Dreamscaping 16, Why plan?

At first glance, this verse is frustrating.  When I make plans, I want them to happen.  There's no guarantee in this verse that things will work out that way.  In fact, it almost implies the opposite--that we can plan all day long and our planning is futile in comparison to the purposes of God. 

I have noticed several things about plans. 

• I almost never end up following the plan perfectly.  The day gets a schedule and life happens instead.  The project gets a timetable and a task list and things intervene or the goals change.  
• Without a plan, nothing really happens.  When I get frustrated by the fact that the schedule didn't happen and give up on planning, nothing happens at all.  the day gets frittered away. 
• I don't always know what I really want.  I might set up objective benchmarks and plan steps to get my goals achieved, but too many times I've found myself climbing fast up a ladder that was on the wrong building.  A plan that goes perfectly to achive a bad goal is not a good thing.  A plan that goes perfectly to achieve a good goal when I'm supposed to be chasing a God thing is an even worse thing because it takes longer to figure out I'm on the wrong ladder.
• God has a plan and He doesn't always let me in on it and He rarely does one thing at a time--He is the ultimate multitasker.   Sometimes I can even see His plans and some of the reasons why He does things, only to find that He has a much wider scope in mind and is is working multiple plans toward multiple goals. 

That's one reason this verse ultimately becomes very comforting to me.  He doesn't chide us for having plans.  He encourages diligent, consistent planning as we partner with Him.  He makes plans.  He expects us to do no differently.  He even laughs at our plans when they are silly or when we're full of ourselves.  I haven't quit planning because His plans are better than mine.  I just try desperately to make my plans alongside Him in concentrated prayer and then hold my plans with a loose grip.  I don't want to miss out on His plan because I'm chasing mine--especially since my goal is to build His Kingdom, not mine. 

It also takes the pressure off my planning to some extent.  If it's His purpose that will ultimately prevail, I can mess things up pretty badly in my human weakness and innocent incompetence and He will still bring it together to accomplish the purposes He had in mind.  I don't want to miss out on being a part of His plan coming together for the best good possible so I plan and I plan carefully, but it wasn't My purpose that has to prevail.  Only His purpose counts and that's guaranteed. 

It's all good. 

Dreamscaping 15...praying and talking...

^" If you believe, you will receive whatever
you ask for in prayer."  Matt 21:22

Ok, as I looked for pictures for the blog, I stumbled on this beauty:

Busted.

As I talk about the ideas God has placed on my heart, I'm often trying to work out the plan in my mind, mulling over the details as I talk about it.  There are many times that the Lord brings clarity through many counselors--Pr 15:22 tells us that "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed."  Still, our first and best Counselor is the Holy Spirit. 

It's easy to lean on human wisdom but it can become foolish if that's the primary wisdom we seek.  It's harder to hear what God has to say to us.  People are always happy to put their two cents in, usually whether we want it or not.  Listening for what God has to say has to be an intentional choice and it's a crucial part of prayer.  It requires the disciplines of being still and going to the Bible.  It requires closing our own mouths and opening our ears.  It's a lot of work--it is, in fact, the work of following Him.  Look closely at John 6:28 and 29:

²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?"  ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

If we really believe He is the one who does the work; He is the one who creates the plan; He is the one who puts the pieces in place--then the real work is just seeking out what He has already prepared. That kind of ministry life is one rife with miracles and God's handiwork. 

I've got work to do...

Dreamscaping 14--Poured out...

This weekend's sermon was on the story of how Jesus recognized the widow who gave two coins.  The point of the sermon was that it's not how much you give--it's about what's left over.  In this series on dreamscaping, I've talked a lot about what God does, but He chooses to do it through us.  At the end of Paul's life, he said: 

"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." II Tim 4:6. 

