Daydream believer

 So, what do you want to be when you grow up? If you are over fifty years old that’s probably not a frequently asked question. Why am I asking, because I’m a dreamer and I love dreaming big dreams? In fact, I have dreamed similar dreams since elementary school. Instead of listening to the math teacher, I would drift off to the secret place in my mind where the stage was well-lit and the audience was accommodating.

Time in class for homework assignments made fine kindling for my dreams, and the sacrifice of check book balancing and other math related routines seem well worth it now.

 By high school I was living out my dream on stage with the drama team. I asked everyone I met how to take the next step with my dream. Most responses included laughter and resetting my goals to a more reasonable expectation. Regardless of their response, I continued to dream and think big thoughts.

 Did you once have a big dream that you set aside or decided to put down? Did your circumstances or choices impact the dismantling of your dream? Are you living the life you want to live? Now, here’s a big one, would you measure your life as successful? How would you honestly answer these questions?

 God’s Word tells us in Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” We become what we think about. For example, if you believe life has dumped on you since birth, you will succeed at becoming bitter. If you believe that every new day is a blessing, you will be blessed. Have you given this concept much thought?  What we think about all day long is what we become.

 For example, let’s take a look at Earl; he could have easily fallen prey to bitterness. He and his family were abandoned by their father and forced to leave their home and move into a tent. He joined the Marines at seventeen just in time to be aboard the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. Fortunately he was one of only twelve that survived the sinking of the great ship. After the war he went to work in the radio industry and yearned for even greater success. He was inspired by Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grow Rich”. At age 29 he realized the six words of truth he had been reading over and over again were the answer. The words “we become what we think about” changed him forever and brought the world the first million selling spoken word recording called “The Strangest Secret.” The man was Earl Nightingale.

 In Mr. Nightingale’s 1952 recording of “The Strangest Secret” we hear the following. “The human mind is the last great, unexplored continent on earth. Our mind comes as standard equipment at birth, it’s free. And things that are given to us for nothing we place little value on. Things we pay money for, we value. The paradox is that exactly the reverse is true. Everything that’s really worthwhile in life came to us free- our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions, our intelligence, our love of family and children and friends and country. All these priceless possessions are free. The things we get for nothing, we can never replace.”

 Maybe it’s time to examine the thinking process and start dreaming again. Perhaps it would be difficult for you to decide on a dream to pursue. Let’s start by asking, “What is your purpose on earth?” You need to address your purpose in order to pursue your passion and dream. Ask God the plans He has for you and then step into those plans, one step at a time. Plant the dream seed in your mind and ask God for a strategy.

Instead of repeating the dream over and over to God, when he knows it already, ask Him for the strategy to achieve the dream. Water the dream seed daily with the Word of God while always looking beyond what your natural eyes see into the supernatural realm of what God can do! Mark 9:23 reinforces God’s promise of completing your purpose on earth with these words, “With God all things are possible to those who believe.”

 His Word tells us in Matthew 7, “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives an answer and those that seek find; and to them that knock, it shall be opened.”

 I guess the real question should be, “Are you ready to grow into your dream?” Whether by specific circumstance, or just life, some of us stopped growing. We believe the lie and THINK we are too old to follow the purposeful dream God has planned for our life. It is never too late to start living the dream God has prepared for you. All our dreams will come true when we place our trust in Him.