blessings

Last weekend I watched Carrie Underwood perform "How Great Thou Art" on a TV special and it gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes...and now I can't get that song out of my head. Mostly because I'm feeling so blessed right now. I have a new car that I got for an unbelievable great deal. I will start full-time at my office job in about 3 weeks. If I ever doubt God's faithfulness in the future, I can just look back at this time in my life where God has answered prayer so clearly and blessed me beyond what I could imagine. So yes, while money will still be tight when I start paying the rest of my school loans in June, it won't be like I imagined and was preparing myself for. All because God chose to bless me.

If you haven't heard or seen this video yet, check it out! I think I listen to it almost every day :)

http://www.youtube.com/

"The Dream Giver"

Last time I was home, my Dad gave me a book and said, "Read this." Nothing else. I look at the title, "The Dream Giver" and was intrigued, but then didn't start reading it until more than a week later. I think I was scared of the feelings that would stir up by reading it.

Before I started reading, I thought of my parents making a big step in life. My Dad going after his dream and my Mom supporting every step (well at least I'm sure she is). I'm so proud of my Dad for going after his dream...because I don't know if I could at age 58. They are leaving the church I grew up in and that they've attended for 40 years so that my Dad can pursue his Dream. His passion is preaching and for many years, he has been a lay minister for churches in our area, but now he is going after it with a deeper intent. This shouldn't be a big deal to me, but I'm scared that my Dad's dream will take him away from Orange City and my childhood home...which my parents just made a addition to so that our whole family would have a big enough space to gather. And I'm a bit concerned that my "dream" of walking down the aisle at my home church will no longer happen...even though there is no guy in my near future. But still that was one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind when my mom told me they were leaving Trinity. Isn't that so silly in the scheme of things? What God has planned for my parent's future is SO much bigger than where they live and where I will someday get married.

So I start reading the book. And thoughts begin swirling in my head about what my Dream is....

I write down the following sentences from the first half of the book:

• The better you understand the journey to your Dream and what God is doing in your life, the less likely you are to abandon your Dream.
• My Dream is what I do best and what I most love to do. How could I have missed it for so long?
• I had to sacrifice and make big changes to pursue my Dream. But it will be worth it.
• Then he had an even more disturbing thought: To do what he most loved, he would have to do what he most dreaded.
• I still don't feel worthy or able to do my Dream, but the Dream Giver has promised to help me.
• Death is not my defeat. It is my victory.

This week I'm taking time to do some painting on canvas and while I'm putting paint on the canvas, I'm thinking about my Dream. I'm actually painting over two previous pieces I had done.
That's what I love about painting. You can start fresh.
Sometimes it is hard to cover the previous layer, but it also adds character to the new one. Here's a glimpse of what I'm starting...not sure exactly where it is going yet, but I love it so far.


What is your Dream? Right now, I'm not exactly sure what mine is....but I think I'm getting a clearer picture.