When this year started I chose a word to reflect what I hoped the year would hold for me.
The word for me was FOCUS.
I usually have too many ideas in my head about my business, home, children, friends etc.
I find it really hard to focus sometimes and accomplish the things that are most important.
I am easily distracted and can waste time.
After I chose that word I prayed that the Lord would help me focus from the moment I woke up.
To help me focus on the things in my life that mattered the most.
The things that truly needed my attention.
That focus even applied to my creativity.
Sometimes I can have so many ideas in my head that it can feel overwhelming.
When I feel overwhelmed over all the things I can not possibly create as a mother of three I can end up not doing anything.
Isn't that ridiculous?
My prayer was to help me focus on SOMETHING….just sit down and BEGIN!
Sometimes we have our hearts and heads so full that we do not know where to begin.
When I did the Letting Go piece it was really about so many things.
The biggest thing it was about was giving my dreams to the Lord.
Letting Go.
Believing that HIS plans for me are so much bigger and better than ANYTHING I could EVER imagine.
I don't know where these dreams of mine will go.
What I do know is that I don't want any of them if they are not what I was made to do.
I was born with a purpose…many of them.
So are you!
When I give my dreams to the Lord I am saying…Take them.
Whatever happens.
I trust you (that has been a hard one for me).
I know that you hear my heart, you love me, you gave me these gifts.
What I am really wanting to end this series with is that you need to lay your dreams down.
Give them back to the one who made you and blessed you with every talent in you.
The dreams, aspirations, goals in your heart are NOTHING compared to the ones the Lord has for you!
The truth is that your dreams could turn out looking very different than the ones you are imagining.
What I can promise is that they will be BETTER if you give them to the Lord.
I don't want dreams created in my heart….I want dreams created for me in the heart of God.
So…now you begin.
Are you going to trust the Lord enough to say, "Take my dreams…I trust you. I trust that what you will put in my heart will be so much better than anything I could have imagined."
Yet again a beautiful and inspiring post. My husband and I are dreamers and have to do this daily, infact we were talking about it the other morning @ 2 am. It is so hard to let go of OUR aspirations and ask the Lord to lead us in the way that is best. 😉
Thanks for a wonderful start to the morning. I pray your day is blessed.
Molly
You are truly a blessing from God. You have such a way with words…I know to trust the Lord but you say it and it makes more sense then ever before. Hugs, Amy
Your faith is encouraging and beautiful! Stay focused!!! oxox
I needed this Jeanne. Hmmmm are they my dreams or is it God’s path for me? I’m letting it all go!
beautiful jeanne. thank you so much for doing this series and shedding light on our dreams and Gods plans. maybe the same, maybe not. we’ll see. xo!
Absolutely so true and beautifully said. I’m going through some of the exact same things! I have massive focusing issues. I so wish I had my act together. Thanks so much for another great post!
~Rebecca
You are such an inspiration. Really. Yet another beautifully written post and so very true. Thank you, Theresa
Jeanne~ this is really good. I love your heart! I know that your deep desire is to use all of your talents as a mom, wife, artist for the Lord. He will bless you in so many ways as you lay it down at His feet and trust him that his dreams for you out do your wildest imagination! He takes our dreams and runs with them. beautiful heartfelt post. I love you.
Jeanne, I know what you mean EXACTLY. From your first few sentences in this post, I was nodding my head -right! right! Some times all the dreams and ideas are overwhelming and I do NOTHING because I can’t decide what is most important. (Actually I usually do laundry because that is always wanting with 4 children.) I will ask God to help me focus and see where he leads me. Thank you.
Oh my gosh, I have goosebumps the size of Everest, and want to cry my eyes out.(In a good way!)
Going to have to reread this tonight at home and really reflect… this is beautiful!
Mikal
Such beautiful words and so wisely spoken. I think you are realizing the dreams God has in store for you even when you don’t know it. By simply trusting in Him as you mentioned you open yourself up to His will to be done and not yours. That’s when you truly succeed
Simply beautiful..may you be blessed! your friend, Stephanie
Beautifully written Jeanne. Hope all is well! Susan
jeanne,
I’ve always believed in many things God puts dreams in our heart so we’ll ask for them…so he can make them come true. But he can’t really get involved until we step out of the way.
