JOY in the Journey, Discovering your God-sized Dreams

Today, aboard our God-sized Dreams ship, Gindi Vincent has asked us to answer a series of questions regarding her topic of what to do if you do NOT know what your God-sized Dreams are anymore. 

Vincent’s questions: What about you? What do you love? What makes you happy? Would you share your story about what to do if you don’t know what your God-sized dream is here in the link up?

I would like to answer Gindi's questions in an open letter.

~*~

Dear Gindi,

My God-sized dream has always been to work as a writer and producer. I want to create and produce work that will inspire people, point them to God and help them to realize their true value and worth.

Along the way to my original God-sized Dreams, other pursuits were born that took me on detours—being a teacher, working as a journalist, hoping to turn my photography skills and love for the digital camera into a full-time photography business—and I’m grateful for every detour God’s blessed me with, yes I say"blessed me with" because at the time, I was deeply troubled because I wanted to reach my destination so badly that I almost forgot the joy is in the journey.

Serving God and reaching people for Jesus Christ makes me very HAPPY, dare I say I even love it more than I love food? And girl, I LOVE GOOD FOOD! But yes, as long as I’m in a capacity of helping people I’m happy, even if I’m not paid a six-figure salary for my work (though I would LOVE that too)!

So my dream job would be using all of my talents for writing, producing, educating and photography in a capacity that serves people in a creative and therapeutic sense.

But to answer your last question, Gindi, on what to do if I did NOT know my God-sized Dream or felt like I had lost the capacity to dream, I will say this—God hears your heart. When you don’t have the words to say or energy to pray and when you feel like our dreams are dead, don’t let those lies fill your head because God still hears your heart. God gave you those dreams for a REASON and a VERY GOOD REASON at that, a mission only YOU can accomplish in this life. So don’t give up, hold on to God’s promises found in His Word (The Holy Bible) such as Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 37:4 and Proverbs 3:5-6, experience the blessing of life day-by-day and watch God lead the way.

Remember, the joy is in the journey! And the DREAM destination is WORK but you will be prepared for it as you allow God to teach you and equip you with what you need to succeed each day in the journey toward your wildest God-sized DREAMS. Sometimes our destination may be a dream you did not know you had deep in your heart. But dear Gindi, GOD KNOWS and will help you reach your destination in His perfect time, so continue to TRUST HIM!

God bless you!

Sincerely,

Alexis

~*~

Now here’s a question for my “God is Love” blog readers: They say in this life, you need to find what makes you “come alive” and then do it. I say that’s the same thing as discovering your God-sized Dream! So tell me, what makes you HAPPY and what are you doing about it?

Song spotlight: Do Something

Standing at The Podium, sharing my God-sized DREAM

Today, the sailors on our God-sized Dreams ship have asked us to answer this question:

“Have you struggled to give words to your dream?”

My answer is "No" and…"Yes!" Allow me to share my story:

My dream since childhood was always to be a writer. I started penning stories at the age of 9 and later on that year, I began typing my stories into a word processor document on the family computer. Anyone who asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up received the same answer, “A writer.” Growing up, my dad would take my brother and me to the library and we’d pour into books. My brother would borrow books about dinosaurs and puppies while I would explore series like Sweet Valley High. As we got older, my brother’s interest in books faded a bit as he became involved in sports but my passion for the written word grew stronger to the point where my mom would make time to take me to the local bookstore where I discovered the Love Stories series. As a young adult you can often to this day, find me spending my free time at Barnes & Noble which for me is the mecca of bookstores. Whenever I step foot into that store, my dreams fill my mind—dreams of writing books that are displayed on their Christian fiction and Literature shelves, dreams of doing author book tours and having book signings in the store.

God allowed my dream to have a book signing to come true—twice! After writing my first book, Hope in My Heart: A Collection of Heartwarming Stories, I pitched it to the manager of my favorite Christian bookstore and he not only bought the book for the shelves but he agreed to host a book signing then a few months later invited me to return for a second (book signing)!

