Naming and Living Our Dreams {She Speaks 2012}

The dreams of our hearts hold the breath of our souls. And it’s these God-sized dreams that change lives.

We all have dreams. And although some of us have named them, others haven’t yet noticed them. But that doesn’t mean they’re not there … waiting … wanting to give us hope for a purpose beyond ourselves.

Dreams give us life.

But we guard them, fear stifles them, and secrecy weakens them.

And even if we’ve named them, we’re afraid to speak them, because they’d sound too silly to say. We think they’re too scary-big to acknowledge, and we’re paralyzed because the doubt is strangling them down.

But those dreams are in there, way inside, wanting to propel us to an undeniable calling.

The She Speaks Conference exists to empower women … women who have passions to write and speak and share the hope of their God-sized dream.

And when the God-sized dreams of our hearts intertwine with the God-sized dreams of others, deep bonds are carved amidst those connections.

Because there’s power in a shared dreams … power when others hold up our arms so we can fulfill our dreams.

And I am profoundly thankful for the connections I made this weekend. They are deep, heartfelt connections—bonds formed because we acknowledged our God-sized dreams and were daring enough to speak them to each other…

We were daring enough to tell our stories and share our passions.

And there was power in the moments when we did–those slumber-party-like-2-am-sharing moments when our hearts were intersected,  sitting together cradling our dreams … preparing our messages of hope … laughing together and believing in one another … giving encouragement about the messages we’ve been called to share.

Together we committed to walk into the fulfillment of our dreams, continuing to breathe slow and deep, with great anticipation of what God will be accomplishing through us.

As we all walk straight into the fullness of our God-sized dreams, may lives be changed is my prayer.

What is your God-sized dream?

What have you been called to do?

How has God uniquely gifted you to make a difference in the lives of others, one only you can make?

Continuing on, in the counting of One Thousand Gifts {#1546-1560} with Ann and this community, and the Joy Dare of 2012…with July’s printable.

#1546  My first 8 mile run!

#1547   Safe flights

#1548  The birth of God-Sized Dreams

#1549  Late night talks and hugs of friendship

#1550 Writing inspiration

#1551  Dinner at Cracker Barrel…YUM!

#1552  The spirit-lifting message of Psalms

#1553  Lysa TerKeurst and Renee Swope

#1554 Amy Bayliss and Lisa Boyd

#1555  Stephanie Bryant and Holley Gerth

#1556  Heart connections

#1557  Worship with Michael O’Brien

#1558  Fun new shoes

#1559  Coming home to a CLEAN house (my husband is THEE best EVER!!!)

#1560  The mercy of God…new every morning