WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.020 Hi, my friends, welcome to Launch Your Big Dream four-week course. 2 00:00:05.020 --> 00:00:11.240 I'm Jennifer Miller, and I am so excited to journey with you as we clarify our God dreams 3 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:14.000 and learn to courageously take action. 4 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:19.620 Okay, so I just kind of hinted at these points here, but week one, we are going to clarify 5 00:00:19.620 --> 00:00:20.960 our dream. 6 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.880 Week two, we're going to conquer limitations. 7 00:00:23.880 --> 00:00:27.720 And week three, we're going to choose the strategic path. 8 00:00:27.720 --> 00:00:32.920 And then week four, we're going to courageously take action. 9 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:37.600 So let's jump into week one to clarify your dream. 10 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:43.840 Jeremiah 2911 says, for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper 11 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:47.940 you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 00:00:47.940 --> 00:00:49.520 This is one of my life verses. 13 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.280 I love Jeremiah 2911. 14 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:56.720 And what's interesting about this verse is Jesus gave it to the Israelites at a time 15 00:00:56.720 --> 00:00:58.140 of captivity. 16 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:02.780 It wasn't an easy journey for them in that current season of life, and He was giving 17 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:03.940 them hope. 18 00:01:03.940 --> 00:01:06.320 And that's so often what our dreams do. 19 00:01:06.320 --> 00:01:11.360 They make us hope in God, hope in a bright future, hope that no matter the difficulty 20 00:01:11.360 --> 00:01:16.440 that we are in, that God hasn't forgotten us and that He has plans for us. 21 00:01:16.440 --> 00:01:23.960 Okay, so the points for this week are to create that you were created to dream big, how to 22 00:01:23.960 --> 00:01:27.360 dream big with God, and to visualize your bright future. 23 00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:31.440 And then we're going to jump into some exercises. 24 00:01:31.440 --> 00:01:37.880 So created to dream big, Lou Engle says, when God created you, He created a dream and then 25 00:01:37.880 --> 00:01:39.840 wrapped a body around it. 26 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:42.160 I mean, that is profound. 27 00:01:42.160 --> 00:01:43.840 You know, God is a dreamer. 28 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.040 He dreamed up this entire world and us. 29 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:49.160 He made us in His image. 30 00:01:49.160 --> 00:01:54.440 He wanted family and He chose you and me to be a part of it. 31 00:01:54.440 --> 00:01:56.760 That's absolutely amazing. 32 00:01:56.760 --> 00:02:02.400 And so, you know, again, the reasons why like we are created to dream, well, I said it like 33 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:05.720 God has plans and a bright future for us. 34 00:02:05.720 --> 00:02:11.760 He wants to align us with those kingdom plans on earth, and He chooses us. 35 00:02:11.760 --> 00:02:13.600 And then dreams increase our faith. 36 00:02:13.600 --> 00:02:18.960 I mean, I don't know about you, but anytime I go on a journey of dreaming big with God, 37 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:24.400 and actually take action, it's like being on a roller coaster with ups and downs and 38 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:30.280 sometimes in the dark, you know, there are delays, there are difficulties, there's tremendous 39 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:32.720 like wow God moments. 40 00:02:32.720 --> 00:02:36.880 And you get to the end, like at a roller coaster, and you're like, oh, like that was a little 41 00:02:36.880 --> 00:02:39.080 scary, but I want to do it again. 42 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:42.720 And so God just desires a relationship with you. 43 00:02:42.720 --> 00:02:48.600 And so often it's the dreams that He gives us that increase that intimacy and relationship 44 00:02:48.640 --> 00:02:50.640 and increase our faith. 45 00:02:50.640 --> 00:02:52.640 But dreams also define our character. 46 00:02:52.640 --> 00:02:59.200 You know, they refine all those things in us like our ego and pride and maybe doubt 47 00:02:59.200 --> 00:03:01.280 and things that can sometimes get in the way. 48 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:06.960 And you look at all the characters of the Bible, you know, Moses and David and, you 49 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:13.200 know, Joseph, you know, key ones there where the God gave them a dream or a purpose. 50 00:03:13.200 --> 00:03:15.920 And then there was a process. 51 00:03:15.920 --> 00:03:21.080 And so too, we go through a process because God wants our character to be able to handle 52 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:22.080 the dream. 53 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:25.380 He doesn't want us to be crushed by this thing that He gives us. 54 00:03:25.380 --> 00:03:30.800 And then dreams are a vehicle for blessings, blessings financially, but also blessings 55 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:36.120 of new relationships, blessings because we get to find fulfillment in using our purposes 56 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:38.940 and giftings and strengths. 57 00:03:38.940 --> 00:03:43.100 And they're a blessing to our future generations and our children's children. 