About Kim Hyland

Kim Hyland is a writer and speaker, the founder and host of Winsome, an annual retreat for women.Her first book, An Imperfect Woman releases February 6, 2018. Connect with Kim at her blog Winsome and on Facebook , Twitter & Instagram.

An Imperfect Woman

February 7, 2018 By Kim Hyland 9 Comments

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The road to my home goes up the side of a mountain.

It curves back and forth, as it winds its way up the steep incline. As I was driving it the other day, I thought how it repeatedly takes us in the opposite direction of our house. The road to our house sometimes takes us away from our house.

The road to our dreams is a lot like the road up the mountain to my home.

When I began to pursue my dream of writing, I could see my goal clearly. And my vision of attaining it was a road that was straight up. But life. It apparently hadn’t been informed of my plans.

Illness, relational struggles, deaths, births, marriages, college, kids . . . life kept occurring in all its glorious and unpredictable chaos. And my road kept changing direction.

But thank God for life, and all its interruptions, setbacks, humblings, failures, and lessons.

Click To Tweet

The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s “own”, or “real” life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life – the life God is sending one day by day: what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination. ~C.S. Lewis

What I failed to see at the start of my writing journey is fairly clear from the vantage point I have now. The well-tread path to the top of a mountain is rarely straight up. Sure, the occasional ambitious climber might make a straight trek. But the rest of us will zigzag our way, often going in what seems like the opposite direction of our dreams.

The path has a purpose. The “interruptions”—those things we didn’t plan for and would probably never choose—form us, and they inform our dreams. They add essential ingredients like humility, perspective, and wisdom.

Today, wherever you are on the journey toward your dream, remember your path isn’t random. It was designed carefully just for you, and you’re traveling it with the supreme guide. He knows the exact route necessary to prepare you for the summit.

I hope you’ll enjoy the journey.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

My new (and first) book An Imperfect Woman: Letting Go of the Need To Have It All Together, released February 6! The path to that day was steep and windy, and it didn’t come a day too soon! If I’d had my way, it would have been written and released years ago. Thank God it wasn’t. He knew there were more trials to navigate, perspectives to gain, and lessons to learn before I offered my words to you.

I hope you’ll check it out at www.animperfectwoman.com. And I’d love for you to join me and other beautiful, imperfect woman in a four-week study on Facebook.

About the book: Women are bombarded with ideas of perfection–and tips for how to achieve it–every day. From her work to her looks to her parenting, today’s modern woman is expected to strive to be picture perfect in every way. As a result, calls for authenticity and imperfection are on the rise. Yet, deep down, most of us still want to achieve perfection. Why?

The desire to be perfect, says Kim Hyland, is actually a God-given urge. After all, we were made for Eden. But there is a difference between perfection and perfectionism, which is our attempt to achieve perfection on our own, by our own strength, and for our own purposes–the original temptation in the Garden. In this freeing book, Hyland offers women a stirring manifesto for acknowledging their limitations and embracing the perfection of God through his grace. This is a book for every woman who gives 110% and yet feels shame when one little thing goes wrong.

Shared by: Kim Hyland

Take Heart

November 13, 2017 By Kim Hyland 15 Comments

“Why is it so hard, Mom?”

His voice was weary, and though we were on the phone and separated by miles, I knew him well enough to see his expression—eyes cast down to the right, staring, disillusioned.

“I’ve prayed and believed this is the path God wants me to pursue with my life. So why is it so hard?”

My young adult son’s question was one every dream chaser eventually expresses: “If I’m doing what God wants me to, shouldn’t it be easier than this? Why isn’t He helping me?”

As followers of Christ, we know trials and hard seasons are a fact of life. Nevertheless, they take us by surprise. [clickToTweet tweet=”Our trials are consistent with our reality but so inconsistent with our expectations.” quote=”Our trials are consistent with our reality but so inconsistent with our expectations.”] And like a child who doesn’t understand, they make us cry Whyyyyyyy?

“Why, God? It isn’t fair! I did my best. I prayed. I trusted. I (fill in the blank with all your efforts), and this is what I get?!”

This is the hard reality of our trials and the confusion they cause. If we are truly God’s chosen, the ones He lovingly created and formed, then why is life so hard?

It’s true. We are chosen by Him. But often we forget what God’s choosing entails.

