Surrendering Your Dreams… [and the Dream-Maker].

Right now I’m livin’ the DREAM I dared to pray for… Does it look exactly like I thought? Uh, no. Does that make it easy? An emphatic, no. But does it ever!? So, humbly I must SURRENDER this new season of unrealized dreams-—to the Maker of my dreams, again and again.

The Great Adventure

In his book, Created to Dream, Rick Warren states “Dreaming is always the first step God uses in His process to change your life for the better.”

As a young girl of 20 raised in a family steeped in faith [and a few religious beliefs], I could not see a future for myself in the entertainment industry. But yet, I felt God calling me to be a Christian in a secular industry. Working and living in Nashville was quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to our little family. God knew it. He always knew.

Without as much as my lifting a finger, God set me on a path that would yield dividends in our lives far beyond what my mind could conceive at the time. And no doubt he is doing the same thing, once again, in this new season and adventure that is Hometown, OK. The question is, Am I up for the great adventure He has planned?

I hope my answer will always be a surrendered, “Yes, Lord.”

You’ve Got Mail, the movie, perfectly captured the tension I felt in the 90’s and the #nashvillelife that I was so fortunate to live and LOVE for 20+ years. And now, all these years later, the opening song lyrics by the Cranberries encapsulates my heart and feeds my soul in this new season of chasin’ dreams yet-to-be.

“I know I felt like this before
But now I’m feeling it even more
Because it came from you.

Then I open up and see
The person falling here is me
A different way to be.

Oh, my life is changing everyday
In every possible way.
And oh, my dreams
It’s never quite as it seems.”

God’s Faithfulness

Surrender is my 2023 #woty. So, I’m trying my best to remain open-handed with my plans, dreams, and goals for the year. And I’m paying careful attention to where God is leading me and trusting Him in the waiting. Perhaps this is your season, too? If so, let me encourage you in surrendering your dreams to the Dream-Maker: God’s gifts always put our wildest dreams to shame.*

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Eph. 3:20

Thank you, Lord, for these God-sized dreams you’ve placed in my heart. Help me surrender [daily] all of my dreams, plans, and goals to your your capable hands and trust your perfect timing, Thank you for reminding me that my dreams are never quite as they seem, but always exceedingly more than I dared to hope for or dream.

In the new devotional, Life-Changing Stories: A Devotional Collection, I share about working in the music industry, God’s faithfulness during a desert season of my life, and our sudden, miraculous relocation from Nashville to #HometownOk. You can purchase a copy by tapping the link above.

* insp. by Elizabeth Barrett Browning