Day 23 of #31Days of Dove Promises: I'm also joining Behind the Scenes, a link up hosted by Crystal Stine... "Behind the Scenes" is a fun link up where we show the photos - but tell the real story behind them. The sneak peek behind the scenes, a look past the edges of the photo to the real life behind it. You're invited to join in - we'll write up our posts & link up on Tuesdays!So, if you visit here often, you know a couple things about me... I like to eat chocolate and I like to create handmade, handstamped notecards... I have said before that occasionally, God uses the little messages on Dove promises to make me stop and think... It's been a few months since I opened this piece of chocolate, but I figured it would fit in well to my #31Days and the Behind the Scenes linkup...
As I often do, I grabbed a piece of chocolate on my way down the stairs to my craft/cardmaking room. I settled into my chair and gathered some of my supplies. I took a deep breath and exhaled (one must do that to fully enjoy the chocolate). And I opened my Dove Promise... and this is what I read.
"Live your dreams." and I smiled, because in that moment right there, I was living my dreams. Making cards, filling a special order, being creative, using the gifts God has given me.
But it's not always that way. More times than not I get discouraged because I'm not exactly sure what my dream is... or more importantly what God's Dreams for me are. There is a struggle between all of the desires He has placed inside of me. Sometimes they don't all work neatly together and complete themselves in harmony.
When I pursue my dream of creating cards, my dream of being a better wife and mom sometimes fails miserably. When I work hard at being a better wife and mom, my dream of being a writer and blogger gets pushed way down on the priority list. And when I succeed in building community and strengthening friendships in real life, my etsy shop and card website sit untouched, un-updated, stagnant... The list goes on and on. Most days, I really, really, REALLY struggle to live my dreams.
And then just this month while I'm in the middle of attempting to write and attempting to dream and improving my card shop and eating lots of chocolate and heading to Allume... I received the same message repeatedly, like 3 times in a row. I can't say whether I ate these three DAYS in a row, or MAYBE all in the same day, but I kept getting the message... "Live your dreams."
So while I haven't quite figured it out, which dream to pursue first or how they all fit together, I know that I will keep working on it. I will spend moments on writing, and moments on housework and kids homework and other family activities, and moments on card making, and moments with friends and community and most important, moments with God as we work together to figure it out... step by step!
Community Conversation: What are your dreams? How are you living them?
Yes, I am working to share one promise every day. To see all my #31Days of Dove Promises head to this page and bookmark it, pin it, or just subscribe to my blog and we can enjoy a little bit of chocolate together every day this month.
and if you have lots of time to spare, check out all the #31Days topics at The Nester!
Hi,Julie! I wish I knew the answer to finding that balance. If you read my BTS post you'll see what I mean. I think it benefits our kids to see us walk out the plan God has for us, including crafting and blogging. I'm still figuring out how to do that, but I think anytime they see us act out of obedience it's got to be a good thing, right? I miss you already!
ReplyDeleteOh, friend...I love your heart. Dreams, though beautiful, can be confusing. For one thing, I feel like mine change daily and I have to keep myself grounded and focused on Him. Otherwise, my bags would be packed and we'd all be in the middle of somewhere crazy. Which is great...someday, but not right now. So thankful we have our Father to lean on, even if we're not sure exactly what's next. :) Love you, sister, and miss you already!
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