A drink offering was completely drained out over the offering on the alter until it was drained dry.  The pastor spoke about an experienced marathoner who told his own sons that if they finish the race with anything left over, they haven't run their best race.  I hear in Paul's voice the satisfaction that he left nothing on the table; the joy of finishing well.  This week I've been wrapping up a work project and I've been asking my prayer partners to pray that I finish well.  I'm still asking that, but I was in for a surprise. 

See, I'm struggling to declutter and get free of the stuff around my life.  I feel like I don't even know where to begin sometimes and I feel like what I give is so small.  When the pastor talks about what's left, what I see is a lot left around me.

As I came out of the prayer room last night, I watched as an older woman hugged and held a younger woman as they both cried.  When the younger woman left, the older one was still there crying.  I reached out and held her and talked with her for a few minutes, encouraging her to release her niece to Jesus as she grieves.  It's a lesson I learned earlier last week.  Then as I walked down the hallway to join my husband in the service, another woman I barely know was walking beside me and asked if she could sit with me, but it was clear that she needed more than that.  We sat in the back and she cried for the rest of the service as I comforted her and prayed with her.  Then, in the middle of the night, the Lord woke me and after a sweet time together, another, very troubled friend called (at 3:00 am!!) crying because her food stamps hadn't come in, even though I had tried to help her get them the information they needed to continue them.  Each time, I had the priviledge of pointing them back to the Father's resources, His comfort, His care for them.  (We did eventually have to set some boundaries on that one...but that's another story). 

What I realized this morning as I finally listened to the sermon for myself was that when I looked at what I had to give of my stuff, the Lord looked at what I had to give of my time and care.  I don't know that I'll always end up being the one people cry with, but I don't mind for now.  It's ok.  I know that I left nothing He asked for on the table.  I didn't even get to see most of the sermon during that time--my time was all used up and I wouldn't have it any other way.  It was my joy to direct them to Him, whether they were able to do that right then or not.  Years ago, I gave it all to Him.  It's still His--the stuff and the non-stuff. 

Don't be afraid to give it all.  What He wants is your heart.  Leave none of it on the table and He'll have all He needs of everything you have.  Of course, an empty vessel begs refilling, and He is delighted to do it--the pipe can't help getting wet. 

Dreamscaping 13...What if I just give up?

I had a dream this afternoon that was frightening and heartbreaking. 

I was the student director from the High School for the lower grades choirs.  They were wiggly, impatient and not following direction.  I looked around thinking isn't there anyone else who can do this?  There seemed to be plenty of people in my own choir and in the choir I was leading (50+ kids each).  The adult directors told me as I tried to quit that there weren't that many coming up behind me that had the musical training to lead.  We also came to see that if I quit, then the praise coming from that group would cease which would disrupt the uninterrupted praise before the Father--with dire consequences.  For if the praise ceased, the oil of the Holy Spirit would cease to flow through us and His work would stop here.  I wept to know that there were so few to carry the load, not just because of my own exhaustion but because it was good work that should be shared. 

As I woke, I quickly realized that the dream had little to do about music, per se.  Our church's music ministry is marvelous and praises pretty regularly.  I believe it has to do with doing what we're called to do.  The place God has for each of us is unique and draws God's attention in a unique way.  If I don't do it, it may not get done because God may not have a backup plan for what He called me to do.  Remember, it was when Moses said, "Get someone else" that God really began to get irritated with him.  The verse that comes to mind is this one: 

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.  So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”  Ezekiel 22:30-31

What a heartbreak!!  All God was looking for was someone to intercede alongside Him (stand in the gap), through prayer rebuilding the wall of righteousness so that He could continue to protect the land.  If there was no one to pray for righteousness to be restored, there was no longer any way for that righteousness to be rebuilt and no hope for which the Lord could delay His wrath. 

Keep us vigilant to the call You have laid on us, My Father and Friend...

Dreamscaping 12...Who does the work?

People always say silly things like, "God will never give you anything you can't handle."  They are thinking of verses like:

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."  I Corinthians 10:13

It sounds here like He won't give us anything we can't handle, and as far as temptation goes, the verse's promise is sure and true.  Some people then think it also means that God won't allow anything in your life you can't handle and that is absolutely not true.

