widow

Be a Dream Giver

Posted on by kimicope

I was recently talking with a teenager who is dear to my heart.  She had a list of “wishes” for her life. So essentially they are dreams.  Some of the dreams were: be popular, rich, lots of clothes, fame, newest iPhone, etc.  When I dream for my children or for other youth, none of those wishes are on there.

None of those dreams are bad or wrong per se.   But I feel like they are all limited and not the God sized dreams I have for her.  Most of her dreams could be used by God to do great things but the wishes in and of themselves are not great or epic.

In that moment, I was hit with sadness.  Over the 10 years as serving as youth pastors we have worked with hundreds of teenagers.  The ones who pursued those dreams of being cool ended up with heart breaking stories.  Stories they would have never dreamed of writing.

The dream of popularity, wealth and fame is a deception.  Those things will not lead to happiness.  The pursuit of those things will not lead to great stories.  Now while writing a great story one may end up being blessed with those things.  But our dreams and pursuits should be big, God sized dreams.  God honoring dreams.

Upon hearing these dreams I was sad but at the same time I was inspired and challenged.  I realized my role is to speak new dreams into her life.   That is my role in her life and any other youth I come in contact with.  Our culture and our world sells those dreams to the youth.  I want them to dream dreams that are too big to accomplish on their own.  That is why God comes in and does a mighty work through us.

When I dream for my children, none of those wishes are on there.

I dream that they would be world changers.

I dream that they impact those around them for good.

I dream they use their influence to draw others closer to Jesus.

I dream that they help the brokenhearted.

I dream that they would be leaders among their peers because of their commitment to integrity.

I dream that they would radiate the love of God in their lives.

I dream they would have a contagious love for Jesus.

I dream that they care the poor, orphans and widows.

I dream that they see the lonely and reach out to them.

I dream that they seek justice for the oppressed.

I have so many more dreams for them.  I want to begin to speak these things into the lives of youth around me.  I want them to see life is greater than money and alot followers on instagram.  God is writing an awesome story and we get the opportunity to be used by Him in his epic tale.

“I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.”- Mother Teresa.

Practically speaking when I see a strength in them, I share that with them and begin to birth new ideas and dreams for them.  Like when Hannah shares an amazing object life with me(i love how she relates her faith to objects), I tell her that there are many amazing female Bible teachers.  Or maybe one day when she is in high school she can lead a small group of 2nd grade girls and teach them about God.  I want her mind always dreaming of the possibilities that are out there.
Let’s speak life and dreams into the youth around us.

So I have a silly request, if you frequently read my posts and enjoy them, could you become a follower of my blog.  There is this company, Booksneeze that offers free books to bloggers to read and then write an honest review of the book.  I used to be apart of it but they now require you to have 30 followers in order to qualify for the program.  I only need 11 more people to “follow me” to qualify. Thank you.