Keep Dreaming Dreamer

We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word. We may think we know what is right, but the Lord is the judge of our motives. Share your plans with the Lord, and you will succeed. Proverbs 16:1-3

Wishing on a star.

Head in the clouds.

Creating a whole new world filled with what you desire.

Where all your dreams come to life.

Dreams are reality.

But, then reality hits.

So, you stop dreaming, because all it leads to is a broken heart.

Dreaming is hard to do when none of your dreams have come true. 

Have you been there? Disappointed and worn down, because what you dreamed of and worked at did not come to be. So, you stopped hoping for the future and started taking the days as they come without thought of tomorrow.

A person’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

There is a tension in life between living in the day God has given and having a vision for your future. I think it is possible to take what you have been given, your talents, passions, desires, and dream big dreams while living present.

Committing your life to God. Trusting Him as you pursue your dreams. As you move through your days, God will direct your path. He will open some doors and close others. 

Sounds to good to be true? It is true, but it is easier said than done. 

It is easy to let life live you and stop dreaming dreams. It takes courage and boldness to live your life. It is brave to trust God with all your days, to keep dreaming when the curve balls come, because they will. The dreams, talents, interests, and passions you have are not a mistake. When you ignore your dreams, you allow the dust of complacency to create an okay life. But, Christ died to give you an abundant life; when you settle you miss out on experiencing Him fully and doing things you always dreamed of.

I am a writer and beyond blogging I want to write books and Bible studies. I dream of creating a space for young women to come with their youth leaders, mentors, and moms to lay down embarrassment of doubting God and embrace the wonder of God through Scripture. I want to create art that lights up homes and inspires creativity. I want to design a line of journals.

Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God produces each gift in each person. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

I do not know if any of this will come to be, but I am doing my best to not ignore my dreams and deem them impossible, because with God all things are possible. I am pursuing my dreams every day through action. I do my best to write daily and create weekly. I am going to keep writing on this blog and posting on Instagram. I am going to be faithful with what I have been given today, keeping my eyes open to opportunities, and turning to God continually for guidance all along the way. 

God is lighting up your path. He will direct your steps, you do not have to worry or try to manipulate to get what you are dreaming of. In the process of using your talents and pursuing your passions God will lead you to places beyond your dreams and to places you never expected, where you did not want to go. 

All our dreams, gifts and desires are His. They come into our minds and lives for a reason, they are not void. God is going to use them to reveal Himself to each of us and to the people around us. All of the parts of what makes you uniquely you work together for the ultimate aim of sharing Jesus with people through the combination of your passion and talent. 

Keep dreaming dreamer. You can trust the One who made you to direct your path.

- Hannah 

All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand

I have heard this Bible story and various songs my whole life. The wise man who built his house on the rock stood firm and the house built on the sand went fast. The lesson is always that God is the rock and the world is the sand. Build on Christ and you will be secure. Build on the sand and you will be taken up in the tide. 

It is true. 

It is fact. 

It is unwavering. 

But, it had never clicked with me that this passage also applies to identity. 

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Matthew 7:24-27

Tonight, I am sitting on the couch all caught up in “growing my platform”. Posting quality content to attract followers, so that I have a tribe, so that I will be legit, my words will be read, and I will be successful at my craft. That I will make it in the writing business in my post college days. I will be secure. It’s all about me over here in this stressful and disgusting feeling pity party on the couch.

It is easy to get wrapped up on likes, comments, and watching my followers grow to measure my legitimacy as a writer.

It is easy to get wrapped up in dieting, exercising, and fashion to measure and achieve beauty. 

It is easy to get wrapped up in the validation of men, women, and peers to measure our likability as individuals. 

It is easy to look at everything else instead of what God says to find worth, value, and acceptance. 

Identity is where we find our worth. It is where we find our brave. When our identity is placed on the sands of our passions, looks, and likability we will sink. 

Tonight, is a great example, but so is most of my life. 

