I've been thinking since I've been here in Deal, hanging out with church-leaders who've obviously done some dreaming and are trying to communicate that dream to the rest of the church of where they think God is calling them, that I don't find it easy to dream. I often don't know for sure whether I want to/should be doing something or not until I get there.. and I find it hard to imagine where I'm gonna be a more than a year ahead...
my question is that because I lack the gift of dreaming; or because I am afraid to dream, because I think that 'knowing me' it won't come off? And in either situation should I look for breakthrough, how do I start? Or should I look around for the dreams of others which I get excited by and help them to happen? is the latter my gift? have I just focused on one way of getting to the place you are supposed to be?
I'd like to get some kind of answer to these questions as I'll soon be looking at potential jobs for next year!
4 comments:
Good questions... three points come to mind!
1. You are right. You (being you) will always run from dreaming. The stick you carry to beat yourself is particularly effective at stopping you from dreaming such fancyful ideas!
2. "If you aim at nothing you are sure to hit it!" So SOD YOU... go on then... don't bother at all.. damn us all with your complacency (sp?)
3. Find a friend, get a large sheet paper and with their questions 'mindmap' out what your dream is... your dream is an ESSENTIAL route to finding what God wants for you. Dare to dream, and then God can bless your dreams as you see their truth come to fulfillment! (Sorry about the last bit sounding a bit 'new agey'... it isn't really.. it's just I'm in a rush and wanted to respond quickly, and will have to talk face to face about what I mean)
P.S. I hope you can see the tongue in my cheek, but also the strenght of my gaze when I wrote these words...!
i recently read a chapter in a book ('landmarks') that said one way to help find your goal/vision/dream was to look back at what God's done in your life in the past, & how He's answered prayers, to see if there's any common thread or theme. don't get caught up as well with the way other people dream, just cos someone dreams a certain way doesn't mean you'll get your dream the same way. like i'm a details person rather than big picture, so i've got no idea where i want to be in a year, but i have a general direction i want to be going in. & it's useful to know your identity first before your vocation. hope that helps.
thanks guys - lots of good advice - I'm v. honoured... and I will try and put some of it at least into practice over the next few weeks:)
hi naomi. i know you posted this nearly three weeks ago but it took me a little while to pull a sentence together... which is a bit of an example of dreams for me... the articulation is firstly tricky and secondly dangerous... like dan writing about common threads dream/plans/goals look and feel different for each of us depending on the way we work. for me to say it outloud is to admit what i long for... so no i cant do that right off to anyone because it would offer out a piece of my heart which someone might unwittingly trample on... but yes i should still work on doing it with some people like jim suggested... and i shoudl do it with myself... and with god... obvious maybe? but my current story is that its not so natural for me... but its been really good too.
about 6 weeks ago i was asked if i'd prayed about a job and i said yes... i was asked if i'd prayed for what i really wanted.... well no. because i'd never really admitted or realised what i really wanted, not even to me. so later i took a few deep breaths and put all my eggs in one basket before god... and the intimacy of that was incredible... and i knew he could have said no... but he gave it to me - within four weeks it had all come off... my testimony really is of the intimacy of him helping me to realise it and then to say it.
so... a long response really to say that i think we all dream but it means different things... it might be a sense for some, or a longing, or a concrete plan, or for others a whole adaptable strategy. so i pray for blessing as you work to glimpse your own dreams and dare to hold them outloud before him.
emma
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