Running and Kite Flying

Happy Wednesday friends--
I am getting all brave again.. this time .. real .. brave.

I had a conversation with some ladies the other day about how they don't like to get on facebook/social media because everyone looks so polished and put together.

So here is my unpolished, directly after a run in the 90 degree weather video blog.. on comparisons and kite flying.. to find out more check it out!

Praying for you. Leave a comment and let me know how I can be praying for you, or what the Lord is teaching you about comparison!

Disclaimers

Disclaimers.

That's the title of the Chapter 6 in our Fabulous Book study that we are doing on God Sized Dreams by Holley Gerth.

Loved that title for some reason.. it just really caught my attention. Loved the chapter even more.. this may have been my favorite chapter by FAR.  I have so many delightful quotes that I could type up and disclaimer  there is not much of anything I felt I needed to add because it is so stinking good. But I don't think I can re-type the whole chapter in this blog post... I will sum it up for you-- that the whole chapter is disclaimers

Holly's disclaimers for our God sized dreams:

1)  You will never feel ready

2) You will not like your dream sometimes

3)You will sometimes feel alone

4)success will look different then you think

5) One day this dream will be your new normal

So here are some Jenn disclaimers for your amusement:

1) Good thing this post is not a scratch and sniff-- I just finished a bike ride and I stink.  

2) on said Bike ride it was very peaceful.  Except for swallowing a lightning bug and accidentally driving me and my bike into a pond while trying to avoid a stroller

3)  In my mind I am an athlete

4) In reality I am the girl driving her bike in a pond.

p115 Holley says, " Success is not about result.  It's about a relationship.  God is not all that interested in getting things done.  If He made the world in 7 days there's nothing He can't check off his to do list without your help!  What HE wans on this journey to your dream is intimacy with you."

bolded print emphasis mine.

I had "experienced success" in my dream to be a career missionary.  I had raised support as a single girl in a short 6 months, left everything I knew and loved to pursue my dream to be a missionary.  To be completely honest, the more I traveled to churches and raised support, the more my heart swelled with pride.  

People see missionaries as "those people" the elite-- the I have reached super status as a Christian and in my mind they were going to name an offering after me someday (like Lottie Moon herself!)  

I had a view of what success should look like to in this God sized dream.

It was me loving the people, the language, the culture and them hearing about Jesus through me and loving him.

Then I went to the village for a month.  I was so prideful and thought I am made for this-- I was so excited to fly around the village in my super missionary cape.  

and then it was hard.  .. and I was struggling.. and I was missing home.. and struggling to love the people, the language, the food.. and I. ... felt.. like.. a ..failure..  I was not liking my "dream"  and i was feeling alone.

One night on the dirt floor of a village house God spoke.

I was on my knees nose to the ground and I said Lord you must be disappointed in me.

And God said back. .. Jenn I don't need you.. I want you!

See that's the awesome thing about my God sized dreams..and yours.  

The God of the universe doesn't need us but HE WANTS intimacy with us. I love it!  

So wanted to remind you today  God is with you on this dreaming journey.

He is taking you from strength to strength (psalms 84:7)  even if sometimes that has to take you through the valley of weeping.

" Each new dream is another step on the journey, another piece of the promised land God is calling you to possess.  He may have you stay there a while or move on more quickly then you imagined! the More you are looking for is the "dream giver"

Heartwork

I love how Holley says stop and look around you for a moment.  Wherever you are, there's probably a piece of a God-sized dream.  Would you take a moment and do that.  What pieces of your  God sized dream do you see?

Soak in and mediate on Psalms 84.  verse 6 describes the valley of Baca. That actually means the valley of weeping.  How has God taken valley's of weeping you have been through and turned them into places of spring?

What aspect of God's character do you think He is revealing to you as you dream this God sized dream?

What Get to's  are you experiencing in life on the journey to your dream?  For example:  I get to reach my goal of getting healthy so I can bring glory to God by living free.

Would love to hear your heart.  How has God continued to surprise you on this journey?

Powerful weapons (Thankfulness and Trust)

Good morning/almost afternoon precious friends..
Thanks for joining me here!
I feel so honored that you chose to come on into this space.. my little coffeeshop where I pretend I am having coffee with you!

