🌱 Plant Without Fear—I discovered this pithy little statement printed on the edge of a seed packet tucked away with my gardening supplies all winter long.

I’d never noticed it before, but it’s been teaching me ever since.

Plant Without Fear.

How did the seed people know that I would belabor decisions about what to plant, where to plant, when to plant, how many seeds to plant…all the questions?

🚨 Questions that kept me from taking action.

🙅 Questions that made me feel like a newbie (or a fraud!).

🛟 Questions that made me want to Google all the gardening things so I wouldn’t get it wrong.

🪴 Questions that might have stalled me out for so long that I could have missed the crucial window for starting tomato plants that would actually bear fruit by the end of a short Colorado summer.

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But Plant Without Fear—a simple motto probably dreamt up in a marketing agency’s conference room somewhere in the Midwest—it gave me courage to do something, anything, with my garden earlier this spring than I ever have before.

I boldly planted seeds in any container that would hold soil (turns out those cardboard egg cartons dry out fast, and you have to water those little nubbins about 5 times a day if you live in a climate like ours.)

And last weekend—two months after I started my planting-without-fear journey, I finally got to transplant those little babies into my raised beds. Not all of them made it. A few never even sprouted. But I cannot express the joy I felt in this moment…and every moment since as I’ve watered, tended, chased birds away, and checked for any little bit of growth each day.

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It’s kinda like that with your dream, Reader,

We could let fear hold us back.

Or keep us occupied on social media looking at others' success with their dreams.

Or floundering in a sea of decisions about naming, brand colors, logos, website hosts, domains, and the like.

Or you could take action and see what happens.

Actions like:

You could start asking good questions of people your dream might serve:

🧠 What keeps them up at night about your topic?

🧠 What solutions have they already tried that didn’t work?

🧠 What questions do they wish they had answers to?

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You could look at your own gifts, talents, and life experiences and ask God for discernment about how He’s uniquely wired you and placed you in a time and place to be used for the good of others and for His glory. (Check out my most recent episode on the Devoted Dreamers Podcast for guidance.)​

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You could take messy action, try something new—even something scary—choosing to trust that the unchanging God of the universe has you in His hands, will hold you, and will meet you in every formidable challenge that comes.

And He will grow you through it all.

Plant without fear.

Dream without fear.

My sister, you already have what you need to begin. Don’t wait. Start taking steps toward your dream today!

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Let me know how I can help you do that. It’s my mission to help Christian women like you believe you have permission to use your gifts and that you are capable of doing work you love and are passionate about.

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If you and I were sitting down over our favorite beverages and you could ask me anything, what would you want to know?

Hit "Reply." Tell me one thing that you need.

With you,

~Merritt

P.S. Before you go, will you give yourself the gift of taking one minute to reflect on what dreaming without fear could mean for you and your God-shaped dream? How could that simple motto change the way you approach trying something new? Then hit "reply" and tell me what you're thinking. I am your biggest cheerleader. Let's do this together!

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