God will always give you tests and struggles you can't handle--especially when you are following His dreams--because you aren't supposed to be the one who handles them.  He is.  God's dreams will always be God sized, not human sized and that means by definition we won't be able to do them. 

Jesus told us that His yoke was easy.  That's because He's pulling the weight.  If we are still working to earn something from Him, we're not carrying His yoke.  That doesn't just go for salvation, but for all of our life in Christ.  If we're the one working, then we're not relying on His work.  That doesn't mean we don't work.  That just means that we obey.  Hebrews 4 talks about it in detail: 

^"9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. ¹⁰ For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. ¹¹ So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall." 

He does the miracles.  We obey.  When we try to work it out ourselves rather than just simply obeying the next step God has put in front of us, we will fall.  The most we get to do is to walk beside Him and help, just as a toddler walks beside his dad to help.  If the toddler tries to do the dad's job he cannot help but fail and will probably hurt himself in the process. 

No more, "Me do it!!"

“O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” Jeremiah 32:17 

Dreamscaping 11: Foolish Wisdom

^"25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength."  I Cor. 1:25

As dreamscaping happens, it's remarkable how often something that looks so foolish turns out to be the wisdom of God while what we would think was prudent is thoroughly foolish. 

Was it wisdom to place the future ruler of Egypt in stocks for most of his young adult life?
Was it wisdom to wait till Moses was 80 to start freeing his people from Egypt?
Was it wisdom to have David chased around the wilderness for many years waiting to be king?
Was it wisdom that God be born in a stable?
Was it wisdom for Jesus to pick the obscure and uneducated as disciples?
Was it wisdom for the leader and God of the universe to die?

God thought so.

Truly the insanity of God is more grounded than the practicality of man, and it is wonderful to behold.  We are truly wise when we begin to fathom how little we really understand about how the world works and what should occur.  It is at that point that we quit trying to run the universe and start asking God what His perspective is. 

All my life God has been indulgent of my questions.  I have always asked Him audacious questions like what is going to happen next or why do things happen this way?  Interestingly enough, He has always provided the answers quickly.  The answers have not always given me what I needed to know because I really didn't know what questions to ask.  For years, there have been times I've known at the core of my being what would happen, yet it wasn't as helpful as I thought it would be.  In the end, it always comes down to whether I will trust the foolishness of God or the wisdom of men.  I can't say that I've always made the right choices but as I grow older, I hope I'm better at that than I have been.  In my middle age, I'm still asking to go on my Daddy's shoulders and He still picks me up and hugs me on the way up.  For that I'm grateful. 

Dreamscaping 10-Timing is everything

Moses was 80 years old when God came back to him with the dream of freeing his people from their slavery.  At that point, he didn't even remember the dream.  When God finally laid down the law and refused to let Moses out of his own dream's fulfilment it happened suddenly--over a matter of a few months. 

Last night I opened to Isaiah 60--a passage that speaks of the new Jerusalem.  At the very end in verse 22 is this promise: 

"I am the Lord;  in its time I will do this swiftly."

I called a friend this morning to check on her.  Her circumstances are difficult and not likely to change without a miracle.  Her instructions from the Father are to wait on Him--He has it all under control. 

Mom and Baby PJ--12 years ago!!

It bears repeating that when God works it's more like pregnancy than frantic action.  When it comes time to deliver, then things happen swiftly, but otherwise the changes consist of a gradual stretching.  After the delivery, the work is a joy as you care for a child you deeply love.  Our sons are entering their teenage years and we are both so astounded and proud of the Godly young men they are becoming.  Neither of us remember all of the work through the years that brought them to that place.  Even their painful deliveries are no more than a faded memory.  Neither of us care about the continuing work that goes on with them to this day--it is our priviledge, not a burden. 