I wrote a post about fears yesterday.  It's hilarious how as soon as I push publish God's like.. um.. Jenn.. are you going to practice what you preach sister!  So.. this morning I with shaking knees am putting up a video blog on how the Lord reminded me that thankfulness and trust are HIS powerful weapons He gives us.

He reminded me that when you take a fear (as you are persuing your God sized dreams) and think of it like a mountain-- that You can look at God who MADE the Mountain, can move the mountains, and manages our life mountains!

 (just thought that was a pretty picture of some mountains!  haha.. i look like a real mountain girl don't I!  I so loved that down jacket! it kept me warm and toasty in Nepal!)

So.. here is my video blog for your viewing pleasure. Hope It encourages you today!  Leave a comment and let me know what you are thankful for/trusting God in:

Graduates, dreams, fear, and the promised land

It's graduation time of year.
That spring has sprung time where all those who are about to talk into a new stage in life as they walk across the graduation stage send out the invitations (and let's be honest the real reason to send out the invitations is to get the ..um.. graduation money! You all know it is true)

( I don't know the friendly fellow on this invitation I stole it from google images)

As the graduate you walk across that stage with great expectations of what is next.

I remember when I graduated from Tennessee Wesleyan College.  It was a very very hot day.  I'm talking blazing hot.  The kind where basically the graduation robe you are wearing outside on the soccer field feels like saran wrap or aluminum foil and you feel like a baked potato in the oven about to explode (or maybe that was just me)

I remember being sad.  College had been the BEST time for me.  I had been blessed with an incredible group of fun loving Jesus friends and we had a blast.  And well like most graduates I was not sure what was next.  I could not imagine life getting better to be honest.  But as I walked across the stage I remember the Lord whispering to my heart as I got that diploma

The Lord whispered I am taking you on a journey to your promised land.

Now I am still not sure exactly what that promised land looks like/is.

But i love that the Lord said in that first phrase

I AM

taking you with me.

The Great I AM.. the God of the universe.. journeying with me.

Do you hear the God of the universe whispering that to you in your God sized dreams. 

Or do you hear the Loud whispers of fear?

I am having a blast studying the book God Sized Dreams by Holley Gerth with you.  We are in Chapter 5 :  A guide to overcoming your fear!

One of my favorite things she talks about in this chapter is that you and I should release ourselves of the guilt we feel for feeling afraid... that we often resist fear in such a way that we sidestep anything that causes fear because it feels like a threat. 

God sized dreams will bring fear. No matter how big or little your God sized dream is.  Maybe it is to go back to school, to stay home with your kids, to invest more in your marriage, to be filled with boldness, to get healthy. 

I love what page 89 says, "  Do not be afraid appears more than any other place  in the story of the Israelites going to the Promised Land. God says, " Do not be afraid, " and then He gives instructions about what to do next-- commands like going into battle, that he knows will cause even more fear to spring up.  In essence He's telling his people, like a father would tell their kids when they're scared in the dark, or about to jump off into the high dive for the First time.  Don't be afraid, Go ahead and jump, it will be OK."

So if you are graduate going into the next thing: Don't be afraid Go ahead and jump into pursuing the heart of God who will teach you how to pursue your dreams.

So if you are a 30something stuck in the same thing:  don't be afraid, Go ahead and jump into pursuing the heart of God , who will teach you how to pursue your dreams.

So if you are mom busy changing diapers:  Don't be afraid.  Go ahead and jump into pursuit the heart of God , who will teach you how to pursue your dreams.

See your dreams are the promised land God has for you-- because you have to take Him along on the journey.

Part of it is the journey.

Bruce Wilkinson says, "  When you think about it, stepping through fear is a small price to pay for a BIG dream.  That one step-- that we face many times in our lives-- must be the universal price tag God had in mind.  I think God wants to know whether we really want the wonderful gift of His dream in our life."

Heart work:

1) What are your great fears right now.  List them. Give them a name,  then slowly in prayer take them to Jesus, the NAME above every name.

2)  Journal through a time when you stared a fear face down and conquered it.

3) How do your fears cripple you when it comes to your God sized dream.

4)  1 John 4:18 perfect love casts out fear.  Write a love letter to yourself from God using His word. Make it personal. Put your name in it.  When the ugly fear tries to capture you, read that beautiful love letter