God-sized Dreams

Where Dreams Set Sail

Stay the Course: Stay True to YOUR Course

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Stay the Course

It has been about five years since I set sail on an intentional pursuit of the dreams God placed in my heart. And just like any other sailor, I have seen all kinds of weather! Amidst some seasons of beautiful, blue-sky days and almost effortless smooth sailing, I have seen squalls, storms, doldrums, and even a leaky boat.

I’m still a novice, but I’m starting to get my sea legs. So let me share with you some ideas that have helped this sailor stay the course.

Keep your compass close at hand.

On those days when the wind fills your sails, don’t get cocky and think you’ve got your course memorized. Success can be deceiving , disorienting storms can take us by surprise, but God’s word never changes. {<<<===click to tweet} Frequent checks of your trajectory via the compass of truth will keep you on course no matter what the circumstances.

Stay true to YOUR course.

While we all have the same ultimate destination, the course we follow is as unique as each one of us. It’s easy to look around at other God-sized dreamers and get distracted. If you are feeling overwhelmed, chances are you may have mixed up your charts with someone else’s. Take time to pull out your compass, consult your captain, and get back on the course He’s laid out for you.

Don’t go it alone.

A solo sea journey is by far the most dangerous. Every good sailor knows there is safety in numbers (two are better than one) and wisdom in the counsel of many. In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul used the analogy of a body to demonstrate just how integral our need for one another is.

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. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

And then, just to show us how important every member is, he breaks it down a bit:

If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

At first glance, it seems a little silly, but I think that’s exactly what Paul is going for! He wants to illustrate how ridiculous it is to think that one member of the body of Christ wouldn’t consider itself as necessary as another to the body’s function as a whole.

Then Paul flips it to show us that one single part of the body can’t logically reject another:

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

All the members of the body are necessary! In fact, the one’s we might be tempted to consider unnecessary are actually the ones we’re to treat with the greatest honor and care.

On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 

This principle is so important to keep in the forefront of our hearts and minds as we pursue our God-sized dreams. The temptation to compare and deem either ourselves or anyone else unnecessary is a big one! We need to remind ourselves of our vital interdependence as the body of Christ.

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

This is really the best part of the promise. As members of the body of Christ, we are never alone whether we’re suffering or celebrating. {<<<===click to tweet} Entering into both the sorrow and joy of our fellow members is one of the greatest privileges we have as God-sized dreamers and followers of Jesus.

These are a few resources that I have used to stay the course:

goTandem – a Bible app for smart phones, goTandem delivers a personalized experience with the Bible designed to strengthen and encourage you along your unique spiritual journey. Like a compass, I can check it all throughout the day!

Holley Gerth’s books – if you’ve been around here awhile, you know Holley Gerth is a major encourager to women and especially God-sized dreamers. I refer back to her inspiring and insightful books regularly. In particular,  You’re Already Amazing and You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream are full of practical wisdom for the journey.

Life coaching – My life coaching experience has been phenomenal. It has literally enabled me to move mountains, or, to stick with our analogy, stay afloat! These are two life coaches that I highly recommend: Carey Bailey & Emily Dean

Do you have any tools that have helped you stay your course? Would you tell us about them in the comments?

Stay the Course Series

Shared by: Kim Hyland

Good Company

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JosephsDream

“Now Joseph had a dream . .” ~Genesis 37:5

And so it begins! As God-sized dreamers, we can identify with the story of Joseph. With trembling knees, we’ve bravely stepped into our dreams, believing they’re truly from God. We’re sticking out our necks, taking risks and, like Joseph, probably even receiving some ridicule. God gave Joseph literal dreams, and Joseph dared to believe them!

God’s dreams for Joseph weren’t just for him, just like our dreams aren’t only for us. Through Joseph, God would save His people and establish the line of His son Jesus. They were BIG God-sized dreams, and Joseph was excited. So excited, he talked about his dreams . . . a lot.

I imagine the path God chose to get Joseph to his dreams wasn’t anything like Joseph dreamed it would be. Joseph’s path was full of betrayal, hardship, lies, and many other difficult circumstances. At face value, his circumstances must have seemed in direct opposition to the dreams God had planted in his heart. Along they way, I’m certain Joseph had times of serious doubt.

God gave Joseph his dreams, and Satan, God’s enemy, wanted to steal them. We also have a real enemy, and when it comes to people believing in their God-sized dreams, our enemy is threatened. As you courageously step toward your dreams, you go on the offense in the spiritual battle. {<====click to tweet} Your enemy will do all he can to defend “his” territory. And because you’re being brave, he’s got to get strategic.