58 00:03:43.100 --> 00:03:45.860 And so dreams are just awesome. 59 00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:47.940 And they're more than just us. 60 00:03:47.940 --> 00:03:52.220 Dreams also inspire others to take action and to pursue their dreams. 61 00:03:52.220 --> 00:03:57.820 I mean, look at all the people out there doing amazing things and they motivate you and inspire 62 00:03:57.820 --> 00:04:02.500 you to go after your dreams, but your dreams inspire others. 63 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:06.540 You know, there's so often where I meet someone and they're like, oh, I'm inspired like that 64 00:04:06.540 --> 00:04:10.860 you're doing this or that's amazing or like I should pursue my dream too. 65 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:13.380 And I always say, yeah, you're right, you should. 66 00:04:13.380 --> 00:04:19.420 You know, we are like this domino effect for other people to take action. 67 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:24.540 So going back to the idea of created to dream, you know, I love this picture, you know, of 68 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:26.620 this little girl reaching for the stars. 69 00:04:26.620 --> 00:04:30.420 You know, we are children, you know, in God's family. 70 00:04:30.420 --> 00:04:36.100 And when we reach big, when we extend to something beyond ourselves, we can't help but encounter 71 00:04:36.100 --> 00:04:37.500 the heart of God. 72 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:41.800 We can't help but encounter His goodness and His love and His Father heart. 73 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:47.100 And so as we, you know, anchor our heart in God, you know, He is faithful to give us the 74 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:51.700 dreams that are in alignment with His will for our life and His word. 75 00:04:51.700 --> 00:04:53.380 And they'll never contradict that. 76 00:04:53.380 --> 00:04:58.540 You know, I love the fact that we have the Bible as a barometer if this dream is for 77 00:04:58.540 --> 00:04:59.540 us or not. 78 00:04:59.540 --> 00:04:59.540 79 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.920 a God dream and it will never contradict that. But as we pursue and we stretch 80 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:09.960 ourselves into something of being more and doing more for Him, we encounter 81 00:05:09.960 --> 00:05:13.520 God's love and heart and that's absolutely amazing. 82 00:05:13.520 --> 00:05:18.560 So dreaming big with God. Rick Warren wrote a book called Created to Dream and 83 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:23.680 in it he has a couple great quotes. This first one says, faith is choosing and 84 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:27.880 believing God's dream for your life. Nothing starts happening in your life 85 00:05:27.880 --> 00:05:33.280 until you start dreaming. And God gave you the ability to dream, to create, and 86 00:05:33.280 --> 00:05:37.560 to imagine. And I love this picture of this little girl, you know, she's flying, 87 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:43.280 she's soaring in like dreamland and that's honestly how God wants us to be. 88 00:05:43.280 --> 00:05:48.060 He wants us to come to Him with this childlike imagination and to wonder with 89 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:53.880 Him on, you know, what the possibilities are to imagine a life where, you know, 90 00:05:53.880 --> 00:05:58.600 we're not afraid, where we're stepping boldly, where we're being, you know, bold 91 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:03.540 in our prayers and our asks of God. And then to be creative, and again I said 92 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:08.320 childlike, but to really take time to do fun things, you know, there is something 93 00:06:08.320 --> 00:06:13.560 about spending time with music and with painting or nature where it really 94 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:17.320 brings that right brain creative out. And that's where dreams come from, from our 95 00:06:17.320 --> 00:06:22.640 spirit, yes, but also from this right brain creative. And having just left a 96 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:27.680 20-something year career in accounting and as a CFO, for me, I spent a lot of 97 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:32.840 time in my left brain analytical and my right brain was a little bit tired and 98 00:06:32.840 --> 00:06:36.680 not being used as much. And so I've been intentional recently to be spending more 99 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:42.520 time doing creative things. And then takes the limits off, you know, fear, doubt, you 100 00:06:42.520 --> 00:06:47.400 know, insecurities, they can put limits on us. And we can limit ourselves, but we're 101 00:06:47.400 --> 00:06:52.620 also notorious for limiting God. Like, I know He can do that, but He might not do 102 00:06:52.620 --> 00:06:56.940 that for me. Or, you know, I don't know if, like, if we could actually achieve this 103 00:06:56.940 --> 00:07:03.020 dream, God. Like, don't limit God. God is the God of the unlimited. Nothing is 104 00:07:03.020 --> 00:07:08.020 impossible with Him, if you believe. And then also, you have to release other 105 00:07:08.020 --> 00:07:13.220 people's expectations. I mean, too often, sometimes the reason why dreams don't 106 00:07:13.220 --> 00:07:17.420 come to pass is because we're living a dream of somebody else, whether it's a 107 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:22.740 parent, a family member, or we picked up somebody else's dream and it wasn't ours 108 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:27.340 to carry. And