(I am reposting this post for a blogging friend of mine, Laura at The Wellblog. After reading this post of hers, I thought I would share my dreaming thoughts again. Laura, it’s okay to dream!
This is a repost from 2005. Yes, I’ve been blogging for 4 years. Call me word crazy! Here we go:)
Yesterday at a friend’s house for a fall brunch, I sat and ate with five women I didn’t know. With a list of icebreaker questions we kept the conversation going. What is one of your dreams? Elaborate.
I blurted out, “I have lots of dreams. I want to go on a mission’s trip, learn a second language, learn to play an instrument, and open up a coffee house for teens/twenties.”
I didn’t mention these dreams:
Write a book. (I have four ideas.)
Go on a week’s vacation with my husband to Alaska or somewhere tropical. (We never had a honeymoon. We eloped in Las Vegas.)
Visit every state in the US. (To see the diversity of our country.)
Go on a mission’s trip with my family. (To experience serving others as a family)
Visit the Holy Land.
Host a foreign exchange student.
Volunteer at the Special Olympics.
I could add more, but I won’t bore you.
Out of the six of us, only one other gal shared saying, “I know this is a kid thing, but I’d like to swim with dolphins someday.”
“You don’t have to be a kid to swim with dolphins,” I said.
The other ladies couldn’t think of anything.
Not one thing.
I felt naked sharing my dreams with strangers. Yet it felt good. Maybe my sharing inspired one of them to dream again.
Why don’t we dream anymore? Is dreaming something only kids do? I feel sad for people without a dream. My guess is everyone has at least one.
Where have all the dreamers gone?
The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson is a great book about dreaming. I believe God gave us all a dream. But for some reason, we think we’re too old, or our dream is silly or too big. So we discredit it. We hide it and pretend it’s not there. We’re ashamed to share the secret dream of our hearts. Why?
I’m heartbroken by this. Some people are naturally the “dreamer type” more than others. But let’s face it, we all dream. I want to know why we let our dreams die.
Last week, I saw the movie The Dreamer. Loved it. Cried too, of course. I relate to the girl with the horse. I’m a dreamer.
I dream of making a difference, helping the helpless, experiencing all of God’s creation, and trying and learning new things. I’m hopeful.
Last year, my family and I attended our neighbor’s graduation. He was about 40, married with children, graduating from tech school. I loved watching him receive his diploma. I cried watching a man in his 70’s walk on stage to receive his. He never gave up on his dream. Wow!
What if one of our dreams is actually a desire God gave us, one He wants us accomplish in our lifetime?
Let’s not ignore our dreams, big or small. Let’s start dreaming again. Dream for the fun of it. Write it down. Dream huge. Then take baby steps towards achieving it each day. And watch it become a reality.
Our God is able. His dreams for us are bigger than we could ever hope or imagine.
Without dreamers, we wouldn’t have the light bulb, telephones, computers, airplanes, electricity, Peanut M&M’s, potato chips, a pen, a pillow, a hairbrush, or an eyelash curler. We need dreamers.
Dreams start as seeds. Seeds grow with proper care slowly over time. Maybe this reminder is just what you need. Dreams aren’t just for kids. And if you think they are, remember who you are. A child of God. Be that kid again and . . . dream!
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PS Derek and I went to Alaska in 2006! Thank you, Lord, for letting a dream of mine come true. I still have some of the same dreams from 2005, but some are no longer up there on my dream list. They’ve been replaced with new dreams!!
How fun to dream! I would like to have a dream session. It was fun to read yours, it reminded me of some of mine and there are others…sometimes we just forget.
I would love to go to Jerusalem. Right now there are so many opportunities, but no open doors for me yet…maybe someday!
Alaska~oh my!! I have a sweet friend who lives there. EVERY photo is picture post card perfect! The beauty is incredible!!
I’m a DREAMER, too!
A list of “dreams” I made a few years ago have all come to pass! One of them was to play the piano/keyboard for Praise and Worship. I actually accomplished that. I didn’t do it often…mostly as a fill-in for those more talented but I did it – and more than once.
This makes more sense when you know that when I told my brother what I was going to do, he replied, “You play the piano?”
I do now.
Still dreamin’…
Melanie@Bella~Mella
Okay, my fellow “white board!” LOL (I know you get that even if others don’t 😉 )
I just KNOW the Lord is going to bring us together face to face sometime. We are so much the kindred spirits, it’s not even funny.
I’ve also read the parent version of The Dream Giver, how to help your child see their dream.
At our Learning Center, we developed a program partly inspired by this book called “Dream It! Achieve It!” I’ll email you something on it, maybe later this evening.
Part of what I love about ministering to Native Americans is that many of the Elders still believe they should ‘cast a vision’ for the youth in their families. It’s really an awesome concept that I think has Biblical merit to it.
Love this post. Thanks so much for sharing it.
I can’t believe you’ve been blogging that long! I don’t think I even knew what a blog was back then! LOL!
I loved this post! I never have lost my dreams and always am making more. How sad that you sat with woman who had none–I would have not been able to not say something to them and find out why not??
I enjoyed this post sweetie.
Hey! Thank you so much for visiting my blog! I treasure all of my comments as well!
This was a great post! And your blog is awesome! I plan to come back and visit during lunch one day soon!(That’s my usual blogging time!!)
Hmm…I have several dreams! Some are the same as yours! Alaska, the Holy Lands, a mission trip! Then there are others!I’m determined to complete an ultra marathon for one. Then, I’m waiting to see what God has in store and walk in obedience! He is such an awesome God! Woohoo!!
Hugs,
Susan
I especially thank God for peanut M&Ms! :0)
I love this Tiffany. I did a post on the Dream Giver book. I had an encounter with God in that book. It is a special book to me. I buy it and give it away. Over and over again. 4 years…blogging wow. Hey I was going to send you a postcard I recently mailed out for speaking engagements if you want to see it. Let me know. Also are you in a network of speakers to help you get speaking engagements? B
OK…I’m starting on my list this weekend…I think writing down my dreams will be good for me…
This was a great post and I’ll be back…thank you for visiting my blog..:)
Blessings!
Teresa
What a wonderful reminder my friend! I am very guilty of this. The older I get, the more of a black and white thinker I becmome. I have found myself not hoping and dreaming because I would be disappointed if it didn’t come true. Thank you for the reminder that there is hope in the dream!
loved this post! what a fun read!
wow… that was wierd, the other women couldn’t think of just ‘one thing’ to share… oh, I have to believe they do have dreams ~maybe they were just crazily, overly shy or something??
just wanna let you know..
I would cry too watching a man in his 70’s walk on stage to receive his diploma! YEAH!! way to go :O)
Hey friend, I loved this post.
One of my dreams is to see our country…. another is to see the Holy Land….
More connections of our hearts…
Love ya!
I notice in people who let their dreams die is because they’ve been downtrodden. Then, they forget they have a dream deep inside them. I was one of them for a while. At least two of my dreams have come true over time. Some of my other dreams are just frivolous stuff, like going to Hawaii, etc. My biggest two dreams are to help people in a healing way. One I’m in the process of doing now, massage. The other part of that is to have my own wellness center. The other major dream is to be able to have some sort of Youth Center that provides everything youth need except their home and family; and, if need be, a dept that has the big brother/sister thing. The most important and major dream for me is to reconcile my relationship with my daughter. The ball is in her court however. I’m doing everything on my end to encourage reconciliation.
I love this post… I am going to spend some time thinking about my dreams… you have motivated me to do that. I know one, is to write a book like you want to… I think I have a book in me… we will see!
Blessings!