Do Hard Things was a book that changed so many of our lives.
It awakened us to a new vision of living boldly for God’s glory and daring to do hard things for Him as a teenager.
Alex and Brett Harris weren’t afraid to tell us the truth, even when it hurt. But they also encouraged us deeply, bolstering our faith.
Here are ten quotes from the classic to encourage you today.
“The teen years are not a vacation from responsibility. … They are the training ground of future leaders who dare to be responsible now” (p. 13).
“God does not hold two standards: one for young adults and one for adults. He has high expectations for both. Where some might look down on or excuse young adults, God calls us to be examples. Where our culture might expect little, God expects great things” (p. 42).
“If we take a step despite feeling uncomfortable, afraid, or inadequate, our comfort zones expand. We grow in strength and skill. What we consider normal for us changes, sometimes radically” (p. 67).
“Our father often tells us, ‘True courage is not the absence of fear. It is refusing to allow fear to control your actions’” (p. 77).
“So many of us allow little failures to keep us from gaining important skills, from maintaining vital relationships, or even from accomplishing great things in our lives. A ‘do hard things’ perspective reminds us that all effort – even failed effort – builds muscle” (pp. 80-81).
“Teens have a lot of energy, but we don’t always know what to do with it; older people often have better insight but don’t always have the time or energy to see it through. The beauty of collaboration between older and younger generations is that we combine strength with wisdom – a surefire way to accomplish more for the glory of God” (p. 121).
“Doing hard things is how we exercise our bodies, our minds, and our faith. Small hard things are the individual repetitions – like a single push-up. They are seemingly insignificant by themselves but guaranteed to get results over time” (p. 138).
“When we make decisions to obey God – even when it costs us something – and to live out our faith in our day-to-day life, it will be hard, but it will be good. And it will be good because God loves to bless us when we are faithful to stand for Him” (pp. 153-154).
“Character, competence, and collaboration are the means by which our generation can fulfill its call to be salt and light – and keep from being ‘thrown out and trampled’” (p. 179).
“Young people like you are only beginning to write the stories of their lives, carefully putting into action the vision from the mountaintop. Someday, God willing, millions will hear and be inspired by the story that is waiting to be told. And that story is yours” (p. 224).
Share Your Thoughts in the Comment Section!
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Wow. Do Hard Things is amazing. I’m going to read it again!
Hey, Natie! Welcome to theReb! It’s good to hear new voices on here. How’d you find us?
Thank you! Sorry it took me so long to reply!
I came across Do Hard Things on a book list about a year ago. I love it.
I’ve been reading all the posts and comments since then but I’ve rarely posted any comments myself.
I love the things you guys are doing here. Keep it up!
Thx Natie!
Great quotes, I needed to hear those again!
Loved these quotes. Good reminders for me!
My favorite quote is on page 172 “When Jesus tells us we are ‘the salt of the earth,’ He’s saying we have been placed here to preserve it until He returns. To fight against the decay of sin, to combat sickness and suffering, and to oppose corruption and injustice.” After I read that I told my small group we were all preservatives! lol 😉
Haha, I’ve never thought about it like that!
Awesome! Is that a picture of you all together? I didn’t know you’d met each other! Did you meet Brett in person too?
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” –Do Hard Things
Hey there, Amanda. If you’re asking about the bio picture, no, it isn’t actually the people on the editorial team. I wish though! 🙂
I know right. When are we going to Australia, guys? Ok. . .I guess it doesn’t have to be Australia! Just somewhere where the whole team can be together holding Koalas! Or something else fun.
Seriously… name a date and place, I’ll be there! 😉
Bummer! I wonder who it is then. Clip art? 😛
Yeah I actually have no idea :p
Yeah, it’s clip art. When I was creating the profile pic, I just didn’t want to put something boring and inanimate. So I put some random teenage strangers! 😀
Lol! 😀 I wonder what it would be like to have your face used for clip art…who knows what strange places you would see yourself? 😛
That is probably my favorite quote from the book “Do Hard Things.”
Awesome quotes! I love these!
These quotes make me want to read the book again. 🙂
I love these quotes! “The teen years are not a vacation from responsibility. They are the training ground of future leaders who dare to be responsible now” That is so true. When I look back on when I was younger, I thought that becoming a teen meant that I could take a break from work. But, after starting Do Hard Things, on my mom’s request (Thank you so much mom!), I realized that I was wrong. Thank you for reminding me.
These are always so helpful to hear again!