Jesus came "in the fullness of time."  We had 3 years of His ministry to us out of 7,000 years of recorded history.  His death and resurrection came and went in a matter of days.  Yet, even though it was a pinpoint in history, the impact remains and His nurturing care continues in us and through us. 

The point is, whatever season you are in, do the work and enjoy the company!  If it is a season of carrying an unborn dream, nurture yourself well.  Accept the stretching.  Revel in the Father's support.  If it is delivery time, then work with all your heart.  It won't last long and He's by your side.  If it is the long season of nurturing and care, revel in it as well--we are but a vapor, but what God says and does will be eternal.  Rejoice in the Lord of the conception, the birth, the growth and the harvest.   Move with His timing for He is the one who sets times and seasons.  Most importantly, pray continually so you can understand the time you are in and enjoy His company along the way.

Dreamscaping 9...Search out a plan...

Saw this today...love it.  Sometimes the dreams God gives us are so large and scary we don't know where to start.  Start today.  Start together.  Start by breaking things down into small pieces.  Get help breaking things down. 

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.--Pr 21:5

Dreamscaping 8...You have a purpose

Today Katie and I got to go to see Hugo at the Milk Money Movies at the Garden Theater in our little town.  It was an amazing movie about life purpose.  The quote that caught my heart was near the end.  Hugo takes his friend Isabel to the top of the clock tower to show her the Paris skyline at night:

Isabelle: I wonder what my purpose is.

Hugo Caberet:   Right after my father died, I would come up here a lot. I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine.  Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured if the entire world was one big machine... I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason.  And that means you have to be here for some reason too....Maybe that's why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do... Maybe it's the same with people. If you lose your purpose... it's like you're broken.

They go on to talk about her Godfather and how he seems "broken" in that way and how much they would love to "fix" him. 

Dreamscaping is not just about fulfilling your own dreams, it's also about helping others remember their dreams--to find out or remember what part of creation they were made to fulfil and help them do it.  It reminds me of a description Paul often used for the church:

^"4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."--Romans 12:4-5

Everyone needs to be needed.  Everyone needs to receive too.  How can you help others find their place this week?

Dreamscaping 7...Surprise!

We can make our plans,
but the LORD determines our steps. 
--Pr 16:9

Did you know that desipite the hundreds of thousands of children he tenderly cared for with his show and his ordination as a Presbyterian minister, Mr Rogers still thought of himself first as a musician?  He had a degree in musical composition, composed hundreds of songs throughout his life and continued to collaborate with musicians all the way to the end of his life.  Still, if you were to ask what God did with his life, it would be his tender gentleness to children that stands out.  If you haven't seen it, the musical remix is a fitting tribute.

God's work is amazing.  One of the wildest things about God is that His plans for us don't always match what we think they are going to be.  Lots of people in churches pass out spiritual gift surveys that look more at a persons' inborn tendencies than what supernatural gifts the Holy Spirit may have provided for the encouragement of the Body.  It's not that those inborn tendencies are useless--He often uses them.  In a sense, they are a gift to us and the Body that we received when we were born.  It's just that He more often uses our weaknesses, not our strengths, to bring Himself glory.  Jesus once gloried in this very idea:

At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit. "I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. --Luke 10:21

As you work toward exploring God's dreams for you, be careful not to just look in the obvious places.  Ask Him what He desires and you may be surprised. 

Dreamscaping 6--God sized dreams need God sized love

“The LORD will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.” Psalm 138:8 NLT

  

This verse contains one of my favorite words in the Hebrew language, Hesed.  It is the essence of the love described in I Corinthians 13--the Love chapter.  I love that it's in this particular verse because it is His lovingkindness--His Hesed--that reassures me that God's dreams are worth pursuing, because He is the one who will work it all out. 

The cry of the psalmist is honest.  Sometimes, as we move forward into the planning stages for the dreams God has given us, it suddenly becomes obvious that God only does God-sized things.  Without Him doing it, it won't get done.  We get the joy of joining Him in it, but make no mistake:  only God does miracles.