I have tried to find worth in starving myself and buying clothes I do not like; trying to be the “desirable girl”. Growing my hair out, even though I like it short, and wearing make-up, even though my skin is super sensitive, all to be seen as beautiful. Staying on my phone and laptop for hours interacting with people to get myself and my writing seen; to be validated in my passion. Jumping through hoops to get noticed by others so they will compliment me on my “good job”, or my “awesome gifts”. All of it so I will be worth knowing, liking, and being with. 

All of it gets ripped away by the tide and leaves me grasping to all that I can get my hands on, because I want to be valued, wanted, needed, and belong. 

My value does last, just not in sinking sand.

He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, an impregnable castle: I'm set for life. My help and glory are in God. So trust him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him. God is a safe place to be. Man, as such is smoke, woman as such, a mirage. Put them together, they're nothing; two times nothing is nothing.

Psalm 62:6-9 (MSG)

Your value is set, on the solid rock of Christ. 

You are chosen, loved, adored, and protected. You are not just liked, but accepted, forgiven, set-apart, and wonderfully made. You are royalty. You are beautiful. You belong. You are not alone. You have been given great gifts to be used. You have been given communities to love. You have been given much and are still being given good gifts. Your identity and worth are secure in Christ. 

No one can take away who you are and becoming. No one has the power to diminish who God has made you to be. 

On the solid rock we stand. All other ground is sinking sand. 

We are not just trying to build a life founded on what God says is true. We are fighting to see ourselves the way God see us, to believe that God is who He says He is and we are who He says we are. 

You and I will be shaken by storms of criticism. We will feel the force of the tide of being liked. And at times we will drift away in our efforts to earn love. We aren’t perfect. But, I hope we will look up, stop sinking, and dwell on our foundation; rest on the Rock. 

God is right here with you always. Your value and identity is concrete in Christ. His words are right before you. The Rock is always under you. He has never left you. 

- Hannah 

You Are Not Alone

Most of my life, I have felt alone. Maybe it is because I am an only child and growing up I played make believe by myself. Maybe it is because I have had more friends out of proximity than out of genuine relationship. Maybe it is because I am not great at putting myself out there in big sanctuaries and new situations. No matter what the root, I have struggled with the pains of loneliness. 

I have cried, complained, and grown bitter over my lack of companionship. I have hidden in fear of the unknown and the possibility of rejection, in life and relationships. It is paralyzing to feel like you are alone. Why would I want to go, do, and be if I have to do it all alone?

This sounds cliché on so many levels, but we are not alone. 

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20

Jesus has been with us.

Jesus is with us today.

Jesus is with us until the end.

We are not alone in anything we are going through, the things we are doing, and the opportunities and places we are about to walk into. Our situations can seem lonely physically as we look to the left and right, but God is forever present. In the brokenness of saying goodbye to the ones we love, or the diagnosis we didn’t see coming. In the celebration of answered prayers, and the blessing of new beginnings. God is with us. 

We do not have to stay in fear and panic, because God is with us. 

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you. Joshua 1:5

Just as God is with us, I believe He will provide us with genuine community. We are not meant to do this life alone. He may not give you a whole crowd to journey with, but He will provide you with friends to live life with. I know, because God provided friends for me in my loneliness, when my world was upside down and I couldn’t find my way back up. When my Nana died, I was shattered and when I was diagnosed with a congenital birth defect at 20, I was defeated. But, God was with me providing comfort as I cried every tear and giving me the strength and courage I needed as I recovered from surgery. He provided for me in healing and friendship.

I am not as lonely anymore, but I still struggle with feeling alone. On the days I struggle, I have to be brave enough to believe that God is never leaving me. 

He is never leaving you. We can do hard things and new things because, we are not alone in them.

God is with us. 

Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take. Joshua 1:9 (MSG)

You are not alone.  

You are brave, because God made you brave and is with you when the fire is blazing and when the grass is green. God is with you. And with Him with you can walk boldly into a room of strangers and walk into the unknown before you.

You have never been in this alone. 

- Hannah