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried and CHOSEN you in the furnace of affliction.
~Isaiah 48:10 (AMPC)

One Bible commentary says this:

God had chosen [the Israelite] nation to be his people when they were suffering in the furnace of affliction in Egypt; and it is also true that God chooses sinners now . . . as the result of heavy affliction. . . their affliction had prepared them . . . to seek consolation in him; . . . and to embrace [His} offers of mercy.

. . . the furnace of affliction – Refer[s] particularly to their trials [as exiles] in Babylon. Afflictions are often likened to fire – [because] fire is used to purify or try metals, and afflictions have the same object in reference to the people of God.

There are two clear purposes of the furnace of affliction:

to prepare the hearts of sinners to receive God’s mercy
to purify or try His chosen

Throughout the Bible, we see God use hard trials and testing to prove and strengthen the faith of His chosen both as the consequence of their sin and to purify and test their faith.

In this you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
that the genuineness of your faith,
being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire,
may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
whom having not seen you love.
Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
~1 Peter 1:6-9

Our trials should cause us to examine our hearts before God for sin and the possibility of His correction, but we also have to remember His higher purpose for our lives. It’s not our comfort! His purpose is to conform us to the image of Christ.

Are you in a difficult season and tempted to give up on your dream? Take heart, Dreamer! God is committed to accomplishing all of His good purposes for your life. Allow Him to work in and through you as He purifies your heart in His holy furnace of affliction.

And be certain of this . . . He is the author and perfecter of your faith, and you can trust Him to complete the good work He began in you.

Shared by: Kim Hyland

An InLinkz Link-up

Your Dream, A Path To God’s Heart

July 5, 2017 By Kim Hyland 4 Comments

The realization of a dream isn’t half as dreamy as dreaming it.

It’s the put on your big girl pants, pull up your bootstraps, and get to work part of seeing our dreams come to reality.

Dreaming isn’t for the faint of heart. At least not the “dreams come true” part. But often the inevitable roadblocks to our dreams cause us to doubt or even convince us we must be on the wrong path.

And the voice of doubt has all kinds of subtle dream-killer phrases to choose from:

“God must not really want me to pursue this dream.”

“I must have heard Him wrong.”

“Maybe I don’t really have what it takes.”

“Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, when the kids finish school, when the kids go back to school, after I’ve learned more, etc.”

I’d like to suggest another option when we find ourselves backed into a corner or tripped-up and facedown in the gravel along our God-sized dream journey.

Maybe we’re exactly where we’re meant to be.

Maybe the very thing that screams turn back is what’s meant to drive us to the Dreamgiver and to reveal strength that was previously unknown and is necessary for the path ahead.

Our enemy wants to keep us as far as possible from our dreams, because he knows they’re the path to God’s heart. And His heart is the place where we discover exactly what He had in mind when He wove us together in our mother’s womb—where we hear the rhyme and meter of the “poiema” that He’s written (go here for more about this idea).

He’s designed us perfectly, and He made us weak and dependent on purpose.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Pursuing dreams is supposed to be hard, to bring us to the end of our rope, and to convince us of our desperate need for the practical power of God’s Spirit in our lives. Collaborating with our Maker in the good works He planned for specifically for us is a place of intimacy and power like no other.

Our dreams will pass away with us, but seeing His glory and experiencing His deep love and provision for us is eternal. That may very well be the true purpose of our God-sized dream journey.

Shared by: Kim Hyland

Four Ways To Cultivate Community At Home

February 20, 2017 By Kim Hyland 9 Comments

When I was a kid, no one talked about community. It just was, and it was everywhere—in the fire lane where we’d meet to play football and at the pool where long summer days were spent keeping cool. We found community at school, church, Girl Scouts, youth group, softball practice, etc. And wherever I spent my day, I’d typically end it at home with my sister, mom, and dad.

They were the days before the Internet when we had only four TV channels (five if the weather was right and someone sat in just the right spot in the living room).

We didn’t talk about community, we lived it.

It’s interesting how finding community, something that grew organically in the past, has become a topic of discussion and a thing we feel the need to intentionally create. How is it that when life has never been fuller with constant communication and streams of information as close as our smart phones, we are lacking community?

Have we forgotten how to just “do life” with others?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m someone who thinks, talks, and prays about creating community as well. I understand how lonely and disconnected a person can feel in our times. For all the people in our lives, the strength and comfort of community can be elusive.

Lately, I’ve been thinking the solution might be closer than we think. Our families were our first communities, and they can continue to be a rich source of friendship, support, and personal growth.