so be careful and ask God for discernment. If just because you have 109 00:07:27.340 --> 00:07:32.900 a dream, it doesn't mean it's from God or for you. And so ask God to clarify that. 110 00:07:32.900 --> 00:07:39.540 And then find your why, but also find your who. You know, knowing why God gave 111 00:07:39.540 --> 00:07:43.780 you this dream is incredibly important because that's where your motivation and 112 00:07:43.820 --> 00:07:47.860 your energy and excitement are going to come from. But also ask God to give you 113 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:51.580 love for your who. Like, if you're writing a book, if you're starting a dream 114 00:07:51.580 --> 00:07:56.860 business, if you have a desire to do, you know, start a family, like, ask God to 115 00:07:56.860 --> 00:08:00.860 fill your heart ahead of time for love for the people that this dream is going to 116 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:06.540 serve. And then get excited. Like, I mean, childlike excitement before Christmas, 117 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:12.020 like Christmas Eve. And not that God is Santa Claus, but our heart, when we are 118 00:08:12.020 --> 00:08:17.380 expectant of God, creates room for him to show up and do miracles. It creates 119 00:08:17.380 --> 00:08:22.580 this vacuum of hope that he wants to fill. And so feel the excitement of this 120 00:08:22.580 --> 00:08:28.500 dream being fulfilled. Ralph Emerson says, dare to live the life you've dreamed for 121 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:35.340 yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true. So I'm going to share my 122 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:39.700 dream throughout this four-week course because recently God has had me kind of 123 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:44.860 change up the course I was taking. You know, over the last four years, I had 124 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:50.060 started a company called Prosper Always. It started as a podcast back in 2021. 125 00:08:50.060 --> 00:08:54.100 And then I did some courses and challenges with women in 22. I started 126 00:08:54.100 --> 00:08:57.980 coaching them after getting CliftonStrengths certified. And I was doing 127 00:08:57.980 --> 00:09:02.860 this while being a CFO at the company that I used to work for. And then God 128 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:06.140 started planning even bigger dreams of actually going and starting my own 129 00:09:06.140 --> 00:09:10.980 coaching and consulting company. And, you know, over the last year, I've been 130 00:09:11.020 --> 00:09:15.500 doing that and working on that. And then recently God's told me that he wants me 131 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:20.580 to lay that down and actually start Dream Big Adventure and do it in a way 132 00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:25.620 that's more light and easy and fun and help women to pursue their dreams. And I 133 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:30.580 have this big, hairy, audacious goal, like my BHAG, is to help a million women 134 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:34.340 achieve their dreams, to birth dreams. I just love it. Ever since I've been 135 00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:39.060 little, I've been a big dreamer. And it's part of my DNA. And it's also part 136 00:09:39.060 --> 00:09:44.740 of my CliftonStrengthsFinder. I'm, you know, futuristic, and I love big ideas, 137 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:49.540 and I'm strategic. So it's so easy for me to rally around somebody's idea. So 138 00:09:49.540 --> 00:09:53.900 in this exercise, you know, you start with your dream. So it's asking God what 139 00:09:53.900 --> 00:09:57.260 your dream is, there's exercises we'll go over later, but they're going to help 140 00:09:57.260 --> 00:09:59.980 you identify that. So for me, 141 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:09.000 My dream that God has given me is to create a company and a community that empowers women to achieve their dreams and to prosper with God. 142 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:13.000 Now, you start at the top left. Like, what does that look like? 143 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:18.000 Well, there's a lot of, like, detail behind this, but ultimately, there's kind of three pillars for me. 144 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:24.000 Encouraging community, equipping through content, and then empowering with events and trips and retreats. 145 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.000 And so, I'm just excited to be able to support women in these areas. 146 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.000 Now, where? Like, where is your dream going to serve your who? 147 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:34.000 For me, it's online and in person. 148 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:38.000 And then, bottom left, like, who is this dream for? 149 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:41.000 Well, for me, it's for kingdom women who have big dreams. 150 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:44.000 Obviously, but I have two kids. 151 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.000 My son is 11 and my daughter is 14. 152 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:58.000 And God has recently showed me that He wants me to take all of this content and all of my ideas and create a kids track so that I can take my kids through the things that I'm helping women do. 153 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:02.000 But also, the women that I'm going to be, you know, partnering with and you. 154 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:10.000 Like, to be able to have your kids someday and other kids get to be empowered to have God dreams and to be on adventure with Him. 155 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:11.000 And then, why? 156 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:13.000 Like, again, going back to that anchor point. 