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GROW IN CONFIDENCE. KNOW YOUR IDENTITY.
JOURNEY
FOR GUYS OF FAITH
DIG DEEPER
The Quest to Dig Deeper Welcome to your Brave & Bold Journey 2—a unique path with solid stepping stones to strengthen you on this adventure you are on. Life is not a sprint but a marathon. The topics in Journey 2 will support you for the rest of your life as you seek to establish some building blocks of emotional health. The strong root system of a grand fruit tree is important for its health and longevity, enabling it to bear loads of good fruit. You are like this tree. We want to help you nourish a great root system so you will not just survive but thrive in life with the sweet fruits of personal growth, success, and healthy, positive relationships! We challenge you to approach Journey 2 with an open heart and a willingness to learn and grow— which takes courage and grit. Be prepared to be surprised, challenged, empowered, affirmed, and transformed. You may experience healing moments from past pain, opening the door to newfound freedom, perspectives, hope, and joy. Know that your Heavenly Father is dedicated to turning everything you go through into something that makes you brave and bold so you can step into life knowing how much you are worth. You were meant to be part of a caring community where you can build each other up and grow together. This is His plan for you. As you ‘dig deeper,’ may each article and activity give you the refreshing water and nourishment you need so you can finish in victory!
With gratitude, The Brave & Bold Team
BRAVE & BOLD Copyright © 2025 Releasing Generations Published by Releasing Generations Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. All articles, art, and photographs have been published and printed with the permission of their creators. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society. Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked (NIrV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIrV” and “New International Reader’s Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Art Direction and Graphic Design by: Ahava Design, LLC. Photos by Unsplash and iStockphoto.
TheBraveSeries.com Through The Brave Series, we are on a mission to help youth and adults of all ages overcome insecurities about their value and purpose. The Brave Series empowers teens and adults to:
The Brave Series is a publication of Explicit Movement, one of three facets of the Releasing Generations organization. You can learn more about Explicit Movement at Explicitmovement.org
• Grow in confidence and emotional health.
Our leadership team has decades of combined experience working with, serving, and supporting teens, young adults, parents, community leaders, and church leaders within many denominations locally and globally.
• Gain wisdom and vision for their future, enabling them to step into their purpose and pursue their dreams. • Become aware and equipped to safeguard themselves and others from exploitation and sex trafficking victimization.
You are not alone in your struggles.
Learn more at TheBraveSeries.com or visit us at ReleasingGenerations.org
Brave & Bold Volume 02 (Faith) – 1/2025
FOR GUYS OF FAITH
DIG DEEPER
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The Journey: 02
Journey
Journey
HE IS BRAVE & BOLD Defining What is Brave & Bold
LET IT GO .................................. 08 The Value of Forgiveness
KNOW YOURSELF Becoming Self-Aware
GOOD GRIEF .............................. 22 Dealing with Losses in Life
STAND FIRM Being Secure and Confident
UNRAVELLING EMOTIONS ........... 36 Navigating Anger, Fear, and Anxiety
CONNECTING WITH GOD Growing in Relationship with God
STAY THE COURSE ...................... 52 Persevering Through Hardships
YOUR DESIGN Discovering Your Uniqueness
PARENTS AND YOU ..................... 68 Exploring the Impact of Parents
BORN TO CREATE Activating Your Creativity
FORGED IN COMMUNITY ............. 82 The Value of Belonging to a Community
Discover Purpose
Dig Deeper
FREEDOM TO DREAM Dreaming Big for Your Life
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Dig Deeper
Journey
Journey
BUILDING YOUR CORE Establishing Character
PORNOGRAPHY The Negative Effects of Pornography
VALUES TO LIVE BY Embracing Key Values for Success
OVERCOMING TRAUMA Understanding Trauma
LEADERSHIP Becoming an Effective Leader
SEX ABUSE Addressing Sexual Abuse
FRIENDSHIP Building Healthy Friendships
SEX TRAFFICKING Protect Yourself and Others from Victimization
GUYS AND GIRLS Honoring Girls and Women
RISING STRONG Onward with Vision and Purpose
HE PROTECTS Guarding, Defending, and Supporting Others
THE BROTHERHOOD The Value of Men Arising
Develop Foundation
Daring Pursuit
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How’s Your Heart? “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. Mathew 5:8 MSG
How is your soul doing? What is going on in your inner world? We are more multifaceted than the eye can see. Caring about how we appear to the world is not necessarily a ‘bad’ thing, but do we ever take a look at what is on our inside and invest in our own emotional health? Our soul is made up of our mind, will, emotions, thoughts, attitudes, character, and even our moral makeup—in other words, our inner world. The purpose of these next three chapters, Let it Go, Good Grief, and Unravelling Emotions, is to support you in navigating the negative emotions of anger, fear, and sadness. These common emotions are often ‘stuffed’ and handled in unhealthy ways that can affect us for years to come—and even our physical health over time. Despite our cultural or family influences, we all have the potential to grow and heal emotionally and mentally, paving the way for a brighter future. The last three chapters are related to emotional health as well. You will be strengthened to persevere through challenges, navigate issues with your parents whether they are present in your life or not, and embrace the value of being a part of a loving community. This next article by Brandon Ahu will help prepare you to embark on this transformative journey of self-discovery.