Our families were our first communities, and they are a rich source of friendship.

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Here are four things I’m learning to do to intentionally cultivate community in my family:

Love the ones you’re with. It’s easy to take family for granted. God’s cure for the loneliness of the first man Adam was to give him family, and it’s still His design.
Recognize and appreciate the sanctifying grace of family. Home is where faith gets tested and made strong and pure. I’ve often said, “If I can live out my faith within these four walls, I can live it anywhere.”
Remember that your family is not a hindrance to your God-sized dream but a proving ground. Our dreams often feel just a little bigger than our time, resources, and opportunities. It’s their nature and what makes us stretch, grow, and trust even more than before. God uses our family circumstances as a sort of “boot-camp” to prepare us to fulfill His plans and our dreams.
Enjoy. I have a sign in my house with this one word to remind me. Between the never-ending daily tasks and the sanctifying process, it’s easy to forget that the first community I dreamed of and prayed for has been given to me by a loving God to enjoy!

As I write this on my iPhone, we are driving our oldest son and his wife to the airport after an extended visit. The past couple weeks our house has been bursting at the seams and tomorrow it will be quiet as it returns to “family-light.” But whether full or few, I know the dearest and best community on this earth is my family.

They’re the ones who have formed me and my dreams, and they’re the ones who’ll be cheering the loudest when my God-sized dreams come true.

But whether full or few, I know the dearest and best community on this earth is my family.

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Shared by: Kim Hyland

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Making Room

December 5, 2016 By Kim Hyland 7 Comments

And yet the heart of man, though small,
is big enough for Christ to live in,
if man will only make room for Him.
~Billy Graham

As we enter into the second week of Advent, I find myself longing for quiet in what is arguably the busiest as well as the most wonderful time of year.

Advent is a welcome daily invitation to step away from the hype of the holiday season and to reflect upon the glorious story of our salvation. It is a time of waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ. I’m familiar with this.

As each of our six children was born, there was also a time of waiting and preparation. Even as the new baby took up increasingly more space and stretched the boundaries of my belly, I began to strategize how we’d make space in our home and schedule for his or her arrival. Bunk beds were assembled. We strategically rearranged and positioned toy boxes, dressers, and cribs. Considerations and decisions about schedules, bedtimes, and who would or wouldn’t keep who awake were made. We had to make room for the expected baby.

This season of Advent is a time to make room in our hearts, minds, and schedules for Christ. The commercialization of Christmas has one message, and it’s more—more activity, more food, and more stuff. But welcoming Christ inherently requires denying other things to make room for Him and the manifestation of His will in our lives.

Christmas and the invitation to focus and intentionally prepare our hearts and minds to receive and celebrate Christ again avails us of a very personal and unprecedented opportunity. He incarnates, becomes flesh, in us through the outworking of our obedience, relationships, and unique role in His body.

His incarnation in our lives is manifested in our dreams.

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This Advent season, take a few minutes to consider . . .

How are you preparing and making room for Jesus during this waiting time of Advent?

What might need to be rearranged or even gotten rid of to make space to more fully receive and embrace God’s will for your life?

What new God-sized dreams are gestating in your heart?

I’d love to hear your answers in the comments!

Shared by: Kim Hyland

An InLinkz Link-up

Thriving In Transition and the #DreamTogether Linkup

September 12, 2016 By Kim Hyland 6 Comments

Calling all dreamers! The #DreamTogether link up starts today!

Need some encouragement? Want some extra blog exposure? Ready to meet some new friends? Join us for the all-new #DreamTogether link up! See the instructions at the bottom of this post to join us!

I remember thinking, “When will things get back to normal?” I was a first-time mom, and our new baby boy was barely two weeks old. I can hear you snickering.

My dream of becoming a momma had come true. But for all my years of wishing and praying and even my last nine months of planning, nothing had prepared me for the upheaval of “normal” that was coming with the birth of our first child.

My naive yearning to take my baby and get back to normal was a delusion. Gradually, it was replaced with the sober yet hopeful reality that, after a period of transition, I would find a new normal. If it didn’t kill me first.

Transitions can be like that.

We see the end product of a dream in our mind’s eye and say “Yes, please!” But if we knew half of what it would take to get us from point A in our journal to point B in reality, we might think twice. Sure, we know theoretically that the journey will be long and hard, but when we’re barely out the door and get knocked off our feet by the change that arrives with transitions, it can be easy to doubt our dream.