🙂 Dream big, my friend. The world is yours!
It occurred to me today that for all those years we lived right by each other and never realized how very much we have in common. What a shame, huh? Maybe I should move to Colorado! lol
Such truth! Such beauty!
I love this, Jeanne.
And your title will now have me singing “Lay it Down” all the livelong day, by Nichole Nordeman. Do you know this song? If not, you should find it online. That entire album is the album of my life. I think you’d dig it.
Ok, so this was meant for me.
I have been having SUCH a hard time with creative FOCUS.
I’m all over the place with this hole in my heart that wants to be filled with EVERYTHING.I.SEE & AM.INSPIRED.BY. That’s A LOT of stuff!!
Im writing down your very last prayer, putting it on a post it, and sticking it to my heart right now.
….thank you…so much!
thank you! what a beautiful post. this one and the ‘perspective changes everything’ post really spoke to me. i don’t want you to think i am a crazy person, but i have been battling with some of these same issues and i asked God to help me. He sent me here. so thank you. have a wonderful day!
Oh I can so relate, dealing with infertility for 2 years has made me realize that God has so much more in mind for me than dwelling on what I can’t have, or don’t have right now. He is telling me to wait… and for the longest time I said I don’t want to! But He has humbled me and been patient and graceful!
Love this post, thanks for sharing!
Stephanie
http://www.thegimlinfamily.blogspot.com
Thank you Jeanne for letting us into your world and writing such eloquent posts.
I am on a very familiar pursuit. Slowly working at it. Trying to be present in whatever I am doing, trying to be grateful even when I am doing something that I really dislike, trying to stay with the flow of my life instead of working against it, trying to be happy about the things I have done instead of what I have not , trying to focus in on harmonizing my life with what truly is important, trying to make a life instead of making a living and running towards my dreams instead of towards my fears. I am trying and slowly changing how I think. This has been key to realizing my spirituality and opening up this path in my life. My plan is to continue to try, to let go & to trust.
I leave you with a wonderful quote I found a few weeks ago. It’s a long one but well worth the read … a few times.
There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique and if you block it, it will never exist through any medium and will be lost …. the world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how it compares with other expressions … it is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. – Martha Graham
All, my best! Stacey
Beautiful Post. I can relate. It is very hard to let go. I have a tendency to let go and then take it back…as if I can fool God. Why do we do that?!
What a wonderful post! I am currently studying the Fruit of the Spirit and this week is about peace – next week about patience… I’m finding that these two portions of the fruit are so closely related to my dreams and what I want for myself… I have to give it to God! I’m particularly liking this verse right now:
Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Life-giving truths beautifully expressed. Thank you for this wonderful post; your heart blesses and encourages me.
Nicely written –
I do trust!
What a wonderful blessing it is to read your blog and today’s post. Thank you so much for the truths that you express in words that I cannot.
God bless you!
Deb
That is one of the most beautiful pieces written…today was a good day for that for me…thank you:)
I love that you share your thoughts and inspire others…truly wonderful Jeanne…you made my heart smile…but also remember the hardest thing for me to let go
Inspiring, beautiful words…yet again:)
Thank you so much for this series. I have greatly enjoyed it. I need to go back through it now and really digest it.
Many blessings to you. (Oh, and you are most definitely NOT the only one who needs to work on focusing. 😉
I’ve been praying that for awhile now. I just want to continue to lay down my dreams and give them to the Lord. I know whatever His plans are — they are so much better than mine 🙂 I’ve loved each one of your post on dreams!
Beautiful- I love the content of this post.
love those butterflies! and so true, jeanne!
“Give [dreams and abilities] back to the one who made you and blessed you with every talent in you.
The dreams, aspirations, goals in your heart are NOTHING compared to the ones the Lord has for you!”
so encouraging to read. thanks, jeanne, for sharing!
A very well written and relatable post shown through all the comments. It is so easy in this fast paced “busy” world in which we live to lose focus but sometimes just a simple reminder is all we need to get back on track…Thank you for this!
