GROW IN CONFIDENCE. KNOW YOUR IDENTITY.
2 VOLUME
DISCOVER DIG DEEPER PURPOSE
THE QUEST TO DIG DEEPER Welcome to Brave Together 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 do not just survive but thrive in life with the sweet fruits of personal growth, success, and healthy, positive relationships! 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. We believe that everything you go through has a purpose. Your struggles, victories, and lessons can shape you into someone stronger and more confident. No matter what, you have incredible worth—step into life knowing that! 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 Together Team
BRAVE TOGETHER (CLASSIC) - VOL 02 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. Art Direction and Graphic Design by: Ahava Design, LLC. Photos by Unsplash and Shutterstock.
TheBraveSeries.com Brave Together is a publication created by Releasing Generations, a non-profit organization that empowers people of all ages to thrive with purpose, while knowing their value. We focus on equipping leaders to positively impact young people through events, training, and resources that build emotional and relational wholeness and release creativity and leadership.
Brave Together Volume 02 (Classic) – 10/2025
DIG DEEPER
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Volume 02
Vol. 01
Vol. 02
CHAPTER 1: BRAVE, BOLD, BEAUTIFUL – KNOW YOURSELF
THE CLOSET OF YOUR HEART: OUT OF HIDING, INTO HEALING
▶ You Are Brave ▶ Being Bold: Embrace Your Courage ▶ The Comparison Trap ▶ Shaped by Beliefs: The Limits We Create for Ourselves
CHAPTER 1: FORGIVENESS
CHAPTER 2: STAND FIRM – SECURE AND CONFIDENT
CHAPTER 2: GRIEF
Discover Purpose
Dig Deeper
▶ Why Forgiveness Sets You Free ................... . . 14 ▶ The Power of Forgiveness ......................... . . 16 ▶ Releasing the Weight of Unforgiveness ........... 22 ▶ You Are Not Your Mistake ........................... 24
▶ Master Your Mindset ▶ Overcoming Intimidation ▶ Self-Confidence and Social Media ▶ The Drive to Be Significant
▶ Healing From the Heartache of Losses ........... . 32 ▶ Growing Through the Losses ...................... . 38 ▶ From the Valley of Grief to Compassion and Empathy ........................................ . 42 ▶ Grief and Suffering to Great Purpose .............. 46
CHAPTER 3: YOUR DESIGN
CHAPTER 3: UNRAVELING EMOTIONS
▶ Your Place. Your Part. Your Purpose. ▶ Ways to Express Yourself ▶ Secure in Your Body Image ▶ Seasons of Life: Rings and Things
▶ Breaking Free From Anger Part 1 .................. . 52 ▶ Breaking Free From Anger Part 2 ................. . 56 ▶ Courage in the Face of Fear ....................... . 58 ▶ Managing Anxious Thoughts ...................... . 63
CHAPTER 4: BORN TO CREATE – YOUR CREATIVE FLOW
CHAPTER 4: PERSEVERANCE
▶ You Are a Creative Genius ▶ The Power of Creativity ▶ Imagination: Your Hidden Superpower ▶ Adventuring in Creativity
▶ Overcoming Struggles With Purpose, Passion, and Grit ................................... . 70 ▶ Perseverance and the Power of Practice .......... . 72 ▶ Persevering Through Friendship Changes ........ . 76 ▶ Finding Rest and Identity in a Busy World ....... . . 81
CHAPTER 5: FREEDOM TO DREAM
CHAPTER 5: PARENTS AND YOU
▶ So the Adventure Begins: Explore, Discover, Dream Big! ▶ Big Dreams, Bold Life ▶ From Vision to Reality ▶ Freedom to Dream
▶ Understanding Parents and Patterns ............. . 90 ▶ The Role of Wise Mentors .......................... . 94 ▶ Growing in Understanding Your Parents .......... 96 ▶ Building Bridges to a Closer Connection with Parents ......................................... 98
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Dig Deeper
Vol. 03
Vol. 04
CHAPTER 1: ESTABLISHING CHARACTER
CHAPTER 1: THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY
Develop Foundation
Daring Pursuit
▶ Cultivating a Growth Mindset ▶ Building Resilience: Turning Setbacks Into Comebacks ▶ Taking Responsibility ▶ Integrity: A Firm Foundation for Character
▶ Resisting Objectification: Choosing Courage ▶ The Struggle With Porn Addiction ▶ Overcoming Challenges With Strategy ▶ Empowered: Build a Life Beyond Pornified Culture
