Somehow we’ve made it to blueberry season here in Pennsylvania. This means that on the Saturday’s we are free, we are getting up early and picking as many delicious berries as it takes to fill our buckets. There is just nothing like fresh blueberries. I hope that wherever you are, you too are eating blueberries—or at least enjoying all that summer in your town has to offer.
Today, we are continuing our courage theme with a book that I loved, something I learned by sticking around when things were hard, and a great leadership quote. May you be blessed this week in all the ways you are loving, learning, and leading.
Love
As much courage as it takes to do something hard the first time, I think it is even more courageous to get up after you’ve failed, and try again. And because failure and setbacks are natural parts of doing anything important, learning resilience and refusing to give up are also crucial parts to succeeding. An excellent resource for this is Brene Brown’s book, Rising Strong.
In Rising Strong, Brene takes us through her personal stories, as well as through the stories of those leading in the corporate world or armed services, to flesh out what failure looks and feels like. Then, she walks us through ways we can navigate the scary parts of owning and growing from our failure. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants go after their dreams or calling, without giving up.
What books or stories have helped you be courageous?
Learn
When you are in a painfully hard season of life, the most difficult part is seeing the good around you. When things were so bad for me that I wanted to escape, I thought everything was bad. But when I felt God whispering to me to slow down—and I finally did—I began to see all that I would have missed had I moved across the country.
As Ecclesiastes 3 says, “There is a time to plant, and a time to uproot.” The mistake we often make is thinking we need to uproot when things are hard, but very often it is in those seasons that our life is preparing for the most growth.
I have yet to leave the town where I planned my great escape. Since then, there have been seasons of planting, of harvest, and even of loss. But the hard and painful stuff has made the good all that much sweeter.
Where is the good in your season right now?
How can you defy your circumstances, and celebrate it?
Lead
“The mark of a true leader is when you get to a scary place, you stand. Instead of turning and running, you stand.”
—Lisa Harper
Where do you need to stand today?
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As a kid, my family went on an annual climb up Camels Hump Mt. in Vermont where we would pick wild blue berries, and go back home to enjoy my dad’s blueberry pancakes. Yum! In college, I left New England behind, and moved to California, forsaking the blueberry picking. Recently, I have thought about (and even dared to research) moving back. I have been hemming and hawing, but your recent story, Melissa, about staying made me think deeper and more intuitively. It was a call, with a direct line to the Holy Spirit, that told me, “You needed to stay”. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your stories, Jane–I am a relocated New England girl too! Thank you especially though, for sharing how the Holy Spirit used this post in your current journey. Staying put is never easy, but OH is God good when we listen.