27th May 2019

I dare you

If you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up they will likely, and unashamedly, say exactly what they think. Without any worry of what others will say or how someone will react. From dancers to actors, children are dreamers at heart. It’s so obvious why Jesus uses them as great examples of faith. They see the best in themselves and they have the faith that whatever they want they can be. They tell their teachers, grandparents, friends and probably anyone who will listen, exactly what they’re going to do with their little, big lives. They have no fear, they’ve not made a list of excuses, they’ve not started talking themselves out of it, they are just going for it! In fact, they’re already staring in a movie or owning the stage somewhere in those big dreams of theirs.

Then something shifts. We get older, supposedly more wise, and somewhere along the way our dreams start to shrink. We start to worry more about what others think about us than what we believe of ourselves. Those big bold dreams that we used to so openly shout about get diminished, our confidence gets etched away and our aspirations become so small that we can’t remember what used to really stir our hearts. If we’re lucky enough to remember, we then talk ourselves out of why that just isn’t possible anymore.

dream again

But what if you were given the permission to dream again. To hide away and dig deep into what sets your soul on fire? Well friends, I dare you! That’s right, I dare you to take some time for yourself to dream. From little accomplishments to big achievements, from learning to cook a gourmet meal to impress your dinner guests to running a marathon. From climbing the mountain to starting that business once and for all. From starting a book club, to writing that book. Start small and then keep pushing yourself to imagine what could be. Some might say that they don’t have any dreams, they’re happy, they’re content. I would like to bet that even those people have something down deep that stirs them. Those dreams might just be so deeply buried that it will take some time and take some digging, go there.

 

We’ve recently challenged ourselves as a book club circle to each create a dream board. To consider what really makes us tick and then (gulp) to write it down, draw it out, print + paste, whatever the avenue, but to get it those dreams stirring and then (wait for it…) to share with each other. I know, sounds intimidating right? Even within our safe circle of friends we found this challenging, in fact, maybe even tougher to dream and then to share! But it happened and it was beautiful. One by one we shared passions, fears and dreams. Each of them so different, but equally so inspiring. We pushed ourselves out of our comfort zones and into a more beautiful circle of women encouraging women. We challenged each other to break those barriers that we’ve been building up for far too long, to see those dreams and then go for them! To cheer each other on! So with that challenge, I challenge you.

What are you dreaming? What would truly set your soul on fire? What excites your spirit and scares the living day lights out of you at the same time? Imagine if we each tapped into the God given potential that we were born with. How many lives would be touched and people changed?

 

I’m dying to know….so what is it!?