Dream

There are times in our lives when we have different aspirations.  When I was in high school and college, my dreams were different than they are now.  If you would have asked me then, it would have sounded something like, "to graduate, to become a teacher, to get married, to have kids."  And I didn't realize until the past few weeks, that those dreams have come to fruition.  Several people have challenged me recently to think about what I want in life.  What has God laid on my heart? 
And as I have started to think on this again, I have realized that new dreams are there.  They don't sound lofty...like get my master's or doctorate...which is totally awesome for those of you doing that.  And I think I've been a little embarrassed to verbally speak my longings to anyone besides my husband for fear of being judged too harshly.  But I decided it might help someone to be okay with the dreams God has placed on their own heart. 

So right now, in this time of my life, I believe God is preparing my family for a dream He has laid on our hearts.  And Bo and I are separate people, but it seems we are knit together by common goals and dreams.  I have loved becoming more of a farm girl and have truly grown to like our animals and wide open spaces.  I don't think we will ever live in a town again.  Unless God verbally tells us to. :)  But I honestly have this longing or pull in my heart to be a teacher to my children.  Which in the world's standards is waaaay out there.  And even to my own at one time.  But God has obviously been changing my heart on that matter.  Another is to work together as a family, growing and learning and teaching our children what it means to work hard.  I feel like so many of the next generation has an entitlement attitude.  And I want to instill a core value of a good work ethic in my children.  I want my children to be kind to others and genuine and loving.  I want them to look a little different by the way that they act.  I want that for myself as well.  I want to be Jesus to others.  I probably seem a little cuckoo to people at times.  But that's okay with me.  I'm sure people looked at Jesus like He was smoking something. haha!  Like the woman at the well...lepers...lame...blind...the outcasts... 
Someday I hope to engage people daily by having a little farmer's market.  Which I know seems strange to many.  But I've become okay with being strange. :)  I am who I am.  I am not like anyone else.  I am a child of God and He has a unique and perfect plan for me.  Don't shy away from what God is leading you toward.  Listen closely to His direction.  So many people are doing their usual jobs and their dreams seem like only dreams that will never happen.  But what if you followed those dreams that He has placed on your heart.  What if you gave them a chance and asked God if that was from Him and something He wants you to do.  What if you could be doing your dream job!  Praise the Lord if you have stepped out in faith to do what He has called you to do.  Bo and I believe God is leading us on a path toward a dream that He made for us...each of us a little different...but funny how God made them knit together.  He thinks of everything. :o) 
And don't freak out if you don't think you have a dream.  Ask God to let you know what He wants you to do.  I thought for a moment a few weeks ago that I didn't have a purpose or a dream but when I truly took the time to seek His will, they were magnified in my heart.  It was like a peace settled on me.  And dreams change too.  Keep asking God and surrendering you heart to Him so that you are not so focused on the dream that you miss a detour.  Sometimes we need to be changed and molded first before we can completely obtain our dreams.  Obviously I don't have all the answers of how to achieve your dreams.  But I do know God has plans for us.  He wants good for us.  And all we have to do is ask to be directed. 

The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:1-3

The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9

O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.  Isaiah 25:1

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.  James 4:13-16

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:25-33