Don’t Let Fear Keep You From Your Dreams

Do you remember the dreams you aspired to obtain when you were a child? Maybe it was in regards to your career, your future family dynamic, or a certain goal. Children dream with no limits–anything can happen/anything is possible when you’re a child. They aren’t tainted with the mindset of “being realistic.”

I know for a fact I don’t have many people who actually read my blog consistently, but if you’re reading this and you have read my other posts, you’d know about my dream to travel. As long as I can remember, I always thought it’d be such a wonderful experience to travel (Especially to Africa…which actually happened back in 2015, but that’s another story). Unfortunately, it was short lived as I became very familiar with being realistic. My dream was still a dream, but it was no longer tangible to me. Therefore it became distant and soon forgotten.

As we get older and get caught up in the swing of our daily routines, we forget all the dreams and aspirations we once had. Why are we accepting our current reality and not working towards what truly fulfills us? The fear of failure. Dreams are seeds from God that He plants in our hearts in hopes to one day watch it come to life. Why ignore what God has placed in your heart and settle for less than what He has planned for you? Just because it’s “not realistic” doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

Don’t limit yourself by giving into your fears.  Choose to live in God’s reality. I know it’s terrifying, but it’s so rewarding! This is only one chapter of your WHOLE life. Wouldn’t you think there are many more to be written? Your story isn’t over yet. In fact, it’s just begun. God will show up for you!

When I was in ministry school, I was encouraged to dream again. I can vividly remember sitting at the very top row of seats of the convention center, just talking with God and having Him reassure me in my dream to travel. Not just to remember my dreams, but to see them as actually possible. It’s an encounter I won’t forget. Why did I ever doubt the reality of my dreams? Oh, well, the answer is simple: fear.

Fear is an evil tactic from the enemy that literally stops you in your tracks of the destiny God has paved out for you. It’s something I honestly still struggle with today, but at least now I am aware of the effect it has on me and I know how to divert it. I let fear keep me from doing a lot of things so I decided to face it head on.As some of you may know, I will be traveling Western Europe for two months in less than 40 days (exciting, I know). I made the decision in my heart that day I was sitting in the top row of the bleachers. I wanted to partner with God and make my dream come true.

Long story short, after ministry school I got an amazing job that allowed me to save money for this dream of mine. Not only am I going to countries I’ve never been before, (let alone speak their language), but I am going by myself. I will be meeting with friends along the way so I can have some guidance and company, but it’s still a huge leap out of my comfort zone. I could easily let fear say, “you’re a female who is going to travel alone to countries you don’t speak the language…have you seen Taken?!” I have seen this movie, but I won’t let fear keep me from doing what I know I need to do.

I’m sure you’re next thought is: is your job letting you leave for two months? Well, I actually got laid off a few months ago, but God is so good! He provided another job right away. It’s a temp job that lasts until the day I leave for my trip. So the answer is: no, I won’t have a job waiting for me when I get back. Crazy as it may seem, but I’m not worried about it at all. When you do life with God, there isn’t much we really need to waste time worrying about. Everything will fall into place as it should. Worry and fear go hand in hand, and I just don’t see a reason for me to stress about what life will be like when I get back. I’m actually excited to figure things out when I get back. I know God’s got me. He always has and He always will. My history with Him is proof that time and time again He is GOOD. He is faithful and He provides. Always.

With all that said, trust God. Don’t lose sight of your dreams no matter how big or small they are. Don’t discard them as unrealistic. If there’s a will, there’s a way. It just takes a little step of faith. God’s with you and He’s for you. He will never forsake you. Kick fear in the face and go after your dreams. Don’t let them just be dreams, but your reality. Create history with God. You’re the only one keeping your dreams from coming true. Take it from someone who is now a little over a month away from living out her dream 😉

Good life vs. Fulfilling life

 

I feel like a very common answer we all ask ourselves is, “what am I doing with my life?”

I don’t know about you, but this question has come up a lot lately for myself. However I noticed it stems from a sense of emptiness or the mundane. Why else would you ask yourself this question if you weren’t feeling a little lost?

I started to ponder the possibilities of being lost and began to really reflect on my life the past few months. To many, I have a great life. I mean…I’m not disagreeing with them. I do have a great life and I’m very thankful for it, but deep down I know there’s more. There’s more to life than working 8 hours everyday, going to school, attending church services, going out dancing with the girls, and going to concerts. It’s the same thing everyday and even though I have the means to do all these “fun things,” I still find myself asking the same question: “what am I doing with my life?” Well, to answer this question honestly…I’m not doing much. I’m just filling in the time slot with all these things until I make my debut in fulfilling my traveling dreams. Which isn’t necessarily bad. I guess a more accurate question would be: “what am I doing in the mean time?”

I’ve become accustomed to just going through the motions of life until the day I leave. That isn’t living life to the fullest; it’s just getting by. That’s not fulfilling to me. It’s going to be different for each individual, but my life is fulfilled when I know I’m doing what God is calling me to do and to an extent I am….but there’s always more.

