I think I can, I think I can

I am working on answering questions for a new bible study by John and Stasi Eldredge called Captivating. I got to this question in the study guide "What were your dreams for your life when you were a little girl? What did you want to be or do?" I am not far into the study, only the first chapter. However, I can already tell it is going to really make me dig deep and examine myself. I was a child with a big imagination so I had big dreams.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

So what prevents us from turning our childhood dreams into reality? God tells us that he will give us the desires of our hearts. I think our fears can be one of our biggest challenges to turning our dreams into reality. I think our self-doubt drives those fears. I think back to when I was running track in high school. One of the statements that always came out of my mouth was "I can't". Finally one day a coach made me gloves to wear on my hands that said, "I can". He refused to let me fail just because I told myself I couldn't accomplish my goal. I didn't change overnight, but I did accomplish the goal I was striving for.

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

One of my childhood dreams was to write. I have a journal of poems that I wrote as a young child. I look through it and it makes me remember that back then, "I can't" was not part of my vocabulary. I thought about starting this blog for a long time before I made my first entry. Because I told myself things like, "No one is going to want to read what you have to say", and "You do not have the talent to write anything".

It is true that my entries are not deep biblical theology. And you may not agree with my interpretations of the Bible. But I am out here sharing my thoughts and I am writing what I am feeling in my heart. This morning my oldest daughter asked me, "Are doing this blog because some people don't know who God is." That led me to Psalm 37:4.

I delight myself in the Lord. I look at my life and I can see how God played an important role in every part of it. And when I was in my 20's and I woke up and realized how important God is in my life, he placed a new desire in my heart. That desire was to make sure everyone I know and love and even those people I don't know would also wake up and realize that God has a hand in everything. It has not been easy for me to verbalize this desire to my friends and family. But, it took me back to my childhood dream, I love to write.

I am not a famous author. I don't have the technical training in English that I wish I had. But I know that when I sit down and share my thoughts with you, God can take care of those details. And I guess that my childhood dream is turning into reality. I think some people think that God giving us the desires of our hearts directly relates to material success. I think those people are very wrong. Real success is leading people to a relationship with Christ.

So for all of you that are taking time out of your day to read this, think about the desires of your heart. Are they desires that advance the kingdom of God? If they are, what is holding you back? Is it fear or self doubt? Remember, ". . .with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26