I want everyone who reads this post and takes this God-sized Dream journey to know that God is in the business of answering prayers! He takes all sorts of requests and does not mind if they’re big or small. God wants you to have faith in Him to answer your prayers in a way that’s best for you. Now back to my story…

My passion for writing led me to diving head first into writing classes once in college and pursuing a degree in Print Journalism. My thinking was that majoring in Print Journalism would help me to sharpen my writing skills and it did but along the journey, I found that in addition to my creative writing dreams, a new dream was being birthed—to be a journalist.

I found that I LOVE the interview process and writing news and feature stories felt like a breath of fresh air! My second passion, for photography, grew during this time as I found out how much I loved learning how to use a professional camera. My first camera was a manual Canon Rebel that used a special brand of Black/White film. Yes, this was before the digital camera wave. I’d always loved taking pictures of people and places but as I learned the skills of the trade in photography class, I began dreaming of (in addition to writing books and being a journalist) becoming a wedding and lifestyle photographer.

There it is—a dream that has not yet come true. It is a dream that I have not spoken about except to a trusted few. But now for the journey of God-sized Dreams, I am telling you! They say you have to speak LIFE to your DREAMS so that’s what I’m doing today. Yes, I still want to be a celebrated creative writer and yes, I still want to be an award-winning journalist. But YES I still dream of becoming a wedding/lifestyle photographer!

In closing, I’d like to circle back to today’s question- “Have you struggled to give words to your dream?” I’ve showed you what I meant by my initial answer “no” and now I will explain why I also said “yes.” While I love wedding and lifestyle photography, I have not pursued it yet for two main reasons: finance and fear. I cannot afford (finance) the necessary equipment right now such as the most vital piece, a DSLR camera (Canon is my brand of choice) and I have a fear of failure. But as soon as I am able to afford it, I most definitely will buy the camera and the only hurdle to get over then will me my fear of failure. And of course, I will need a steady stream of clients to keep my photography business afloat once it is established. Please pray for me.

So today I’ve spoken life to a dream I’ve kept quiet. I encourage you, my readers, to do the same. You don’t have to publish it online for the whole world to see. But you can start by praying to God about it and sharing your God-sized dream with people you trust. If you mention your dream in the comment section of my blog, I promise you I will pray for your dreams to come true according to God’s will, plan and purpose for your life. Always keep in mind Jeremiah 29:11.

Here’s hoping for dreams to come true in 2014!

Launching Your God-Sized DREAM in 2014

God-sized Dream = a desire in your heart for more of what God has for you. 

~Holley Gerth

Holley Gerth is one of my favorite writers! She works as a counselor, writer for DaySpring Cards, life coach and co-founder of (in)courage ministries. Since 2013, Holley has encouraged the readers of her blog to take a step of faith toward their God-sized dreams and it's been a journey that has blossomed into epic proportions! Now as 2014 is around the corner, Holley's begun a new venture through launching an official website dedicated to dreams called "God-Sized Dreams: Where Dreams Set Sail" and she invites you aboard the ship!

Every Tuesday, starting Dec. 31, 2013 and carrying on throughout the New Year 2014, Holley invites you, me and anyone who believes in their God-sized dreams to build community with like-minded people through writing and posting about your DREAMS!

Sound exciting? I'm on board as of today and I hope you will join us!

This post is my first link-up to the God-sized dreams journey. Holley asked us via her blog post today to share our God-sized dreams from 2013. Well here it goes:

The year 2013 was an exciting year for me because God made a way for me to publish my first book, Hope in My Heart: A Collection of Heartwarming Stories! It was a dream come true! It is a journey my readers know well because I wrote a Thankful Thursday post about it soon after my book was released in Sept. 2013. But for those of you linking up to Holley's God-sized dreams ship, you can read all about my publishing journey here.

Long story short, I did not know when my dreams to be a published author would come true but in 2013, it did! And God blessed me with not one but two book signings so far and the second turn out was even greater than the first! If you're interested in learning more about my book, you can visit the following sites:

My official author page on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexisAGoring

My book's official Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/pennedbyalex

My official website - http://www.alexisagoring.com/

I’m very excited to see what God’s going to do in this New Year 2014. Aren’t you?

Let’s journey together aboard the God-sized dream ship set to sail!

