A Beautifully Uncertain 31-Day Challenge: Week 4

NBWelcome back to the Challenge, everyone! I thought it might be good for everyone to have a couple of days off to reflect on how far they’ve come so far…so technically, this is a 28-day challenge but we’ll keep using the hashtag #31DayChallenge for the sake of conformity.

Day 25: Face a Fear

Okay! On to the business of Day 25!

In Beautiful Uncertainty, you’ll read about a very funny moment (at least it’s funny NOW, it was terrifying THEN) in which I came face to face with one of my biggest fears in life: An EARTHQUAKE.

Yes, I just happened to be in Brea, California, one mile away from the fault line when one of the biggest earthquakes to hit that area in many years struck. I’ll save the full story for the book, but it came during a season in my life when God was trying to teach me how to surrender complete control of my life to Him. And sometimes, in order to do that, you have to face your biggest, hairiest, scariest fears.

So today…I want you to face a fear. it doesn’t have to be as massive as an earthquake (I mean, how would you even seek out an earthquake, anyway?!)…it can even be a tiny fear…but do SOMETHING to face down a fear without backing down. Maybe it’s public speaking. Or taking the elevator to the top of a very tall building. Or saying hi to that cute guy at the coffee shop first.  Whatever it is…take a deep breath and just DO IT!

Because when you do ANYTHING in this life that matters, you might get lost sometimes. You might get detoured. You might get shaken around and roughed up and tested and tried in the fire. You will sometimes be afraid. You will often feel like you don’t know what the heck you’re doing. You will never be in control because control, as I have learned, is the opposite of faith. ~Beautiful Uncertainty

Day 26: THIS PRAYER WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Day 26 is quite simple…

Say this prayer from Beautiful Uncertainty over all your relationships, and let God do the rest.

BUPrayer

But be warned: It’s a bold, brave prayer. One that He will honor. So make sure you mean it with your whole heart.

Refuse to cling to anything or anyone, and instead surrender your relationships to God. The only people who will exit your life as a result are the ones who don’t belong there anyway. ~Beautiful Uncertainty

Day 27: God Wink

In Beautiful Uncertainty, I share a story about a very special God Wink I received during a time in my life when I hadn’t heard from God in awhile, but needed so badly to. What’s a “God Wink,” you ask? It’s any special little thing that happens right at the time that you need it to happen the most. For example, someone buying your coffee at Starbucks on a day when everything else has gone wrong. Or a song comes on the radio that says exactly what you have on your heart at that very moment but can’t find the words to say. I love those moments. One of my favorites is 11:23. I always seem to glance at the clock at either 11:23am or 11:23pm, and I was born on 11/23…so I like to think it’s God waving at me: “Hey, my precious daughter! I see you! I love you!”

Today I want you to be really bold with God and ask Him for a God Wink. Ask Him to show up for you in a special way that only you would recognize. Ask Him to meet you right where you’re at with a little reminder of how crazy He is about you. And He will. It might not happen in five minutes…but it WILL happen.

Why?

Because “He is incapable of letting His children down. His love is our most beautiful certainty.” ~Beautiful Uncertainty

BURainDay 28: Dance in the Rain

One of my favorite chapters of Beautiful Uncertainty is one in which I tell the story of the day I decided to stop talking about dancing in the rain and actually danced in it.

So many times in life we get so caught up in talking about seizing the day…we forget to actually get out there and SEIZE it. We love the idea of dancing in the rain, but when the rainstorm actually comes, we’re too busy running from it or complaining about it to get out there and ENJOY it. Marvel at it. Celebrate it. Because it takes both sunshine AND rain beautiful flowers to grow…and sunny days AND stormy nights for beautiful people to grow.

So today I want you to dance in the rain. Maybe it’s not raining where you are, and that’s okay. Maybe you’ll be dancing in the snow! Or maybe it doesn’t involve dancing at all. Find SOME way to pause in the middle of your day and inconvenience yourself a little all in the name of celebrating LIFE. Your life. Your perfectly imperfect, Beautifully Uncertain life.

Day 29: Send a Letter to Your Future Self

A couple of years ago I stumbled across FutureMe.org and immediately fell in love with the concept. Basically the site gives you the opportunity to write a letter to your future self, to be delivered at any point in the future in which you choose.

I wrote a letter to myself to be received exactly one year later…and it happened to arrive to me right in the middle of me writing Beautiful Uncertainty, at the most perfect time imaginable.

So today I want to challenge you to visit FutureMe.org and write your future self a letter, to be delivered at any time in the future in which you choose (although a year from today would be pretty cool!) Write your hopes, your dreams, your plans…and send it off to your future self so sometime down the road, Future You and Past You will collide and compare notes.

Because sometimes you have to look back at where you’ve been, if only for a minute…to be truly grateful for how far you’ve come…and to gain the courage  and perspective you need to get where you’re going.

BUDay30Day 30: What Does THIS Woman Want?

There’s a chapter in Beautiful Uncertainty called “What (Most) Women Really Want”…and it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. I sat down and wrote out what I thought most of us are looking for in a mate. And while I certainly don’t pretend to speak for ALL women…I do think there are some universal things most of us tend to look for in a man. The simple things: Respect, loyalty, follow-through, honesty…you get the point.

If you’re single, like me, I think it’s really super important to get clear about what you’re looking for in a partner. Because you can’t find what you’re looking for if you don’t know what you’re looking for. And sometimes just the act of putting things out there into the world helps draw those things into our lives. It’s all about the power of positivity and intention.