In my experience, he’s often pretty subtle. These are a few of the things I’m learning. And while I still occasionally get tripped up by the enemy’s strategies, remembering these help me not to become entangled and stuck!


BE FAITHFUL WHERE YOU ARE

Be faithful in your present duties, relationships, and commitments. When the God-sized dreaming going gets tough, it’s easy to begin yearning for another place or set of circumstances. Our ambition can blind us to the possibilities right in front of us.

The word ambition has strong connotations. For some it’s motivating. To others it’s practically a dirty word reeking of pride and self-sufficiency. I believe it is a tool that can be both constructive and destructive.

If my ambition blinds me to the opportunity of my present circumstances, it’s a robber. {<===click to tweet} If it tells me certain people in my life don’t matter, it’s a liar. But if ambition humbles me as I look at a God-sized dream that is bigger than me and my resources, it is a lens. It clarifies my reality and places where I’m going to need some God-sized help!

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. ~Genesis 39:1-6

While the life he was living was hardly where he dreamed he would be, Joseph worked hard in his master Potiphar’s house. He was noticed and given a position of trust.

He was faithful even as a slave.


DON’T DESPISE SMALL BEGINNINGS

When you’ve set out to follow your God-sized dream, it’s tempting to disregard the small. The lie is that what’s “out there” is what’s necessary to make the dream come true.

But more often, it’s what’s right here that is rich with the resources you need. Even the “bad” stuff. Consider all the growth that happens in our trials. More than anything, we come to depend on God in ways we wouldn’t otherwise. Our trials reveal our weakness and make us lean in hard to our Father. {<===click to tweet} And believe it or not, that’s the sweet spot when it comes to venturing out in our God-sized dream.

The people “out there” can seem so much more attractive when we start dreaming. “Our” people can seem small. But when we minimize or maximize people (even ourselves), we are in danger of idolatry. Every person derives their value from their maker. Every person in my story is valuable to me because God put them there . . {<===click to tweet} . . even the ones who sometimes feel like a big, immovable boulder blocking the path of my God-sized dream.

Joseph went from being a slave to a prisoner by no fault of his own! But even in prison, God’s favor still found him, and Joseph honored God right where he was. When two fellow prisoners were discouraged by confusing dreams, Joseph’s response was, Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me. ~Genesis 40:8 He used his gift right where he was.


REMEMBER GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL

Stepping out into God-sized dreams is a big step. If we’re not careful, we can begin to imagine that all the rest of the steps are ours to make all alone. Our dreams become dependent on our courage, our hard work, our connections, our self-discipline, etc. When it’s all about us, it doesn’t take long to arrive at the end of ourselves worn out and discouraged.

But God is and always has been the One in control of our lives and all our dreams. He planted them in our hearts, He nurtured them with love and truth, He brought them to life, He gave us the courage to take that first step, He even designed our trials to equip us to keep walking, and He will complete the good work He began in and through us.

He is sovereign and He is good.

I think the most amazing part of Joseph’s story takes place in the Pharaoh’s court. Joseph has gone from dreamer, to slave, to prisoner, to second in command of one of the greatest civilizations in history. And now his perpetrators, the ones who started his whole downward spiral, his brothers . . show up.

So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
~Genesis 45:4-8

Did you see it? The guilty party has arrived, Joseph reveals himself to them, but does he blame them for sending him to a life as a slave and a prisoner? No!

Instead, Joseph blames/credits God for sending him there. Three times! Look!

So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
~Genesis 45:4-8

Joseph acknowledged God’s sovereign plan through all his trials. Could this be the secret to Joseph’s steadfast faithfulness to God as well as his persevering belief in the dreams God had planted deep in his heart?

Throughout his crazy journey, Joseph trusted God and thereby believed his God-sized, God-given, God-sustained, God-delivered dream would come true!

Dreamer, you’re in good company!

Shared by: Kim Hyland

A Prayer for Our Soldiers & Resurrected Dreams

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“There’s nothing glorious about war, Mom.” With eyes focused straight ahead on the road, Josh spoke with all the conviction that comes from a newfound revelation.

I listened as I drove him home for spring break from the Naval Academy. A history major at a military academy, Josh was getting an in-depth education on the history of war and all its atrocities.

