“Where there is no vision, the people perish…” Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

Everyday this week while driving to work and back, I’ve been listening to a Joyce Meyer teaching on dreams and pursuing the projects both huge and tiny that God has called you to.  The teaching is so jam-packed full of wisdom that I plan to listen to it again during my commutes this week.  Near the beginning, Joyce says we are not meant to remain stagnant–static–in our lives, but we were created to always be growing, changing, moving onto the next thing, reaching for the next goal, pursuing the hope and vision for the future that God has put within us.  YES!–we were made for more than the drudgery of daily existence.

When God has planted a dream, a hope for the future, in your heart, pursuing it will become your joy.  It will become necessary to you.  “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12 (New Living Translation)  Whether your dream is to start a business, publish a book, become a parent, grow your ministry, run a marathon, move onto the mission field, etc. the pursuit–and eventual fulfillment–of that goal will be a tree of life to your soul.

So, what if you don’t know what your dream is?  I feel like I sleepwalked through most of my twenties, with no vision or goal in mind.  It’s like when you drive a route you’re super familiar with so you’re on auto-pilot, and when you arrive at your destination you kind of wonder “wow, how did I even get here?”  I woke up and I was 29.  I realized that for seven years, since graduating college and getting married, all I’d done was exist–work, eat, watch tv, go to church, occasionally travel. BLAH.  I was over it.  I wanted more.  But what?

I did some praying and seeking.  I broke my routine; instead of spending hours upon hours watching tv like I’d always done, I began to spend more time reading.  I started running.  I spent more time pursuing the things that bring me pleasure, like photography (ahhh so much to learn!), cooking, writing, and creating things.  I filled my house with mason jars and teapots full of flowers because they’re pretty and make me happy.  I let worship music echo throughout my house as I wrote and created crafty things.  To get a new dream, you have to shake things up a bit.  Break your routine.  Let yourself be inspired again.  If you have always loved to draw, but haven’t done much of it the past several years, then draw!  If you used to like taking photos, get the camera out.  If you like to write, to cook, to make things, then dedicate some time to pursuing those things and grow your skills.  If you love building relationships and taking care of people, start inviting people over for meals.  Befriend lonely people and hang out with them.  Mentor a kid.  Find out what you love to do, and become the best you can be at that thing.  You were created to enjoy the things you enjoy, to be good at the things you’re good at, for a purpose.  God can use any skill, any hobby, anything that delights your heart, and birth it into a dream that will shape your future–and the future of others, as well.

Let go of the past–of failures, disappointments, of the BLAH–and shake things up.

What dream has God put inside you that will change everything?

“Do not remember the things that have happened before. Do not think about the things of the past.  See, I will do a new thing. It will begin happening now.”  Proverbs 43:18-19 (New Life Version)

“I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day…little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.”

As we prepare to build our family, which will be all colors–black, white, and shades in between–Martin Luther King Jr.’s words, spoken 50 years ago today, are especially sweet to my soul.  

Let Freedom Ring, indeed.

I love glasses.  I wanted glasses long before I needed them, and finding out 5 years ago that I actually needed them was super exciting.  Contacts dry my eyes out miserably; I wear glasses everyday, and I want some new ones so I can switch them out occasionally.  I’ve been hearing more and more about “purchasing with purpose” and spending money with companies that are making a difference.  Warby Parker is a company that gives away one pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair purchased; as if this isn’t reason enough to buy my next pair of specs from Warby Parker, they will also send you up to 5 pairs of glasses to try on in your home (free!) for up to 5 days.  Um, yes please!!

I was being dumb and impatient, so I requested my 5 try-on pairs of glasses for the week when I was going to be in San Diego (can we talk about how amazing that city is?!) for work for 2 days. 2 of my 5 try-on days.  Blah.  When I got home from my trip, I wore the glasses around the house and obsessed for the days I had left.  I also did a super awkward photo shoot with the glasses, courtesy of my husband.  Because you guys needed to be able to see the glasses and therefore my face, I didn’t know whether to actually stare straight into the camera or look casually to the side.  Enjoy the awkwardness.  I’m still trying to decide which pair I should order.

These are the Wiloughby–I love the shape, but I think they may be a bit too heavy for my face.

Bensen–also super cute, but maybe a little too big for me?

Reynold–I think these are too wide for my face.

Baxter–these are cute, but they’re dark blue and I’m not sure how I feel about that.

Pierce–the winners?!

As I’ve mentioned, I’m trying to learn how to use my DSLR camera, which requires taking a lot of photos.  The day we went to Central Market for the hatch chile festival, I decided I’d already annoyed most of the people in the store by clogging up traffic in the aisles and getting in everyone’s way, so I might as well keep going.

This morning, when Aqualung started blaring from my alarm clock at 4:58 a.m. (technically 4:53, since my clocks are always set 5 minutes fast), I hit my trusty snooze button, but nothing happened, and it just kept getting louder. (Much to Jon’s annoyance–he doesn’t have to get up until 7:30.)  I always allow myself one snooze, and then I do my “zombie sit” (as Jon calls it) for anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, depending on how tired I am.  The zombie sit is exactly what it sounds like: I sit up in bed, motionless, with my eyes half open and try to accept that, yes, this is my life.  I really do have to be sitting in a cubicle across town in approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

So, anyway, I was so tired this morning that the death of my snooze button didn’t phase me.  I simply woke up enough to turn my alarm off, reset it for 10 minutes later, and collapsed back into bed.  While I was doing my zombie sit, I had a thought: “YOU HAVE GOT TO GET IT TOGETHER.”

Jon has calmly told me many times, usually while watching me run around like a crazy person yelling “THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH TIIIMMMEEEE” (and sometimes weeping), “you do not manage time well.”  I used to find this offensive.  I am organized, I am a control freak, I am a neat freak (except at work…?), of course I manage my time well.  Um, maybe no.

I don’t think someone who manages her time well rolls out of the house–late–every morning with wet hair, no makeup, and half the groceries in her fridge thrown into her work bag because who has the time to make an actual lunch.  The other day I tossed in a can of tuna, a package of arugula, and a whole cucumber.  Desperate times, people.

wet hair, no makeup, zombie look still lingering

So what’s a control freak to do?  It’s time to get organized.  There are 3 things in my life that need to be bumped up to the top of the priority list:

• SLEEP
• community (relationships with friends and family)
• exercise

I spent a little time this evening watching Amy Lynn’s video (this woman is a genius) on using your Google calendar to organize everything in your life. Seriously everything.  She even has her sleep hours blocked off.  I’m going to create a Google calendar and give this hyper-scheduling thing a try.  I think I need it, at least for a little while.  I’ll let you know how it turns out; hopefully there are less zombie sits in my future.

How do you keep from becoming completely exhausted and overwhelmed by all there is to do?  Or, are you still trying to figure out how to come up for air?  Let’s talk about it!