Dreaming Big with God

I often ask the question, “If you could do anything and knew it would succeed, what would it be?” For many people something immediately comes to mind. But there are also many people who don’t know. They wonder all the time, what does God want from me?

I think one of the problems with the “dream big” idea is that we let our human minds measure what “big” is. We think it has to be fame or success or a ministry or a huge blog. But what is “big” to God? (I’ll come back to this in a minute.)

What we do need to remember is that God has gifted us all differently. My pastor, Dr. Mark DeYmaz, talked about this on Sunday. There are some people whom God uses to dream. Some people are to manage. And some people just want to do the daily task He’s given them . . . and there’s nothing wrong with that!

http://www.mosaicchurch.net/media-archives

State of the Church 2013 (Part 2) – Mark DeYmaz

I can’t remember Pastor Mark’s titles, but the divisions went something like this. In God’s body there are the:

1. Big Picture Dreamers
2. Managers
3. Workers

I’m a dreamer (as if you couldn’t guess that!), but my favorite people are those who can help me live out what I envision! When I started a pregnancy center—or now working with teen moms—I could not do what I do without those who come alongside me.

Sometimes the dream God gives you just may be to work alongside someone else. If you could connect with one ministry, what would that be? What could you do to support it? Why are you so passionate about it? What is God telling you concerning this ministry?

When you think about it, the “big” thing to God is obeying what He asks you to do. You could become famous, make it big, and become well-known—and it would amount to nothing. Or you can ask God what is BIG to him. You might be surprised.

In the world’s eyes my writing is the most important part, but as we just opened our home to two more kids through an adoption, there have been many moments during the day as I’m playing cars or have kids piled on my lap and I feel God saying, “This. This is exactly where you need to be right now.”

What bigger dream can you have than that? He sees the future. He knows whom those kids will become. He knows the transformation that happens in my heart as I serve them as a mom and servant. And His dream is for me to trust Him in the path He sets me on.

*Photo credit: Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Shoot for the Moon

So I'm sure you've all heard the quote that says something like, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

I used to think this was a pretty great idea. I may or may not have written it across a couple of notebooks back in the day just to serve as inspiration.

And then I realized...the stars are great and all. But God has huge moon-sized dreams for me. Why would I want to stop short when He's brought me so far?

God likes to do BIG moon-sized things. Like
use a kid to end slavery. And bring justice to those who've been treated unfairly. And end poverty by helping kids. And cure diseases like AIDS and cancer. And rescue young girls from lives in the sex trade. And bring peace to war-torn countries.

And He likes to use His people to get stuff done. So dream big moon-dreams. And when you end up with a handful of stars, keep going because you're not there yet. Even when it gets hard and it hurts. Even when you fail a couple (or a couple hundred) times. Even when you really question why in the world God gave you your particular moon-dream because it may as well be impossible. Even when people say that you should maybe think about finding a new dream that isn't quite so hard to reach.

Keep going.

What are some of your moon-dreams? Email me at anmblogs@gmail.com and tell me, or leave a comment!

A People Pleaser's Nightmare

I had the weirdest dream last night. My husband was in the hospital recovering from back surgery and his room was overflowing with visitors. Friends that we hadn’t seen in a decade were there, along with friends from church and people that I only see once a year at writer’s conferences who’ve never met Norm. I was totally stressed, knowing that any minute my friend Sherry would arrive and remind me of the two visitors at a time rule (Sherry is a nurse). Then the nurses would come in and I'd get in big trouble for not protecting my husband from overstimulation.

“Can some of you wait in the hall?” I asked a cluster of girls that I didn’t recognize.

“We didn’t sign up for this,” They huffed. “We didn’t come all the way down here to hang out in the hall.”

As they walked out, others walked in and my stress level went through the roof.

Then I saw my youngest son’s Sunday school teacher, Miss Kelly. Knowing she is sweet and would understand I asked her to leave next.

“Nobody cares about that rule,” Kelly insisted. “At the other hospital they actually hire people to fill up rooms of patients who don’t have visitors. You know, so they don’t feel left out and the room doesn’t look depressing. Don’t listen to Sherry. She doesn’t know anything.”

That so didn’t help! Now I didn’t know who to listen to. The dream ended as a well known literary agent showed up with flowers for my husband.

In reality my husband did have back surgery and Sherry did show up at a time when Norm was particularly popular and point out, “There are six people in the room.” But it wasn’t like she was mad at me. Still my need to please, even while helping my husband recover, leaked over into my dreams. I woke up thinking, why do I do this to myself? I worry so much about pleasing everyone that I often forget to stop and wonder what’s right. What does God want me to do? Has anyone in authority asked me to do something differently? Am I focusing so much on what I can’t control, like who happens to show up, that I neglect the one who needs my attention?

Are there any more people pleasers out there? What has perfectionism done to your mind lately?

A People Pleaser's Nightmare

I had the weirdest dream last night. My husband was in the hospital recovering from back surgery and his room was overflowing with visitors. Friends that we hadn’t seen in a decade were there, along with friends from church and people that I only see once a year at writer’s conferences who’ve never met Norm. I was totally stressed, knowing that any minute my friend Sherry would arrive and remind me of the two visitors at a time rule (Sherry is a nurse).
“Can some of you wait in the hall?” I asked a cluster of girls that I didn’t recognize.
“We didn’t sign up for this,” They huffed. “We didn’t come all the way down here to hang out in the hall.”

