The Dream Giver
by Bruce Wilkinson
with David & Heather Kopp
Multnomah Publishers, 2003
My hubby and I were trying to get on the proverbial same page as we considered launching a new ministry for ministers and their families when he handed me this older book he had completed. He felt it was my taste of writing and it was! I love that he knows me! Just one problem: The Dream Giver stirred hope deep inside.
When I've dared to dream a dream and it wilts, the roots of that dream can be watered with hope for life to spring back into it. But, when a dream dies, hope seems to die with it.
"You were born for this" is the Dream Giver's encouragement to a guy named Ordinary, who eventually left his Comfort Zone in the Land of Familiar to pursue his Big Dream. The encouragement stirred up emotions so raw, I had to set the book aside to quietly pour my prayers into a journal... this would occur many times before I could complete the book. The Dream Giver gently brought wounds to the surface in the protection of Sanctuary where healing could begin and took much longer than I care to admit.
- Does your Big Dream seem hopeless out of reach?
- Do you feel like you don't have a Big Dream?
- Are you waiting for something or someone to make your dream happen?
- Then you're ready for The Dream Giver.
Author Bruce Wilkinson gives you -the reader- practical advice and biblical truths in overcoming obstacles toward pursuing and achieving your dream.
Now, it's time to begin your journey.
Available in both hardcover and digital on Amazon.
I have learned many things from social media, like America's obsession with cat videos and tips from 3,000 of my closest friends on which restaurant will "change your life." I have seen or read absolutely anything - AN-Y-THING - on social media! Sometimes, that any thing cannot be unseen, if ya know what I mean! <brain scrub>
One thing I have noticed is, late at night or the wee early hours of the morning, people use social media to upload to offload. Facebook and Twitter accounts are stamped with an emoji reflecting how the person feels or a photo will be uploaded to Instagram or Snapchat expressing their current emotion with a supporting #hashtag. It seems as if the person posting sees himself/herself as posting anonymously for a momentary emotional release or offload.
Loneliness settles around a heart and offloads: I want love or someone to love me.
Loss reflects: It's been a year. I miss my mom.
Depression reaches out for hope through a keyboard: Is there anyone who cares?
Anxiety silently uploads a scream: I can't do this, anymore!
Then --for the focus of today's blog-- there are those uploaders who have experienced something which has caused them to question themselves. "Do I have what it takes?" "What was I thinking?" It may have been a conversation that shook their confidence. It may have been a thoughtless comment posted on a thread. Whether or not that comment had ill intent, a message was downloaded as inadequacy into the human spirit and, later, uploaded as "Am I good enough?"
Dear Midnight Offloader, You are valuable. That idea is a great one! "Every good and perfect gift comes down from God." That dream you're working hard to see to fruition is going to come about. Keep shooting for the stars! You will eventually find someone who shares that calling and the burden of it and is willing to bear the weight with you. This creativity is part of God's DNA and is meant to be developed. It will take work. It may take many attempts to strengthen it. Be tenacious. You will encounter naysayers. who seek to suck the life out of your work and walk away. Be courageous. You will experience loss...multiple times over and for unexplainable reasons. Do not lose heart. Be strong in the Lord. A payoff is coming! Someone needs your idea. Someone needs you to be their confidence! Someone needs YOU.
