Standing Room Only

Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

"It will not take place, it will not happen."

Isaiah 7:7

I lost it. Completely, utterly and without warning. Even now I don't know how my morning snuck up on me and enticed me to come undone. 

I do know that lately I've been feeling like God had me so far out of my comfort zone that I can't even see it from here. I dare to dream with Him about all He will do in and through me but it's all at once awe-inspiring and terrifying. I think I just wanted something in my life to seem safe and within the bounds of my control. So when my younger two blatantly disobeyed not once but twice this morning something came unhinged. 

After I dropped them off at school, I came crawling to the arms of God, reminded afresh how desperately I need Him every hour, every minute of my day. I have God-sized dreams tucked inside and I believe every person does. We can make big plans for our day, our week or even our lives based on those God-sized dreams but ultimately God is in control. It will not take place or happen if God does not ordain it. 

Later in Isaiah 7, it says, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." (Verse 9) That's part of what happened to me this morning. I hadn't spent time alone with God. I rushed into my day without Him. Clearly I can't handle life on my own. 

If I'm not standing on Him, I can't stand at all.

Do you have a big dream?

Perhaps you're dreaming this morning of a child who returns to the faith or a godly marriage. Maybe you're believing you can impact the inner city or an overseas orphanage. Your big dream will not unfold if God isn't in it. Too often though I forget it also won't unfold if I'm not standing firm in my faith. If I want my big dream to come to fruition, my life has to be standing room only...

What dream are you standing on today? Is faith standing with you?

The Root that Makes Dreams Float

I could break the Guinness World Record for floating. I know. I looked it up. There isn't one. But seriously I was somehow designed by God for excellence in drifting atop the water. Seems strange when you realize I'm afraid to put my face in water doesn't it? But on top of the water I feel relaxed, invigorated and at home.


As we discovered yesterday, each person is packaged with God-given passions and dreams. These dreams are powered by love. The gap from dream to reality is closed by putting feet to your faith. Here are a couple steps to walking out your dream:


Take an Inventory 


This is your "at home"


Have you taken an inventory of the things you do particularly well? They may be something as oddball as floating or as ordinary as smiling but each is God-given. Each should make the list.


Connect the Inventory to Your Dream 


This is where you get invigorated.


Let's take my "gift of floating" for example. My ability to float may not asset my heart's passions but my ability to relax wherever I am does. This is the connection between this inventory item and my dream. Find the connection and use it to your advantage.


Make a Plan and Trust It 


This is where you relax. 


Once each inventory item is connected to your dream, you make a strategic plan to use the gifts you have to live out your passion. Most of us get entangled in what's not on our list. While we can work on our weaknesses and possibly turn them into neutrals instead of liabilities, few of us will ever transfer them into assets. 


Stop wasting energy on the "don't haves". Trust that God equipped you with the "must haves". And relax.


Find your home, get invigorated and relax. These are the roots that make dreams float.


What is one of your strengths? Inventory it in a comment below and tell us how you can use it to achieve your goals and dreams.