When You Dream Alone

God gives us dreams a size too big so that we can grow into them. ~ Author Unknown

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We hear and read a lot about chasing your dreams, about dreaming big, and never giving up. And I'm a firm believer in all these ideas. I  believe God places within us dreams for a reason. I believe I was born at in this place, at this time, with these dreams for a reason. I believe that dreams and ideas are often a gift from God, one that we sometimes refuse to unwrap and fully appreciate because we don't realize their value. 

But what happens when these dreams are very big, and very real and dear to you and yet . . . it seems like you dream alone? It seems like no one shares the dream or is willing to truly work together to achieve the dream. 

Do you give up on the dream? Should you walk away and say it must not be achievable? Maybe it's unrealistic. Maybe it's just a silly fantasy. 

I'm very familiar with those feelings but I'm learning not to walk away from my dreams. Here are some things I'm learning about dreaming alone.

God sized dreams can only be brought to reality by the Author of those dreams - God. Sometimes God gives us God sized dreams so that we will learn to depend on Him to bring them about and give Him the glory when they are. David had a God sized dream when he went to face Goliath. And no one else thought he could do this.  David knew going in to this venture that only through God could this be accomplished and when Goliath was killed it was obvious Who should receive the glory.

Be patient. Learn to wait on God. This can be a really hard one for me - I'm really not so good at waiting for things. It's hard to have a dream so real to me I can see it and be told to wait. But God's timing is perfect and when the time is right He will move. And often He is moving in ways we can't see with our human eyes. And when the time is right, those who are part of the dream will be available and ready. 

Don't try to force others to embrace your dream. This is another hard one for me. I get a vision, am enthralled by all it represents, and immediately expect everyone else to be on board with me. But if they don't share the dream, if they haven't seen the vision, they aren't going to feel the excitement. And all my talking, nagging, and  pushing is only going to push others away, not draw them in. Sometimes it's good to share the dream, although there are other times when it's better to hold it close. But either way, trying to force others to share it is futile and can be damaging. Let God do the preparation in others without human interference. 

Be flexible. Yes God gives dreams but we are only human. Sometimes we try to fill in the details with our own earthly vision. And then we have a hard time letting go of these details that were really not part of the plan. Sometimes we can add so many of our own details that when the dream does began to come true we don't even recognize it and turn it away. 

Continue to grow and learn. Waiting time is the perfect time to be growing and learning. Does the dream involve any special skills or knowledge? Use the waiting time to hone those skills and gain that knowledge - read, practice, learn from others, network. And most of all, grow spiritually. Pray and read His Word. Develop that most important relationship so that you are strong and well rooted when the time comes. 

Believe in your dreams, 
For even those that seem out of reach,
Are safe in Unseen Hands.
~ Unknown





~ Linking Here ~
The Better Mom, Living Well Wednesdays, Titus 2sdays, Encourage One Another, Heart & Home Tuesdays!, It's A Party, Thought Provoking Thursday, Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood, Faith Filled Friday, Cozy Reading List, Friendship Friday, Saturday Soiree, Tell It To Me Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Homemaking Link-Up

Morning Musing Over Coffee - Where I Can Be Me and You Can Be You

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As I begin a new day I find myself thinking of two quotes I read last night. They are both from the book Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado.

And here they are.

1. God never called you to be anyone other than you.

2. If you aren't you we don't get you. The world misses out.

3. You play no small part, because there is no small part to be played.

Wow!

This is so freeing to me. I am not the way I am by accident. I am created to be me and me alone. Not who or what someone else wants me to be. Not even who I think I should be compared to those around me. I am simply meant to be uniquely me. In fact, it is important that I embrace the person that God has made to be because this is where I am most effective for Him and most fulfilled as a person.

And this allows me to go into my day with a freedom and joy that cannot be found when I am trying to be a person I'm not meant to be.

~ Linking Here ~
Titus 2sdays
Simply Homemaking
The Wednesday Window
Women Living Well
A Holy Experience

6 Articles to Add Momentum to Your Mid-Week

1. Being Productive With Those Spare Moments Around the House - Some good ways to make the most of a few minutes of down time while waiting on that phone call, or for the water to boil for the pasta, etc.

2. 3 Things You Can Do To Be Happier in Just 48 Minutes - Three small steps to organization to lift your spirits.

3. 10 Ways to Easily (well, More Easily) Get Out of Bed

4. 8 Reasons You May Not Have Enough Time

5. Just How Lucky Are You? - On This St. Patrick's Day do you consider yourself lucky?

6. Jesus Wan't Radical - (humble beginnings and small steps)

What I Learned in February

Each month Amber Strocel at Strocel.com writes about what she has learned that month and invites others to join in.

Even though it is the shortest month of the year February always feels so long to me. The holidays are over. The first surge of enthusiasm for a new start in a new year has faded somewhat. I always begin to get cabin fever in February.

I learned that a week of nice weather in the middle of the month can go  a long way toward relieving the cabin fever.

And when that lovely warm spell comes a pizza picnic in the back yard is a perfect way to celebrate.

