I anticipated writing a different post for today, but I remembered some brave folks and wanted to honor them for their courage. This isn’t just about my opinion, though. Read further for your role in nominating folks for the Bravery Badge.

Here are the five (and an amazing+1) folks I’m honoring today with Bravery Badges.

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Holly Schmidt. She and her husband Tom have been friends since seminary days. They’re currently serving in Panama with YWAM, loving young adults and pouring into lives. Why is Holly brave? Because she has long believed in the power of prayer. She has been an extreme encouragement to me as I’ve struggled through to birth my writing career. But way more than that, over the past few years, she’s walked through a terrible trial with grace, grit, and tenacity. Her daughter, Miriam, deserves this award, too. She’s one of the bravest teens I’ve met. __________________________________________________________________________________

Ed Cyzewski. He wrote a post yesterday that ROCKED about churches protecting sexual abusers, dismissing their sin, marginalizing victims, and turning a blind eye to the scourge that many sexual abuse victims face when they dare to report their story. __________________________________________________________________________________

Amy Young of The Messy Middle. I had the privilege of having breakfast with Amy at the Rewrite Conference last weekend. She’s been serving overseas in Asia for quite some time and just recently returned after years of faithful service. Guess what? It’s BRAVE to transition from one country back to your home country. It’s brave to start all over again. Amy has an amazing brain, loves to grapple with theology, and has a unique perspective on this world.

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Amy Smith of Watchkeep. We’ve not met, but she has been passionate about telling the truth about predators. I’m sure she’s gotten flak about being vocal in her reporting, but I’m grateful she’s willing to highlight what has been going on in the nation in the realm of sexual abuse. Go Amy!

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Paula Moldenhauer, Paula and I have known each other several years. She first welcomed me into her home when she’d never MET me. We took a hike near Estes Park and kept falling into crazy snow holes. She is one of the bravest people I know. She’s faced health crises, for herself and her family. She’s had this crazy dream to be a writer and pursued it doggedly for years before her books came to be. She trusts God for provision in ways that makes me humble and grateful for her example of extreme, beautiful faith. And she dared to lose a lot of weight and chronicle it on her blog (scary!).

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So, Holly, Miriam, Ed, Amy Young, Amy Smith and Paula, Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You may not know that your work has been noticed, but it has. You are unsung heroes of mine. What you do and who you are matters to the Body of Christ. Don’t quit. Keep up the good fight. You are brave, brave, brave.

Here’s your chance to bless someone with the Bravery Badge!

If you know an unsung hero, a brave person you have seen do incredibly courageous things, please write about them in the comments section, then send them this post. They can post the Bravery Badge on their site too by clicking here to download it.