Created For Dreams

In this next chapter Debbie Macomber tells me that I was created by God for a purpose. That purpose is revealed in my dreams. Not the everyday whimsical dreams but in the determined dreams, the dreams that keep me awake at night, that get me up everyday ready to go for it all over again. However, she also tells me that these dreams don't succeed without work and planning.
"So let's think about your dream. What is it you want to do most? Do you want to
open a business? To become a performer--a musician or an actress? Do you want
to work with your hands in the medical field, or work with your hands as an artist?
Whatever it is, it's time to sit dowan and give it an honest evaluation so you can
plot your dream's course."
After sharing some of her own experiences in which she questioned her dream about becoming a writer and the difficulties she ran into before that dream became a reality, she then lists three lies. "So often when it comes to our dreams, our greatest enemy is ourselves. . . .when you see the lie for what it is you can take the first step toward achieving your dreams. As the Bible says, the truth will set you free. Behind each of these lies we encounter, there's a truth we must face if we're going to move forward and achieve our dreams."
Lie #1: It's who you know. Debbie states that when we tell ourselves this lie we are discounting our dreams. She further states that often we rely on other people to make our dreams happen. However, it is not their dream and it is not their passion but ours and it is up to us to take action and believe. Remember, what we often think of as self-talk is really the whispers of the Great Deceiver trying to steer us away from the dream God has placed in us. If he can get us to not believe in ourselves he has won a battle in the spiritual war because we are no longer effectively fulfilling the purpose for which God made us.
Lie #2: I'm too old. "It is far too easy to use age as an excuse for almost anything". Of believing this lie I know I have been guilty. Debbie shares a story of a wonderful woman in her 80's who believes that age is a matter of the mind. "Marilyn George was a commercial fisherman in Alaska who has decided to write about her experiences." Debbie also talked about the group of ladies in their 80's that she swims with five mornings a week. Debbie then reminds her readers that Golda Meir was seventy-on when she became prime minister of Israel. George Bernard Shaw was ninety-four when one of his plays was first produced Benjamin Franklin help frame the United States consitution when he was eighty-one. Age is a state of mind, when we say were are too old to accomplish our dreams it is an excuse and simply means we are unwill to pay the price. "Don't let it be your excuse".
Lie #3: It's too hard. Debbie calls this negative self-thinking (I often call it negative self-talk). It has no place around our God-given dreams according to Debbie. She also reminded me that I am my own worst judge, my own worst enemy. I say things to myself that I would never say to someone else. I need to remember that God loves me and He would never say the things I say to myself. One of her comments hit me on the head so strong and actually involved lies two and three. I am making a commentment to myself today that from now on I will not use the two adjectives "old" and "fat" to describe myself. God through Debbie's writing has convicted me of believing the Deceiver's lies about myself when I use these words. He also reminded me that I am strong because He makes me strong regardless of chronological age or body size and he will give me the strength to do whatever he wants me to do.
Lastly Debbie tells me to believe in my dreams. "We were created to dream, to imagine, and to wonder. By doing anything less, we rob God of the opportunity to make those dreams come true." However, I must be willing to do what it takes to pursue my dreams.