As the months went by, Josh and I would find some sort of schedule, and I would breathe a deep sigh of relief. Ahhhh, we found our new normal. I learned to enjoy it while it lasted. Hardly a week later, a growth spurt would hit and throw our lives, not to mention our sleep schedule, into a period of transition again.

The cycle of transition, normal, transition, normal, and so on was exhausting. But the alternative was . . . there was no alternative. Josh had to grow. Everything that’s alive does.

In childbirth, transition can be one of the most overwhelming, painful, and confusing stages. We’ve labored for hours and are certain it must be time to push this baby out and into the world. But first, transition (and if you haven’t already taken a watch-me-labor selfie, this is your last chance). You feel almost out of control, because you are. Something far beyond your control is happening. A new life is being born.

Life is a series of transitions.

As difficult as they may be, and as much as we may resist them, transitions are a sign of life!

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If there’s one thing that’s been constant in the present season of my life, it’s change. Moves, job changes, weddings, babies, loss, and, just to keep it interesting, perimenopause! I imagined this would be a season of settling down. Like my “new mom” guidebook, I must have read the unedited, dreamy version of the mid-life manual.

When I forget the good and new seasons of life that are on the other side of these transitions, I become weary. But I’m learning. These are a few things I believe can help us thrive in transition.

COUNT THE COSTS

I’ll be the first to admit, I often forget to do this. I get all caught up in the glitter and sparkle of a new season, idea, or dream and barely glance at the price tag.

“Here’s my credit card. In fact, I’ll take two! One in pink and one in purple!”

When our dream is all shiny and new, no price seems too high. But no sooner have we got it home and taken it out of the bag, and it begins to lose some of its luster. The bill comes, it’s time to pay, and we begin to wonder if it’s worth it.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost,
whether he has enough to complete it?
~Luke 14:28

Did you notice what comes before count the cost? This wise person sits down.

She steps back from the glam and glitz of a new thing, calms herself down, and considers what it will cost her. With that knowledge, she makes a smart decision. When times of transition come, they’ll be hard. But she will be comforted with the assurance that she knew her dream would cost her, and she has saved what she needs to “pay.”

DON’T LOOK BACK

During transition, it’s so tempting to pine for what was. The freshman at college remembers how mom used to do her laundry and make dinner. The new mom remembers sleeping more than two hours in a row. The transplanted career woman remembers her cozy apartment and friends in her old city. The middle-aged woman remembers the “simple” life when all her kids were still home and around her table. You get the idea.

Our memories are sweet. And we tend to polish them up a bit as time goes on. We forget the bad and remember the good. That’s a grace! But you won’t find your bearings in the past. In fact, if you spend too much time looking behind you, you’ll likely trip. Or turn into a pillar of salt. Just sayin’.

Look back, but just long enough to see God’s faithfulness and give thanks.

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Then turn around and focus your eyes, head, and heart forward.

KEEP YOUR EYES ABOVE THE WAVES

It’s the Christian anthem of our day and a favorite of God-Sized Dreams. Rich with analogy and hope, the song Oceans by Hillsong captures the heart of what it is to follow God in our trials as well as our God-sized dreams.

There on the waters where “feet may fail,” I make the brave choice to “keep my eyes above the waves.” The allusion to Peter walking on the water is unmistakable.

He walks on water just like Jesus . . . until his focus turns to the wind. His dire circumstances distract him from his source of faith, and he begins to sink.

Characteristically, Jesus saves Peter when he cries out. That’s an important thing to remember. Clearly, the trick of this miraculous feat was to stay focused on the first water-walker who had called Peter to come to Him. Without faith in Jesus, Peter’s endeavor was a fool’s errand. But when Peter failed, Jesus saved. It’s what He does.

So yes, keep your eyes above the waves and on the face of Jesus. But if, or should I say when, you falter and the circumstances of the transition you’re in overwhelm you like the wind and waves in a storm, don’t just sink. Cry out to your Savior. He will reach out His hand and take hold of you. It’s what He does.

BREATHE

Last but not least, breathe. In, out, in, out, in, out . . . and so on.

Times of transition can be some of the most overwhelming, painful, and confusing stages of life.

Transition brings us back to the essentials. And the essentials supply what we need to endure.

