Brave and Beautiful Protest

Welcome to Day 25 in 31 Days of Brave!  A few days ago I shared a post by one of my favorite bloggers. Today I will do it again! ( I am no longer sipping on Throat Coat Tea, but Advil is still a good friend!)

I recently learned about musician Vedran Smailovic. He took his cello  into the bomb-busted rubble of  Sarajevo, he sat still, and he played.  An astonishing protest in the midst of ruins. Art, peace,and loveliness flowing out of those crumbled buildings and into a world  desperately needing someone to be brave enough to offer beauty in times of ugliness.

 I was excited when Ellen of Sweetwater Blog posted this beautiful page of words. She has learned about Mr. Smailovic, too. You can read Ellen's post here .  Be inspired, friends and bravely put some of your own special beauty into this weary world today!

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Their Vision was Broad

 "In vain I have searched the Bible, looking for examples of early believers whose lives were marked by rigidity, predictability, inhibition, dullness, and caution. Fortunately, grim, frowning, joyless saints in Scriptures are conspicuous by their absence. Instead, the examples I find are of adventurous, risk-taking, enthusiastic, and authentic believers whose joy was contagious even in times of full trial. Their vision was broad even when death drew near. Rules were few and changes were welcome. The contrast between then and now is staggering."

― Chuck Swindoll

                                                           Day 24 of 31 Days of Brave.

The Brave Beauty of Less

 Welcome to Day ?????  Well, I am afraid that I actually don't know what day it is in this 31 Days of Brave series!  I do know that this 31 day journey will be extending on past October for this blogger! Sickness, Internet issues, computer issues, more sickness, and  little bits of craziness strung together like Fruit Loops on a piece of yarn....life happens, so blogging must wait!

 Since I am in a vertical position for the first time in 48 hours, I'll not attempt any meaningful words of my own.( You never know what you might write while under the influence of Throat Coat Tea!) Instead, enjoy these words from one of my favorite bloggers, Shannan. She's one of the grace-empowered brave, not afraid to live life uniquely and on the edge, and she inspires me often! Go read her blog! ( The "here" she speaks of in the first line of the quote is a place of having less in terms of income.)

' I can't say for sure why we're here, but the truth stills my knocking knees and racing heart if I let it: God is made bigger in our brand-new smallness.

And so we keep paring down, knowing it's never really enough and even more, it's not even about what is or isn't "enough". God owns the bank. He trusts each of us in ways He ought to know better. He has things to teach us about extravagance, provision, and freedom. We steward what we have with as much wisdom as possible. We accept our inevitable failures. Even now, we have much more than we need, and we continue to wrestle.

What about leaving a legacy for our children?

We haven't forgotten. Our legacy to them is the Gospel, one where grace fills all the cracks and family is global. Our legacy is a front-row seat to our budgeting talks and all associated traumas. Our legacy is telling them no, it's hand-me-downs and the Goodwill, it's stretching the soup for one more at the table.

Our legacy is casting light on all the ways our daily bread finds us and reminding them who sent it.  It's the humility to receive. It's the slow-learning that "average" and "typical" are overrated and "low" is often the sweet-spot.

It's a foolish economy, where nothing makes sense until you stand on your head."

You can read Shannan's entire post here.

Choose to Become Strong

                                                                  Welcome to Day 22!
                             

The following quote is from the Inspired to Action blog . It talks about  being brave enough to choose   that which will make us stronger. Psalm 112:7 says, " He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD."  Bravery in hard times flows from a heart that has already been made steadfast. In easier times we can strengthen our trust in the Lord by nurturing our relationship with Him and growing in our knowledge of God's word. Then, when hard times come, we need not collapse in fear.  Bravery will be the response of a heart that trusts in the Lord.  

."I won’t get fitter, healthier, more patient, more like Jesus or anything else good until I face resistance. And I have a very, very simple choice. I can wait for that resistance to come (normally in some sort of disastrous way) or I can choose to bring resistance into my life.

I want to be a woman who chooses it. I want to train for my life instead of react to it. I can choose to get up early to spend time with God. I can choose to lift weights. I can choose to run. I can choose to speak in kindness when I don’t feel like it. I can choose to serve my family. I can choose to do the dishes tonight instead of letting them “soak.” I can choose to cook dinner because it’s healthier than the take out I’d resort to otherwise. I can choose to go to bed on time, even though I’d really like to stay up late and pretend I’m in college. I can choose to lovingly respond to my children instead of emotionally respond to them.As moms, we face resistance all. day. long. Choose it. Embrace it. Get stronger. " 

Read Kat's entire post here .   

The Perfect Prayer

                                                             Welcome to Day 21!

Well, illness in the family has kept me from posting as planned. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is just let go of your plans and take up the less-than-perfect circumstances with a servant's heart. Brave isn't always loud and bold. Sometimes courage means quietly waiting for the right time. "Thy will be done"...the perfect prayer of the brave.
    

Container Box Houses

                                                                  Welcome to Day 19!

Some of my favorite brave people are those who approach a need with a different kind of solution...outside-of-the-box types people.  Did you know you can make lovely homes and commercial buildings out of container boxes? Read more and see some beautiful photos here and here  I just love these! How wonderful that someone was crazy brave enough to try their idea out!

Happy Weekend!

A Million Little Ways Quote

 

                                                                 Welcome to Day 18!

"Perhaps those who make art in the ways we traditionally think of art give the rest of us a framework from which to live our lives.  They offer a gift of knowing what life could look like if it were handled more like a mysterious piece of art rather than a task-oriented list......
....In coming up with a working definition of an artist for the purposes of this book, perhaps we could say, then, that being an artist has something to do with being brave enough to move toward what makes you come alive."    
                        ~Emily P. Freeman in A Million Little Ways ( the book that appeared in my mailbox this week!! I am looking forward to being part of the Bloom book study for the next few weeks!)