YOUR GIFTs and dreams.

     What is your gift?  What do you do best?  What comes easily to you?  What do you enjoy?  What do you dream of?  How do your dreams become reality?

     If God allows you to wake up in the morning, you can be sure He has a reason. Before you were born, God planned an incredible life for you.  He gave you A GIFT.  He instilled it in you.  He has been trying to fulfill it.  But, for one reason or another, He hasn’t been able to give it to you yet.

     Maybe you have found your dream.  Perhaps others have shared their thoughts on what they think your gift is.  Are you already using your gift full-time to the best of your ability?  If you are training others, well done.  

     Something amazingly unexpected happens when you add God to the mix.  When God's Will for your life is being fulfilled, doors seem to open supernaturally, things fall into place, and you excel to a level you never dreamed possible.  Really.  Just look at me.

    Your dreams can’t be fulfilled for you; they must be done with you.  You must choose to ask Jesus to fulfill the purpose His Father God has for you in this life.  He will not force His Will on you. 

     How many times have you dared to dream?  You had a great idea, and you were excited to share it with friends and family, only to have it shot down.  When you share your dreams with others, they often struggle to understand them.  They can’t see what God has shown you because it was only for you to see.  

     It’s your dream.  Others can’t see it because God didn’t give that dream to them; He gave it to you.  Where do you think that dream came from?  Do you really think you were smart enough to figure it out all by yourself?  Do you think it happened by accident?  Do good things happen by coincidence?  If evil thoughts come from the devil, do good thoughts come from God?  You can be sure that God put it in you to bless you.

     That's why sometimes we have to go through things alone.  This is God testing your faith to see if you will follow where He leads.  He often has to cut things and people out of your life so you can grow.  Like pruning a tree so it will flower next year.

                                   Your dreams  +  God's Will 

                                   Your listening  +  God Guides

                                   Your obeying  +  God's provides 

                                                                                 = Blessed!

     There are only two ways to deal with any issue:

          #1 – Ignore it - dance around it without dealing with it and wait for the 

                                consequences to catch up with you later.

          #2 – Deal with it - go through the problem, don’t go around it.  Meet it head-on.

     Life is where you get to live out your dreams.  So you had better get started.  Time is short.  Don’t listen to the noise and distractions of this world.  Wake up.  Pray.  Listen.  Seek God’s will in your life.  Dare to dream.  Work hard to bring your dream into reality.  Then, live it.  Enjoy what God has given you!

          Potential = The ability to live the dream of the life God has planned for you.

     Who did you allow to kill the dreams God gave you?  I am sorry no one took the time to encourage you.  I am here now to tell you that if there is still breath in your lungs, there is still something you can do to fulfill your dreams.  Not everyone was meant to be a movie star.  Don’t try to follow someone else's dream. It won’t work. 

     Look inside yourself.  Reflect on your past dreams and how they evolved over time. As you age, your dreams are likely to change, but they should never be put on a shelf.  That is like putting God on a shelf.  When that happens, you have stopped dreaming.  There is no reason to stop dreaming the dream God gave you.  Then there is no hope and no purpose.  You just exist.  You forget about God.  What a scary, sad place to be.

     God gave The Promised Land to the Israelites, but they were afraid to take it, so they died without ever seeing what they could have had.  What a waste of God's gifts.

     My grandmother would say that you have not because you ask not.  Ask God.  Be as specific as you can be.  Write out a plan of how to get there.  Your dream was meant to be your joyous dessert.  Being denied of your dreams is like being denied that delicious dessert that everyone else is having.

     Say you want a cookie.  Most people would say that there are two ways to get a cookie out of the jar.  You either ask for it, or you take it.  But, there is also a large group of people who will never have a cookie of their own. 

     There are many reasons for this.  Some were too young, unable to reach the counter. Some could reach the counter but couldn’t open the jar.  Some touched the jar and were told by this world that they couldn’t have one.  But that was a lie.  They grew up too afraid to ask for a cookie, too scared to ask yet another person for help due to the fear of yet another rejection.  But God.

     MY DREAM was to have a cookie.  Always having a feeling of being less than others, I guess I didn’t really believe that I deserved a cookie.  Sometimes, I would go into the kitchen and stare at the jar, wishing one would magically appear in my hand.  Then I would hear someone coming, and I would run away.  I was significantly smaller and weaker than the other children.

     As I got older, I stopped thinking about the cookie that I couldn’t reach.  Life showed up.  I married.  Had a son.  Divorced.  Worked at many jobs. Lived in many places.  Married again.  Two car accidents.  Two surgeries.  Was deemed Permanently Disabled.  Divorced again.  Moved away.  All alone.  So quiet.  So sad.  Cried out to God, asking Why?  And my life was forever changed.

     He told me that if I had followed the 10 Commandments, those rules that ‘stopped me from having any fun, I would have had a beautiful life.  I would have married and been equally yoked.  Each commandment was there to protect me, often from myself.

God is still there.  If you have breath in your lungs, He is still there.  Still wanting to bless you in any way He can.  As your Heavenly Father, all He ever wanted was to give you the best He had to offer.  As children, we always think we know what that is.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.

     God needs you to call on Him for help.  He is waiting patiently.  Stand up.  Dust off your dreams.  And get out there and try.  Stand up and take a stand.  The great lie. Waking up every day, thinking that you have no choice in the matter.  You can’t change the past.  You can’t change what happened to you.  But you can damn well change what you do TODAY from here on out.  Leave the negativity behind.  Leave the hurt behind. Leave the abuse behind.  Get up. Please stand up and do something about it!  Take action.  Take one step in a healthier direction.  It's realizing that you need to take the first step that is the hardest part.  After that, you don't want to take a step or walk, you want to run in the other direction.  You can do it.  

     People who have been through what you have and have survived are waiting to offer their help.  They understand your pain.  They have made the decision to help others to avoid that pain.  They got through it.  Please let them help you. Just show up.  Just give God an hour or two.  Listen to what He has to say to you individually.  You can be sure of two things in this life: 

#1 - Life will show up.  People will be born, and they will die.  During your lifetime, you can expect to make friends, lose friends, get hired, fired, date, break up, get married, rent a home, buy a home, start a family, get divorced, possibly evicted, have accidents, get hurt, or sick with disease, the list is endless. SUCH IS LIFE!

     You will love someone, and they will break up with you.  This happens.  Don’t stop loving.  Don’t stop trying.  Don’t give up.  There is hope.   Come back to church.  Be a part of God’s Community.  Come and join us for REVIVAL… ‘Come Alive 2025.  You were made for more!’  Allow God to show you the amazing life He has for you.   Let go of your pain. Open your arms to receive His peace and joy.

#2 - You can also be sure that God loves you.  The Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him would not perish, but have ever lasting life.”  That is a promise.  The Bible also says that God wishes that none should perish, no not one”.  That is also a promise.

     Join God's community of Believers.  Meet the people you will be spending eternity with.  Get to know them now.  Reach out to your friends and neighbors.  Tell them what God has done for you.  That is your testimony.  It is powerful.  You can use it to help others.  Be part of the solution.  Make Heaven Crowded!

     God has a tendency of doing the impossible.  Don't miss out!