If not for grace...

We talked about God-sized dreams yesterday.

About how they are messy, imperfect, glorious and flawed.

Because we are too.

And one phrase kept reverberating through my being...

If not for grace

If not for grace

If not for grace God-sized dreams would never come true.

Because I can tell you from experience...

You will cry at the wrong time.

You will say that awkward thing.

You will forget what to do in that most important moment.

And, God in His stubborness, will carry on with His plan anyway.

You will fail at least once, and probably more.

You will think you are incapable.

And sometimes you will be.

But God, in His audacity, will use you anyway.

You will miss opportunities.

You'll take steps you shouldn't.

You'll walk through the wrong door and shut the right one.

And somehow, inexplicably, God will get you there anyway.

You will be hard to live with sometimes.

You will fall short.

You will forget to stand tall.

And, God, uncaring of what's cool will say, "That one's mine" anyway.

You see, God-sized dreams don't make sense.

Not a bit.

Because they come from the heart of the One whose ways are higher than ours.

They flow from the One who stubbornly believes in grace.

If not for grace...

we wouldn't take a step

because it's grace that paves the road to God-sized dreams.

And we walk it, unworthy, anyway, all the way--

utterly broken

and entirely loved. 

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Your God-sized Dream

I started this year by writing about God-sized Dreams for (in)courage. I shared with the leaders of Blessings Unlimited. I did a series right here. I still talk about them almost every week with counseling clients or friends over coffee. 

And I've learned this...

God-sized dreams are amazing.

And exhausting.

Thrilling and terrifying.

Everything you thought you wanted and more than you think you can handle. They grab your heart and won't let go.

I'm talking about God-sized Dreams again today. I don't know everything I'm going to say. But I do know...

God-sized Dreams are worth it all.

Even when you want to give up.

Especially when you want to give up.

Because they're not about chasing a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. No, they're about chasing the Rainbow-maker Himself.

They make us into Jacobs, wrestling God in the night until He blesses us.

They change us, shape us, grow us into who He wants us to be.

God-sized dreams aren't about goals...they're about journeys.

A thousand steps in His direction.

And we become different than we are now with every one we take.

Do you have a God-sized Dream?

Then come, sit with me for awhile. Let's talk about it together.

I'll share my heart.

You share yours too.

We'll be dream chasers, God chasers, together.

God-sized dreams.

Even on the hard days (and there will be many)

is there anything bigger...

or better?

Better is one day in Your courts than thousands elsewhere. Psalm 84:10

 

I'd love to have you join me for a free live webcast about God-sized Dreams today at 11am CST. It's part of the Bridgelite Transition Series by Denise Martin. Best-selling authors Mary DeMuth and Lauraine Snelling will be part of the series in the coming weeks too! 

Would you like to leave a comment or Subscribe by Email?  

Two little words that will change your world

I've been hot on the trail of some God-sized dreams the last few years.

And the hardest part has not been taking the next step, finding courage, overcoming obstacles.

No, the biggest challenge has been the voice inside my mind.

It's the one that says, "You can never do this. This is in the way. That won't ever change."

You've struggled with that too?

We're not the only ones.

As Priscilla Shirer says in her book, One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land (B&H Books), the Israelites also battled fear and insecurities:

"If there's a single word that doomed this generation of God's people from experiencing Promised Land living in their lifetime, it's this one: 'nevertheless.'

They had heard with their own ears the assurances of God. They had seen and certainly tasted the cluster of fruit that more than verified, beyond their wildest imaginations, just how accurate God had been when He had described the land to them....

Nevertheless."

She goes on to say that we're all tempted to do the same.

I discover those words as I sit on my back porch one evening. As I finish, I lean back and stare into the deep summer sky.

I ask God, "What do I say instead?"

And like shooting stars, two words blaze across my mind.

Even so.

Yes, the situation is difficult and the obstacles seem insurmountable. Even so, God will deliver me.

Yes, I left my comfort zone about 100 miles ago and all I want to do is eat a vat of chocolate. Even so, God can use me.

Yes, it feels like the valley is dark, the mountains are high, and the enemy strong. Even so, God is able to get me to the Promised Land.

Even so.

Those two little words don't deny the difficulties or paste on a smile that says, "Everything is fine." They acknowledge life is hard. They recognize the obstacles.

But in the end, they shift our gaze from what we see to Who we know.

And that changes everything...

especially us.

 

How do you keep moving forward in what God has called you to do even when it's hard? Leave a comment by midnight on Wednesday and you'll be entered to win a copy of One in a Million.

And you can still sign up for the free webcast I'm doing tomorrow at 11am CST about God-sized Dreams that's part of the Bridgelite Transition series. Click here to find out more and reserve your spot!

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You can do the impossible

I'm thinking of you today

in the middle of that dream,

on the road to that place,

fighting the battle you never thought you'd face.

I know...sometimes it feels impossible.

Here's the good news:

there's really no such thing for you.

because all things are possible with Him.

There's no mountain too high,

no valley too deep,

no trial to wide to stand in His way.

He's with you, for you,

working on your behalf today.

And right here, right now

we're going to pray and stand beside you--

until we see the impossible come true.

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

Every week we pray and share. This week we're joining up with (in)courage to do so. Just leave a comment there letting us know how we can pray for you or someone you love. Please take a moment to pray for the last person on the comment list too. (And you can win a free copy of my book over there too!)

 

 

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p.s. If it seems you're facing the impossible, pursuing a dream, or just going through change I'd love for you to join me for a free webcast about God-sized Dreams on August 31st at 11am CST. It's part of the Bridgelite Transition Series.

Click here to reserve your spot!

Dreams Lost and Found: A Guest Post for Mary DeMuth

It started with a thin line.

Pink.

Stretched from one end of a pregnancy test window to another.

I stared it, that dream come true.

Hardly believing my eyes.

It ended with a thin line.

Pink.

Stretched from one end of cotton underwear to the other.

I stared it, that dream slipping away.

And in the hours that followed I laid on a bed and cried.

I asked God hard questions.

I got no answers.

But in the silence I felt held.

In the six years that have followed, I’ve never seen a pink line like that first one again.

I don’t know why.

But I do know those two thin lines brought me to a thin place I never expected...

Will you read the rest with me on Mary DeMuth's blog?

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Got a dream? Or facing a change?

Then I'd love to have you join me for a free live webcast about God-sized Dreams on August 31st at 11am CST! It's part of the Bridgelite Transition Series by Denise Martin. Best-selling authors Mary DeMuth and Lauraine Snelling will be part of the series in the coming weeks too! 

Click here to reserve your spot!

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