Eight years ago I had a dream to start a conference. For some of you that sounds like a nightmare. For me, it was the place big dreams and deep friendships were born. One of those dreams was to create a gathering for dreamers and doers who feel overwhelmed and stuck to find community and clarity. As I began to carry this dream, I also began to wrestle with what it looked like to be a good steward of the dreams and ideas God had given me—the key word there being wrestle. It has been quite the journey of learning how to dream and do well.
Dream Big, Pray Bigger
The moment the Lord begins to form a dream in you, a fire for change, a burden for justice, or a creative idea, begin to pray. Dream big and with boldness. We serve the God of the impossible, so dream as though you believe He is the God of the impossible. But it’s the posture with which we pray that is important. A posture of surrender. When I took my dream to the Lord all those years ago, He asked me to put it on the shelf but to not stop praying. He had a lot of work to do in and around me in the years to come. I learned to pray with a posture of open hands and open fingers so that what is not of the Lord will sift through.
Lean into Comparison
I think we have this whole comparison thing wrong. I used to be so caught up in what other people were doing—their gifts, their resources, and their opportunities—that I would become paralyzed. Those were not my proudest moments. Not too long ago, I looked up the definition of comparison: “to establish similarities and dissimilarities between two things.” This is not a negative definition, but very neutral in nature. I would argue it’s our own insecurities and lack of confidence in how God made us that has made comparison a negative thing.
Once we take a biblical approach to comparison (1 Corinthians 12:14-27 and Ephesians 4:11-13), we are freed up to walk confidently in our gifts and our assignments. If we stay busy being committed to what God has for us, we won’t have time or energy to be concerned with what he has for someone else.
Find Your Dream Defenders
This work of being a good steward takes time and community, so find the people whom you can process and pray with. The people who will remind you of the things that fire you up and will remind you of your why. The people who will call out your gifts and your unique wiring but remind you to stay humble and surrendered. Find a dream defender and be a dream defender.
Go Ugly Early
How often do you find yourself waiting until the timing is just right, the resources are abundant, the affirmation from others is a 100% go, or the execution is perfect before taking that first step towards your dream? Waiting on the Lord for clarity is good, but there comes a moment where we have to trust Him and go. There will always be adjustments, mistakes, and course changes that are unavoidable, so don’t be held back by fear of those things. I have wondered lately if anything really is that risky if we are in God’s Word, in prayer, and in community.
Be Aware of Predictable Insecurity
I would love to say at this stage of being a dreamer that insecurity is no longer a thing. Are the moments fewer and farther between? YES!!!! But this right here is why all of those other things I first mention are so important—because this will be the thing that will threaten to derail you every time. Be aware and be armed! Just when you have gained some confidence to step into the assignment God has laid out for you, the vulnerability it takes to get there can leave you open for insecurity to sneak in. I still have to fight it sometimes, but I also know I never want to be so confident that I don’t continue to sharpen my gifts, grow as a leader, always be a student, handle God’s Word with care, and always, always need Jesus.
Choose Obedience Over Outcome
Back to that crazy conference dream. The obedient thing was to put it on the shelf and keep praying. I didn’t know what the outcome would be or if I would ever be able to take it back off the shelf. I look back now at the years following that moment of surrendering my dream, and they were just as I mentioned: years of wrestling. Wrestling with comparison, identity, risk, community, fear, calling—every one of the things that the community of dreamers and doers I was longing to gather was facing. God knew He wanted to teach me, stretch me, and strengthen me so I could minister from a place of understanding. He kindly drove the roots of that dream down so deep into my soul that when it was time to take it off the shelf I didn’t second guess when it looked different than when I surrendered it. It was a slightly different demographic, a much smaller gathering, and a much bigger need than I ever anticipated or was even prepared for if it had come earlier. God’s timing was perfect.
And just because we are obedient doesn’t ensure our dreams will succeed—at least according to our idea of success. Our obedience is what God wants from us out of our love and devotion. The outcome is up to Him to use for our good and His glory.
Now what do I do with this dream?
Every personality test I have taken has confirmed over and over that I am a futurist and a visionary, so dreaming for me comes easy. (I have enough dreams for the both of us—trust me!) But I am also Type B and a 7 on the Enneagram which has made my relationship with goal setting a little more love-hate than I would like to admit.
Some of you are reading this and saying Yes, I know exactly what you mean! Others of you are saying, I LOVE goal setting. I even bought new pens for my new dreams. Let’s do this.
In the midst of my love-hate relationship with goal setting, I desperately wanted to be a good steward of the dreams God had given me. So a few years ago I came up with a tool that helps me not just refocus on what is ahead but also reflect on what the Lord has done in the last year. Whether you are a Type A with your colored pens, a Type B with your many post it notes, or somewhere in between, these Reflect and Refocus Worksheets I have created are simple and easy to do with your family, friends, or even by yourself.
Not all dreams need to be BIG. The best and most important dreams can be for those people right under our nose, next door, or in our church. Dream this year about how you can be intentional and missional with how you love and lead. To them, that is BIG.
Jenn is a dream defender and freedom fighter. When she is not running her graphic, web + product design business, she is encouraging women through her community, The Well Studio – a place where dreamers and doers who are weary and overwhelmed can come and be reminded of who God called them to be and walk confidently in the work He has prepared in advance for them. Her BIG dream for the last few years has been Camp Well – a four-day soul care retreat for dreamers and doers in the mountains. (Think summer camp for adults!) Her faith has been tested time and again and proves the incredible power of the resurrection and the freedom that comes through it. Her heart is that we would all claim the same power and freedom available to us.
