Happy Monday, friends!

Grab a cuppa and join me for today's daring devotional.

"Daring souls laugh at the word impossible." ~Dani Pettrey

Are you a daring or cautious person by nature? Or do you fall somewhere in between?

What comes to mind when you hear the word daring? To be honest, my first though is of X-Game athletes jumping out of helicopters to ski down fresh, untouched powder, or daredevils willingly jumping out of planes to ski-dive.

However, that's only one type of daring. The kind of daring I'm going to be sharing about today is found in Deut 33:27 where God says,

"Dare to be bold in your faith..."

God calls us out of our comfort zones and into a blog journey of adventure at His side.

He called:

• Esther to do daringly before the king to save her people at the risk of her own life (Esther Chapter Five).
• He dared Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to refuse to bow down to an idol even though it meant being thrown into a fiery furnace (Daniel Chapter 3).
• He dared Abram to leave his homeland and all he knew behind to follow Him to an unknown land (Genesis Chapter 12).

I hope you will take some time this week to read these chapters and I hope you find them inspiring as I have.

How about you? What daring adventure is God calling you on?

Fourteen years go, He dared me to write a book and I answered the call somewhat slowly, but I answered and while it hasn't always been easy (years of writing without publication, health issues, looming deadlines like I have right now actually), it's certainly been the best adventure I ever could have dreamed of at His side. I pray you answer whatever adventure he's daring you to join Him on and I'd love if you'd share that adventure below.

Download today's Coloring page

"D" for Daring

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If you have not already, you can also download the front and back cover below:

Front cover        Back cover

To see all letters and download all coloring pages, go to the Alphabet for the Soul page.

In Christ,

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Happy Monday friends! Grab a cuppa and join me for a chat!

For "C" I chose "Character":

"How you handle hard times is a true show of character." ~Submerged

I looked up character in the dictionary and in the Bible and my favorite definition was:

Character: moral or ethical quality:  a man of fine, honorable character. - Dictionary.com

As a writer, when I hear the word character, I automatically think a person from my story, but the true nature of the word describes who that person is heart and soul. It’s the traits and the choices a person makes, how you handle hard times, what you do when no one is looking. Are you honest? Are you someone people can rely and trust? If so, then you are a person of character.

The Bible verse I chose for character doesn’t speak so much on what character’s definition is, though there are plenty of places where that occurs in the Bible and I’ll share those verses below for further study if you’re interested. Rather, this verse talks about how character is cultivated, and I’ll warn you, like many other things in life, it ain’t easy.

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope." ~Romans 5:3-4

Character is produced by perseverance through suffering. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of suffering, and yet, God tells us that even our suffering, even all the hard, yucky, knock-you-to-your-knees trials, in the end produce character in us. Here’s the really cool part... character, in turn, produces hope. HOPE.

I don’t know about you, but I can always benefit from hope, and, again, the Bible so beautifully tells us why in the very next verse:

"And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." ~Romans 5:5

Hope does not put us to shame. In another translation, it says:

"And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

God loves us so dearly that even our sufferings do not lead to shame in disappoint, but rather, in the end by the working of God’s Holy Spirit which fills our hearts with love, we are filled with hope.

I’ve been through my share of suffering and I hold on to that hope as an anchor for my soul because I know that while "weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." ~Psalm 30:5

So, have hope, your suffering is not in vain. It is producing perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character hope, and hope does not disappoint because God never disappoints. He keeps his promises. Joy will come in the morning.

Bible verses for further study of character:

• 2 Peter 1:5
• Proverbs 31:10
• Ephesians 5:13
• Titus 2:2
• Ruth 3:11

And, don’t forget this week’s coloring page. I’m having a blast seeing all of you sharing your colored pages online. Thanks bunches for taking time to share. I’m loving being a part of this journey with you. Thanks so much for joining me!

While we’re talking character…who’s your favorite literary character? I know, tough questions. It’s so hard to pick just one. Mine is Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. He’s an amazing man of character.

Download today's Coloring page

"C" for Character

Download PDF       Download JPG

If you have not already, you can also download the front and back cover below:

Front cover        Back cover

To see all letters and download all coloring pages, go to the Alphabet for the Soul page.

