the way she strives to live for Him and empower others to do the same!

Here is a little bit about her from her site…I don’t know about you, but she seems like she would be pretty fun to hang out with 🙂

“I have an awkward way with small talk- so I don’t.

Instead I love to gather deep kindred souls around food I didn’t cook, and I ask terribly intrusive questions. I wish that is how we were meeting.

My name is Jennie. Look at all my cute people up there. That is most of my life sitting up there in that picture.

They are a whole big herd of strong personalities. I am a catalytic leader, risk taker type and then in God’s humor, I married a crazier more risky leader than me (Zac). Then somehow God thought it would be even more funny to give us 4 crazy strong risky dreamer kids. Even the one who grew in my heart instead of my tummy came hard wired to rule the world.

I love them… but I also love and believe in this generation of women. I am giving my life to see us spend our time here beautifully. I do that through writing, teaching, and leading the little dream in my soul, IF:Gathering.”

Jennie describes IF:Gathering like this…

“Our 2-day gathering each year brings together women from all over the world to humbly seek God and to equip them to better live out their callings. We seek to model, resource, & empower women …to wrestle with essential questions of faith like: IF God is real… THEN what?”

Jennie wrote a book called Restless: Because You Were Made for More. “Restless explores the fact that God has called each of us to do great things in His name, and then helps us discover what that might mean for each of us individually. Jennie says, ‘We are called to dream but we’re afraid to. But because we are called, when we don’t act on it we become restless—restless to find purpose, to make a difference in the world, to matter.'”

“Using her own story and that of women with whom she has walked through this process as examples, Jennie weaves in the story of Joseph the dreamer and how God used his threads to fit into the greater story of God. Untangling the threads of our lives and assembling them together in one place reveals a beautiful plan designed by the Creator Himself:

God’s Agenda + my threads + the need + the Holy Spirit = my purpose

And since living out our purpose is often filled with uncertainties Jennie addresses the doubts, fears, and challenges that hold women back from what they’ve been called to do. This repositioning of their lives is not a promise that all things will be perfect, or will go perfectly, but a promise that it will be the start of the best part of life—the part that completes what we were made for.”

Let’s read this together and become women of FAITH, COURAGE, & PURPOSE!

Where do you turn when you need courage? Do you feel restless to find your purpose?