Dream Big!

I feel like the Lord is saying:


"It's time to dream big again! Dream bigger than you have! Ask Me to share My dreams with you! I am fully able and willing to give you immeasurably more than you can ask or even imagine! Forget what is behind, and press forward. Focus on Me, and allow hope (true hope, that is not just a possibility, but a definite) and faith to rise up inside of you! Know that I am faithful and good, and I will do what I have promised! Though it seems to have taken longer than you expected, and you feel discouraged, know that I am never late. I will fulfill the word at the perfect time. Trust Me, trust Me, trust Me! I love you! You are My dearly loved child, and I will be faithful to what I have promised you. When you ask for something good according to My word, I will respond with the Kingdom answer. Do not lose heart, and go for it! Dream Big!"

A Sonnet of Faith...

A Sonnet of Faith

                     by, Erin Dawson

Created in Your image, may I reflect You as You really are.

May the world see You when they look at me.

May your glorious light and compassion be visible from afar-

Like a city on a hill, shining for all to see.

May I err on the side of mercy, as You did,

And may judgment be far from my thoughts.

Under the shadow of Your wings, may I be safely hid,

For intimacy with You, is the reason I was bought.

May I see the opportunities to love, every place I tread;

And inspire others to boldly approach Your throne.

May I share the words on which I have been fed

And help to lead Your lost sheep safely home.

Dearest Jesus, great is Your mercy and grace.

May I reflect You clearly, as I gaze upon Your face.

Just a Random Picture...

A perfect circle rainbow...

Sean took this picture on the plane, on the way to the DR for a mission trip. It really encouraged us! 


Ask the Lord to remind you of promises He's made to you, and let Him encourage you with His plans for you! He loves to encourage His kids! He might remind you of something you've forgotten, or even make a new promise to you! 


Post comments (if you don't mind sharing) of things the Lord encouraged you with today!

Get Above It!

For the past couple of years, I have celebrated Rosh Hashanah- the Jewish New year. It happens in September or October by our calendar, and it takes place during a very solemn time of year. Although it is a celebration, it is also a serious time to judge yourself- examine your attitude and the motives of your heart. Traditionally, it is believed that the way you close one year will directly affect God’s judgment for your next year. For example, if you end one year with great faith, God will give to you according to your faith in the next year. By the same principle, if you end your year complaining and in a negative attitude, you may find the next year challenging until you can overcome that negative thought pattern/attitude. You may be wondering why I am telling you all this- it’s spring, and Rosh Hashanah was months ago.

I was thinking this morning that we should be checking our heart all year. What if there are times throughout the year when God is asking us, “Do you want to continue on in this destructive pattern, or can we change it?” It’s like in Joshua, when he said to the people, “Choose this day who you will serve...” (Joshua 24:15) I have started the past couple of years with that thought in my head. I have declared in my heart that I don’t want to end the year complaining. I don’t want to start the next year with bitterness in my heart. I want to walk in faith and love and joy. It has really helped. I feel like examining myself at that time of year has directly impacted what is laid out for me in the coming year. Even more, it has prepared my heart to react more positively when challenging times have come. 

I wouldn’t want to mislead you into thinking that a positive attitude about the coming year will make that year be all sunshine and roses! I have had some of the most challenging years of my life since determining to change my heart. The thing is, some of the strongest attacks and circumstances to tempt me to be bitter and negative have happened around that time of year. Why would that be? Well, how much of a test of your character is it, if everything is peachy and you love everyone? I believe the enemy is trying to end my year with me whining, so that the next year will be even more challenging! 

I am seeing more and more that, while this is an important principle about ending a year, it is equally as important to be examining your heart all year long. When problems arise, and you are so frustrated you could spit, and people are driving you bananas, this is the time to take a step back and examine yourself. As wrong as the other person(s) involved may be, God is most interested in your reaction! Choose this day! Will you serve God, who is Love? Or the accuser of the brethren, who has come to steal, kill and destroy us and our relationships? 

In my experience, God is never feeling as negatively about what we are going through as we are! We tend to whine about it and ask God to see our side. What He wants is to show us how He sees it! His perspective is so much different than ours, it literally has to be seen to be believed. I’m not saying that God is oblivious to your pain, and that He doesn’t care if you’ve been wronged. I’m saying that He has the answer for you. He wants to show you how to forgive, and how He sees the other person(s) involved. He wants to help you become just like Jesus.

Have you heard the saying: “So heavenly minded, that you’re no earthly good”? Well, that’s just plain stupid. The only way you can truly be any good on the earth is to be heavenly minded. When you realize that you really are seated in Christ in heavenly places, (right now!), and you begin to see circumstances from above- from His perspective, you will have a completely different outlook on life. It’s something that I can’t explain in a blog. It’s something that I encourage you to try for yourself. When you see things the way God sees them, suddenly life becomes more hopeful, relationships become more based on pure love, and attacks from the enemy don’t seem as devastating as they once did. But it always comes back to asking God to show you His perspective. When you look at stuff from down here, it can be pretty ugly! Get above it. See it like Jesus does!

The Meaning of Life

 A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation that has troubled me ever since. They were discussing having children, and one of the people said, having children is what gives life meaning. Seriously? Passing on DNA is the meaning of life? Now, don’t get me wrong, having children is a blessing, and definitely gives life more meaning, but is it THE meaning of life?

What about those of us who have been unable to have children? (approximately 15% of couples in North America and Europe suffer infertility) Does our life have less meaning? And what about those who have lost children? If the child is what gave their life meaning, no wonder they can’t move past the pain of the loss. It’s also a lot of pressure to put on a child when you have them- the underlying thought that they gave your life meaning. 

No, I think there must be a deeper meaning to life. One where the addition of children blesses that meaning, but isn’t the sole purpose. Now, I’m not claiming to know the meaning of life- a subject philosophers have pondered through the ages. I do, however, believe that the meaning is found through a relationship- just not the relationship we have with our children. The joy of having children is to teach them to experience this meaningful relationship for themselves. Then, as they grow, it is a joy you can share together as you each experience the relationship in your own unique way. 

For those of you who haven’t figured it out, I’m speaking of the relationship I have with Christ. I suppose in one sense, the meaning of life is found in a relationship between Father and children. But we are all the children, and He is our Heavenly Father. We were created to live out of that relationship. If you believe in evolution, I guess it would be easy to believe that passing on DNA is the meaning of life, and that infertility is natural selection at work. I am so thankful that I have encountered the Truth, because believing that kids are the meaning of life would be a most discouraging, and disappointing path to walk. 

As I pursue that relationship- the one with my Heavenly Father, I am confident that He will reveal the true meaning of life. Because our life does have a purpose, and I do have a destiny. Whether that destiny includes having children or not, my life still has meaning greater than I can imagine, and I know it will be mine and God’s great delight for Him to reveal it.