157 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.000 Like, why is this dream important? 158 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:28.000 Well, for me, personally, and also for the women that I am serving, I want them to walk in freedom and their true divine identity while increasing their kingdom impact and income for their family. 159 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.000 So, what is your dream? 160 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:36.000 Like, in these exercises this week, take time, hear God, and then map out your dream. 161 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:48.000 Okay, one of the other ways to bring about a bright future that we talked about in Jeremiah 29-11 is to visualize the future you and the future that God has for you. 162 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.000 Rick Warren, again, says, 163 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:09.000 So, how do you visualize your bright future? 164 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.000 Well, there's power in vision. 165 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:15.000 You know, when we actually look at things, like thoughts become things. 166 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:17.000 You know, there is power when we look. 167 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:19.000 You know, what you focus on, you empower. 168 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:21.000 And I don't know if you've ever done this. 169 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:24.000 You buy a new car, and all of a sudden, everybody's driving the new car. 170 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:30.000 Or you decide that you really want this particular food, and then every ad on TV is that food. 171 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:38.000 Or, you know, you lose something, and you finally find it, and then you're hyper-focused, you know, on not losing that thing in the future. 172 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:43.000 And so, it's important for you to get a vision of what this dream future looks like. 173 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:45.000 And then, you have to believe it. 174 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:51.000 You have to believe that you're capable with God's power and that you will achieve it. 175 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:57.000 You know, you might not be able to do it in your own strength, and that's okay, because it actually positions you for God to empower you. 176 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:08.000 Like, you are in good hands with the whole rest of the Bible outside of Jesus, who are put in positions that they weren't prepared for, or, you know, capable, or, you know, have the skills to do. 177 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:17.000 And because of God, they were the right person in the right place with the purpose, and therefore, they were able to achieve those things through God's power. 178 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:19.000 And so are you. 179 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:23.000 Okay, so stay focused and prioritize. 180 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:33.000 You know, the enemy wants to distract us and have us be—the second you start pursuing your dream, it's going to be some distraction over on the right and some distraction over on the left. 181 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:41.000 And he does that to just steal focus, but it could also be your own natural skills or strengths that kind of come against you. 182 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:47.000 For me, I'm a big dreamer, so I start tackling a dream, and all of a sudden, I have 10 new dreams that pop up. 183 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:53.000 And I have to really ask God, like, is this you? Is this me? And is this for now? 184 00:13:53.000 --> 00:14:08.000 And there's another dream that God has given me that I'm so excited about, but he has been very clear that I can't even start on that other dream until this one is at a point where it's, you know, achieved and launched and, you know, in a more finished state. 185 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:10.000 And so I have tabled that other dream. 186 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.000 Now, I skipped the words matter and speak life, so we're going to go back to this one. 187 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:17.000 Your words, our words, have power. 188 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:19.000 They can speak life or death. 189 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:24.000 And so as you're visualizing your future and your dream, be speaking life over it. 190 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.000 You know, I love car time. 191 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:36.000 I love driving in the car, and I probably scare the people around me because I use that time to pray, to decree, to speak life over my family and my dreams. 192 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:38.000 So I'm like, God, thank you. 193 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.000 Thank you for this book that I'm publishing. 