At the time of writing this content, I'm thirty-eight years old. Married to my high school sweetheart, from 18 years ago. I have a son who's just now graduated high school. I work a morning, part time, side-hustle job for insurance purposes and for a little extra financial bump. I'm an Executive Pastor at a church that is growing and thriving, year-over-year, quantitatively in attendance and even more so, qualitatively in the impact we're making. In addition to that, I'm now pushing my personal business/ministry forward after years of it being a just a hobby. Sounds like I'm living the dream doesn't it? Sounds like I got a lot going for me, huh?
Quick Confession
Now what if I told you that when my wife and I were in our twenties, we had been days away from foreclosure on our home? Twice in four years time. We even had to drain the small 401K savings we had scratched by to add to each month. But it was too late, we were bleeding at the seams. Then there was my Eddie Bauer edition Ford Explorer that was repossessed. I loved that SUV! Oh, and the beautiful leather, fully-loaded Nissan? We watched helplessly as the repo man got that a few years later too.
I should also come clean about my wife and I. You know that you swooned when I mentioned earlier that we were "high school sweethearts"? [I heard your audible "awwww".] Well, the backstory to that is that we also joined the statistic of teen pregnancies in high school. We had to grow up fast and sacrifice a lot. And our dreams? Put on hold...indefinitely.
So, You've Messed Up Too?
Have you read all the above and yet you still have that feeling like just too many things have happened to make any "about face" in your own life? Like you've missed too many opportunities - that any dream is just that, a dream that will never be anything more? Stop it. Just stop it. Nobody wants to hear it. Especially you. You're tired of that inner condemning narrative anyways. In Will Mancini's, God Dreams, we are introduced to one of the most life-redeeming and world-revolutionizing thoughts:
In every circumstance of our lives and every sentence of Scripture, our God is a visionary God. He can turn the worst dilemma into eternal victory. #GodDreams #WillMancini
The Dream Didn't Start With You.
Mancini then helps us very quickly move forward to the next line of thought as he shares:
If you have ever had a dream of a better future, it was probably an idea first in the mind of God. Let’s call it a 'God Dream'. And you and I dream because God dreams."
There it is. And you shouldn't be surprised by this either. God always has His best in mind for you. We can see this in the often quoted, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'"
So you've still got that itch? Lemme scratch it. You have that compulsion to do, to accomplish. Be someone. Live a life that means...something. Stay with me on this journey. If you can't stop dreaming, there's a reason for it. Yes, it will take real work and follow through. Yes, maybe the dream has even changed. That's okay, they often do. Just keep God in it and let Him dream this dream with you.
"Because God is a visionary and human beings are visionaries in His image, the idea of vision becomes a powerful and practical thing to our daily lives. When we walk with God, two visionaries are walking and talking, co-creating a better future." #WillMancini #GodDreams
It's not too late. Get up and move forward.
What do you think?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Tell us how this post helped you. Or tell us what we missed. Also, feel free to let us know which topics you'd like us to cover in the future.
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Book Ref Links:
http://a.co/hWkRFfK
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Verse Ref Links:
http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/29-11.htm
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