Don’t you love this verse? And the image Beth Vogt put with it is perfect. Sometimes as we chase our dreams, we’ll be in a season where we wonder if this deep longing of our heart can be fulfilled. It can. Just hang in there and keep praying.
Ask God to confirm that it’s the right dream.
I have a dream of speaking. I want to share truths that resonate in the hearts of women and free them to chase the call God has on their lives. It’s a deep desire of my heart. And there have been times that I have asked God if this is from Him? I’ve asked Him if I’m chasing something that isn’t His will for me. Or not His will at this season.
Have you ever been there? Wanting something so deeply, but then backing away? Wondering if it’s you rising up with a desire that has nothing to do with God’s best for you?
Each time God has given me confirmations. Speaking at two women’s retreats in different states a couple weeks a part. Now He seems to be opening that in a slightly different, very unexpected direction. Hopefully, I’ll be able to share more in a couple weeks.
Okay, back to the book. A longing fulfilled is a tree of life. So what’s your longing? What’s that dream that cries to be brought to life?
Without being able to answer that, you can’t take the steps Holley recommends in chapter four. You can start with a LIFE statement. Or just write down the dream. Then you know your destination. Now you can aim for it. Do you need to read a few books? Go back to school? Change your job? You won’t know until you know where you’re headed.
Then start thinking about how you get to that destination. What are the related tasks that lead to the overall goal? Break it down into tasks or steps. Be specific. What will you do? When will you do it? How can you know that task is done? If you aren’t specific, it is very easy to never do it.
When I wanted to write a book, I gave myself two years to get a contract. If you know writing, that is insane! Most people write 7-10 years. 18 months later I had a contract. God had so much to do with it, but because I had a deadline, I had my bottom in the chair writing — a lot. I cut out TV and other things because I decided this was the time to push on the dream and I had tasks to get it done. I also went to ACFW for the first time with my husband’s blessing because I didn’t know Christian fiction and Colleen Coble told me that’s where I’d learn. So we invested in the conference. It was worth every penny.
So what do you take with you? Then DON’T QUIT…not matter what. Push through the exhaustion, the doubts, the fears. Just do it. Keep working. Don’t stop too early.
Keep your dream before you and don’t forget to celebrate the incremental victories. Take time to remember what God has done for you!
Okay, so I’ve shared a bit of my story. If you’ve chased a dream, what did you have to give up to do it? How did you push through when you got tired, afraid, full of doubts? How do you celebrate the incremental successes?
If you’re preparing to chase a dream, have you written it down yet? Are you specific? Can you break it into related tasks?
Comments 6
I put my dream of writing on the back burner for a decade or more. During that time I focused on motherhood — I had a lot to learn — and I supported my husband and his career as a military physician. I also taught women’s Bible studies and led a women’s ministry. I wasn’t sitting around twiddling my thumbs. But in my heart of hearts — soul deep — I thought of myself as a writer.
When it came time to focus on writing again (too long a story to share here) I knew I was going to have to walk away from teaching. I’m not one of those women who can juggle a lot of major things at the same time. I know my limitations.
So I said goodbye to one of my passions — teaching women — so I could return to one of my passions — writing.
And I haven’t looked back.
I haven’t missed teaching, either. I was afraid there would be a longing for what I left behind, but God has been faithful to fill my heart up with this new dream so there’s no space left to think about what I was doing before.
That was then. This is now.
Author
I love that, Beth! God has allowed different dreams in different times. Both have been good, but they haven’t happened at the same time.
I still need to write down my dreams (this past week, my short term dream was just to have electricity again after a severe storm knocked out our power from Sunday till Wednesday…)as I still struggle to verbalize them, but in reading your post, one thought that came to me is that one of my biggest problems is understanding the baby steps needed to take in order to follow my dreams… I don’t see it clearly at all… and I think not seeing those steps makes me want to just forget the whole thing…. I am not a task-oriented person…. not that I can’t do tasks, but I am much more people-oriented, and the baby steps I have taken so far do include more relationships, but any other steps seemed to be swallowed up by the gravity of the bigger picture… need to think about these things some more…
Author
I think the key is breaking it into smaller goals leading to the dream…
Do you think you ever run out of dreams? Is there a season for dreams and then …? Without wanting to sound arrogant or knowing it all I dreamed of being a published writer – tick … 26 books, I wanted to travel and share my experience with other writers … tick … as a cross cultural trainer for MAI [ http://www.littworld.org ] I have been to many places I’d not have seen otherwise. I have children, grandchildren and a lovely husband. I hardly dare to put it down like this but now I feel as if perhaps God has run out of dreams for me. Do I just thank him for alal that he’s done and go along quietly into my 70’s or is there more?
Author
Marion, what a great question! How wonderful that God has given you so many of your dreams. Periodically, what I do is ask God what His next dream is for me. I ask if I’m where He wants me. Has the season of one dream ended? Does He have something new He wants me to do? I’m in a season where dreams are still moving forward, but I’m also in training for a dream I haven’t begun to imagine — at least that’s what I’m assuming with the MBA. No idea why He has me back in the classroom. But I trust that it’s for something new He will want me to do that I can’t foresee yet. So if I were in your shoes, I would definitely be asking Him what’s next? What does He want you to do in this new season of your life? How does He want to use the lifetime of experience He’s graced you with?