194 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:42.000 Thank you for the people that are buying it. 195 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:44.000 Thank you for the women that are being empowered. 196 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:49.000 And I just start, you know, being loud, driving, and people give me weird looks, but that's okay, right? 197 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:51.000 Because I'm creating with my words while I'm driving. 198 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:53.000 I can multitask. 199 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:54.000 And so can you. 200 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:59.000 So be careful with your words and your family and your health and your life and all of that. 201 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:05.480 You know, write down some decrees and affirmations, like I am statements, you know, yes, do that 202 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:06.480 about God. 203 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:10.860 So claim some Bible verses and some things that just give you faith and hope in life, 204 00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:12.500 but also write them out yourself. 205 00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:14.360 Like I am a beloved daughter. 206 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:15.360 You know, I am worthy. 207 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:16.800 I am more than enough. 208 00:15:16.800 --> 00:15:19.960 Like I am created in his image to do good works. 209 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:24.640 Like I'm a finisher and a starter, you know, whatever those affirmations are. 210 00:15:24.640 --> 00:15:30.080 And you can find them a lot of times when the enemy says lies against you. 211 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:35.840 Those are the affirmations you need to flip and write and start decreeing over yourself. 212 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:38.200 So again, it's how to visualize your bright future. 213 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:42.260 Well, one of the exercises I love, which you're going to get in the workbook is imagining 214 00:15:42.260 --> 00:15:46.960 your future day, whether it's a year from now, whether it's three, five, 10, however 215 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:53.200 many years from now, ask God, but picture yourself in that day, the smells, the time 216 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:57.040 of year, the colors, the people, and just imagine it. 217 00:15:57.040 --> 00:16:01.920 And what's really interesting is that's helped me to dial in on my God dream. 218 00:16:01.920 --> 00:16:06.260 You see, I have the same dream that I wanted to start a company and community that empowered 219 00:16:06.260 --> 00:16:08.600 women to achieve their dreams and prosper. 220 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:09.880 That dream hasn't changed. 221 00:16:09.880 --> 00:16:15.440 The purpose hasn't changed, but how it looks has drastically changed from a few years ago 222 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:20.240 when I got this dream to now a few years ago, I thought I was going to create this huge 223 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:25.320 kind of C-corp company, because again, I just worked for a really 700 person organization 224 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:26.800 that was national. 225 00:16:26.800 --> 00:16:30.680 And so at that point in time of my life, I was like, oh, I want to, you know, I want 226 00:16:30.680 --> 00:16:36.500 to be the CEO and have a ton of staff and, you know, be making all these things and products 227 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:39.960 and, you know, have a big building that everybody comes to. 228 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:46.120 And now having left that job almost a year ago and being in mom mode, I'm like, I want 229 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:47.960 to do something that's going to include my kids. 230 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:52.560 And I want time and freedom and to be able to travel and take them with me. 231 00:16:52.560 --> 00:16:56.200 And, you know, I want to be able to run a company, you know, remotely. 232 00:16:56.200 --> 00:17:01.760 And so I think the reason why there can be delays from the fruition or kind of clarity 233 00:17:01.760 --> 00:17:08.800 around our dreams is that God needs us to be at the right place to fully hear and receive. 234 00:17:08.800 --> 00:17:13.960 And he needs us to come into alignment as a being before we start doing. 235 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:16.680 And then visualize the best that can happen. 236 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:21.460 I have a sign on my wall and look into the right and it says, what's the best that can 237 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:22.460 happen? 238 00:17:22.460 --> 00:17:28.000 See, as much as I love to believe big and dream with God and just believe in the possibilities 239 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:33.040 and create my future, man, the enemy likes to give me discouragement and tell me and 240 00:17:33.040 --> 00:17:37.000 have me doubt and start speaking lies of like inadequacy. 241 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:42.160 And so I constantly have to like, instead of going down a what if I fail scenario, I 242 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:44.440 have to right away be like, what if I succeed? 243 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:45.440 What if this works? 