Big Dreams

This weekend I finished reading another little book my mom passed on to me, this time "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkenson. She knows I've always had huge dreams, so perhpas thought I needed a push in the right direction to make them come true (or perhaps she didn't, but I'm the last to know what goes on in her mind!).

The first half of the book is a story of Ordinary from the land of Familiar, who one day discovers he's been given a Big Dream and sets out to find it. I read the entire story to my son, who enjoyed it. Then I went on to read the "put it into practice" part on my own.

Now I know I have dreams, lots of them, but they all seem pretty distant, as if I'm looking at them through the fog. But on Sabbath afternoon I sat down to write them out. I came up with three Big Dreams, and this is what I wrote:

1. I've dreamed for a long time of leading worship. But how do I lead when I seem so far from God, when I seem to know so little about Him and how to worship Him? He's been training and stretching me over past years - but is it enough? Is this a dream destined to fail - do I rather remain in the background as a musician and leave the leading to others? Also, it seems to clash with my second dream:...

2. An emerging-church type community- and home-based church. Leading worship has yet to be defined in that context! Space is needed, wisdom is needed, PEOPLE are needed to form such a group. Again, I have no clue how to start - except with an invitation to a regular once-a-week meal and time of prayer. I think I could manage that. But it may need to wait until Australia - I don't want to start something in SA, only to up and leave / desert it.

3. My third dream is my own farm - a way of life I crave. But not just for me. I see it as a place for broken families, single parents, kids, scared pregant teens, to come, live, work, be in community. An in-between place for people in transition. A place to live and work while they sort out thoughts, plans and lives. A place for kids to get out of a consumer rut and get into nature, learn the value of work and the wonder of life in changing seasons. All this, of course, requires me to get a farm and start going. It's a few years down the road. It could tie in with dream #2 - meals for all taken as one huge family at one huge table, and the opportunity to grow closer to God and one another. Do-able I think.

These are my 3 main dreams. Perhaps they're only parts of one Big Dream. Time will tell. First up though is our move to Australia - then we'll take it from there.

I'll be posting a link to a page on my website tomorrow, with details of what I envision for Dream #3. WAY too long to post here, and believe me, when I say details I mean details! :) I tend to plan stuff that may not even happen down to the last fullstop, till I can completely see it in my head. I'm a Mega-Dreamer!!!