So today I want you to sit down and write out the qualities that you’re looking for in your future husband. Feel free to list as many as you want and to be as specific as you want. Just don’t close yourself off to idea of deviating from that list if you meet someone amazing who possesses all the qualities you’re looking for but he has dark hair when you wanted blonde hair. You don’t have to lower your standards to be flexible with them.

Once you’ve written out your list, place it someplace special (like inside your Bible). It will be fun to reference someday when you HAVE met the man of your dreams…you can show him how he was thought about and prayed for long before your paths ever crossed.

BUDay31Day 31: What is YOUR most Beautiful Uncertainty?

I’ve been asking ladies on Twitter to tell me their most #BeautifulUncertainty…and I’ve gotten some AMAZING answers.

“Moved oceans away to Australia following a lifelong dream.”

“Stepped out in faith & transferred to a new college where I don’t know anyone.”

“Came back home to set down roots.”

“Working to let go, be myself, make my dreams happen, & wait while God works things out.”

So today I want to challenge you…on the last day of our #31DayChallenge, to ask yourself what your most Beautiful Uncertainty is…

And then celebrate it.

Celebrate YOU, for being brave enough and courageous enough to step out on faith. To be single rather than settle. To surrender your biggest dreams and plans to God and let Him work them out.

You are one of the few rare souls who have chosen to live your life instead of wait around on it to begin…to embrace every moment, good and bad, of your becoming…to take chances on big dreams and let go of small people and love yourself in the midst of all of it.

We often reach for the “sure things’ in life because they seem easier. More convenient. Less scary. But I urge you to leave some room for the unexpected. Stay open to plot twists, to edits, to rewrites, to uncertainty. God moves in the uncertainty.

The wild, beautiful uncertainty.

If you’re just joining the challenge, catch up on Week One | Week Two | Week Three. Feel free to take your time and go at your own pace!

I’d love to hear from YOU about your experiences each day with the challenge! Comment below with your feedback.

14 Responses to “ A Beautifully Uncertain 31-Day Challenge: Week 4 ”

  1. Jackie
    January 25, 2016

    It’s a paradox. The more you want love and over effort the more it eludes you. It’s like a cat. It comes to you on its own terms and timing. The only way to speed it up is to live your soul purpose, serving God at full speed, and the soul meant for you finds you along the way.

  2. TM
    January 25, 2016

    Day 26- The Prayer. I have said this prayer and it DOES work. I said it over the summer regarding a guy I was seeing. And it was so funny because every time I would log into FB, the first thing that would come up is one of those posts about Knowing your worth and not treating someone as a priority who is treating you as an option etc. I finally said, ok, God, I get it. God does answer us in the most creative ways.

    • Carrie
      January 31, 2016

      I just broke up with my boyfriend today and your words about priorities vs options ring true. I loved him completely and he said he didn’t see me as a priority. That pretty much opened my eyes to how I wasn’t getting what I needed. Starting this 31-day challenge late, but I know it will be a valuable tool in the healing process. Thank you for sharing.

  3. April
    January 26, 2016

    i was wondering if you could send me all the challenges to me i would like to use these in my bible study that will be coming up mid February and if you have any other ideas for the study that would be awesome!

    • Mandy Hale
      January 26, 2016

      Links to all weeks of the challenge are at the end of the blog. Look up and you’ll see 🙂

  4. Kelly
    January 26, 2016

    Hi, is there some where I can look to get all the days of this………………………..

    • Mandy Hale
      January 26, 2016

      Yes, within the body of the blog all weeks are listed 🙂 Just look up!

  5. […] Single Woman “A beautifully uncertain 31 day Challenge”. This week I am posting Week 4 Beautifully Uncertain Challenge: Week 4. As Mandy herself has said about this weeks […]

  6. Megan
    January 28, 2016

    I needed that prayer! I’ve been seeing someone for about a month and while I really like him, I find it difficult to determine if the feeling is mutual. I do give the whole thing to the Lord and trust in his wisdom to either help continue the relationship or take it away.

  7. TW
    January 28, 2016

    @Megan. I was in the same boat. I really liked the guy, but was never sure if he liked me (in that special way). I said that prayer (asking God to either continue and strengthen the relationship if it was HIS will or to remove me from it.) I got my answer this past summer–I was removed from the relationship. Turns out, neither one of us was really ready for a serious relationship (and God knew it before we did)

  8. Padma
    February 1, 2016

    Hi

    I haven’t found Day 20-24. Please let me know where can I find those pages.

    thanks
    Padma

    • JoJo
      February 1, 2016

      20 and 21 are part of week 3…but I’m with you, cannot find 22- 24?

  9. Padma
    February 15, 2016

    Didnt find 22-24. Please help to find me that as I am diligently following day by day and it has become part of my life.

  10. Padma
    February 19, 2016

    Still Didnt find days 22-24. Can any one please help me.

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Life doesn’t always look the way we want it to look. In Mandy’s upcoming book, Turn Toward the Sun: Releasing What If and Embracing What Is, you’ll find encouragement to live in the moment, sit with your experiences, and trust God with the unknown.
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Something wonderful is on the horizon
Turn Toward the Sun CoverLife doesn’t always look the way we want it to look. In Mandy’s upcoming book, Turn Toward the Sun: Releasing What If and Embracing What Is, you’ll find encouragement to live in the moment, sit with your experiences, and trust God with the unknown.
Preorder from Baker Book House for 40% off and free shipping!*
*US shipping only