244 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:46.840 What's the best that can happen? 245 00:17:46.840 --> 00:17:48.680 So you need to do that too. 246 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:50.920 And then define achieving your dream. 247 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:53.840 We'll talk about this a little bit more in week three. 248 00:17:53.840 --> 00:17:55.980 But what does finished look like? 249 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:57.680 What does it look like to achieve your dream? 250 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:01.920 You know, start with the end in mind like, okay, God, I got this dream, but actually 251 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:03.480 what does it look like? 252 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:04.720 And then determine the timing. 253 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:10.840 I said that earlier, like I have lots of dreams, but what are dreams for now today to pursue? 254 00:18:10.840 --> 00:18:14.960 And what are dreams for a year from now, 10 years from now, and I think we waste a 255 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:20.800 lot of time and effort and put stress on ourselves to go like ambitiously after dreams that God's 256 00:18:20.800 --> 00:18:25.800 like, I'm planting seeds and I'm watering them, but I'm not ready for you to grow them 257 00:18:25.800 --> 00:18:28.160 or they need time to grow. 258 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:30.440 And then create a dream vision board. 259 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:34.160 You know, you saw the picture on this slide where she's putting pictures up. 260 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:39.040 I have one in my prayer closet, I have a big closet in my bedroom and part of that room 261 00:18:39.040 --> 00:18:43.640 is actually my prayer room and I have a big cork board in there and I just put pictures 262 00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:49.000 and words and Bible verses and decrees and use that, war with that, pray with that. 263 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:51.360 Like that is a powerful thing to look at every day. 264 00:18:51.360 --> 00:18:57.240 It can be a piece of paper, it can be a desktop picture, like create a vision board for yourself, 265 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:00.520 for your family, for, you know, your dream future. 266 00:19:00.520 --> 00:19:04.780 And then also for like health and finances, like you can kind of, you know, find books 267 00:19:04.780 --> 00:19:09.900 on Amazon or other places and cut pictures out and use it to just kind of go after all 268 00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:12.860 the things that God is promising you. 269 00:19:12.860 --> 00:19:14.820 So I am a huge book nerd. 270 00:19:14.820 --> 00:19:17.620 I love books, like absolutely love reading. 271 00:19:17.620 --> 00:19:20.860 And so in every week I'm going to give you a book list. 272 00:19:20.860 --> 00:19:23.960 So The Path by Lori Beth Jones is a great book. 273 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:28.580 It's an old book, but it's a great book about how to understand your purpose. 274 00:19:28.580 --> 00:19:32.180 And you know, that's kind of where I came up with like, I want to encourage, equip and 275 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:33.180 empower, right? 276 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:36.880 Like she helps you kind of identify your personal mission statement. 277 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:41.900 And when you know your personal mission statement, it helps you to align with your dreams and 278 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:43.860 with God's purpose for your life. 279 00:19:43.860 --> 00:19:49.820 But it also helps you to find fulfillment in being, you know, in, in relationships and 280 00:19:49.820 --> 00:19:52.900 in work and in dreaming and in who you are. 281 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:57.260 Like you can kind of use that personal mission statement when you know it in all areas of 282 00:19:57.260 --> 00:19:58.820 your life. 283 00:19:58.820 --> 00:20:00.100 And then I talked about. 284 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.000 Created to Dream, the Rick Warren book, highly recommend it. 285 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:08.960 Dream Wild by Jennifer LeClaire is another amazing book where she really talks about, like, 286 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:14.240 her and the Holy Spirit going after a big God dream, and I think it's, like, a 30-day little 287 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:21.120 book with short chapters and practical steps of how to dream with God. And then I Dream Big by 288 00:20:21.120 --> 00:20:27.280 Havilah Cunnington. It's a Bible study type book, so it's kind of a couple weeks of a Bible study, 289 00:20:27.280 --> 00:20:31.600 and it's simple, you know, it's not a big book. It's more, you know, kind of short little, 290 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:37.520 you know, comments and exercises, but that's another fun book. And then Holy Play by Kirk 291 00:20:37.520 --> 00:20:43.360 Byron. This is a book about, like, bringing back the childlike wonder and play with God and just 292 00:20:43.360 --> 00:20:49.920 being fun and exuberant and that, like, church and life shouldn't just be dull and boring, 293 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:55.040 but should actually be just fun. And so I highly recommend that book, too. 294 00:20:55.040 --> 00:21:00.480 Okay, so our exercises for this week. So in the