What dream has HE placed inside of you?
God has placed HIS dream inside of you. He is a dream giver.
You know the kind of dream I’m talking about, the one that came to you out of the blue, but you just can’t get it out of your head. Maybe you’ve tried to push the thought away because of fears or excuses, but it continues to captivate your thoughts. You can’t deny that it sparks an excitement in your heart to imagine that dream actually becoming a reality!
So what IS keeping your dream from becoming a reality?
• Does His dream for you seem really big, or maybe even impossible? (that IS the way He rolls, ya know)
Now to him WHO IS ABLE to do FAR more abundantly than ALL we ask or think, according to the power at work WITHIN us.
Eph. 3:20
• Is your idea non-traditional or never been done before?
Most traditions are boring and boring is SO last year! (and the year before and the year before and the year before, etc) God likes to keep it fresh.
Behold, I am doing a NEW thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I WILL make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
• Did you share with someone what God has been stirring in your heart and the other person said something that discouraged you?
First of all, how rude. Second, of course Satan will try to send someone that gets your dreams a little clouded up by critics. He knows how God rolls too and wants to stop it before you even take the first step. Team Jesus wins every time so stay focused on His promises for you. Third, God said that His people are peculiar and He likes it – we have been set apart from the world.
But ye are a CHOSEN generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a PECULIAR people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
• Do you disqualify yourself because of your past, your finances, feeling not qualified, failure, procrastinate for later or just “too busy”? Hey I can come up with a lot more than that for myself but who’s counting because the key phrase is “do you disqualify yourself” ... so who DOES qualify us? I’m pretty certain that the last I checked, God got me where I am today and HE is who qualified me. He isn’t going to plant an amazing dream inside you and then say “oh sorry, I forgot that you’re a little busy right now, I’ll try again later.” Wake up! You gotta look beyond yourself and YOUR ability because with God, ALL things are possible.
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
So by now you might be thinking “who is this chick and how does she know?” Well #1 because the Bible tells me so and #2 I’m smack-dab in the middle of walking out a dream God placed in my heart almost 3 years ago at a Pink Impact conference. During worship, out of the blue, He put a spark inside of me that stuck. I got all excited when I thought about it but would immediately roll through all those questions listed above and begin to talk myself out of it. But God kept doing things to confirm the dream and the first was he brought me a friend, accountability sister, another PINK girl, Salina Duffy that God planted the very same desires into her heart the same day as He did mine.
So what now? We knew we couldn’t just wait for everything to fall into alignment before we started and have the plan laid out like a beautiful blue print with everything perfect. It required faith and trust. And it required us to make a move.
We took a step, He was there and answered. We took another step, He was there and showed off. We took another step, He overwhelmed us with His awesome power. I could write a book about this exciting 3 year ride we’ve been on (and who knows, I’m not gonna limit God). So for the sake of space, here are the cliff notes:
March 2008: Dream planted in our hearts to help the “mommies and the babies” – to offer support to the young, single and pregnant.
April 2008: Met with Gateway pastors and was approved to begin a life group the following fall.
May 2008: Narrowed down our life group name to “the” one – Embrace Grace.
June 2008: Researched throughout for “single and pregnant” curriculum to no avail. Salina then googled “Embrace Grace” and a little book popped up by Liz Curtis Higgs called Embrace Grace (yep God’s awesome) - SO absolutely perfect for our teaching.
August 2008: Part of our dream was to be able to bless the girls with baby items needed through a baby shower but we didn’t know where these donations would come from. A Pink girl came up to us and offered her life group to bless us through “Groups Give” and other groups followed … all needs were met.
September 2008: 1st semester of Embrace Grace began with 3 young and scared girls that had nowhere else to turn. Some had not even decided if they were keeping the baby. Through the class, they took their eyes off their present circumstances and turned their eyes to Him – that’s when they had a sparkle back in their eye, financial situations changed, relationships were restored. It’s when their life changed.
December 2008: Ended semester with a Princess Day – they were pampered by a hair team, make up team, and massage team. We crowned them and told them whose they were – their Heavenly Daddy’s. We took communion and burned all of our wounds and sins in a fire – letting go of their past and looking ahead into this new season. We ended the night with a 4-course meal including filet mignon on fine china laid out on a table fit for a King and His princess.
Fast forward to December 2010:
-34 girls have gone through the Embrace Grace program
-32 girls chose to keep their babies and 2 girls chose to bless the lives of families that have fervently prayed for a miracle baby by making the courageous and selfless choice of adoption.
-Salvations occurred during each semester
-Countless miracles that me and Salina have front row seats to that happen to the girls, as well as within ourselves
-75% of these girls are actively involved in Embrace Grace, even after their session ends, eager to be sharing their own story, helping the new single and pregnant girls that make it into our class
-Churches in the local area heard about Embrace Grace and either promoted or made large donations of gifts to girls and organized fundraisers within their own church to help
-Women locally and some even in other states, calling, praying and working with their own churches to lead an Embrace Grace class themselves
-In process of Embrace Grace becoming a 501c3 org to help as many girls locally as possible and also helping churches nationally with lesson plans and program planning
This has been the most fulfilling and life-changing experience of my entire life. All that has happened so far is not because Salina and I, it’s ALL Him. All we did was took that first step, then listened and waited for the next move, then the next. He just needs us to hear, believe and obey. I love the quote, “He doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called” because neither I nor Salina was in any way equipped … but every step of the way He equipped us as we needed. We’ve never been short on gifts for the shower. We’ve never not had enough volunteers to make all these events happen, We’ve never been short on money to not fulfill all the ideas God had. He never left us hanging – He always had our backs.
We’re not here on earth to satisfy our earthly needs and coast through life like a robot. Flimsy earthly wishes leave you feeling empty and hollow inside, never quenching the constant hunger for more in life that only God-given dreams can do. We’re here to LIVE. We’re here to fulfill the dreams and destinies God placed in our hearts that day, and the only way we can fully LIVE that John 10:10 abundant life, is to obey regardless of your present circumstances. And man, it is SO worth it. I have never in my life felt so passionate about a cause and filled with so much purpose and joy.
So back to my question, what has HE placed inside you? What is the first step that you need to take in order to fulfill His dream? God is stirring something inside of you and it’s time to move. Whether it’s global missions, advocate for a cause your passionate about, starting a ministry, starting a life group, serving or volunteering, or homeschooling, or something that has never been done before, don’t limit God. He is not a God that is contained in a box. He is big and He is creative. What dream gets you all giddy inside when you think about it? Take a step, He’ll be with you and never fail you.
“…for He who is in you is greater than He that is in the world.”
1 John 4:4