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Fifteen years after we brought Josh home, he was still keeping me up many nights—not for feedings or diaper changes, but for all the joys the long transition between child and adulthood avail a mom. One especially hard day, the kind you know might just kill you, I called my friend Stephanie. Between sobs I poured out my heart with all its anxieties, worries, and imaginations. I left out no detail. There was no hope. This time transition was going to pull me under. I would meet my deep, dark, drowning demise in the murky waters of adolescence. RIP.

Steph, was silent. And then she said one word.

“Breathe.”

“What?”

“Breathe.”

“I am breathing.”

“Breathe, Kim.”

I inhaled a little deeper.

“Do you remember when we were in labor?”

Steph and I had shared years of baby-bearing and mothering. I’d even been with her when two of her children were born.

“Remember how the harder it got, the more important it was to breathe?”

“Yes, I remember.” I was a little calmer.

“This is like that. You need to breathe. Then you need to focus. You know where your strength is. Go to Him. He has what you need.”

I focused on my breath. My heart rate slowed, and the angry clouds in my mind began to clear.

I felt Him take hold of my hand, and He gently admonished me to trust Him more.

All He required to follow Him was trust, a price I could afford.

He reminded me of His faithfulness in my past and assured me of His presence in my future.

And the wind ceased.

Shared by: Kim Hyland

Welcome to the #DreamTogether weekly link-up! The link up will go live 4 AM central time each Monday. Simply write an encouraging blog post and share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to godsizeddreams.com to join in!

After you link up your post, please take a moment to leave an encouraging comment for the God-Sized dreamer that linked up just before yours!

I joined @Godsizedreams for the #DreamTogether link up! Join us!

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The Ups And “Downs” Of Collaboration

June 20, 2016 By Kim Hyland 1 Comment

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and had no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

When I decided to make my dream of an annual women’s retreat a reality, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. So I prayed for friends who wanted to help . . . and waited.

Lo and behold, one day I took a mental inventory of the women in my life and discovered God had answered my prayer. One would make an awesome administrator. Another was the queen of hospitality. One already led worship for her church. And so on.

As I prayerfully (and I do mean prayer-fully) asked my friends to join me, they enthusiastically embraced my dream and together we made Winsome happen.

Collaborating with these women was one of the best and hardest decisions I’ve ever made.

Here are a few reasons why:

While we’ve yet to need each other for bodily warmth, my team and I have had plenty of opportunities to pick one another up after a fall. Our four years of working together have provided many ups and downs for all of us both as a team and as individuals. We’ve had each other’s backs through it all.

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Proximity leads to conflict.

I’ve never been good at conflict. When I smell it, I back away slowly.

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But as a committed member (not to mention the leader) of our team, I had to stay.

Early on, I told the team we needed to put on our steel-toed boots because we were going to step on each other’s toes. Working so closely, it was just a matter of time.

Our team has had to handle the inevitable conflicts of collaboration with grace and maturity. There have been hurt feelings, frustrations, and hard conversations.

Staying is hard! But by working through conflict, we have grown both relationally and spiritually.

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We’ve also learned to appreciate each other’s perspectives and strengths and bear patiently with one another’s faults.

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Collaboration knits hearts. Even though life circumstances have changed and some of us may not have as much connection as we used to, our shared experience has given us treasured memories that keep us connected.

I’m reminded of Paul’s comparison of believers to a body, the Body of Christ!

For just as the body is one and has many members,
and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. . .
But as it is, God arranged the members of the body,
each one of them,
as he chose.
~1 Corinthians 12:12; 18

It’s not coincidence that these women are in my life. Together we are creating an event to encourage other women in their dreams and relationship with Christ and His body. Every part of our team is vital just like every member of the body. God, in His wisdom and love, has brought us together.

That is no small thing.

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As a mom, there are few things that thrill me like seeing my kids work together. I’ve exclaimed this verse to them on many such occasions: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity. ~Psalm 133:1

When we collaborate for the advancement of His kingdom, I imagine our Father is thrilled as well!

With so much gratitude to the Winsome Leadership Team: Clare, Emily, Hilary, Debbie, Julie, Missy, René, Stephanie, Tee, and Wendy.

Shared by: Kim Hyland

The Reciprocity of Dreams

April 13, 2016 By Kim Hyland Leave a Comment

I returned last night from the fourth annual Winsome retreat, a God-sized dream come true. It was birthed with trepidation and excitement, and every year is an overwhelming testimony to me of God’s faithfulness.

