Author: madefordreaming

Joyce Meyer says “you’re not free if you’re living to please other people, and your’e not free if you’re constantly doing things you really don’t want to do, and your heart’s not in it”.

For so long I’ve lived like that. Feeding off the enjoyment, the buffet of people’s ready opinion, approval of how hard I worked. Being fueled by their respect, when in fact, I should only be following my heart, and what I think God has created me to do. But it is not easy. It is a button for me, that gets pushed, causing me anxiety when I think about letting someone down at work and with family too, but mostly with work.

I want to act in God’s liberty, and when I feel the anxiety come, to try to derail me, I am choosing to stand fast, and cling to God’s approval and leading.

I am always so fascinated by people’s inspiring stories of living life differently. Of taking the chance, stepping out into something their heart is in, instead of the regular, the norm. I think too many of us miss stepping out of the boat into the fire, to test our experience, or inexperience.

This morning I was reading Psalm 100, and it is easily one of my favourite chapters in the Bible. I want to commit it to memory.

“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all you lands (nations).
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.
Know you that the LORD He is God: it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves;
we are His people,
and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise:
be thankful to Him,
and BLESS His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting;
and His truth endures to all generations.”

“Know you that the LORD is God: it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves” Wow, that is so humbling, in the most encouraging way!! It makes me laugh, knowing we aren’t on our own. We aren’t in this alone. We don’t have to figure out ourselves or our purpose on our own. Because we are made. Created by our Creator. And He’s in charge, not us.

“We are His people” – this is our identity. For all of us who struggle with our identity, there it is.

“and the sheep of His pasture” – we are like sheep, which are followers of their shepherd. So we are in His care. And we are in His pasture. His domain. His kingdom. His world. We have a place in His world, in His rest. Pastures are a place of rest, of repose. We all crave a place of rest in our souls, of belonging, of nurturing. Of healing and peace. And it’s there, in His Words (the Bible). It is the beginning and it is the end of all, above all. It is the power and authority over all.

“..for the LORD is Good.” Truth. He is good. Even when the world says He isn’t, He surely is.

“His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures to all generations.” – Promise for our kid(s). He doesn’t go out of style.

So that’s it for this morning! Baby William has been having a record nap, but I think he’s up now, raring to go!

I think we’ll go out for some errands and maybe pick up a coffee (for me, not William)!

Happy Thursday everyone, hope your week is going well. I think we all feel like the week is almost over when we get this far. Yay for Fridays!

PS. This kid is always trying to get my phone!!!

Today has been an oddball day. Last night I had a whole list of things to accomplish in my schedule book. But started out really tired this morning (getting up in the night with a baby will do that), so when baby went down for a nap, I did to. Felt so much better after, and the cuppa tea sure helped too! That being said, I haven’t got very far on that list, doing random things here and there, trying to also spend quality time with little W., and it’s already early afternoon!Today I am mainly organizing. Going through my office space and finally filing paper where they should go in their respective folders! It’s been way over-due, and not so exciting, but necessary (as you can see in the picture below). I actually like organizing once I get started, so it’s not so bad. If I start! Ha! I’ve never been great at immediately dealing with paperwork as soon as it enters my home (when I worked outside the home in a law firm, I had a system, and was pretty good at it, but home is another story), and I’ve been thinking, I better hone this skill at home before W. is in school, because that will just be all kinds of crazy paper and projects that I’ll need to organize. Hard to imagine him in school.But today feels like a dreaming day, forever and away from real life! I was listening to a Joyce Meyer podcast, and she was saying that if someone isn’t happy, they need to first, change their attitude, but secondly have a big dream that they’re working towards, and that just rang true with me! As I’ve said before on my blog, the point of writing here, has been to stretch myself. Of dreaming bigger and wider than I’ve allowed myself to before, and to not let fear get in the way. Cuz we really all just have one life, ya know?!! One of my biggest dreams, and fears was of writing in a public space! I have actually dreamt of writing for over 10 years, and I’m a little embarrassed to admit it’s taken me this long, but better late than never. I’m so glad I started this blog. It’s so rewarding to look back at previous posts, and have a kind of documentary going on.Okay, just have to hit pause for a second and drink in my amazing coffeeee! Baby W. is down for another nap (all you mothers out there, code for TIME FOR ME!! Ha), so I have time to really enjoy it, undisturbed. And you know when you make a REALLY good cup of coffee, it just hits the spot, and is just that much more delicious! Which reminds me of a girl’s youtube channel I follow, called “Story of this Life”. She’s a mother of three, and she and her husband record all kinds of silly things that happen in the life of being parents. Oh man, it gets me laughing, and reminds me to lighten up a little more, and enjoy the small, every-day moments. But you seriously gotta check her channel out, it’s well worth it. My favourite one is the “1st Pregnancy vs. the REST”. Ha! I laugh just thinking about it. Makes my day. Here’s the link for it:https://youtu.be/5OXKMUsv_NMWell, my baby’s up, so I better go, but I’ll catch you all later. Hope you’re having a great Tuesday!