CHAPTER 2: VALUES TO LIVE BY
CHAPTER 2: OVERCOMING TRAUMA
▶ The Key to a Grateful Mindset ▶ Faithfulness ▶ The Power of Generosity ▶ The Value of Excellence
▶ Understanding Trauma ▶ Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Power of Hope ▶ Dealing with Suicidal Thoughts ▶ How to Support Others Who Have Faced Trauma
CHAPTER 3: GROWING IN LEADERSHIP
CHAPTER 3: ADDRESSING SEXUAL VIOLENCE
▶ Becoming Powerful: A Servant Leader ▶ Be Interested, Not Just Interesting: Listen First, Shine Later ▶ Navigating Authority with Respect ▶ Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
▶ Stay Safe: Protect Yourself From Sexual Violence and Exploitation ▶ Consent: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Speak Up ▶ Wounded But Not Shattered/Tears of Sorrow to Joy ▶ Stepping Stones - the Healing Process
CHAPTER 4: THE POWER OF WORDS
CHAPTER 4: SEX TRAFFICKING PREVENTION
▶ The Power of Words ▶ The Power of Encouraging and Assertive Words ▶ From Harmful Gossip to Advocating for Dignity ▶ Speak Life: How Words Can Shape Your Future
▶ Preventing Sex Trafficking ▶ Protect Yourself! Ways Recruiters Groom Teenagers ▶ Whoa. It Happened to Me! ▶ Sextortion: Click with Caution ▶ What Keeps a Victim Trapped? ▶ Is My Friend Being Trafficked? ▶ Voices of Freedom: Three Stories of Victors
CHAPTER 5: BUILDING HEALTHY FRIENDSHIPS ▶ Being a Good Friend ▶ Being Real and Creating Safe Friendships: Opening Up ▶ Overcoming Loneliness ▶ The Power of Community: Finding Me in Them
CHAPTER 5: RISING STRONG ▶ Rising Strong One Step at a Time. ▶ Jungle to Jewelry to Justice ▶ Arise a Hero ▶ Purposeful Decisions Shape an Extraordinary Future
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How’s Your Heart? 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, Forgiveness, Grief, and Unraveling 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 two chapters are related to emotional health as well. You will be strengthened to persevere through challenges and navigate issues with your parents, whether they are present in your life or not. This next article by Brandon Ahu will help prepare you to embark on this transformative journey of self-discovery.
THE CLOSET OF YOUR HEART. Out of Hiding Into Healing by Brandon Ahu
What is not revealed cannot be healed.
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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 them away into the corners of our hearts, where they sit there and start to smell, making other things in our lives smell.
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 it 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 in less than 5 minutes. The floor, desk, and bed were clean, and I could go out and hang out with my friends.
We were never made to live like this. Although it’s tough and may take a little longer in the moment, we must be able to deal with what we think and feel. Don’t let unresolved issues and feelings sabotage your future. We were made to be free from these things, but you must be willing to bring them into the light. But hiding is easier, isn’t it?
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.
And you can continue to do that. But we know that eventually, we will have to deal with it. The good, the bad, and the ugly, as they say. So, we might as well deal with these things that we’ve tried to hide. Why would we do this? Because… What is revealed gets healed.
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.
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 in the light, you will find wholeness, forgiveness, and life. Don’t be afraid to deal with the things that you are ashamed of. It all starts with being courageous enough to open the closet and be honest with what’s really in there.
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 look like 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.
If we are willing to clean out the closet of our hearts, we will find freedom. “Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that’s what makes you strong.” Sarah Dessen
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