making bravery our mission and kicking fear out the door.

Friends, fear is not given permission to preach anymore. This is the moment for the lion-hearted warriors to emerge from the woodwork and do what is right and good for our fellow humans. Perhaps we are alive and breathing right this very second because we've been designed as a generation of the fiercely loving individuals. Your eyes see injustice and your voice is empowered to speak against darkness. It's not gone unnoticed. 

Oh, how I used to give fear the power to rule my days. My voice was just barely a whisper. I had anxious feelings weaving through my bones as I drove to the store to do something as simple as buying milk. 

I looked down at my hands every single day for years and deeply believed they were too small to change anything. I thought I was simply a small, mouse of a Kate. Absolutely microbial in comparison to the massive darkness swirling our planet. 

The day I realized that I had the option to close the door on fear, I was gifted a power that kicked my feet out from under me. I was bruised and afraid from the realization, yet my eyes were opened to the fact that nothing truly good was coming from giving fear the seat so close to mine at my table. 

We are all given a choice -- we can let fear strangle us to the point that we can't move, or we can rise from this world's brokenness, be the hands and feet, and make bravery our mission. 

Loves, we have been raised as a generation of independent thinkers and go-getters. I sense that in your ambitions and hearts. And we have the chance to see how we might use our power for something so much greater than our own personal gains. There's no reason to let fear in our front door if we have the ability to use our voices and give our empathetic compassion to our fellow humans who are hurting so very deeply.

Esther 4:14 says this :: "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish.  And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

First of all, if you're not familiar with Esther's story, please, please study it. I think her works will channel power to you and I think we can all find connections with today. 

Second, if we keep silent right now we will all weaken. We won't know if we can be outlets of change if we slide into the shadows and watch as history repeats itself. There is brokenness in all the corners of the world. Our next steps are absolutely crucial. We have to channel the fire in our souls into iron fists that refuse to stand for injustice for any human. Though our hands are individually small, they are mighty when a thousand link up. We have hard, tolling work ahead of us but it's necessary. My prayer is that we will document these days in truth and bravery. 

I designed a passion project called Bravery Mission a few months ago. It started on the premise that bravery is found in all the corners of golden successes and tarnished falls. That it isn't always about the grand gestures or the daring actions, or even the absence of fear. 

At first, I envisioned Bravery Mission as a connection map for others to document moments of courage, so that others could realize their own bravery, and empower the process of disallowing fear to rule. 

Friends, while that is still incredibly important for my intention with Bravery Mission, I think courage is so much bigger than just that now. We have to start going bigger than our own hearts and give a voice to the voiceless. We can do that because others years before us fought so we can today. We have to give our resources and our time, and most importantly, our love and kindness to our neighbors and those across the globe. We can peacefully and intentionally fight injustice with our calm yet fiery presences. We have to shout to our fellow humans that we seem them and hear them, that we love them and are going to help them. 

And that's not going to be easy. In fact, I can guarantee that it will be messy and maybe terrifying, but fear cannot win if we don't give it power. The age-old is love and peace. We have to document these days because our choices now will change the future. We're going to look back on what we decided to do or not do, and we'll either be proud of or regret our decisions. 

So write is all down. All the emotions, what you're doing to help. Remember your heart and your humanness, and how we started trampling fear and changed the world. Because we can do that. We are on this earth amidst injustice and darkness, right this very second, for a reason. I will not and cannot sleepwalk through this life. I hope you'll join me. You are brave and empowered and have the ability to document these days as we change the world. 

I love you. I see you. I am with you. 

In peace and lion-heart,
Kate