This week Holley asked us to write a letter of encouragement to a fellow dreamer. Here’s mine…

To my Guy,

Make us ready. Those words. Those words formed a prayer that we prayed over and over and over again for many years. Lord, make us ready.

Ready for what, we weren’t sure. Maybe what we were really asking for was His dream for our lives. Lord, help us to dream.

And then it happened. You lost your job. To be honest, that’s not exactly what I was expecting. But it had to start there, didn’t it? Maybe beginning the adventure of a God-sized dream starts with loss. Maybe that’s how God makes room for the new thing.

That loss opened the doors to something I never imagined for you, for us. I probably wasn’t your biggest cheerleader in the beginning. I was scared to death! But you just kept walking through each open door. As scary and as crazy as it all was, each step, you kept faithfully putting one foot in front of the other.

I’m not sure you would say it was your dream, but God made it very clear it was His. And you followed.

Your obedience to serve the people of District 15 as their State Senator is a wonder to watch. I know it’s hard. The days are long. The issues facing our state are intense. It’s a challenge every day to be a bright light for Jesus in a very dark place. You do it well.

You are teaching our girls and me what it looks like to follow hard after God when the dream is not something you would have chosen for yourself. God chose it for you and you said YES.

All of your Brown girls are so very proud of you.

As we continue to daily pray those words still – make us ready – I promise to go with you wherever God’s dreams take you. I’m your girl.

 

Can you think of someone today who might need a little encouragement as they walk out God’s dream? Maybe a note, a call, a text? It will mean the world to them. I know it will.

To connect with other encouraging dreamers, just click here.

It’s been fun reading about some amazing dreams that God has birthed in some amazing women’s hearts. You can read about them here.

This week’s challenge was to take a small step toward our God-sized dream. Just one, small step. In fact, Holley said we’d get extra credit if it was “simple, small, and takes just a few minutes.” I’m all about extra credit. But what could I do? The steps getting to my dream seem more gargantuan than small.

That’s when I felt the God nudge to listen. You know the one. I turned my list over and tried hard to listen. “You need help.” Well, of course, I need help! Look at all I have to do! But this time, quieter, slower, “Deb, you need help. I want you to ask for help.”

Ask? Ask for help? Really, God? Really. You see, I don’t like asking. I don’t like needing. I like to do things All. By. My. Self. (said with a two year old stomp at the end.) The stomp is so effective.

The nudge wouldn’t leave. So I took the number one thing on my gargantuan list – need to learn more about WordPress – and asked God for help. Immediately He brought someone to mind. Immediately. No hesitation. Oh, the frustration there has been intense. I’ve let it keep me in a stuck place for a long time.

God was just waiting for me to ask for help – to invite Him deeper into the fulfillment of His dream for me. He has/had no intention of me doing the thing alone. Do you need to read that sentence again? It’s taken me a long while to get that. I’m getting that now.

So I contacted my friend, Lyla. She’s brilliant. She’s wise. She thinks WordPress is fun. She said, “Let me know how I can help you and your dream!” And she is. All I had to do was ask.

When you look at your God-sized dream, where do you need help? It’s a brave step to ask for help, but the clarity and courage it brings as you take it, is worth it. It really is. Trust me on that one.

If you need help on knowing where to begin, Holley’s The “Do What You Can” Plan: 21 Days to Making Any Area of Your Life Better is a great place to start.

If you need some WordPress help like me, my friend, Lyla, is your girl.

I’d love to hear about your small step. I’ll be praying for you, too.

I’m one of those first born, practical, to-do list girls. I have friends who are the big picture, visionary types. But  not me. So when Holley Gerth started writing about dreams on her blog – and not just any dreams…God-sized dreams – well, I didn’t think it applied to a first born, practical, to-do list girl like me.

But I was wrong. Way wrong. Holley says this about God-sized dreams:

God-sized dreams aren’t really about size at all–they’re about embracing and pursuing the desires God has placed within your heart that perfectly fit who you are. God-sized dreams are part of your purpose and they lead to more joy, meaning, and hope in your life.

So it’s not about big. It’s about heart. And that started the process of asking God what His dream was for me.

It took some time before I realized the dream was actually something He’s been nudging me toward for awhile. But, honestly, I’ve been running scared from it for just as long. That’s another thing about God-sized dreams – they can only happen with His help, His power, His everything.

You see, I was only looking at my dream through my own strength. Nothing like opening the front door and asking fear to come in and stay a long while. My focus was on me and all that I’m not. What a perfect storm to kill any dream.

Sure wish I could say I’m over that, but I can say my focus is  more clear. And I write those words with a most grateful heart.

My God-sized dream is to grow my speaking ministry to include a writing ministry. I love speaking words of encouragement into women’s lives. Now the challenge – the dream – is to write words of encouragement, too. I dream of getting my works in progress published. I dream of this little corner of the blog world to be a place for women to come and connect and click away more encouraged and loved than when they came. That is my God-sized dream.

Over the course of these next weeks, I’ll be sharing more of my journey with you. And if you want to read more God-sized dream stories, head over to Holley’s blog. In fact, why don’t you join us there? I/we would love to hear about your dream. Really, we would.

“God can do anything, you know- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us…” -Ephesians 3:20-21

I’m praying for you as you dare to dream. It may seem risky and scary and overwhelming and oh, so not practical. But I’m learning that’s when the adventure begins.