Nourishing the Dream

This is my third Tuesday of writing about my God-Sized Dreams.  What a blessing to have the encouragement to continue on this journey.  Having connected to Holley Gerth's blog has been another blessing in my life, because she encourages other women to walk down paths that will help them to grow in God's will and grace.

However, a dream that is not encouraged or nourished is a dream that dies.  Or it lies dormant for years until the right circumstances brings it to the forefront again.  Sometimes, our dreams come about through the fulfillment of other dreams.  But the main thing about personal dreams I see is it takes persistence to see them through.  And it really helps to have someone that is praying with us, cheering us on on, comforting us when times are tough, praying with us, and someone that also shares his or her dreams with us. 

For me, that person is my husband.  Not only have I been blessed to share his dreams for forty-one and a half years, he has always encouraged me to work towards my dreams.  When some dreams didn't turn out as expected, he just loved me.  He held my hand, he shopped for groceries, and cooked supper or cleaned the kitchen.  He still does those things on the days I cannot.  More often than not, he loads the dishwasher, the nights I cook.  He is my blessing and my love.

The Lord has blessed me with some very good friends, that when we start talking to one another, it is as if we have never been apart.  One of those friends has given invaluable comments about my blogs, that have both encouraged and challenged me to continue writing.  And she has given comments that have made me think about my audience -- that I am not just writing to women.  I have other friends that have also been encouraging me along the way, but I want to point something out.  They could not do that, until I went public.  I had to share my dream.  I had to advertise myself, even though it felt awkward -- even though I could face rejection.   A dream shared is a dream that has a chance to grow.  Then, like a garden, you have to work it.  You must till the soil with fertilizer mixed in, plant the seeds, water, and pull the weeds.  If you have vegetables planted,  you must harvest them.  And if you have flowers, you have to dead head them to encourage more beautiful blooms.  A garden must be worked!  

My prayer for you is that the garden of your dreams will flourish and be beautiful.  God bless you.

P.S.  I just realized my Fibro-fog must have kicked in when I was writing this yesterday.  Truly, it just didn't cross my mind I was posting on the wrong day.  Today, is Tuesday.  Ha,ha!  I have to smile when I do something like this:  I thought it was a bit odd that Holley didn't have our regular place to add our Tuesday blog post.  Now, you know one of the reasons I write Learning to Balance Life Changes.  These kinds of things happen to people who have chronic illnesses, especially Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  

Dreaming God-Sized Dreams

3 weeks ago, I began writing about Dreaming God-Sized Dreams.  I was inspired, so I put it on my Inspirations blog.  However, it never seemed to be the right fit.  So I moved it here. 

It is never too late to dream.  I hope you find inspiration to dream here.  Don't let your fears and your illness shut dreaming down.  Ask God what dreams may come, and share them with us.  If you don't have a blog, share in the comment section.  If you don't have an illness, you are welcome here too.  Life hits us with moving and having to make new friends, shyness, PMS, the blues, problems, and difficult situations of all kinds.  Love one another.  Be kind to one another.  We need each other -- we really do. 

Writing an inspiration blog post must mean I really am back from a very long Christmas vacation.  If you read "Learning to Balance Life Changes", you already know I walk a daily energy tightrope;  therefore, I pick and choose what is most important for me to do without going on a guilt-trip -- well, most of the time there is no guilt-trip.  I have to pray and make sure "my guilt-trip" isn't God's urging sometimes.  I think I usually know, but I tend to be a cautious person.

I have discovered a new "friend"  thanks to Teri Lynne Underwood, blogger extraordinaire.  Holley Gerth's blog  is a source of new inspiration.  Deciding which of my blogs to link up with Holley's was a little difficult, because I have four of them.  I probably have too many blogs, but as I see it, each has it's own purpose;  however, I link them, because Purpose can be intertwined.  At least that is how I see it, because if my life is a prayer and everything in it is part of the path God knows I am going to take, I need to be intentional in my life.

Moreover, I need to pay attention to God's road-signs for me.  And I believe this is one of them, because He inspires other believers to get the attention of those He wants to send a message to.  I am goose-bumpy excited over  how Holley's message has intertwined with what I wrote in my "Reading Through the Bible" blog post in Take Comfort.  For me, reading the whole Bible in one year is definitely a God-sized dream, because I have not succeeded in that yet -- probably, because I like to read novels, watch TV, and "play" on my computer too much.  Ouch!  It is so hard to admit another not perfect facet of me.  However, being a imperfect person like everyone that has ever existed, except Jesus, definitely puts me on the list of NGEM''s (needing God every moment).

Right now, I have more than one God-sized dream, which seems to be an integral part of my personality for as long as I can remember.  Therefore, for brevity's sake and because I have a doctor's appointment in less than an hour, here are my present God-Sized Dreams:  

1. Read the Bible through in one year.
2. Write a book or two or three...
3. Paint on one of my empty canvases, starting this month.
4. Organize my life better - more on that on one of my other blogs, probably.
5. Be a better wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend.

I may have listed too many items on my dream sheet, but I know they do intertwine, and I know how to break down my dreams into baby steps.  I wouldn't be writing this or any blog if I was not learning to to do that better.  Love to all of you from me, and may you have a glorious new year in 2013!