God-sized Dream = A desire in your heart for more of what God has for you.
photo by MJRimages
We’re opening the door to God-sized dreams in 2013. So every week we get together to encourage each other {because don’t we all need it? yes, ma’am.}. This week Erin Ulrich is here to share about God-sized dreams with you…
God-sized Dreams and Faithfulness
I guess I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer, since I was a little girl. I married a dreamer too, so our home is filled with dreams . . . ideas . . . possibilities. Since Phil and I got married over 12 years ago, we have been on a journey of God-sized dreams. With each step into the unknown and each leap of faith, there is a resounding theme.
Faithfulness.
When the first glimmer of a dream sparks in my heart, I have an idea of how it will play out. But what happens when things don’t go the way I think? They should, right? After all, if it’s a dream from God, shouldn’t the reality look like the dream itself?
Sometimes.
Let’s think about the One who gave the dream for a moment. He works all things for our good. Not some—all. And to God, who isn’t limited by time and space, maybe the journey is just as important as the dream. Make no mistake about it, the dream is important, and what He wants to accomplish through it for His Kingdom purposes is huge. But what if the way we walk it out matters most of all?
In the midst of the dreams God gives us, He asks us to be faithful. Obedient. It’s about leaping— realizing that what may seem like the biggest risk of our lives really isn’t a risk at all. Because even if we leap and things go a completely different direction than we thought, He’s still God. Saying yes to His plans and purposes for our lives is the safest place of all.
There are two aspects of faithfulness at work here. God asks us to be faithful to what He calls us to do. But our attempts at faithfulness are miniature in comparison to His faithfulness to us. It’s in His character, and He never changes. That is why we can trust without fear and leap without seeing the end result when He calls.
Phil and I have walked out a dream for eight years now. The seeds of the dream were planted in Phil’s heart 20 years before that, but it was eight years ago that the Lord gave that nudge of it’s time. Being obedient has required more of us than we ever imagined. We’ve faced the mountaintop of possibilities and the reality of what looked like certain failure. We have seen His hand preserve us, provide for us, and continue leading as He asked:
Will you trust Me?
Will you stay faithful to the calling even when you can’t see the fruit yet?
Will you declare My goodness no matter what?
We have learned (and are still learning) that what seemed to be failures often pave the way for something even better. And we’re continuing to walk out the dream. It looks vastly different than it did eight years ago, but where we are now fits more with the heart of our God-sized dream than it did then. Our next step is a series of children’s chapter books. The Growly Books: Begin launches today! And, no matter what, we know we can trust Him with it, because He is always faithful.
Erin Ulrich is the founder of Design by Insight. She spends her days asking questions, creating personalized designs, and enjoying family time with her husband, Phil, and their two daughters. She loves looking at both the big picture and the tiny details. Erin and Phil are authors of the new children’s chapter book series, The Growly Books. Erin’s book, Self-Publish: Moving from Idea to Product, is a tool for writers desiring to take the leap into the world of self-publishing. You can find her writing on her blog or hanging out on Twitter.
Now it’s your turn!
What part of your dream feels the riskiest? Have you ever had people misunderstand or disagree with your dream? What do you do when your dream is scary or when others don’t support you? Share about your answers to those questions in a post and link up here next week. {If you don’t have a blog, you can share in the comments.}
So we can all find each other, please include this God-sized Dreams button in your post. Also, love on your fellow God-sized dreamin’ sisters by leaving a comment on the post before yours.
For next week take this “do what you can” step for your God-sized dream: We’ve been walking the path of God-sized dreams together for a few months now. Will you share an update with us about your dream? Let us know where you are with it–the happy and the hard. Tell us how we can pray for you and your dream too. Share that in a post and link up here next week. {If you don’t have a blog, you can share what you did in the comments.}
Not sure what to do next? Start with The “Do What You Can” Plan: 21 Days to Making Any Area of Your Life Better
Want more encouragement? You’ll find it in You’re Made for a God-sized Dream: Opening the Door to All God Has for You
