Finding Joy...

(Surprise!!! It's been here all along!)

I am joining in with Holley Gerth and her God-Sized Dreamers today and we're talking about what brings us Joy in relation to our crazy brave Dreams!

It really doesn't matter what your dream is - how big or how small... whether it requires you to stand up front and draw attention, or bend down low and blend in... (it will probably require a little of both!)  When you know that you know that it is part of what you were created for... it can feel overwhelming and so far out of reach!

We know... Oh WE KNOW that inner soundtrack of all the reasons why it won't work out. Why we shouldn't try, shouldn't hope, shouldn't dream.

But we are choosing to tune our ears instead to the Voice of the One who woos us... the One who courts us and pursues us... who equips and enables us.  We are learning to lean in and listen to the One who sees in us more than we even dare to hope for for ourselves.  He is the One who planted these God-Sized Dreams in us in the first place and the words He speaks over us are full of Light, and Love, and encouragement!

  

 

So I am stepping into the pieces of me that make up who He sees me to be and one of the most powerful Aha  Moments in pursuing my Dream came when I decided (yes - DECIDED)... You see, I had made the CHOICE to step out into a new open door, without Fear.  I kicked him to the curb and refused to let him come with me!  

Part of this revelation of Choice started to unfold throughout this past year... when I oh-so-slowly savored the words of Ann with no 'e' and joined her in counting gifts.  No surprise, eucharisteos started coming at us hard and as they say, when it rains, it pours!  However, as a family, we were learning to count on - on good days and on bad days... for in every day, He is here.  

Did you catch that?

He is HERE... right here... right now.  For me and for you.  He is the best gift ever given and with the dawn of each new day - He is here... giving of Himself again and again... how can one not find Joy in that?

Remembering that He is here - this is HUGE! ...and having the honor to share about how this is true and this is Truth and how if He is here for me... speaking... sharing... romancing... then surely He is here for YOU caused me to step back in the moment and truly watch a part of my God-Sized Dream to unfold.  It helped me to feel Joy.  I was invited to teach a workshop at a women's retreat on prophetic art - which (not so ironically) incorporates all the pieces of my God-Sized Dream... (writing, art, community, speaking)

I wrote about that experience in a previous post - but you get the gist of it here:

 To begin the classes and see the ladies faces - knowing that they were nervous, a little unsure and scared... not knowing what to expect... I loved being able to tell them that by the end of the class, they would be surprised and would have had fun!  They laughed as if it were a joke... but it was true!  Watching them grasp that it's not really about skill or artistic talent... watching them pray and hear from God, then take a risk and draw or color or... you get the idea!  All of that was priceless, but the best part was watching them trade art and share what God had showed them... it was like watching them each get a hug from God. Such love... such encouragement.   There was joy... laughter and tears and hugs;  I-can't-believe-He-sees-that-in-me!'s and I've-Never-Told-ANYONE-that's!  There was Awe and wonder and magic and Glory lingering around that room!  As I watched the classes wind down, and art being treasured not so much because of the beauty of the work but because of the heart of the message, I thought - this is it! This is the beginning of the unfolding of my God-Sized Dream. 

(How do you Wrap Up what is still Unfolding?) 

The beauty of this moment is in the realizing that I can choose Joy.  It's in remembering that - always - it's all about Him... and not about me!  I can choose to step back in any moment and count gifts... see His hand and heart at work both in me and through me.  I find Joy in the gathering of my prayer group, in joining hands and hearts and lifting needs... I find Joy in the circling of the dinner table, in talking of the mundane and laughing at nothing really... I find Joy in cozy conversations that run deep and go long over a cup or glass with a friend - new or old... quenching thirsts of many forms.

The real revelation is that I am living this God-Sized Dream not just when I am a guest, out of town - but most often, it's when I am wearing slippers in my own home.  It's doing laundry, or painting a picture, or standing side by side, doing dishes. It's in bedtime prayers, and morning goodbyes, and it's tapping words on this keyboard.  My call is to invest in relationships and inspire intimacy with God and if that doesn't need to start at home, I don't know what does!

My God-Sized Dream is coming true every time I choose Joy and remember that this dream comes true in the unfolding... not so much in the completion!  It's the old 'Joy in the Journey' and if we could but grasp the weight of that truth - we'd remember to choose Joy every day!

My Dream is to share His Abiding Love and His Abounding Grace. It involves Creating Community and Sharing Real and Living Honest... whether my stories are written down, spoken over coffee, or in front of a podium, my dream is to connect my heart with yours and see you grasp on a deeper level the real intimacy - the passionate pursuing Love that He has for you - YES, YOU!

And when you catch a glimpse of just how crazy romantic He is about you... when I see you feel Him wrap His arms of Love around you... when I see you begin to hope that it is true... there is Joy and my heart bursts...

So where do YOU find Joy? What makes your heart burst it's banks?
How can I be praying for you and your God-Sized Dream today?



Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.
~Karrilee~