dreamweaver

Of all the days I wish we could sit down for a cup of coffee, it'd be today. It's April 17 and the sky is pouring snow. And I happen to love it! We would exchange pleasantries, like lovely weather we're having, isn't it?, and sip our coffee, (or tea if you prefer), before frolicking in the backyard to make snow angels. I'd probably let you do that last part alone, though, because I'd have to get out my ski pants, put on my smart wool socks, layer and zip and you'd probably only want to stay out there for like 5 minutes so it really wouldn't be worth it.

But what I would really love to talk about is self-talk. This subject has been coming up a lot lately through conversations with friends, the people that I train and equip for overseas service, dove commercials..really everywhere. Turns out, most of us are believing the negative things that we tell ourselves. We're letting fear, doubt, shame, and insecurities take control--and most of us are doing it alone. Maybe we're afraid that talking about our struggles will push others away, maybe we're afraid no one will understand, maybe we've lived with the lies so long that we believe them as truth and wouldn't know how to live without them.

Jon Acuff recently launched a site that allows folks to share their fears; a place where people can go and, maybe for the first time, realize that they're not alone in their struggles. I've visited No More Voices a couple of times and read the confessions through tears, wanting to give each precious individual a big hug, as in a memaw type hug, not a wimpy side hug, y'all. I want to tell them they've got it all wrong and they are a big deal, precious, priceless.

Then I realize I so quickly see the lies that others believe but am often blind to my own. Perhaps the correct response to my self-talk is not I know after all. Perhaps those impossible dreams should be the very starting point of faith. The launching pad for a life well-lived, with purpose and direction.

What would happen if we started praying for the impossible dreams of each other. When big prayers are answered we see that it's not about our weight or our looks, or all the awful in our pasts. It's about grace. It's about love. It's about recognizing and using our gifts and talents to glorify the very One who so generously lavishes good upon us.

And as the miracles start happening all around us I hope we will look back and wonder what it was that held us back in the first place.

Now, do you take cream?