Today’s post was brought to you by the letter C (a flashback to those of you who grew up watching Sesame Street).

Blessings,

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Happy Monday friends! Grab a cuppa and join me for a chat!

For "B" I chose "Bravery":

I chose bravery because, let's face it, we all exhibit some level of bravery every day. I’m not talking soldiers on the battlefield bravery, they are heroes and I respect them immensely. I’m talking about the bravery it takes to be our real, authentic selves day in and day out through trials, obstacles, and fears. Being who we were created to be and resting in that is one of the most freeing things you’ll ever experience and I pray with all my heart you do. But it also takes a whole heap of bravery not to try to fit in with your peers, colleagues, friends, or even your family. To not feel the need to conform or to hide the beauty of who God made you to be.

The verse I chose for this week's principle is from the song of Solomon.

“You are altogether beautiful my love. There is no flaw in you.” Solomon 4:7. (ESV)

Some things to keep in mind this week as you go through your days:

1. "God knit each of us uniquely together in our mother’s womb."  Solomon 139:13-14
2. "God knew you before you were born." Jeremiah 1:5
3. "God has called you by name and you were his." Isaiah 43:1

Rejoice in that today, soak in those verses of truth. You are altogether beautiful.

For further study you can look to Ephesians 210, Psalm 139, 1st Corinthians 12:25-28, 1st Peter 4:10-11, and Jeremiah 29:11.

Download today's Coloring page

"B" for Bravery

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If you have not already, you can also download the front and back cover below:

Front cover        Back cover

I hope you have fun coloring in your page and I’d love to see what you’ve done. If you share it on social media, remember to tag it with #alphabetforthesoul and tag me @danipettrey. Thanks so much for joining me today and I hope you have a wonderful week.

To see all letters and download all coloring pages, go to the Alphabet for the Soul page.

Blessings,

Dani

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Happy Monday Friends!

I'm so excited to officially kick off week 1 of Alphabet for the soul. Today's letter is "A". There were so many word options for each letter, at times it was hard to choose just one.

For "A" I chose "Adversity" for two reasons:

1. It's something we all face for one reason or another.
2. It's some I've been dealing with for several months now due to continuing and significant health issues.

I looked up adversity in the dictionary. And found it said:

Adversity: a state or instance of severe or continued difficulty.

Some of the synonyms included: hardship, stress, suffering or sorrow. I think it's safe to say that we've all encountered adversity in our lives.

The Bible says, in John 16:33: "I've told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world." In other translations the word tribulation, suffering, oppression, distress or affliction are used in place of trouble. All words speak of adversity, continued difficulty.

There are many other bible verses which speak on adversity. For further personal study, if you're interested, you can look up:

• 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
• Proverbs 3:4-6
• Phil 4:12-13
• 1 Peter 5:8-10
• James 1:2-4

One of my favorites is Psalm 34:19. "The righteous person may have many troubles but the Lord delivers them from them all." Jesus tells us that we will have trouble and adversity in this life but that He will:

• Be with us through it all. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
• He works all things together for good for those who are in Christ Jesus... Romans 8:28
• He has overcome the world (John 16:33)
• We are more than conquerers (Rom 8:31-39

So if you are in the trenches of adversity, my prayers go out to you, but take heart God's got you and you will overcome.

Download today's Coloring page

"A" for Adversity

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If you have not already, you can also download the front and back cover below:

Front cover        Back cover

Here's a song that I hope you will enjoy and that will remind you of the truths that we've chatted about today.

What's one of your favorite songs to listen to when you need uplifting?

Thanks so much for joining me on the letter "A" today. Be sure to print out your coloring page. I'll be coloring mine in this week and sharing a photo of it here next week. I would love if you'd share your colored-in pictures on social media, be sure to tag me (@danipettrey) and use the hashtag #alphabetforthesoul so I'm sure to see it.

Let's get creative friends! See you next week.

To see all letters and download all coloring pages, go to the Alphabet for the Soul page.

Adventuring on with you,

Dani

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