I’ve been thinking.  I don’t want to live the easy road if it’s the wrong way.  I think of the book, “Pilgrim’s Progress”, and how the man named, Christian had to make decisions along his way, trying to find his way to relieve the burden he was carrying on his back.  Such an appropriate analogy of the spiritual life we Christians live.  I have such a strong deep desire to do God’s will for my life, to do it right, to not mistake my plans or be so focused on my plans, that I think they are God’s plans and desires for my life when maybe they are not, to live without regrets.

In wanting to do God’s will, I know it won’t necessarily be easy.

I think of Mathew 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.”

The character, Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress faces a place where there are dangerous beasts on either side of a path that he needs to walk on, and the path is extremely narrow.  And he realizes that although the beasts on either side would certainly kill him if given the chance, they were on chains, and that if he stayed on the straight and narrow path, they could not reach him, and he would be safe.

I asked God today, what is that narrow road for me? And He said, keeping your mind clean.  That is the hard and narrow road.  That is the hard place to start.  Clean thinking.  About yourself, about God, about others.  Many people these days are thinking about clean eating.  And this is good.  But I think we all crave to feel better even deeper inside.  Clean thinking about ourselves and others and God.  Or in other words, Truth-thinking.  Thinking about Truth.  Pondering truth.  Telling Truth to ourselves.  The Truth about ourselves, and the Truth about others, and the Truth about God.  Then I believe we will be able to think clearly.  Then we can walk the path safely and THEN we can walk freely to our destinies, uninhibited by lies and obstacles.  So although I don’t know what my destiny is, what the rest of my life will look like, where I will go, what I will do, what I should do, or even want to do, I at least know that this is the place to start.

John 8:31-32 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

So that’s where I will start today.  I’ll focus on cleaning my mind with the water of the word.  Exchanging lies about myself, about others and about God for Truth that’s in the Word.  I’ll watch it clean me, renew my mind, body, soul and spirit, and affect how I see everything, and how I do everything.  I think often, God hasn’t shown me exactly what I’ll be doing in the future, but has opened a door and given me the desire to walk through that door one door at a time.  So we’ll see where the next door opens!

Being In Rest all the time.

This is possible!   I’m meditating on the verse in Colossians 2:10, which states, “… and you are complete in Him (Jesus Christ) which is the head of all principality (rule) and power”.

So really, … I CAN’T FAIL! 🙂  haha.  The joy and rest that has released in me is nothing short of A-MAZING!  No matter what I say, do, fail at, comprehend or not, all that’s true is this:  That I am so complete.  In Him.  Because God gave us His Son, Jesus, to create an avenue for me to walk down and be received.  I am understood, not misunderstood.  Am held, carried, and loved.

Because of God being my perfect Father…
I can be
I can do all things
I can laugh
and joy
and hope
and become.
I don’t have to have “arrived” already.  Just have to be willing to try at this life.  Even while I am yet failing, feeling insufficient, letting people down, seemingly coming up short, it’s okay, it’s really okay when I remember I’m made complete in Christ (through Jesus Christ coming on this earth, who took our sins/failings on His shoulders, and paid the price for them forever).

Just a short blog post of what’s going on with me today! 😀

Awesome awesome awesome! So proud of myself for getting out for my first ride of the season post-pregnancy. As you can see on my face, I am delighted (and I’m at the end of the ride, so I’m gleefully aware that there are no more hills to conquer). Ha!

I’m especially proud of myself because my motivation was to invest in my emotional well-being after being in the house all day with my baby. And I almost didn’t go, because I didn’t feel like it, and because my friend who was going to go with me had to cancel last minute.

Also super excited, because I was RIGHT!! I completely guessed at how long it would take me to do 20 km on the bike. I knew that back in the day, when I was running regularly, I could run 10 km in an hour, so I guestimated that I could probably do double on the bike, if I kept up a steady (but doable) pace. I told my husband, I would keep my eye on the time (I had an hour before sunset), so if I hit the half hour point before I got to 10 km, I’d turn around to make it back before the sun went down.

Checking my time, I was going to hit the half way point (10 km) at exactly the half hour point! So of course, I kept going, and even made it back before the hour was up, which is when I took these pictures 🙂 It was a beautiful evening to be out!

So now I know how long rides take me!! Ha you would’ve thought I’d know this already, from all the biking I did the last 2 years, but because of riding with friends, and the fact that they always made the routes (I was the most inexperienced of the riders), I was happily ignorant of time. Just grinning as I followed along, going with the flow and conversation.

