I’ve never been a particularly bold person.  I know those of you that know me are just super shocked by that statement.  I’m the girl that hates answering a question aloud.  Hates praying out loud.  Basically just hates being the center of attention. Period.  Sing Happy Birthday to me??  Forget about it.  I’ll cry.  No really, I will.  I have.  Yep, super proud of that one. So my definition of bold is not going to be the same for myself as what some might consider.  I HAVE had a few moments of true boldness in my life, however.  The crazy thing is that EACH of those moments have been pivotal moments in my life.  My very first taste of boldness happened about 17 years ago.  This time of year always reminds me of that day.  My junior year of college at Oklahoma Baptist University.  It was the 2nd year of our “Date auction” that our class held.  The guys basically did some talent (picture them reading cheesy poetry… lip syncing to boy band songs… that sort of awesomeness).  What you need to know about me is that I had never had a boyfriend up to that moment.  20 years old. Didn’t go to my proms. Hadn’t even had a first kiss.  When I call myself shy, I’m not kidding.  Given these facts, you can imagine the lies that I believed about myself.  I’m not pretty enough.  I’m not funny enough.  I’m not enough. Basically the lies all of us women tell ourselves on a daily basis.  We have been falling for the lines of the deceiver since the beginning of time.  It’s amazing and heartbreaking at the same time that his lies are louder in our minds than the truths that our God whispers to us throughout scripture.  Okay, back to the date auction…  oh wait, one last tidbit of “back story”… there was this boy… I affectionately called him White Hat Boy before I even knew his name.  Then I found out his name… Bobby.  I had been hung up on Bobby for about 2-1/2 years at this point.  He had dated many of my friends (small school… it’s the way it goes!), but not me.   Now back to the date auction…  Bobby and his friends were up on stage and I heard God whisper “bid”.  Um, negative.  “Bid.”  “uh, God, you remember who you’re talking to right?  I don’t do that type of thing.”  “Bid.”  “Please don’t make me.” “Raise your hand and bid.” And I did… I swear I think one of my friends was actually shoving my hand in the air.  The funny thing about an auction is you don’t have to make that “bold” move just one time.  So, I had to go through that torture again. And again. I realize that the true definition of boldness is doing something with great bravery and without fear.  But I believe that boldness is that moment of listening to that still small voice and just doing the thing.  Fear and all.  As you can probably guess by now, I won the date with Bobby. Can I be honest?  I didn’t even want to stick around for him to see who had bought the date with him.  I didn’t even know if he would actually take me out.  He did…. and the rest is history.  Here we are over 14 years of marriage, 5 kids and 3 houses later.  It’s a sliding doors moment for me. Sometimes I wonder, what if I had let fear win?  What if I had ignored that whisper?  What if??  The crazy thing about bold, brave acts is that they are always preceded by trembling and fear.  Then comes that pivotal moment of taking a flying leap into the unknown.  While I don’t trust myself, I DO trust that when God whispers to me that I can leap and trust that He is there to catch me.  He hasn’t let me down yet.  Even if I fall, I can trust that I’m falling into the arms of the one who died so that I might live.  That’s a pretty safe place to land…  What is God calling you to?  Where is He asking you to be bold?  Where is He asking you to just run and trust Him to catch you?  If you need that push, consider this it.  Go for it.  Do the thing.  He’s not going to let you fall.