THE CLOSET OF OUR HEART. by Brandon Ahu
I hated cleaning my room as a kid. It was one of those things that my mom always threw at me if I ever asked to go out and play with my friends. “Did you clean your room?” was the question that would sentence me to at least 45 minutes of putting away things that had been thoughtlessly thrown across my floor, desk, and bed.
But one day, I cracked the code—rather than take the time to clean my room and go through everything, I just stuffed it all in my closet and closed the door! Problem solved! So, in the closet they went: toys, books, papers, shoes, backpack, dirty clothes, and used dishes. Every time my mom told me to clean my room, I got it done
What is not revealed cannot be healed.
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in less than 5 minutes. The floor, desk, and bed were clean, and I could go out and hang out with my friends.
wants to set you free from these things, but you must be willing to bring them into the light.
Everything was great, and my room looked amazing— until the closet got too full, and I couldn’t close the door. Even worse, a funny smell started coming from the closet. One thing about dirty clothes and used dishes is that you can only keep them hidden for so long. The smell started to creep out into other parts of my room.
Here’s what John 3:19-20 NIV says: This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
Of course, my mom found out. And it wasn’t pretty. I had to soak and wash my dirty clothes multiple times to get the smells out, and some just had to be thrown away since they were so gross. Not to mention the dried-milk cereal bowls, old cups of orange juice, and caked-on cheese that wouldn’t come off the nacho plate I had last month. It was a catastrophe. Unloading the mess that I’d stuffed away in my closet for months took longer than if I had just dealt with things the right way.
Doesn’t this sound like hiding? IT IS! But keep reading, there’s good news: But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. John 3:21 NIV Even if you feel like what you’ve done is not good, God can handle that. He sees it all anyway. Nothing is outside of his sight, so we might as well bring it to him. All of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly, as they say. Why would we do this? Because…
Sometimes, we treat our lives like I treated my room. We all want a life that looks clean and well put together. But messes happen to all of us. Rather than dirty clothes or used dishes, our messes can come in the form of thoughts, feelings, or habits that we just don’t want to deal with. Intrusive negative thoughts. Feelings of deep anger or rejection. Disappointment that something didn’t happen how we wanted it to. Hurt and pain toward a loved one, or even guilt and shame over things we’ve done that we’re not proud of. Adding sexual sin to all of this makes it even worse.
What is revealed gets healed. And the opposite is true as well: What is not revealed cannot be healed. Yes, it takes courage to face it and bring it into the light. But don’t forget that it’s in the light that Jesus can forgive your sins, clean out the closet of your heart, and help you to walk in freedom.
We can easily think, “If anyone knew about this, they wouldn’t want to be around me.” So we ignore these feelings and try to distract ourselves with everything else: friends, video games, sports, social media—anything is better than the stuff we’re feeling now. We stuff our feelings away into the corners of our hearts. Where they sit there. And start to smell. And make other things in our lives smell.
Here’s what John says in his letter, found later in the Bible: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. – 1 John 1:7 NIV Don’t be afraid to deal with the things you are ashamed of. Jesus brings us life, freedom, and purity if we’re willing to open the closet of our hearts to him.
We were never made to live like this. Although it’s tough and may take a little longer, we must deal with what we are thinking and feeling. Don’t let unresolved issues and feelings sabotage the future that God has for you. He
“Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that’s what makes you strong.” Sarah Dessen
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“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT
Chapter 01
Let it go
How easy is it to get offended? Irritated? Hurt by people’s actions or words?
But remember, forgiveness is always within our reach with God’s help. Forgiving yourself and others is part of the pathway to healing, wholeness, freedom, and joy in life. Open your heart and mind to the articles and stories in this chapter that will empower you to forgive, even when it is difficult. It is the Lord’s desire for you to not only receive forgiveness but also be one to release forgiveness to others with His heart of mercy and grace.
Offenses are an inevitable part of life. Even Jesus acknowledged this fact: “Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come...” in Luke 17:1 NKJV
Let’s grow deeper roots in the good soil of love and forgiveness.
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