workbook, you have these three exercises. The 295 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:06.160 first one is Dreaming Big with God. So read those exercises. Take time this week to actually go 296 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:12.080 through them. Then the second exercise is that you can use the Dreaming Big with God to start to map 297 00:21:12.080 --> 00:21:17.040 out your dream map. Don't feel pressure if you don't have all of these answers. You can put, 298 00:21:17.040 --> 00:21:22.720 you know, just TBD, like, to be determined, or you can put what you actually do know. 299 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:28.080 And the interesting thing is, like, God is faithful to kind of refine. And I would say that, 300 00:21:28.080 --> 00:21:33.920 you know, over the years, I've had the very consistency in my dream, but kind of the look 301 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:41.920 and feel has nuanced and kind of changed and morphed. And I, like, had this, there was someone 302 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:48.000 that was talking about dreams are like grapes. And, you know, you might have a couple iterations 303 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.720 of your dream, but that's, like, totally normal. And it's actually part of the process. Because to 304 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:58.000 make wine from grapes, it's actually the fourth or fifth iteration of these grapes where they 305 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:03.280 finally are sweet and actually able to be made into wine. And the whole purpose of, like, 306 00:22:03.280 --> 00:22:08.240 creating these grapes for wine is that you have to have a harvest and then, like, let it die and do 307 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:13.200 it again. And there has been times in my life where I've had to lay down a dream and, like, go back 308 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:18.560 into work a lot of hours and I had to stop my podcast or I couldn't do coaching anymore. 309 00:22:18.560 --> 00:22:24.960 And it felt like this failure on my part of not being faithful. And recently, God has healed that 310 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:30.080 in my heart and just kind of removed those lies from the enemy and said, like, no, all of that 311 00:22:30.080 --> 00:22:36.080 is accumulative. Like, it all mattered. It all prepared you. It all started to help you get, 312 00:22:36.080 --> 00:22:41.520 you know, to where you are now. And it's refined this dream. And so I want to encourage you today 313 00:22:41.520 --> 00:22:46.480 that if you have dreamed in the past or started to take action and didn't actually achieve your 314 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:53.920 dream, that it's still part of who you are. And, like, the mountain that you are climbing, 315 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:59.120 you don't go back to the beginning every time you relaunch or restart on that book. It's like 316 00:22:59.120 --> 00:23:04.800 you start at that landmark, that milestone. Like, you're there. You've plowed that territory. You've 317 00:23:04.800 --> 00:23:10.240 taken that stair, that ledge. Like, you're starting there with God. And so I want to encourage you 318 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:16.240 that to dream big, to take limits off, to, like, not fear failure because you're not the same as 319 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:22.080 who you were in the past. And God is always faithful and can do things even in our weaknesses. 320 00:23:22.080 --> 00:23:28.800 And the last one is some practical steps. Again, visualizing your bright future, like your future 321 00:23:28.800 --> 00:23:34.640 day. And so that's a fun exercise, you know, to do for yourself. You can do these with your family 322 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:40.640 and just helping you to dream big. So, all right, my friends, I am going to pray for you before we 323 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:45.920 end. This is the conclusion of week one. And I cannot wait for you to go through these exercises 324 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:52.480 and see you again for week two. So, God, just thank you. Thank you that you created us to dream. 325 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:57.840 Thank you that you made us in your image. Thank you for my friend right now who is desiring to 326 00:23:57.840 --> 00:24:03.200 clarify their dream and to pursue their dreams with you. God, I pray for encouragement. I pray 327 00:24:03.280 --> 00:24:08.400 for just downloads from heaven. God, I pray that they would be filled with your spirit so that they 328 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:13.920 would just be illuminated in the right path to take. And God, that they would have this hope in 329 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:19.200 their bright future in you. God, that their purpose would align with the dreams of heaven. And God, 330 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:24.800 that you would meet them as they seek you this week. Lord, I pray for clarity of their purpose 331 00:24:24.800 --> 00:24:30.080 and the who's that you have this dream for. God, that they would take the limits off, that they 332 00:24:30.080 --> 00:24:35.600 would break up with excuses, that they would be willing to just step outside their comfort zone 333 00:24:35.600 --> 00:24:40.720 and follow you into new uncharted waters. And God, that they would be blessed this week in 334 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:45.120 the name of Jesus. Okay, my friends, have a great week. See you next time.