He continued to tell me how the evils of war are unimaginable. Hellish even. “I can’t even tell you about most of them,” he said protectively.

And I saw the dream dim.

Josh was eleven years old when he started talking about being a soldier. He grew into a young patriot with a keen focus on attending a military academy and serving his country. Now he was living his dream, but it wasn’t all that he’d imagined.

War had lost its glory before he’d ever even stepped foot on a battlefield.

As a mom, I thank God my son hasn’t seen the horrors of war first hand, and I pray he never will. But today, in the middle of all our flags, parades, barbecues, and heartfelt honoring of soldiers who have paid tremendous prices for our freedom, I’m thinking about dreams that have dimmed.

Even if a soldier has made it back to the safety of home, I’ve no doubt every sacrifice, every deployment, and every battlefield are littered with dreams that have died.

As we honor our soldiers today, would you join me in a prayer for resurrected dreams?

Oh, God. How your heart must ache to see your sons and daughters suffer the reality of man’s evil. The enemy of our souls has stolen so many dreams. But you are the dream maker, the dream giver, and today we ask you to be the dream resurrector. {<===clicktotweet}

Thank you for the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to preserve our freedom. Give them the courage to believe again and to walk freely in their God-sized dreams.

With grateful hearts and in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Shared By: Kim Hyland

 

Dreams & Desire

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Dreams are birthed from desire. They’re sustained by desire too. But desire can be so elusive. One day I wake up with so much excitement about my dream I can’t hold it in. And another morning I can barely remember what my dream was.

Desire is suspicious, especially when we haven’t claimed our dream yet. Is it really a “God-sized” dream? Is it selfish? Is it unattainable? Am I up for it?

Sometimes the more we desire a thing, the more suspect that thing seems. But desire is the sprout that grows from the seed God plants in our heart. It might not look like much. It’s pretty fragile. But its green, fresh new life holds out the promise of something amazing. When we claim desire, we begin to nurture it, and it begins to grow. {<==click to tweet}

Along the way, we quickly learn that dreams are a lot of hard work. In the middle of all the sweat, we can forget the desire that brought us to the dream in the first place. There have been days when I haven’t really wanted my dream anymore. As I pondered this strange dichotomy, days my love and enthusiasm for my dream were abounding and days I despised my dream, I began to realize the role of desire.

When our dreams become disconnected from the original desire that birthed them, they begin to wilt. {<==click to tweet}

Let me use one of my own God-sized dreams as an example . . .

For years I dreamed of hosting a retreat for women. The dream was birthed out of a deep desire to create a weekend of community, safety, encouragement, and joy. I love encouraging women! Three years ago, I took the first feeble, excited steps toward making that dream come true, and Winsome was born!

That first year felt somewhat like skydiving. I just jumped and trusted my parachute (God). I was full of blissful ignorance and excitement. It was exhilarating!

The second year was hard. It felt more like a long climb up a steep mountain. I knew the view at the top was going to be worth it, but boy was it tough getting there.

This year has felt like labor. And like labor, there have been many times I would have walked away if I could have. But this baby is going to be born! So I keep breathing deep and remembering the joy of past retreats.

In the middle of some really rough patches, I’ve had to recover my desire. I often remind God that my hope has always been to write and speak, not to be an event planner. As you can imagine, there are a myriad of details that go into planning even just a weekend retreat. When those details are all I focus on, my desire gets lost.

So I’ve learned to ask myself this question . . . “To what end?” To what end is this endeavor? (A simpler way of asking could just be “Why?” but I like how pondering “To what end?” sounds). Asking this question brings me back to the beginning and back to my desire.

“To what end is Winsome?” “Why Winsome?”

Well that’s easy! I want to encourage women. I want to create a weekend of community, safety, encouragement, and joy. I love encouraging women!

And my desire is recovered. Suddenly, all those pesky details are infused with purpose. They become the means to a beautiful end, and I find strength to keep moving forward.

Has your desire got lost in the details of your God-sized dream? What was the desire that birthed your dream? How can that desire inform your labor?

Shared By: Kim Hyland

Worth the Risk

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Dreams. They inspire and challenge. But dreams can also have a negative connotation. Consider statements like…

“Quit dreaming.”

“She’s just a dreamer.”

Dreams are often met with cynicism, because they’re risky. They upset the “status quo.” They’re not safe.

In his book, Take the Risk, author and neurosurgeon Ben Carson points out the obsession our culture has with safety, while at the same time its fascination with risk as evidenced by the popularity of reality TV shows.

