Dreamin' Big

This morning in my Brennan Manning devotional the first sentence reads..."Even when preoccupied, distracted, or salivating, we each have a dream, a vision of life that corresponds to our convictions, embodies our uniqueness, and expresses what is life-giving within us."

I've dreamed big my entire life. Early on it was wanting to be a mommy, and wanting to be the first woman to Mars. In my later years, the dream has been to be a famous interior designer. Working in ministry, the big dreams are still there, however, now the big dreams are for His kingdom and not for me personally. I dream big for my students. I want them to have the best life they could possibly imagine. I want them to grasp the unexplainable grace I have been given, and I want them to understand how much their King loves them! I want HIM glorified in everything, opposed to me being glorified. I want we as ministers to fade away and His light to shine bright, lighting up Auburn's campus.

Not dreaming for myself is something that I originally struggled with. I wanted to hang on to my dreams AND give them to the Lord completey. Not surprisingly, that didn't work. I was always discontent because I felt like what God wanted me to do and what I wanted to do were different things. Relizing that my dreams are for the kingdom has released me to enjoy freedom in what will come in the future.

The last sentence in my devotional was..."The dream of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God, and the committed Christian buys into his dream." I want to buy into His dream! My personal dreams are no longer the priority if they do not bring glory to His kingdom!

Swapping my dreams for His dreams is the most difficult, yet most rewarding thing. It's the only way I have been able to survive the 15-16 hour work days we have had since last Tuesday. The couple days where my dreams shifted back to myself, I was tired, exhausted, moody, and miserable. Those days required a single prayer..."Lord, remind me that I'm doing this for YOUR kingdom." When the mind shift happened again, and my focus was again on His good and not my own, the days didn't get any shorter but getting through them has been easier.

"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you." Psalm 37:5

xoxo, va