Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul.
Thank You, Lord, for making me whole.
Thank You, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation-so rich and free!
Think about the words of this simple and familiar chorus for just two minutes. I honestly thought about them probably for the first time today. I always just sang it from memory, but I never thought about how true and how powerful those words really are. Just think about it and I promise it will make your day!
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
-Henry David Thoreau
I saw this quote once and I thought, "Yeah, well if I went confidently toward and succeeded at every dream I have ever had I would be an actress-singer-ballet dancer-violinist-spy-chef-artist-author-teacher-wedding planner-youth pastor's wife-professional volleyball player-princess (and, yes, I still want to be a princess)." Obviously I can't be all of those things mainly because I don't have the time or talent. Then I thought, "Well, if God wanted me to be all of those things, He would give the talent and He would give me oppurtunities to do them." Then after some more daydreaming about how cool it would be to be a spy and how glamorous the life of a Holywood actress would be and how amazing it would be to play volleyball in the Olympics I started to think about how much work that would take to get to get that far and to be that successful. I realized that I wouldn't just wake up one day and BAM I would be the most flexible and graceful ballet dancer. I wouldn't have the most angelic singing voice without taking lessons and working at it. I wouldn't know all the skills that are required to be a wedding planner without doing some research.
When God calls someone to do something whether it is being a lawyer, a doctor, a basketball coach, or a missionary He will give them the talent and opportunites. All God's servant needs to do is take those opportunites, develop those talents, and use them for God's glory. It doesn't matter how many free-throws you make in a row if they aren't helping you win any basketball games. Who cares how many songs you write if you are the only one who hears them. All those stories you wrote are doing nothing if they are hidden in your journal under your bed.
The talents God gives you are not made for only you to benefit from. I understand. Maybe you're afraid someone will critcize you progressing novel before it is even finished. You probably think that all the others on the basketball team are better than you anyway so what's the point of even trying out? That song that you wrote--no one would sing it on the radio or buy it on iTunes so why would you want anyone to hear it? Honestly, you never know unless you try.
I'm going to tell you a little story. After I thought about this for a while I got really motivated about something. For as far back as I can remember I have always wanted to play the violin but lessons and the violin itself were always too expensive so I never even bothered asking my parents for a violin until about 2 months ago I bought one of my own after I got a job. I decided that I was going to teach myself.
When I finally had my violin in my posession I was beside myself with excitement. I have had this dream for so long and finally I was holding it for the first time. I loved everything about it-the glossy finish, the size, even the smell of the maple wood. I even looked up YouTube videos of how to care for it and how to hold the bow because, you know, I wanted to look like I knew what I was doing. Then the moment I was waiting for came-the moment when I first got to play it. I place the violin skillfully beneath my chin (because, you know, I was such a pro--I watched like 3 YouTube videos about playing the violin). I glided the bow across the E string expecting that glorious sound....when I actually heard the most cringe-inducing sound I have probably ever heard in my life.
That's when I started having this really great conversation with myself. "What were you thinking? Are you crazy?! Why did you ever think that you could teach yourself to play? You probably couldn't learn even if you had the best teacher! That was a waste of money! You could have bought a lot of ice cream with that money." As you can tell, I am really great at motivating myself and raising my self- esteem.
Finally, I realized that if I wanted my dream of playing the violin to come true, it was going to take much more work than I thought it would. But I chose to take that challenge. To this day, I can only play a few songs and I'm still working at sight-reading the music but that doesn't mean I won't keep practicing (I didn't actully practice today, but I probably should've).
My advice to you: Don't ever stop following you dreams as long as they glorify God. He will give you the strength to fulfill them! Keep shooting those hoops--maybe you will be in the NBA one day. Keep writing that book--who knows? It might get published and be a best seller. Your songs--what if one day you have your own album? There is only one way to find out. Just don't quit!
This is the best reason to have a Pinterest!
Why would you only check it "real quick"? There is just too much to see!
This is my all time personal favourite because it is so true!Welcome to my blog! I don't actually get to meet any of you but you will get to know more about me. I love writing and that is kind of what pushed me to start a blog. I've never had one before so give me a chance and a little grace please!
I am a Christian and not ashamed of it so you will find that many of my posts will have something to with my Saviour, Jesus Christ. Other times they will probably have to do with something I love to do, something I have have tried before, or something I found that is inspiring or helpful. I might go from telling you what my favourite ice cream flavors are one day to telling you about a really awesome exercise routine that I found to work off all that ice cream that I ate the day before (I probably won't actually do the exercise though!).
I am more random and spontaneous than I give myself credit for, hence the title of my blog "Random Words from a Dreamer". You are probably thinking why I call myself a dreamer. I have always heard that I should dream big dreams for God and he will fulfill them through me if they will glorify Him. So that's why I call myself a dreamer.
Just one last word of advice before I go. Find something you are good at, get better at it, and then use it for God's glory. Very few things are more satisfying than doing what you love and glorifying God all at the same time.
~ Ecclesiastes 9:10a
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..."