Our dreams are His means to accomplish the good works He planned for us before time began.

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They advance his Kingdom and weave an incredible story of interconnectedness, unity, and joy.

Five years ago I had a dream and needed some help.

Holley Gerth wrote a book and needed some help getting the word out, so she asked some God-sized dreamers to join her in sharing it. I was one of those dreamers, and through the support of Holley and the God-sized Dream Team, Winsome came to be.

Last year, another God-sized dreamer attended Winsome to hear Holley who was speaking. Natalie Joy was a strategic coach in the corporate world who had a dream to use her skills and experience to help women pursue their dreams. At Winsome, she decided to go for it!

Natalie asked if I would be interested in her help coaching me and my team. The words were barely out of her mouth before I said, “Yes!”

Natalie Joy’s last name was hard-won. After an eight year marriage that ended with the devastating revelation of her spouse’s six-year infidelity and loss of life as she knew it, Natalie chose her middle name as her legal last name. She says she had to choose whether to be defined by her circumstances or to pursue joy. Her name testifies to her choice.

But Natalie’s name isn’t the only indication of joy in this lovely woman. Her smile radiates it, and her passion to help other women find what brings them joy confirms it.

Over the last year Natalie has coached me and the Winsome leadership team. And this year Natalie returned to Winsome as a workshop leader and shared her new organization Defining Your Joy.

Defining Your Joy provides the resources, support, education, encouragement, and inspiration to help women discover more joy in both their personal and professional lives.

It’s a God-sized dreamer’s dream come true!

I asked Natalie what kind of woman would benefit from the services Defining Your Joy offers, and she identified a few:

the woman who has a dream inside but isn’t moving forward because she doesn’t have the information she needs.

the woman who has passion but doesn’t know what exactly what her dream is and needs help with the process of both seeing and seizing her dream.

the woman in the corporate world frustrated by pursuing someone else’s dream and wanting to make a greater impact.

the empty nester whose dreams have been on the shelf for so long she’s not sure what they are.

the woman who wants to both achieve her dream and create a profitable reality by make a living from it.

Through both virtual group and one-on-one coaching options as well as their six month Launch Your Dream Program, Defining Your Joy is like a dream team for your dream!

Natalie’s own painful experience has inspired her to help other women who have been hurt. Because their mission is to help all women fulfill their dreams, Defining Your Joy has partnered with Wellspring Living in Atlanta, GA. Wellspring Living works with girls and women who have been harmed by sexual abuse. Through financial support, volunteer work, and life coaching, Natalie and her team will work with Wellspring to fulfill their goal of helping women live and dream again.

I was a girl with a dream that needed some help. Thank God I didn’t try to go it alone. The reciprocity of dreams may be its greatest blessing!

Shared by: Kim Hyland

p.s. We launched our God-sized Dreams shop! It contains five downloadable prints created just for you. We hope they inspire you to chase after your dreams! We’d love for you to check them out! And as a thank-you to our email subscribers, once a month we will randomly choose one subscriber to receive a FREE print!

Dream. Shop. Inspire. God-sized Dreams new print shop!

A Lovely Ambition

February 8, 2016 By Kim Hyland 1 Comment

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.

~1 Thessalonians 4:11

Ambition is a big word, full of potential, ideas and goals. It almost seems alive when you say it! It’s a lot like the word dreams.

But quiet it is not! Quiet stands alone. It stops. It’s still. Shhhh. It’s quiet. Dreamers get ambition. Quiet? Not so much.

So tell me, God-sized dreamer. What is your ambition?

Oh, that’s easy! It’s to . . . write a book, start a new business, found a non-profit, begin a ministry . . . etc.

But lead a quiet life???

At first glance, this verse can be confusing. Ambition and a quiet life just don’t seem compatible.

When I think about my own ambitions, both past and those for the future, I don’t think of quiet. In many ways, my ambition seems to generate the very opposite: busy, loud, exciting, tiring, scary, exhilarating. But not quiet.

I’ve been wrestling with this verse, and while I don’t think I have it totally figured out, I’d like to share some thoughts with you.

First, I think it might help to look back a bit to see our way forward . . . stick with me!

Paul begins this chapter with an exhortation to the Thessalonians: we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God(just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. (vs. 1)

In verses 3-8, he reiterates God’s standard of sexual purity and reminds them the standard is for their sanctification (yes, sex. It’s all over the Bible, because God understands sexuality is all over our lives. But that’s another post.)