As they walked out, others walked in and my stress level went through the roof.
Then I saw my youngest son’s Sunday school teacher, Miss Kelly. Knowing she is sweet and would understand I asked her to leave next.
“Nobody cares about that rule,” Kelly insisted. “At the other hospital they actually hire people to fill up rooms of patients who don’t have visitors. You know, so they don’t feel left out and the room doesn’t look depressing. Don’t listen to Sherry. She doesn’t know anything.”
That so didn’t help! Now I didn’t know who to listen to. The dream ended as a well known literary agent showed up with flowers for my husband.

In reality my husband did have back surgery and Sherry did show up at a time when Norm was particularly popular and point out, “There are six people in the room.” But it wasn’t like she was mad at me. Still my need to please, even while helping my husband recover, leaked over into my dreams. I woke up thinking, why do I do this to myself? I worry so much about pleasing everyone that I often forget to stop and wonder what’s right. What does God want me to do? Has anyone in authority asked me to do something differently? Am I focusing so much on what I can’t control, like who happens to show up, that I neglect the one who needs my attention?

Are there any more people pleasers out there? What has perfectionism done to your mind lately?

Beauty from ... what a mess!

I have a new book coming out in July for teen girls. Thinking about it both excites me and terrifies me at the same time.

The title is: My Life, Unscripted. In it I've share more about my messed up teen years than I ever thought I would. In fact stories I SWORE to never tell a soul will soon be in print! Like the time I was on a date with my boyfriend and found myself kissing his best friend. Or the time I got in a fist fight after a football game ... did I mention I was still wearing my cheerleading uniform? Or when I was 17 and told my boyfriend in the McDonald's parking lot that I was pregnant.

It's stories like these that I wish were fiction and NOT the truth!

Yet, years ago, after I dedicated my life to Christ I prayed He would redeem those years and bring some good out of them. This book is that redemption in print!

It's a dream come true. It's my way of allowing God to take the mess and make something beautiful out of it.

So what do you dream about? Check out this quote I found:

"God never simply buries our dead and broken dreams because He'd be burying our hearts along with our dreams. One of two positive things will happen. Either the dream will become fertilizer for something even better, or the Lord will give me the gumption and oomph to bring my dream to fruition. I can't lose either way!" ~Noni Joy Tari

To put in bluntly, the MESS from my teen years became fertilizer for something better. Believe me, it took a lot of gumption and guts to bring this dream to fruition, but if it can help one teen to choose a better path for her life it's ALL worth it!

Now, what about you? What mess have you lived through that you hope one day can help someone else? Tell me about it ...

Tricia

Give me an "N"! *\o/*

What does the word "nurture" mean to you?

Is it covering the basics? I'm fed. I'm warm. I have a roof over my head. There you go, I'm nurtured.

Really? No, not really.


Nurting is going beyond the basics. When someone or something is nurtured, it fosters growth.

One way to nurture yourself is to nurture your dreams. Are you growing your dreams, tending to them, asking God to water them and help them sprout? Nurturing your dreams means that you do two things:



1. You protect your dreams


2. You pursue your dreams


There will be dreambusters every step of the way in your journey. Sometimes that is people who run you down, or tell you that you can't possibly succeed. It may even be someone really important in your life.

It's tough when you want to dream and no one seems to believe in you. But I discovered a long time ago that God believes in me. I was created by him. He breathed life into me, and he knows what my life can look like as I listen to him and follow his leading.


If someone had come to me as a teen and said that I could dream, I wouldn't have believed them. Life was sticky, icky and hard. Today I would love to be able to sit next to my once 15-year-old self and whisper, "dream, baby, dream." I would encourage that young girl to believe in the powerful words found in the Bible, instead of labels stuck on her life like rag-tag post-it notes. Those promises aren't just for the old me--they are for you too.


Another dreambuster is letting relationships in your life that don't line up with your dream. If a guy says he loves you, but asks for anything that could delay or destroy your dream, he's a dreambuster. If he's into you and not into God--dreambuster!


Remember the story of Joseph? A lady tried to mess up his dream and he literally ripped away from her, leaving his nice robe hanging in her hand. He recognized a dreambuster. She still tried to mess up his life and his dreams, but he stayed focused. He knew who to trust with his dreams. He placed them in God's hands.



He showed us that you nurture your dream as you pursue it. Sometimes dreams seem impossible because they are so HUGE!


And yet most dreams are accomplished one step at a time. Like a beautiful mosiac, little things, little acts of courage, little steps of faith, all combine to create the larger picture.

Pursuing your dreams might involve waiting. Most good things take time. You can nurture your dream by growing in strength and character while you wait and take those baby steps, so when it arrives you're ready to assume both the privilege and responsibility.

So, give me an "N"! And begin to nurture his dreams for your life. *\o/*

Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you. . . Jeremiah 1:5a (The Message)

Suzie Eller


Real Teen Faith