31 Days of Prayer: May God find us faithful

Today I write the final post for my 31 Days of Prayer series. I hope this series has been a blessing to you and your loved ones. I pray that God will manifest His love for you in awesome ways. My message for you today is simple and inspired by the song "Find Us Faithful" as performed by Steve Green. Please listen to the song here.

As you listen to the lyrics, you will discover one more reason why we should pray and that is to build a relationship with God and become devoted to Him to the point where when you die and the survivors who are your loved ones remember you and what you did during your life here on Earth, they will find you faithful. I hope they will uncover evidence after evidence of your undying devotion to God and they will be inspired to be faithful to God too.

In closing, here are the lyrics to the song "Find us Faithful" by Steve Green. Enjoy and God be with you!

~*~

Song: Find Us Faithful

Artist credit: Steve Green

Lyrics: 

We're pilgrims on the journey

Of the narrow road

And those who've gone before us line the way

Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary

Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses

Let us run the race not only for the prize

But as those who've gone before us

Let us leave to those behind us

The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives

CHORUS:

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

May the fire of our devotion light their way

May the footprints that we leave

Lead them to believe

And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone

And our children sift through all we've left behind

May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover

Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

REPEAT CHORUS

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful 

~*~
Dear God,

May all who embrace our legacy of prayer, faith and agape love, find us faithful.

In Jesus' Name I pray,

Amen.

31 Days of Prayer: God listens

"God is the best listener. He listens to our hearts when our mouths can't find the words to say." ~ The Praying Woman

We're going to keep this short and sweet today.

Classic question, a key focus of this first series for my blog has been, "Why pray?" Today my answer to you is, "because God listens". Do you know why God listens to you every time you pray? The reason for God's undying attentiveness to you is because He loves you, He cares about you and He is concerned about your journey through this life.

God cares about every single detail in your life-- so huge that you feel too overwhelmed to ask Him for help and so small that you may think He doesn't want to hear you pray to Him about it. Never ever believe that lie because God is concerned about everything that affects you. God has promised to be Jehovah Jireh which means "God will provide".

Better yet, God hears the prayers of your heart. So when you're too sick, sad, tired and depressed to pray, God reads your heart and He answers the prayers of your heart. How awesome is that? There is a God who can not only hear you before you speak but answer you while you are yet still praying! Read Isaiah 65:24.

In closing, I'd like for you to listen to this song by gospel artist CeCe Winans. The song is called "He's Concerned" and you can view it here.

I encourage you to pray your own prayer tonight, from your heart. Even if you don't have words to say out loud, silently ask God to read your heart and show His concern and love for you then trust that He will in wonderful ways!

God bless you!

31 Days of Prayer: Because God has ALL the answers

If you're looking for the answers to anything in life, look no further than Jesus Christ.

It's like that song "Remedy" by Christian artist Rachael Lampa in which Rachael sings about how Jesus Christ is the remedy to every malady in life so she keeps Him close. How do you think we, like Rachael, can keep Jesus close? If you're thinking of the word "prayer" then you are absolutely right! The Bible says to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). It does not mean that we have to be in prayer position on our knees all day and night. Remember, you can pray anywhere silently in your mind. It doesn't mean that you should obsess about prayer. It just means to be in a prayerful spirit. When God impresses you to pray for someone or you have something on your heart you want to share with Him, then wherever you are, in the privacy of your own mind, say a prayer. God hears you.

Trust God to provide all the answers you need, according to His will. Now I say, "according to His will" because though God has ALL of the answers, it does NOT mean He's going to tell you everything. If we knew the answers to everything in life, we would not need God. Embrace the fact that you will never know ALL the answers. But be at peace with having a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ whose knowledge of all the answers and perfect love for you will keep you safe and secure in this world no matter how crazy it gets.

Today, we're keeping it short and simple.

Let's pray.

Dear God,

Thank You for being our remedy. Please help us to continue seeking You in prayer, trusting that You have all of the answers to our every question in this life. May we be at peace in what you choose to tell us and what you keep from us because we know You have our best interest at heart. Help us to keep our faith in You strong through the storms of life and help us to give you all of the glory, honor and praise when you take us from darkness into Your marvelous light.

In Jesus' Name I pray,

Amen.