Freedom, taking chances and dreaming big...

I heard someone share recently that many people will chose to stay in a situation, a relationship, a lifestyle or whatever it may be, that is bad for them or harmful in some way because it's familiar which feels safer than stepping out of their comfort zone and doing something different, even if, in reality, it really is better or safer or more freeing. We can chose to stay in the fears of the unknown rather than take a chance that could change the whole course of our lives for generations to come, all because it feels more comfortable where we are. We stop dreaming like when we were little and instead just do what we're use to doing…
…Or at least that was what I did for years. I was so afraid to really dream because I feared the unknown or that God might not answer or that it was too big or too silly and so why put my hopes in something that would never happen. "If you aim low, you're never disappointed"… Except I was. I felt like I wasn't living how I was created by God to live but I let fear really rule my life in so many areas. You know that song that says, "I'm no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God."… That song was huge in my life. I ugly cried many times to that while working out, basically telling myself that truth until my heart and mind truly believed it. I listened to lies for years and years and the Lord has really taken me through a major process of healing from the past (and I'm still walking through that healing daily). Last December was the first time in my life that I let my guard down, my pride, my fears, and asked the Lord to give me a "word" for the next year. I always thought people that did that were kind of silly and yet my real issue was fear that if I asked the Lord for a word, that He wouldn't answer me. Last year was different though. I was so broken that all I wanted was Jesus… so whether He answered me or not, it didn't matter. I just wanted to ask anyways. And, being that the Lord is forever faithful and good, He gave me a word for 2016... JOY… I clung to that word all year and this year really has been so FULL of JOY and goodness and laughter and sweetness in so many ways.
As I seek the Lord again for a new word to cling too this upcoming year, I'm reminded of where I was last year and how much the Lord has done and I'm just so grateful.
I want my children to have freedom to dream. I would hate for their hearts to be darkened by so much pain that they stop believing that God made them for a purpose and a reason! Walking in the giftings that God created inside of us gives God glory! LIVING and walking in BOLDNESS believing that we serve a BIG God that does BIG things gives glory to God. No one is an accident. We are designed in our mother's wombs with purpose and talents and giftings and by embracing them and dreaming big with the Lord and living intentionally, we honor the Lord. I hope and pray that they never stop dreaming…
As I stepped out in faith and started dreaming again, the Lord so sweetly connected me with other dreamers… women who have walked through difficulties and chose to get uncomfortable and trust that the Lord can do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we can possibly think or imagine. When I'm struggling, they help push me to keep believing, to keep moving forward, to keep dreaming, to keep going. I get to watch their lives change and my life change and it's such a blessing to be part of something so much bigger than I even realize.
We only have this one life to live. Each and every person is valuable. God has a "best" for you. He wants you to walk boldly in freedom. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)