This is the same way our culture tends to view dreams. They make good stories, but only a lucky few really get to live their dreams. The rest of us will live safe, sound, and be satisfied with the dreams of sleep.

It’s true. Dreams are dangerous. But so is living life without them. {<==click to tweet}

What are your dreams? Do you have any, or have life’s realities snuffed them out? Has your practical side convinced you to grow up, set aside your dreams, and live a safe life? {<==click to tweet}

I believe our dreams come from God. They’re not made of pie-in-the-sky wishes, butterflies, and daisies, but of dirt, rocks, and hard work.

And tears.

And hope.

And miracles.

We are stewards of our dreams. {<==click to tweet} God has planted them deep in our hearts for our pleasure and His plans. But I didn’t always think this way. In fact, up until a few years ago, I esteemed feet planted firmly on solid ground much higher than I did a heart set free to imagine and dream of what could be.

A lot of things happened, but the gist of it is this…my kids taught me how to dream. Watching them pursue their passions and gifts, walking beside them, and even helping open some doors for them gave me the courage to reconsider dreams I’d shelved years ago.

Like writing a book. Hosting a women’s retreat. Creating a non-profit.

So the last few years I’ve nurtured these dreams, watered them with fragile faith, and taken steps that were risky and bold. And guess what?!

My dreams sprouted!

Some have even grown tall and are bearing fruit.

And that safe life I thought I had…I realized it really wasn’t as safe as I’d thought.

Because living “safe” from the best things in life – the life I’m meant to live, complete with dreams coming true – is not what I’m here for.

And while they don’t always turn out as expected, my dreams are meant to come true and so are yours. So take the risk!

Shared By: Kim Hyland

Beneficiary of a Dream

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She dreamed of dancing with the New York City Rockettes. As a child, her mother put her into tap, jazz, and ballet lessons along with her older brother. He had contracted a mild case of polio, and the doctors said dance would help him regain his strength.

She danced year round until she was 18 and graduating from high school, but her dream of the Rockettes and NYC wouldn’t become a reality. She wouldn’t even audition. It was no use. She was an inch shorter than their required minimum height.

So her dreams shifted from New York and dancing to a secretarial job and life in the big city of Washington, DC, still a far cry from the small country town outside of Pittsburgh that she called home.

It was in DC that she met my Dad. A Puerto Rican transplant from Brooklyn, he was also a far cry from any of the small town boys she had known. Within a year they were married, and shortly after I joined them.

I don’t remember Mom talking much about dreams. What I do remember was how she lived life oblivious to boundaries. She created something from nothing all the time. My dad tells stories of coming home from work to find her painting rocks with me and my little sister. Meals were always special occasions no matter how simple. I remember themed birthday parties, Norman Rockwell-esque holidays complete with flaming plum pudding, and gorgeous wedding flowers three times over.

Mom didn’t know how to be a florist, but she knew how to create beauty. So when we were looking for ways to save money on my wedding, she took a look at some silk floral bouquets and said “I can do that!” And she did . . . for me and dozens of other happy brides over the last twenty-six years. She went on to build a successful floral design business and made dreams come true for many DC metro area brides. Her last two brides were our daughter Emily and daughter-in-law Kim at their weddings last year.

Mom’s dreams were all about what she could create to bless the people around her. {<==click to tweet} She was diagnosed with cervical cancer last August. After a hysterectomy in the fall, she slowed down just long enough to get back to her busy life of visiting nursing homes, leading a Bible study, mentoring younger women, and sharing with almost everyone her love of God. Sometimes she shared it with words and at other times with thoughtful actions.

Early this year her cancer returned and by August it was pronounced terminal. During her last months, she was in a lot of pain. But in December at our son Josh & Kim’s wedding, she had fallen in love with the hymn “In Christ Alone” and had begun choreographing a dance to it. She was scheduled to perform it at her church’s women’s retreat in October of this year. Mom wouldn’t live that long.

Most days she hurt too much to practice her dance, but one day this summer she was feeling well enough to show it to the women in her Bible study, and one of them videoed it. Her cane is in the background leaning against a chair as she dances gently and haltingly but with passion. We showed the video at her memorial service.

Mom’s dream of dancing never really went away. She had dreamed of performing with an esteemed troupe in front of an equally esteemed New York City crowd. Her dreams shifted as she married and raised two daughters. Her love of God and people led her to help them fulfill their dreams. {<==click to tweet}

And on September 10, 2014 at 9:15 am, Mom danced before the King of Glory, as her God-sized dream came true.

