Are you living out the dream?

Recently I got super busy. This is a good thing, but it leaves me feeling down in a way as I don’t feel as close to the Lord. Whenever I get really busy I have to be more intentional about deciding how I’m going to spend my time. Sometimes, that makes me feel bad… like I’m neglecting some things or some people.

At the same time, the exercise of going through my activities is a grounding experience – I learn from it. Like some of the stuff that doesn’t make “The A List” didn’t really belong in my world anyway. While it may have served a purpose for a season, it’s simply not a part of my calling or long-term agenda. I can see those to-do’s more clearly now, particularly when I’m hopping on it.

My writing has taken more of a back seat right now. I’m good with that, having chalked up 4 books in the past 4 years. Intentionally taking a break from writing daily last summer was a good decision, while this time I expect my long-term plan for writing more books will prosper through the experiences that I’m sure I’ll go through on the immediate horizon. I’m ok with all of that. Just a part of living the dream…

Are you living out your dream too? There are some fairly common stumbling blocks to living out the dream… I’m bringing all this up as I want to encourage you to live your passions, and to go forth and prosper. No regrets, remember?

If you have a dream that is super important don’t make excuses about WHY you can’t achieve it – instead, figure out how to get from point A to point B and make it happen. Sure, there may be setbacks along the way, but these obstacles will make achieving your dream all the more savory. There are times we need to stop making excuses and stay focused on the most relevant.

Many of the barriers to achieving your dream are imaginary. They’re excuses that we use to justify not crossing the boundary to the uncomfortable arena of vulnerability, or the land of fear or the possibility of failure. At the same time we miss the impelling opportunity to live out the dream…

Our passion comes alive because our soul is into it. God ignited a flame inside us that shines brightest when we are obedient. (Click To Tweet)

So what’s holding you back?

A vast majority of this illogical reasoning has to do with what other people might think. Should we really care? As one who has battled adversity on many occasions let me assure you the pundits are there for only one reason: jealousy. Pay no attention…

What is your penchant? Maybe you should be chasing that, without delay. Do you charge into Happy Monday? Maybe it’s time to make that change…

Image courtesy of katmary on flickr.com

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One thing is certain-teed… God’s love rules… every time 😉

Star-Crossed Lovers…

I googled it and got confused just reading about it at Wikipedia…

so I thought I would muse about it…

and the certain-teed outcome…

There is something steamy brewing and since we’ve already been talking some Shakespeare here, I thought it would be cool to tack on some love and romance this week, because a week without love is like a week without the Son shine!

One school of thought on the term “star-crossed” suggests that this relationship between two lovers is thwarted by some outside force.

OK, so let’s assume, for the sake of our discussion, that this soiree isn’t getting busted up by the providential will of God… that’s it’s some menace that is mucking up the waters. In other words, God’s all in with His will… Romeo and Juliet are gung-ho full speed ahead… and there’s just a wee bit of drama that needs to be ironed out. This malign star, assuming it’s a somebody, and whoever that may be, is being a stick in the mud.

And so… the love quote (got to give it up!)…

“Anything is possible with love and patience.” (Click to Tweet)

The Romeo and Juliet’s of the world are sometimes thought to be doomed from the get go… the astrological pairings that are more based on lust than true, unconditional love. You know, the “for sure it was fun!” memories… those that were never meant to fulfill prophecy or anything like that.

Interesting fodder… but not the stuff that Jesus’ Love is all about…

Smoking hot passion combined with courage and wisdom produces the strongest bonds… the electrostatic force of attraction produces an ionic bond… where one atom looses the electron and another atom gains it, creating a very strong bond. Stuck together… and never coming unglued again!

Thinking rationally… yep, I actually put those two words together (just like the SC and I were talking about rearranging the alphabet… specifically something to do with the letters U and I… hee hee). Something I’m digging from Dan Miller’s new book, Wisdom Meets Passion is just that… that it’s A-OK to have passion in our world today… just be wise about it. So whenever the moon, stars and God’s will are in alignment… it’s so incredibly obvious that it was just meant to be. It answers the question “what if?”

Closing the curtain on the last act… is fate really all in the stars? Don’t know, I’m banking on it being in God’s hands… that He’ll open and close the doors, shining a warm, bright light on the favored pathway. You see, God’s will is sort of like charging admission to a staged event… there’s a script, the act is rehearsed, and the desired outcome is cemented and applauded by the audience… and there’s joy peace and love… settling in as a perfect match that’s heaven-sent… stay tuned…

Do you feel the spirit moving in this certain-teed outcome of the two star-crossed lovers?

Isn’t it exciting to postulate the future?

One thing is certain-teed…

God’s love rules… every time 😉

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Yee-Haw !!

When I started out on my own as a Geologist it was really scary. I had been working in the consulting field for about 10 years, and self-employment was something that I always wanted to do. I asked several people (much wiser, older guys) that worked with me and in our field about the idea and they encouraged me to do it. They all said that I would make out fine. So I did… scary as it was, I struck out on my own… left my salaried position at Jones, Edmunds and gave it a whirl. What I found out about self-employment was valuable but not nearly as important as this single action that I took along the way…

I followed my heart down a path that I was truly passionate about.

Why? Well, I had told myself this was one of those decisions in life that if I didn’t try it out I would end up being disappointed in myself somewhere down the road. I can’t live my life that way. To me, that’s not living every moment. It’s living a life that I would look back and regret. There’s something deep inside me that keeps me from doing that. I’m not talking about doing something foolish… remember, that was my greatest sin.

Living what your heart is saying… you see, your heart, when it’s healthy, can and will provide you valuable insight to your passions. These passions can ultimately lead you to a satisfying life… the stuff that dreams come true are made of. Choosing not to follow a healthy passion will often leave us unfulfilled and empty.

Embracing the journey. That is the message of living what your heart is saying.

Like now… I don’t really want to live on the edge every day of my life… that wouldn’t be me. I enjoy the adventure of working in foreign countries and have some pretty crazy stories to go along with this. You can watch a video of a Bahamas work trip adventure that involved working throughout the night to complete our project on time and make my scheduled flight home (with an hour to spare!)

But on the average Friday night I would rather be out for a nice dinner and then melting at home. I know, it may sound a little boring to some… but I’m just not all that dramatic… (remember I can also have fun stuck in an airport overnight with the right company… ahhh yes, spontaneous adventure ;-)).

Living what your heart is saying…  I trusted in God and He provided.

That’s a good story… and living your life well.

Do you have an experience from the past where you regret not following your heart?

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