Paul goes on to praise them for their brotherly love: Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. (vs. 9-10)

Then he raises the standard: But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, (vs. 10)

The Greek word that is translated excel is perisseuō, and it means to superabound or overflow. The instruction is clear. Paul is pleased with the love being shared by the Thessalonians, and they he wants them to excel still more in their love, to superabound and overflow in love!

It’s in this context that we encounter these seemingly incompatible instructions.

Let’s look at it again: But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, (vs. 11)

The Greek word translated as ambition is philotimeomai. It literally means to be fond of honor.

This explanation from the Reformed Study Bible helps us begin to understand:

The Greek word for this term often denoted the attempt to garner civic honor and recognition through outward displays of generosity by the wealthy. Paul’s use of the term turns it on its head: the Thessalonians should be zealous for the honor that comes not through self-assertion or an ostentatious show of personal greatness, but through humble, industrious, and unimpeachable behavior.

So it seems Paul used this word intentionally, knowing it would cause his readers for centuries to furrow our brow and say “Huh?” (Although I don’t know what the Greek word is for huh.) He was trying to get our attention! Paul understood our human nature and desire for honor. Rather than tell us to simply reject man’s honor, he holds up a vision of a life of humility and devoted effort in the name of Jesus.

To summarize Paul’s instruction:

Keep obeying the commandments you’ve been given.

Stay sexually pure.

Superabound in love!

Make it your ambition to live a quiet life.

In the end, it’s all part of this upside down kingdom where our Father tells us to be still in order to know.

Where the last are first, and the first are last.

Where our weakness manifests His strength.

Where humility precedes glory.

God isn’t against progress! He gives the biggest dreams, and He’s given each of us a unique function and duty as part of the body of Christ. We also know that stewardship of talent and opportunity is a serious thing.

Our wise Father just doesn’t want us to do dreams the world’s way.

Our wise Father just doesn’t want us to do dreams the world’s way.

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As we strive to enter into his rest and make it our ambition to live a quiet life, we will keep the proper perspective on our dreams. They’ll be accomplished for His glory and honor. And we will be a witness to a watching world of His power, love, and grace.

Shared by: Kim Hyland

Weathering the Seasons

September 25, 2015 By Kim Hyland 2 Comments

The end of a season can feel like a fail.

Driving up the mountain, my daughter-in-love Hilary and I notice the dry summer leaves along the roadway. Despite ninety degree days, the longer, cooling nights testified to the imminence of fall.

“I always feel like I have to hurry up at the end of a season. Like the things I was supposed to do in the summer haven’t happened yet,” Hilary remarked. “I do love fall though.”

I understand. As I come to the end of a season of fifteen years of homeschooling, I’ve felt similar emotions. I’m not done. There are things I never got to, both academic and personal. There are regrets. But there’s also excitement for the new season in front of me.

Like the changing weather between physical seasons, transitions between one season of life to the next can be confusing and disorienting. One day you get caught without a sweater and are given a reality check by the cold, and the next you’re peeling off layers. With all the unpredictable change, it can be hard to know how to weather the seasons. (<====Click to Tweet)

These are some things I’m trying to keep in mind during this transition time.

GIVE YOURSELF FREEDOM TO MOURN THE END OF THE SEASON. Change is just hard, and regret and sorrow are part of life. Denying my emotions won’t make them go away (they’ll actually just scream louder), so I’m letting myself feel and trusting God’s good plan.

GIVE THANKS FOR ALL THE GOOD AND LET GO OF UNMET EXPECTATIONS. Man makes His plans, but God directs His steps. That’s a huge comfort, and it gives me the confidence to let go and move forward.

LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEW SEASON AND ITS SURPRISES. As I recount God’s goodness in my past, I can be certain of His goodness for my future.

CONTROL THE THINGS YOU CAN. And don’t even try to control the things you can’t. Enough said.

GIVE YOURSELF AND THOSE CLOSE TO YOU GRACE IN THE TRANSITION. And more grace and more grace. Your heavenly Father does, so follow His lead.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, REMEMBER WHERE THE FINISH LINE REALLY IS. It’s tempting to think “This is it!” But while the seasons of life are temporary, YOU are eternal. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) That means your finish line isn’t at the end of any season of life. It’s at the end of a life, and no one knows where or when that really is. So run well today.

And enjoy the weather.

Shared By: Kim Hyland

Photo credit: Hilary Hyland