Proverbs 16:9 tells us “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

As we learn to acknowledge the passions and dreams God has placed in our hearts, fear often taunts us with the idea that things might not work out and then it will all be for nothing . . . the plans, the work, the hope, the dream.

But if our dreams come from our God and are pursued for Him, they will always work out for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

Mom’s dreams at 65 looked nothing like they did at 18. I don’t doubt she felt discouraged when they “failed” along the way. But as I reflect on her life, I’m struck with the realization that the life of a person that dreams and loves God and others at the same time leaves a wake of inspiration and influence that keeps on spreading even after that life is gone.

Maybe our God-sized dreams are truly about all those along the way who are touched by our God through our dream. 

Dreams Interrupted

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I look up the word interrupt and find definitions like these: made discontinuous, followed not by the expected, stop the continuous progress, break the continuity. The word clearly evokes a detour from what is expected.

My God-sized dreams have been interrupted . . . by more than I could have imagined and all at once. It’s the kind of stuff that makes me think I’m going to wake up in the morning and say, “You wouldn’t believe what I dreamed last night!”

But this interruption is clearly not a dream. It’s reality full on. She came blasting in with a blow horn and just when I think I’ve got her and all her chaotic circumstances rassled to the floor, she pulls an expert move and I’m pinned again.

I’m running out of steam in this match and wondering if maybe “crying uncle” is my best defense.

Then I remember Lamentations 3 where the “Weeping Prophet” Jeremiah shares some wisdom regarding God’s divine dealings.

It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke [of divine disciplinary dealings] in his youth.
Let him sit alone uncomplaining and keeping silent [in hope],
because [God] has laid [the yoke] upon him [for his benefit].
Let him put his mouth in the dust [in abject recognition of his unworthiness]—there may yet be hope.
Let him give his cheek to the One Who smites him [even through His human agents];
 let him be filled [full] with [men’s] reproach [in meekness].
~Lamentations 3:27-30 (AMP)

I heard once that two of the most powerful words are “Yes, Lord.” {<==click to tweet}

When troubles come, “Yes, Lord.”
When I’m so overwhelmed I can’t sleep, “Yes, Lord.”
When the night lasts too long and the morning comes too early, “Yes, Lord.”

When my dreams and well laid plans are interrupted, “Yes, Lord.”

As my heart relents, and I cry “Yes, Lord” (instead of “Uncle!”), I begin to see a bigger picture. The purpose for these interruptions becomes clearer. They become meaningful as my heart is quieted. And I find a surrendered heart sharpens both my hearing and my vision. {<==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.
~C.S. Lewis

“Yes, Lord.” The power of these two words lies in submission. Submission begins with trust, and trust leads us to our Father’s heart where we find His peace, security, love, and hope. And it’s in submission that reality meets Truth and my heart finds direction. {<==click to tweet}

A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.
~Proverbs 16:9

Our dreams require a big investment of faith and hard work, so it’s only natural to carefully plan as we invest our lives and hearts. But when those plans detour, alarms go off and fear wants to grab hold.

In that place, God meets us with of one of my favorite and most reassuring promises:

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind
and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him,
and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
~Proverbs 3:5-6

I’ve been pulled aside and benched for a time. My dreams have been interrupted for a good reason. There are lessons I need to learn. Tools I need to be equipped.

And in the midst of these “interruptions” and trials, the words of the “Weeping Prophet” comfort, reassure, and strengthen my heart . . .

For the Lord will not cast off forever!
But though He causes grief, yet will He be moved to compassion
 according to the multitude of His loving-kindness and tender mercy.
~Lamentations 3:31-32

Shared by: Kim Hyland

When Your Dream Feels Broken

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It was one of those slow-motion moments. I hurried through the kitchen, setting my empty mug on the counter as I walked. My fingers didn’t let go quite fast enough, and I felt the mug slide toward the edge.

“Nooooooo!” (Insert mental image of crazed woman moving in slow motion trying to rescue her favorite coffee mug.)

Crash! The mug lay in shards on the ground. Not the kind that fit neatly back together with glue and patience. Nope. Think splinters, dust, say goodbye, and “where’s the dustpan?” kind of shards.

My eleven year old son Sam watched silently as I bent to clean up the mess. He knew this wasn’t just any mug. This was my Winsome mug. The one the potter made for our retreat, and when I asked him to make more said he was no longer doing custom work. That irreplaceable mug.