 

 

He created us to join Him in the miracles He does, no less than He made Peter bold enough to ask to walk on water with Him.  Something strange happens then...we realize we've stepped into something much bigger than we can do--and it's scary.  That's when Jesus grabs us, pulling us out of the wind and waves that scared us and chuckles, "Why did you doubt?"  His tender mercies could never let us drown.  He made us for this. 

For those who love to read as much as I do, I have a couple of book recommendations:   

You Were Born For This and The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson.  Both are outstanding and talk candidly about the decions we have to make when we realize that this dream of God's is beyond what we can do. 

Dreamscaping 5...A dream becomes a plan

Nehemiah gives a great example of a dream becoming reality.  Here are some of the steps he experienced: 

Compassion: "They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”  When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. "  Neh 1:3-4

A need shared:  So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”  Then I was terrified, ³ but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”  ⁴ The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” 

A Joint request:  With a prayer to the God of heaven, ⁵ I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” Neh 2:2-4

Team reconnaissance:  I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took no pack animals with us except the donkey I was riding.--Neh 2:12

There's much more to seeing a plan come to fruition, but I love the way that God directs all that He leads us into...

Dreamscaping 4...Visioning as a guide to action

"Where there is no vision, the people perish:
but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
--Pr 29:28 (KJV)

The vision alluded to in this verse is God's perspective of what is to come, of what He desires to come to pass--it is His dream for us and for those we impact.  As a parent this concept has been foundational to everything I do, but for awhile I lost that vision.

When my first son was born, I had an idea--a vision--of the kind of man I wanted him to grow to be--the kind of man that would make God proud.  Everything I did as a parent was framed in light of that vision.  Correction was loving and consistent because I wanted him to understand the nature of God's laws and character.  Immediate obedience was always the goal because I wanted him to grow to obey God immediately, with loving trust that His rules were for PJ's good. 

When Katie was born with Down syndrome, one of the most disorienting issues was that I couldn't envision who Katie would be as an adult, and every attempt on my part just brought up more pain.  It was a devastating time.  Without that vision, I lost the will to correct her and demand of her behavior and attitudes that would befit a Godly future.  I floundered.  Many times, she floundered.  PJ was in the middle of a neurological crisis I couldn't see at the time but my hesitancy as a parent didn't help. 

A few years ago, I was at a conference put on by the local DS support group where one of the speakers gave a passionate talk about the vision she had crafted for her son when he was just two.  From there, all of her actions and planning were guided by that vision.  Nearly all of those goals have been achieved by her son who is now in his 20's and he is wiser, stronger and more popular than any would have believed possible. 

Her talk reminded me of the vision I had lost for my own daughter.  I can't say that I have completely regained that vision yet, but yesterday PJ and I worked together to create a daily schedule and a list of goals for him and his sister that will help her move toward them.  It's a start. 

What is God's vision for those you impact?  Have you asked?

Dreamscaping 3...Heart sickness or a tree of life?

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life."
                                        --Pr. 13:12

Most of the time we think of this verse relating to hopes that haven't come to pass yet, but what about the hopes we haven't fulfilled for ourselves by following through on them?  Maybe the reason so many older people die of heart disease has more to do with abandoned hopes than arterial blockages.  On the other hand, if a dream fulfilled is a tree of life, then maybe the fountain of youth is found as we chase the dreams God has for us and delight as He fulfills them when we had lost all hope. 

Don't be afraid to chase God's dreams for you no matter how old or young you are.  If it's His dream, He will make it happen--you only have to hang in there so you can get to watch Him do it. 

Frankly, I needed to hear that myself today.  I have a dream of my own that has little to do with Senior Dreamscaping, but I also fear failure--in other words, my heart is failing as I consider moving forward.  I long for that tree of vitality and life that will come with its fruition. 

Father, Friend...Help us move forward with Your dreams and keep our hearts from failing.  Fulfill what You have placed within our hearts for we need Your lifegiving hope.