Rest

It's the last working day of the week; Friday. There is nothing I want better than to rest in the arms of my everlasting father. To just allow myself be still...

Thankful Thursday - Rest

Today, Iris who hosts the TT meme at Sting My Heart picked 'Rest' as her theme for this week's TT. And it's so apt. This week has been quite rough for me and I do have a lot to be thankful for.

• I have had three attacks of wheezing and breathlessness since November, 2007. I could not understand just what the problem was. Well, this week I was diagnosed with asthma, it is a fresh occurrence. I am thankful that I finally know what was causing the attacks. I am also grateful to God for the prayers and encouragement of friends.



• I have been able to rest in the arms of my father. I am thankful that I can relax and know that God is in control of my life and my health.



• I run a monthly ezine. Compiling it and sending it out each month is a lot of work and is especially challenging. I learn so much from the process. The theme for the next issue is Achieving Your Dreams. One thing I learnt is that God has a plan for each and everyone of us and it should be my life's dream to achieve that plan. I am so thankful for that reassurance. I know I can rest in the knowledge that God's thoughts for me are of good to bring me to an expected end.
  
  

How To Achieve Your Dream

I promised I'll write a brief post on achieving one's dreams; and I finally did. I would have done so sooner but my weekend was really busy.

I went on a 10-hour road trip (we describe distance by time here in Nigeria), got to be Chief Bridesmaid to my best friend No.2 (I'll soon share the pictures) and travelled back in order to be at work on time. Hectic!


Oh well, it was fun. So, here's the post.

Is there really any fail-proof model or are there any specific steps you can employ to achieving your dreams? Specialists and self-help gurus have come up with various and often contradicting plans and procedures. But do they really work?

I have discovered that as diverse as most folks are, in the same way, their motives differ and what catapults those motives into action, also differ.

However, certain things are basic to every man; the craving for love, the need for peer or self validation, the unrelenting desire to achieve are just a few. How can one channel these desires (dreams) into reality?

The following steps have worked for me and for most people whom I have asked. Other terminology might be used but the essence is still the same.

1. Define the Dream
2. Set Goals
3. Pray
4. Re-define your Goals
5. Seek Accountability
6. Go Achieve Your Dream!

I've explained each of the six points listed above; it will be in the May issue of my ezine so use the sign up box on the right!

40 Days of Focus

I just joined Carrie, the barefoot executive at http://www.carriewilkerson.com/. I have committed to some serious focusing the next forty days.

I have four major things I want to focus on and I'll list them here:

1. Losing 5kg (I'll have one major meal, drink water and eat lots of fruit & vegetables for the next 40 days - God help me!)


2. I will keep in touch every week with my family.


3. I will read at least one chapter of the Bible every day for the next 40 days.


4. 2 new paying clients for my newsletter business.

There! I'm listing them here so that I can be accountable.

Check out Carrie's blog and drop a comment if you are interested in being a part of this. There is power in focusing on a thing (well, a few things) at a time!

It's OK to dream

I seem to be going on and on about dreams this week. I guess it is my 'Dream Week'. The truth is dreaming is a gift. Or rather, dreaming the right way. Sure, there is a right way to dream.

This is daring to dream even while working towards that dream. There are two terrible extremes: The first is the inability to dream; the second is the ability to do nothing else.

I envy kids a lot. A kid dreams of flying, he'll go climb a tree. She dreams of being a princess, she pesters her mum for a tiara - or makes a paper crown.

There needs to be a balance between just dreaming and at least an attempt to realise that dream. Achieving that balance is the challenge.

If you come back to this blog next week, I'll post something on realising your dreams.

KEEP YOUR DREAM ALIVE!

(11) By Fenny West

Gen.37:9Hello friend, keep your dream alive!

An abundant life, aim to live;

Live a life of significance.

My pal, live a life of substance.

Do you know that you are different?

So refuse to be indifferent.

Leave behind a mark indelible.

With God all things are possible.

Know for sure that God is for you;

So no one can be against you.

Therefore let your dream be so big;

Because your God is very big.

Be wise,seek not His Hand,but His Face,

And you will go from grace to grace.

In His secret place always dwell,

To run your race and finish well.

Run to finish and finish well.

In His secret place always dwell.

Seek not His hand but His face;

And you will go from grace to grace.

Go from strength to strength,heigth to heigth,

And in the power of His might.

Time to fight the good fight of faith,

Not a time for fright or flight.

Banish every fear and be bold;

Shake off the mould and go for gold;

So to go from glory to glory;

As God seeks to change your story.

www.inspiration4generations.com
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com http://www.faithwriters.com">CHRISTIAN WRITERS

Broken Dreams

by Deanna Blanchard

Life just hasn’t gone the way I planned it to.

As a child, I dreamed of marriage, children and houses with white picket fences. I had no career in mind, because all I wanted to be was a wife and mother.

Today, I’m 43 years old and never married. And there isn’t a man in sight.
What do you do when your dreams don’t come true?
I don’t know about you, but I get depressed and eat chocolate. Lots of it.

And my singleness wasn’t the only thing that depressed me. I had a stalled career, financial struggles, and dysfunctional family members to deal with. It seemed like every dream I ever had for my life was stomped on and crushed beyond recognition. I was carrying all these broken dreams inside of me – and it hurt.

So I did what any good Christian girl would do. I prayed about it. The answer seemed a long time coming. And then one day, something broke through the dark cloud hanging over me.

It was a song by Aaron Shust that I had heard many times before. The lyrics went …
“All of my plans, all of my dreams, I lay them down before your feet …”

It caught my attention. He laid his dreams down at the feet of Jesus. Maybe that was what I needed to do.

In my mind’s eye, I could see myself carrying around a huge bag. It was labeled “Broken Dreams” and – judging from the sharp bulges – it was full. The jagged edges of the broken dreams cut through the bag, making it difficult and painful to carry.

I knew I should lay it down before Jesus – just like the song said. But something held me back. What could Jesus do with broken dreams? They were useless.

And what about me? Aren’t broken dreams better than no dreams at all? Wouldn’t I have a huge void inside if I give them up?

As strange as this may sound, it was a bit of a struggle to lay those dreams down before Jesus in prayer. But I felt lighter once I did it, like I had rid myself of a great burden.

I’m praying that Jesus replace those broken dreams with his own dreams for my life. I’m still waiting for an answer, but I feel at peace with my decision to let the broken dreams go.

How about you? Are you carrying around a bag of broken dreams? Jesus doesn’t want you to bear that burden. Just lay them down before him, and you’ll be surprised at how free you feel.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) NASB

Deanna Blanchard is a direct response copywriter at Response Ink. She is a freelance writer in her spare time.

Article Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com