I’m so grateful to God, for my body, and the ability to ride. So good to get out today. I’ve been dreaming about getting out, ever since having my baby. Craving to feel more like my old self, healthy and strong!

Next week, I’ve got another ride planned with a good friend of mine, so that will keep this as a priority! She has kindly offered to do a nice and easy ride with me. She’s got quite a few km’s under her belt already this season (she’ll go out for a 100 km ride no problem!) But has kindly offered to stick with me. I love my friends!!

Comment below if you’re a cyclist, or ever dreamed to be one!

Have you ever gone out for a ride on your own (or any other type of exercise) when you had no motivation whatsoever to do it? What got you out the door?

Is there a type of exercise you’ve always dreamed of trying?

Being a mother just has no comparison. I finally get it. My baby is now over 3 months old, and he is the light of my eyes. When I give him kisses, the rest of the world blurs into unimportance. I thank my God for this gift of joy! How can words express the fun in my heart?! Ha!!I struggled in the first months to relax, to enjoy the moments, but I was so worried of making mistakes, and worried about feeding him right, about having him sleep right, about having it figured out right that my shoulders would not drop. They carried all these worries high, and I could not clearly hear the love that God was daily breathing on me. I couldn’t hear it in my heart. But things are changing. Things are shifting.I can feel my heart breathing again. A sighing of relief! I’m allowing myself to be kind to myself. It was my birthday, so I felt that I could afford a bit of kindness, a bit of leniency so that I could stop to smell the roses. And now I’m hooked! God is opening a door, I’m sure if it. A door to dream again, to relax and enjoy the life He’s given me. To really be me.Thank You, my Almighty God, protector of my heart, Creator of my soul, Author of this real Love that I can feel! You have blown me away with it. With this sweet kiss, you have blown me away.

How do we give ourselves permission to “just be”? Especially when the panic sets in because we are not “accomplishing” anything “productive”?  By evidence of this very struggle, I believe it shows that we are in dire need of rest, of being reminded, we are but human, messy, out of control sometimes, but intrinsically valuable humans.  We are not machines, we are not work-horses, we are not robots, we have a heart, a soul, a life.  One life.  One life to live.  To do our best to live it fully.

And I would argue that we were created, and our Heavenly Father created us to be creative in our each individualistic ways.  Like an expression, like part of God’s DNA is in our very finger tips, and that when we create, it becomes a flowing-out of, who He is, as He is, in us.  His DNA becoming visible.  If we don’t express it, it stays hidden, a seed, that is not able to grow to its full potential.  I don’t know about you, but I want that FULL potential.  That whole expanse of opportunities, to truly be who we were meant to be.  Flourishing wild; the things in our hearts.

I think it’s beautiful that something not visible in us (an idea, a concept) can be made seen and shared with humankind.  Like how God created:  Hebrews 11:3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”.  How cool is that???!  I love that verse.

Another good one:  Colossians 1:16 “for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers:  all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

So when we create, we are participating, becoming part of God’s “creating”.  We get to dabble, to try.  A kind of mimicking, like children mimic their parents.

Pretty cool to be part of His creation.  It’s almost like a real sad tragedy if we don’t try our hand at this.  Like if the children of this world never tried to paint or write or speak our language because they were afraid of NOT DOING IT PERFECTLY.

So God… what kinds of Hopes and Desires do You want us to try?  Any ideas?

Readers, please comment below, your ideas, things you have WANTED to try, but hold yourself back because of the perfectionism clawing at you.  Please share, so we can encourage one another to go full steam ahead, and not let that nagging fear have the last word.

 

Dreaming.

That is what this blog is about.  Isn’t it wonderful, when we allow ourselves to look at the open expanse of this world, as a canvas to paint our dreams, and have the courage to try?  It is my goal to use this blog as a catapult to do just that.  Explore the dreams that I have held onto, yet not attempted, for far too long.  And I hope you will join me! So, as writing is one of these “dreams”… here is blog number one!

The first picture below, is one of those pictures that get my creative mind going.  The pictures are from a hike my husband and I took, which was absolutely gorgeous.  We had such a fun afternoon exploring the trail.   It was incredibly beautiful, although a little windy, and my head hurt a little after a while because I am currently fighting a stupid cold.  It was worth it though.  Well worth it.  We took many pictures, but here are just a few.  I hope these inspire you too, and I hope you enjoy your Saturday, and the rest of your weekend.  I’m hoping we can enjoy a few more before the snow starts rolling in….

This picture below, is my new tree friend.  As soon as I laid my eyes on him, I was transported to those Dr. Suess books that I love oh so much!  I will go back and visit him someday, and see how he is doing.  Such a cool tree.

 

I love the below picture as well…. so magical!  Makes me wonder why we don’t go on hikes every single day!

 

…. as you can see, even my husband has his hoodie up… it was a pretty good wind out there, but again, so worth it.