Thanks again for a great entry 🙂 Maybe it is just my pregnancy hormones, but I found myself tearing up reading it! You are great with words…
Anoher powerful post, thank you! I needed to hear these words!
My word for the year was “focus” too! I blogged about it here: http://plainjane21.blogspot.com/2010/01/one-word.html
I totally understand what you meant about being overwhelmed with what you CAN’T do and having to refocus yourself.
This was a beautiful post. Thanks!
Well said! Are you listening to my thoughts? 🙂
I am so happy beacause I just found the most beautiful blog and I only read for a bit. Thanks,
Londen
I have really enjoyed your dream series. Today’s post was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for your beautiful blog and your words of wisdom and encouragement.
Thank you. What beautiful words. I have been struggling with this lately… trying to figure out where to begin. With two little girls and a husband that travels for a living, I can sometimes feel overwhelmed. I am constantly reminding myself that it is not in my hands, it is in HIS hands. My faith has carried me through some of the most difficult and yet most beautiful times in my life. It is through that sadness, that I have learned what true happiness is. It is trusting our Lord with all of it.. the good, the bad and the ugly.
Blessings to you!
Jeanne…
It’s never a surprise when I look in on your blog, it is full of words to live by. As I told you in a past blog I was moved by your art and I guess this is because I could see myself in you and your creative style. I am still working here and there on my hands and bird that will be held by my daughters hand…she is 16 now and Has grown up with God and his wonderful little creatures. You inspired me to do this for my daughter to hold close to her heart for years to come. I will be using different materials and of course an inspired word that means something to my daughter… she is enamored with the birds she once told me when she was 3 1/2 that they belonged to her, I now know what she means…The things we feel in our HEARTS always belong to us.
I am trying to make time to get it going and I have the art frame I plan to place it in, when it is completed I will blog about it and my inspiration from you. I guess I too have many dreams running in my head, keeping me inspired with the next project to start or finish for that matter, that’s what dreams are all about and thanking GOd for life.
Dore
What an amazing post (once again) you have such a big warm heart and I am grateful to be able to share it. This post and your others on dreams has helped me make a choice and talk to my family about it, thank you for the encouragement, always! much love, Tara
Beautiful post! So glad I came across your site! Will for sure be back! xoxo
God’s timing and will are perfect. If we hang onto this, we will look at things in a different light…HIS!
God bless you…i feel like u can put into words, what the rest of us are truly thinking.
This is wonderful Jeanne! Something that is so hard but so necessary. Letting go is something that I REALLY need to work on. I tend to be a dweller and that really gets me no where. Thanks for the reminder:)
I am always blessed to find another sister-in-Christ and I have found one right here! Thank you for being bold and speaking about our Lord. You are so right – we must die to self and be reborn – and it will be so much better than before. Your art is wonderful and no doubt you have been inspired by the Spirit – PTL!
Blessings,
Lisa
So true, and God will not be out-done in generosity. He will give back ten-fold. thanks for the post. come for a visit.
karen
There has never been a truer post than this one for me. I have all these things swirling around in my head and seem to get nothing done. I try to blame my kids, the cold weather and whatever else I can come up with. I pray a lot, but have never prayed about my creativity… guess I’ll try that. Thanks for a lovely post~
Thank you Jeanne! Thank you for taking the time to be such an encourager to us all and to share with us your heart and what you’ve learned. God has gifted you with writing along with all the other many talents you have.
Over the past few weeks, God has reconfirmed in me to give my dreams to Him. It has made such a big difference in my focus and actually he’s given me courage to do a few things I wouldn’t have tried before.
I really enjoy your postings and also your photography blog. You are such a great encourager and motivator.
Thank you Jeanne!
Lee Ann
Thank you, Jeanne!
God bless you,
: )
Julie M.
I so needed to read this post. You are one wise woman! I have been struggling with my dreams lately. You could not have said it more perfect. I need to lay my dreams at the foot of Jesus. Thanks so much for the reminder. Hugs to you!
Encouraging and so perfectly written! I relate to this post 100%… my dreams have changed as God moves around my life in ways I would not have otherwise planned it.. =)
Just Jenn~
There is something wonderful that happens in callage.
This touched me in a tender spot.
thank you.