When Was The Last Time You Dreamed?

Lately, a recurrent theme has been happening in my life . . . dreaming. Whether it's goals. Whether it's the future. Whether it's practical things in the present. I've been thinking about dreams, wishes, hopes, call it what you may. Then I think . . . 

Do I live as a dreamer?

Do I dream for my family? For my future? For my life? For my faith? We all dream what we want to be when we grow up. What about if we dreamed even though we are already grown up? 

Dreams and desires are a strange thing. Some say you only need to believe for it to be true. Some say not to be unrealistic. I say, find out what your dream is and what it looks like, and then do it. No excuses. No procrastination. Live your dream. Live today. Dream.

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No. 185 - Little Children

Obviously this picture was taken a few weeks ago, but I found it fitting for my blog post today. I have been thinking about little children a lot lately (probably because I got to hold Sydney and Elias in the last two days). I think the thing I have been thinking of a lot is little children's hopes and dreams. So often, I see their dreams as naive or unrealistic. But when I stop and think about it, who am I to deem their dreams less possible than mine? Who is to stop them from succeeding? The answer would be people like me who think their dreams aren't reachable. So today I made a pact with myself. I am going to support the dreams of this next generation. And through that, 

who knows what will happen?

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, 

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" Matthew 19:14

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No. 144 - New Years Resolutions

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,

streams of living water will flow from within him."

John 7:38

This morning, resolutions, hopes, and goals are on my mind, as is descriptive of everyone. I have done a lot of thinking recently regarding the whole "resolution" habit and have come to some conclusions. In Celebration of Disciplines: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster, he states, "Our ordinary method of dealing with ingrained [habits] is to launch a full frontal attack. We rely on our willpower and determination." He then goes on to propose, "When we despair of gaining inner transformation through human powers of will and determination, we are open to a wonderful new realization: inner righteousness is a gift from God to be graciously received." Now if it is true that outer change is reflective of inner transformation, then could the solution to our resolutions be the old cliche of "let go and let God"? 

I have many resolutions this year, but the interesting thing is that I am sensing a pattern from January 1st to January 1st. Usually I have five consistent ones such as getting closer to God, losing weight/being healthy, cultivating deeper friendships, managing my time more appropriately, and doing better in school. Have I succeeded? Maybe. Maybe not. Therefore this January 1st, 2012, I have one resolution based on past attempts and this aforementioned thinking. I resolve,

"To be where God wants me to be in every situation, thought, action, and word, 

and therefore, let Him resolve me."

Consequently, I found the verse mentioned above in my devotions this morning, which spoke so perfectly to my life at this moment. I need streams of life flowing so desperately, but in order to see that, I need to believe! It's a two way street. I so much desire to see that life in my journey through 2012, but I have a role to play as well. 

Well, now that I have preached a Sunday morning sermon, I do have some fun goals (not necessarily resolutions) for 2012 that I hope will happen. 

• Take more pre-planned photoshoots for fun (Portrait, Couple, Baby, whatever . . .).
• Participate in a flash mob (Haha, this has been floating around for awhile).
• Go camping (Something I did not do once in 2011).
• Own cowboy boots (Fashion craving)
• See all 4 Keyano plays (I know the first two are Chicago and The Farnsworth Invention)
• Find new fashion in my existing closet (See my thoughts on the subject here)
• Be more proactive about Christmas presents (In other words, use the other 11 months of the year to plan for this holiday).
• Raise my GPA by 0.1 each semester.
• Get into scrapbooking.

There you have it. Happy New Years 2012!

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