Day 2 of 31 Days of courage confidence and hope

One of the definitions of encouragement is to give courage.  What is courage? 
Webster (1828) said
"COURAGE, noun [Latin , the heart.] Bravery; intrepidity; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits; valor; boldness; resolution. Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
Be strong and of good courage Deuteronomy 31:6."

The Bible has many verses about courage :
Joshua 1:9 - Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God [is] with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he [it is] that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

1 Corinthians 16:13 - Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

Proverbs 28:1 - The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Psalms 27:14 - Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  

1 Chronicles 28:20 - And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do [it]: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, [even] my God, [will be] with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

Psalms 31:24 - Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Ephesians 6:10-18 - Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  

Psalms 112:7 - He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

The best part  is I don't have to find the courage inside me, I don't have to do it on my own. it's not my strength it's all God.   "Courage is fear that has said its prayers"  
Most of the time it's not the big things I need courage to do - it's the little things :speaking to a visitor at church, asking for help, trying something different, creativity, handing out a gospel tract... Sometimes we do face bigger things -moving to a new state, a new job, illness, teaching a class, following your husband, going to the mission field...
But no matter what -  I can do All things,  whithersoever thou goest, He will not fail!  He will not forsake,  He will give the needed strength!

31 days starts today

Today starts the 31 days blogging challenge and we are supposed to write about the same topic each day.  I had a brilliant Light Bulb moment  last month. And my light bulb blew.     And of course I didn't write the idea down before it blew. So here it is the first day of the challenge and I have 31 reasons not to procrastinate.  31 ways to miss a deadline.  31 excuses for....  No, no, none of those.  (although I can probably come up with more than enough for each one )
I was thinking more along the lines of encouragement, helping you to smile.   My blog isn't a "how to" blog but maybe you can go from :( to :)  by the end of the post. 
First what is encouragement.? I love the dictionary (I'm one of those words people  who actually read it, if I look up a word I have to read the other words on the page and then the next page...)
The dictionary definition ENCOUR'AGEMENT, noun The act of giving courage, or confidence of success; incitement to action or to practice; incentive
Or
words or actions that give someone confidence or hope.
This sinful world we live in is full of so many discouraging things.  I know I need courage, confidence and hope daily! God has given me some friends who may not know it but they are such an encouragement to me.  Often it's the little things that give us a lift.  My friend Lisa knew I needed a ride to the Walk to End Alzheimers last weekend,  so she came out of her way to pick me up,  which was very kind. But she totally made my day when she brought me coffee and picked up some fruit for me because it might be easier to eat and not mess with my make up.  (I was  Bubbles the Clown.)  Just a little act of thoughtfulness... My friend Nelle is the kindest person I know and I was redecorating this week and sent her a picture of my couch that I had recovered. I said it needs some more pillows and she agreed.  Less than an hour later she was at my door with her arms full of throw pillows. 
Those are just two examples of encouragement in my life. But how can I encourage you - I can't bring my online friends  breakfast or show up with an armload of pillows.  What can I do to cushion your day, to give you a bit of hope?  Just words on a screen... But they are from my heart and I asked the Lord to help you with whatever it is that is keeping you down. 
I've said alot to get to these encouraging words today - hopefully the rest of the posts won't be so verbose :)
All the images are from Pinterest (except the couch and the clown those are from me)