As I dumped the shards into the garbage, Sam quietly sidled up to me and gave me a hug.

“I’m sorry, Mom. But I bet you’ll get a good blogpost out of it.” The kid knows me well.

The bottom of the mug was still in one piece, although, with a hairline crack across it’s middle, it would never serve my morning coffee ritual again. I solemnly laid it to rest beside my cracked pot and wondered why brokenness seems to be a running analogy in my life.

If I’m honest, the mug was a pretty good representation of where my heart had been regarding Winsome the last few months. After two years of hosting and directing the retreat I’d dreamed of for years, I didn’t want to admit it, but my God-sized dream felt broken. Limping along in need of cast and crutches. Hardly up to task.

The enthusiasm I had known before was gone. My doubts were bigger than my confidence. And when I thought about planning next year’s retreat, I felt anything but strong.

All this led to some serious soul searching. And the result began to reorient my dream to its proper place.

In You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream, Holley Gerth writes,

. . . success is not about results. It’s about a relationship. . . What [God] wants on this journey to your dream is intimacy with you. Success is simply this: obedience.

Dreams are an expression of our relationship with God. {<===click to tweet} That relationship might find another expression, or the expression might change.

Our dreams may thrive, or they might break.

Either way, God is working through our dreams to strengthen our relationship with Himself. And either way, what matters most in the end and all along the way is our relationship with Him.

God-sized dreams are a means to an end, and that end is to conform us to the image of Jesus.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory,
are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
~2 Corinthians 3:18

Like all the circumstances of our lives, our dreams are tools to accomplish God’s purposes in and through us. And sometimes broken tools work best, as they reveal power in weakness and the skill of the master craftsman. {<===click to tweet}

Shared by: Kim Hyland

When Restless Means Rest More

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come

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Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
~Matthew 11:28

The first few weeks after Winsome, the women’s retreat I founded and my God-sized dream come true, I just kept spinning. After winding up that hard, you can’t stop on a dime. Weeks and months of preparations weren’t “unspun” in just one weekend. So as tired as I was, I kept writing emails, wrapping up loose ends, and brainstorming ideas for next year.

Then I hit the proverbial wall. I need to find some place between full-out spin and slamming face first into the wall. But there’s something in me that starts out slow and then doesn’t want to stop, like a runner that sprints until he collapses.

And now I felt like I would be happy to just stare at a blank wall for a month.

While my mind, body, and emotions were spent, my soul felt restless. So I kept seeking and praying and pining . . for the excitement my dream brought me. Every time I prayed “God, I feel so restless!”, I heard Him say, “Rest more.”

Rest. Really? Like a toddler who doesn’t want to leave the playground for her nap, I resisted. “Resting is a waste of time. I have too much to do to rest. I want to plaaay!” And like a good father, God used circumstances and fatigue to wrestle me down as He wrapped His strong arms around me, clasped his fingers, and hummed soft truths to my soul until I relented.

And there in my Father’s strong, safe arms I begin to learn the easy rhythms and healing lessons of rest. {<===Click to Tweet}

Rest isn’t unproductive. Ours is a culture infatuated with activity. Like a junior high girl with her first crush, we think it’s love but it hardly compares. Rest is the means to healing and the reward we resist.

Rest takes me back to my roots. It slows me down so I can see the scenery, faces, and simple blessings I miss when I’m going too fast.

Rest reminds me how much I am loved, not because of what I accomplish but because of who I am. {<===Click to Tweet} When I am still and experience His love for no other reason than He is and I am, I remember that I truly am His beloved.

Rest leads to quiet, and quiet helps me hear the silent things busyness drowns out. Things like my heart’s hurts and fears, insecurities, hopes, new dreams. And His voice.

Dreaming God-sized dreams sounds so exciting, and it is! But not everyday. God has declared a “time for everything” and I am learning that all my times are in His hands and one season is as valuable as another even if it doesn’t look like much at first.

We cannot kindle when we will the fire which in the soul resides.
The Spirit bloweth and is still.
In mystery our soul abides.
But tasks in hours of insight willed
May be through hours of gloom fulfilled.
~Matthew Arnold

If your heart is feeling restless today, would you consider that maybe you too might need to rest more? And whether you are waiting on your dream, in the middle of it, or recovering from it, I pray you will find rest in your Father’s embrace.

Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
~Psalm 116:7

Shared by: Kim Hyland