Let’s get real right now….

I’ve become so mundane with the same thing everyday, every week, every month that sometimes I can feel the distance I’ve created between God and it’s due to the lack of effort I’ve put into our relationship. If I were really honest, I’ve become very selfish with my time and not necessarily in a good way.

A life spent in love with God is a life fulfilled. So how does life look like without him? The real question is how do people live their lives not knowing Him? Not knowing their purpose in life? Like…what are they living for? What do they look forward to? I was reminded during these past few months there really is an emptiness only He can fill. Even when I’m doing all these fun things that people comment on all the time, I’m still not fulfilled. I’m not completely content because I desire a more purposeful life. My heart has been reconstructed to love and desire a relationship with His children. Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time as I’d like to do this because I’ve filled it with all these temporary things.

I know it’s a bit extreme, but when you really think about it–what’s it all for?

Even when I get caught in the question, “what am I doing with my life?” I know I can always point my finger back to Him and say, “He knows.” All I have to do is surrender myself and allow Him to work and I know I will be used in radical ways if I’m willing. I still know who I am at the end of the day, but there’s still so many searching for who they are. So the ultimate question is, what am I doing to love on others so that they might feel the love I have been able to hold on to for so many years?

It’s not that all the fun things I’m doing are wrong, but am I being purposeful with those things? I guess in conclusion, for me,  I need to just remind myself to always be an example of God’s love towards people. Wherever I am, even if it seems like an inconvenience to me, I need to remind myself why I am here and what I’m called to do: love people.You never know who may need someone like yourself to take the time to love on them in that moment.

Live a life that satisfies your soul. A life that brings you joy. A life that inspires others. With everything you do, make sure you do it with purpose. Don’t get caught up in the motions of life. Make use of the time you have now. Embrace it 🙂

Truth and Love

It’s in the most vulnerable places of our hearts that we truly see what makes us tick. We see who we really are and what we live from. If we were really honest with ourselves, we would know that we are far from perfect. The beautiful thing about this is God remains head over heels in love with us; flaws and all. What we do or don’t do doesn’t alter His love for us. His love is unconditional, it’s relentless, and bold. It is not measured by our works, but instead, it’s freely given to us to receive and live from.

It is so vital for us to fully grasp the love of God for what it is. It’s free! Receive it! Believe it! It’s in these moments of self-reflection that we can lose sight of who we are if we don’t have the Father’s love filtering the way we see ourselves. Who we are is not limited to what we can see, but it’s limitless in how God sees us. If you see yourself in a negative way, you have already partnered with the enemy in tearing yourself down. By accepting that one little thought, you are entering a vicious cycle of lies.

I mean I don’t know if you realize this or not, but you are made in His image. If you criticize and pick at yourself, you are criticizing our Heavenly Father. You are everything that He is. You are a son or daughter of the Most High King. Until you see yourself in the light that God does, you will never fully comprehend the extent to which you are called to. We are called to live life and live it abundantly in all aspects. We aren’t called to hate ourselves and then try to love on others with the lack of love we have for ourselves.

I understand we want to love and serve others just as Jesus did (which is great), but we also need to receive and know the love God has for us just like Jesus did. You should never disqualify yourself as “not enough.” You certainly shouldn’t be “loving and serving” others to make you feel like you’re enough. All works and serving aside…YOU ARE ENOUGH! Even if you do nothing, you are already accepted. You are so incredibly loved JUST THE WAY YOU ARE! Stop feeding into the lies that distort your view of who you are, who He is, and you’re role in this world. You are here first and foremost to have relationship with the Father. From that relationship will come identity, security, abundance, joy, peace, security, etc.

If you claim to have a relationship with God and don’t experience these things….I think you need to spend a little more time with Him. It’s a two way street of relationship. If you are constantly the one talking and playing into the victim, “woe is me,” mentality…that’s not relationship. That’s like meeting up for coffee with a friend and you talk their ear off and once you’re done venting or whatever, you just leave. You didn’t give them a chance to speak and therefore you have not created a bond or connection because you made it all about you. It’s when we make it all about us that we are blinded from see anything but ourselves. We are not concerned about what others have to say because we are so caught up in what we are going through. We are unknowingly acting selfish. It’s a dangerous place to be as it leaves no room for the truth of what God says about our situation.

So what’s it going to be? Will you cling to the lies that you are in a predicament and constantly be in a cycle of un-fulfillment, isolation, and depression? Or will you take the time to allow Holy Spirit to minister to your heart and give God the opportunity to speak into your situation? Will you believe the truth of who you are and reject the lies that come at you daily? All I’m saying is: When we switch our perspective away from the negativity and focus on the positive truth of our lives in God….it makes a world of a difference. Live from a place of His love for you.

Be blessed!!

Embracing Your Journey

Sometimes I sit back and assess where I’m at in my life right now. It may not always be where I want to be, but as long as I’m going in the right direction, I know I’m in a good place. The key word there is “going.” It’s easy to become complacent in the motions of day to day life. Trust me, I know, but that doesn’t mean it’s any form of excuse to stay there. It’s important to be aware of where we are in life to keep ourselves accountable to the dreams, goals, and desires we have set before us.