I learned that one walnut tree can produce an unbelievable number of walnuts. I also learned that walnuts have quite a few health benefits.

I learned that even though my daughter now has 35 Webkinz she still needs more. Also that is possible to remember the names of everyone of those Webkinz, in what order she bought them and whether she bought them alone or with another one. But memorizing division facts is agonizingly difficult.

I learned that if I make a new recipe, love it, eat too much of it, and then get hit with a stomach virus that night, I will not want to even think about that particular food anymore.

I also learned that cell phones don't like coffee as much as I do, and if I accidentally drop the poor phone into my cup of coffee, it will rebel and quit working.

And I'm really beginning to learn, with new clarity, how much I love this life of mine. January taught me so much and February has been a continuation of that learning. Things don't always go smoothly, sometimes it's hard work to maintain balance, but it's a wonderful life all the same.

Book Review - The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized

Chapters

1. Being Organized Means Being Prepared

2. Finding Your Organizational Personality

3. Kicking Out the Clutter

4. Maximizing Efficiency in Every Room

5. Combating Overcommitment

6. Taking Control of the Clock

7. Putting Paper in Its Place

8. Menu Planning and Shopping Strategies

9. Now You're Cookin'!

10. Maintaining Your Home's New Order

11. Taking It Home, Making It Yours

Appendix: Recipes and Forms

Yesterday I finished reading The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized by Karen Ehman. This is a book I've read before and enjoyed. It is full of common sense and sound advice. I especially enjoyed the chapters on menu planning and dealing with paperwork. 

Book Review: Minding Your Own Business - A Common Sense Guide to Home Management and Industry

One of the things on my list of 10 Things To Do In February is to read Minding Your Own Business by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. And this week I finished it.

 I enjoyed reading it again and found myself inspired and encouraged as I absorbed the Moore's ideas and advice on managing the home and a home business (or two). It was helpful to read the stories included of other families who have successfully woven a family business into the fabric of their day to day lives.

This book has two parts and sixteen chapters.

Part One: How to Manage Your Home

1. One Man's Family

2. How to Coach Young Financiers

3. Values: How Much Are You Worth?

4. The Wasteful Generation

5. Recycling: Happily Making New Out of Old

6. They Who Serve: The Twice Blessed

7. Organization: Just a Little Bit at a Time

Part Two: Home Industries

8: The Miracle of Work: How Hands Build the Head and the Heart

9. The C-I Magic: Why Cottage Industries Are Special

10. How Others Do It

11. A Few Home Businesses

12. Finding Money for Your Industry

13. When the Handicapped Become Assets

14. Preparing for Employment: Home Industries and Apprenticeships

15. Something for Single Parents, Too

16. Considering the Law's Demands

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in home management and/or home industry. Even if you don't agree with everything in the book there is a lot of great food for thought.

Here are a few articles I've enjoyed reading over the last couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy them as well.

1. Have Some Pride in Your Life at The Confident Mom

2. 50 Ways to Start Fresh at Dragos Roua - Brilliantly Better. And while your there you may also want to read 5 Things Avatar Taught Me About Self-Improvement.

3. Goalpost: What Football Players Know About Setting and Reaching Goals at Organized Home

4. Back by Popular Demand: Quiz - Are You Drifting?  at The Happiness Project

5. Dream, Discern, Do What Really Matters: 3 steps to living the life you really want at The Happiest Mom

Happy Reading!

What I Learned in January

January was definitely a month of learning for me. Here is one of the things that I learned. And I so hope that I learned it once and for all. It gets really tiresome to have to learn the same things over and over again. It's interesting how it seems like sometimes I learn and relearn life lessons and then one day a light bulb seems to go on and I really truly GET IT! I don't know if it works this way for others but it seems to be a pattern for me.

 I learned that I have to take care of myself before I can take care of everyone else. Oh, I've said it many times, I've told others that many times. I KNEW it in my head, but somehow it didn't translate into action. But about a week into January I cracked. I flew off the handle in a spectacular way simply because I was so tired and stressed out that I could not cope. And in the week or so that followed, as all of us tried to get our feet under us again I realized that no one else could do this for me. I HAD to take care of myself. I began going to bed earlier. I simplified our routines, meals, and the activities I did with the kids. I'm spending more time reading and writing because that is what refills my reservoir. I stopped (mostly) feeling guilty about what did not get accomplished and let it go. I made some decisions about the direction I want to take the home business that took a lot of stress off of me.

And amazingly enough, as I balanced out some of the other areas of my life, productivity has began to pick up. Relationships that were becoming shaky are beginning to become sure again. I am beginning to feel like the person I used to know and thought I had lost. I feel like I'm coming out of a long dark tunnel.  I'm still learning to let myself relax. To not try to fit "productivity" into every single second of my day. I'm trying to allow myself to enjoy the moment. And although I don't always get it right, I'm getting a lot better at it. I don't ever want to reach that breaking point again.

What did you learn in January?

I am linking this post up at strocel.com where Amber Strocel shares things she learned each month and invites other to share as well.