In the dictionary, "bold" is defined as: "showing an ability to take risks; confident and courageous."

I love the words confident and courageous, because if you're living boldly you are confident in who you are and you are capable of taking risks. I remember when I first told people that I was going to go live with a host family in Guatemala for a month. Not everyone was as excited as I was, most were scared for me and kept asking me "Isn't that dangerous? Why would you want to do something like that?" But just the thought of the new adventure made me excited, I couldn't wait to see how God was going to work through me during my month there. To me this was a risk, it was a way for me to live boldly and it made me excited.

Life is far too short, and I know everyone is well aware of that, but I think all of us, (myself included) need the encouragement to live our lives more intentionally and really recognize how short and sweet our time here really is. So I decided to make a list of 5 things that life's too short for. I wanted to challenge each of us to take advantage of our time here and live a bit more boldly. We need to take a few more risks.

1. Life's too short to: Be timid

I feel like in a lot of situations we're all too scared to truly be ourselves. We get so caught up in what people are going to think, or what people will say so we stop ourselves from being who we truly are. We need to be reminded that God created us in such a beautiful unique way and hiding that from the world is so wrong. As cliché as it sounds, no one else can be you, so be the best you that you can be.

Go share whats in your heart, laugh so hard your stomach hurts, start a dance party, go for a run, go fly a kite, pick up a new hobby that you're secretly passionate about, write a book or a blog, find what makes you unique and share it with the world.

2. Life's too short to: Compare yourself to others

This one is honestly so hard. It's so easy to get caught up in feeling inadequate and feeling like everyone else has it all. It's easy to feel jealous of others, of what they look like, what they have, what they get to do and just honestly wish we had all of those things, too. We get so caught up in everyone else and their lives that we forget to appreciate all the good things we have in our own lives. We forget to appreciate all the things that God has blessed us with.

Take a bit of time each day to remind yourself of all that you have been blessed with. It's so easy to get caught up in the negative that we forget to even look at the positive. Let's all strive to truly love our lives and the people we have around us rather than being jealous and bitter.

3. Life's too short to: Hold back

I feel like a lot of the time we hold back from saying the important things because we don't know how people will react, we're too scared of rejection or conflict, or that our words won't be received well. We would rather hold our feelings inside than speak up because of fear. One of the saddest things in life is all the words left unsaid.

I'm not saying that you should go out and belittle people or be a nasty person. But sometimes we do need to have the tough conversations in order to bring healing. And sometimes we need to have the scary, blushing, "I may throw up" conversations in order to let people know how we truly feel (if you're pursuing someone, that last one was for you ha).

So I challenge you to go tell someone the words that you're too afraid to say, speak life and speak truth, stop questioning and wondering what could happen and just do it, make the first move.

4. Life's too short to: Be scared

Too many times we allow fear to stop us from being adventurous and we get so caught up in the "what ifs" in life that we forget to actually live our lives. Now I'm not saying you should go jump out of a plane (even though skydiving is sick) but I am challenging you to be a bit more risky and adventurous with your life. Do the things that get your adrenaline rushing and take many selfies.

Go camping in the middle of winter, go cliff jumping, wear bright red lipstick, visit a foreign country, learn how to play an instrument. Find what makes you excited and do it. Be brave.

5. Life's too short to: Go to bed angry

Our last words that we say to someone could quite honestly be the last words we say to them. So why on earth would we spend so much time being bitter with someone? Value the people that you have in your life and let them know how much you appreciate them with your words and with your actions. Put your phone away when you're spending time with someone, tell someone how much they mean to you, ask people how you can be praying for them. Just show people that they are important.

Be brave today friends.