I Dare You.

i dare you to take a moment and think about your life. to think about the people who have influenced it and to think about your everyday activities and what those entail. how many times a day are you asked "how are you?" ? how many times do you give an honest answer? almost every single conversation i have with people daily goes something like this "hey! how are you?" "good, how are you?" 90% of the time, i will say that i am good, whether it is true or not, most of us will. which leads me to DARE #1: actually tell people how you are doing when they ask. now, i am not saying to tell every single person all day about how much your life sucks at the moment, but the people who care and genuinely care about your well being, tell them. tell them, about your struggles or what is getting you down that day. they genuinely want to know. DARE #2: let people speak into your life. so going off #1, tell people how you are, but let them hold that hope for you. let them pray for you and encourage you. that being said, leading into DARE #3: genuinely care about your friends well-being. ask them a second time how they are doing, tell them you're thinking of them or praying for them. speak into their life, just as they speak into yours. it takes 30 seconds to send someone an encouraging text that may help them get through the day, and put a smile on their face. so spare that 30 seconds and send that text. take an interest in how your friends are doing. lift them up to the Lord in prayer. DARE #4: be aware of what you are praying. ask yourself, " if God suddenly answered all of my prayers, would it change the life of anyone besides my own?" we all have things that we need prayer for, but our prayers need to be bigger than us. we are called to bear each others burdens, but if we are only lifting our own burdens up to God then we need to reevaluate where we stand with the Lord. by bearing each others burdens we, are lifting that person and their struggles up to God to take care of. we need to pray for more than just ourselves. prayer is powerful, and we need to use it for more that just to accomplish our own desires.

really tho. be honest with people, and be vulnerable, tell people you are good, if you are. also tell people if life sucks because that also happens. people can't help, if they don't know you need any. allow people to hold hope for you, and hold hope for them. speak into others lives and let them speak into yours. we can't do life alone. ask more of your friends than just surface level, let them tell you their struggle and doubts. create that trust and safe place to do that. don't always accept "good" for an answer. pray. pray. pray. for more that your own wants and needs. lift your fiends and family, believers and non-believers up in prayer.

one last thing to think about. how would we be refined if there were no fire to refine us? in the same way, how would we be sanctified if life were easy? embrace the hardships. God uses them. --> embrace your own hardships, and help your friends embrace theirs.

i dare you to change the way you think. to be selfless, honest, compassionate. be genuine with your questions, and give a genuine answer when asked questions.


Lift your tired eyes to the heavens because your help comes from Him. You can still come to Him with your whole heart. He wants every part of you, every minuscule detail. He wants you to hand it to Him and find strength in His arms. He created you and He will sustain you.