Dreamer.

If you know me - I mean really KNOW me - you know that I'm a dreamer.

Tonight I got to listen to a speaker who is very near and dear to my heart. His name is Josh Riebock. Heard of him? Well, you're about to!

Tonight Josh talked about dreams. About being a dreamer. There couldn't have been a better message for me to hear tonight. I have so many dreams! BIG ONES! And the words flowing out of him were so real. So raw. So passionate. Powerful.

One of the things he said tonight was something I have learned over the past year. That when you share your dream with another person, you are giving them the power to kill it. If they laugh at it, or mock it, or say it'll never happen. It sucks! It hurts! You see, dreams are a part of who we are. They are like our children. And as I learned so quickly, sharing my dreams with others wasn't easy. But if you don't share your dream with someone, you're killing it before it even has a chance.

Everyone has their own dreams for a reason. And no one dream is any better than another. They're ALL special. One person's dream to be a doctor is no better than another's dream to be a teacher. They're both dreams. They're both special. They're both beautiful. And they're both perfectly fit for the individual whose dream it is. If your dream is to be a teacher, and other's make you feel inferior because their dream is to be a doctor, DON'T LISTEN TO THAT. You would be stooping if you then changed your mind and decided to become a doctor. Stooping? Yes. Stooping. You're stooping down to be something you aren't. To be someone you are not meant to be.

But I'm a person who really thinks about my dreams. I mean really really thinks about them. As Josh pointed out tonight, dreams aren't born in the clouds, whims are; dreams are born in the mud.

I love that. I know from experience that I am changed more by my failures than my successes. That when things are hard and life gets rough, THAT is when dreams are born. You dream of something greater.

What do I dream of? Not WHAT I'll DO. But WHO I'll BE.

I don't care about the things I accomplish or the great things I do. I care about who I become. And who I am will be shown through my actions.

I know that my dreams come from above. The Lord lays something on my heart and I so desperately want to serve Him with my life. Dreams of medical missions in Africa, donating a kidney, figuring out a water purification system for countries in need of clean water, and so many others that I have come from Him. And I know this full well.

So often when I share my dreams, people look at me like I'm crazy. Like I'm a little kid believing that one day I'll change the world. They look at me like I'm dumb and naive to think that I can make a difference. But let me tell you something, my dreams come from above. And I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength. If He puts it on my heart, and I am willing to be His servant and to be His hands and feet, nothing is impossible.

So the next time someone tells you a dream of theirs, don't roll your eyes at them and brush it aside thinking it'll never happen. Don't kill someone's dream. Anything is possible and all of us have specific dreams for a reason.

Don't give up on your dreams! Don't let them die! Believe in yourself and believe in the One above.

As Josh Riebock says, there is a hero and a monster inside all of us. Don't let the monster kill your dreams. Let the Lord bring the hero out in you. And TOGETHER we CAN make a difference.

XOXO