Your current situation may not look the way you expected it to by now, but that’s ok! As long as you are still actively pursuing that vision God has given you, you’re in a good place. It’s the moment we lose sight of our dreams and accept complacency that we choose to remain idol. Set your eyes on the prize of your heart and go. Keep moving forward holding onto the truths of His promises. He never breaks them.

I think something we often struggle with is the timing of events. We partner with God on the dreams, goals, and desires, but not in the timing . We get too excited about what is to come and we want it to happen right now so we rush into things. That’s not necessarily what God has in mind. We have to have clarity in our hearts and minds to listen and discern where God is leading us to align ourselves with His perfect timing.

In the moments of waiting for that special promise to become reality, we shouldn’t have tunnel vision on it. Don’t block out the other plans God has for you in the waiting process that you don’t know about yet. Our interpretation of what it takes to get from “point A” to “point B” isn’t always the way God makes it happen. He may have a whole other journey planned for you before He leads you into the one you are contending for or maybe the one you know of now isn’t the one you will remain in forever. He could very well have bigger plans for you. Have an open and heart and mind. Hold onto your dreams, but don’t allow yourself to accept complacency.

For example, I have been overcoming complacency lately. The first step is realizing I am just going through the motions of life. I feel antsy and anxious as if there is something more I should be doing with my life. This is when lies of the enemy creep in and try to make me believe I’m not doing enough.

As I begin scrolling through my  newsfeed on Facebook, I see all the incredibly amazing testimonies and events my friends are apart of and I get so excited and inspired by seeing the leaps of faith they take daily. Being in the vulnerable place that I am with feeling the need to do something now, I can easily begin comparing myself and always coming out short each time. Although, I may have began going down that road, I quickly discerned the lies of the enemy that triggers me to do so. Instead, I shifted my perspective. I am beyond proud and inspired by my friends. It only pumps me up more for the day God gives the green light on my dreams and desires.

My journey is my journey and it doesn’t and was never meant to look like anyone else’s. It just reminded me to partner with God and take the steps of faith towards my dreams instead of allowing Him to do it all himself. It’s a two way street; it’s a partnership. We have to worth with God to make these dreams reality and it doesn’t happen by us sitting around in our daily routines. Even though I know it’s not going to happen at this moment, I know that I still need to prepare myself for when it is the time for my dreams to manifest.

I know He has plans for me where I’m at right now and I want to be completely surrendered to whatever those may be. As long as I’m in a place of active pursuit towards the heart of God and what that looks like through me, I am in a good place. Just because I am not traveling around, healing people on the daily, preaching the gospel, etc. doesn’t mean I am not good enough. He loves me as I am right now. I know that He has called me to this place of rest and trust in His timing. My question from all of this is, can I feel validated in my relationship with God when I’m not doing anything? The answer is yes, because my relationship with Him is not based off works or striving. Our hearts behind ministry should always be spreading the heart of God; not for validation. We should be ok with being in a place behind the scenes and of rest. I think it’s healthy for me since I’m always doing something. I have nothing to prove to anyone or anything because I am a child of God and that’s my identity. Period. Nothing will ever change that.

“Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone”

I came across this quote today and it immediately spoke to my heart. I’ve been in the season of constantly feeling the need to do more. Not just more in my day to day life, but outside of my comprehension. Let me catch you up to speed…

I attended Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry a year ago and I’ve never been the same since. There was one particular moment where I found myself crying uncontrollably during worship at one of the weekend services. It wasn’t because I was sad or hurt, but because God was literally wrecking me (in a good way). My heart was yearning for the people who have not experienced his love. I was seeing visions of me traveling all over the world and catering to children who seeked after genuine love. “Mother of nations,” “mother to the motherless” and “you have a mothering spirit” are all words that were given to me prior to this moment.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

~Luke 4:18-19~

I know that this verse describes my purpose in life. It was in this moment of vulnerability with God that I put my fear aside and gave Him my “yes.”Even though it terrifies me to think about traveling into the unknown, I know my heavenly father will be with me every step of the way holding my hand.

So screw comfort zones! There is NO FEAR IN LOVE! Allowing the fear of branching out past your normal life is just a hold the enemy has placed on you to keep you from pursuing your dreams and goals with God. Let go of your fear and dream with God! I promise you it’s worth it. What’s holding you back?

Coming across this quote really confirmed what God is wanting me to do next. The quote was actually written on a a little canvas. I bought it and it is now displayed in my room to remind me daily to step out of my comfort zone to ignite the flame of my dreams.

So I challenge you. What are your dreams and how do you plan on living them out? Don’t just brush them aside as if they can never happen. God has placed those in your heart because He wants to live them out with you. Even if they seem a little scary, you have the creator of the universe on your side. You’ll be more than fine! Take the risk and never look back!