Dreams, Gaussian Blur, And Prepubescent Boys
You have dreams for your kids. Your parents had dreams for you.
Sure. The right thing to say is that you just want them to be happy and chase their own dreams.
But nope. Not me. If my child one day dreams of dancing on a pole…Happiness on a pole is not in my hopes for them.
So you can throw that piece of Gaussian blur soft focus parenting advice out the window.
My hope for my oldest, my 2nd grader, Sohaila, is that she one day makes Taylor Swift’s Grammy collection look like a child’s aquarium compared to the ocean of Grammy’s Sohaila will be swimming in.
I also hope and dream that she will crush the hearts of prepubescent teen boys everywhere as she tells them that the only man she needs in her life right now is her daddy.
Heather, my human paxil, the calm in my storms, has different dreams.
She dreams that her kids will snowboard, water ski, and adventure race.
My wife feels the most connected to God when she is doing these things and I know deep down she prays her kids will as well.
Every once in a while it happens.
You see your dream in them come true. Most of the time you capture a picture of your child fulfilling your dream for them. They don’t think much of it but you stare at it for hours.
Then every once in a while you get a picture like this one.
It captures the dream giver and the dream achiever in one shot.
The look on Heathers face is almost greater than the achievement of Sohaila getting up on skis for the first time.
Isn’t it so true?
That the look of amazement from the Dream Giver is always greater than the amazement of the dream getter.
God has placed His dream inside of you.
He is waiting, watching, guiding, and anticipating your success. His face will light up 1,000,000 times brighter than Heathers face in this shot.
So what is it?
What dream has He placed inside of you?
Los
RAIN IT DOWN
Dreams, I want to be comfortable, I want to walk tall among men, I want men to want to be me and women to want their men to be me, I want to play golf and see the sun. I want to cap the gusher in the golf and climb in the Rockies. I want my knees to be 19 again. I want my blood prressure to be low and my testosterone high. I want to be a hero. I want my sons to love me and admire me, I want to be the best man at their weddings and a grandfather to their kids..I dont want to be pitied, parsed or patronized..
So real…
I am trying to be…never to late you know..
Dreams for my kids are easier than determining my own dream. I’d like to think that God’s dream in me hasn’t been revealed yet, but I fear I am just not allowing it to come through…I have such a hard time separating God’s Voice from all the other noise in this world.
So it’s important to shut all the noise down!
I dream that they will have the experiences and education if necessary to find their dreams. I can not dream for them. I have tried…their dreams are not mine. So I love them, do the best I can and pray God fills their hearts and minds with their true potential.
Good word…
This post was the missing piece to my questions about God and the dreams He puts on our hearts. Thank you for sharing this, it was right on time.
You are welcome
I want to stand before thousands declaring what God has done for my life then here the drums slowly build, the lights fade up…crash, crash…low tom roll…guitar riff……then hear people crying out for the Lord……all this repeated..wherever God leads me
Good stuff.
You are cruel. Here I am, sitting at work, and I’ve got tears in my eyes because your post just hit me right upside my head.
Ok, ok, I give in, God. You’ve proven yourself too many times in the last 3 days. You’re ready for me to pursue my dream. And I think I’m finally ready to take the step.
Thank you for this post–and the picture. I want Jesus to have as much joy on his face when I take those first shakey steps as your wife has on hers. I want to make him proud.
Dusto. Step out…it is scary, not easy, but trust…
SUCH a good post. I saw that picture on Heather’s blog last week, and it captures her feelings perfectly.
God has placed a dream inside of me to be a mom and (alongside my husband) raise kids that know and love Jesus. My husband and I pray that God will give us kids in His perfect timing and that we will show them by example and being intentional what it means to follow hard after God.
I also have a dream to be able to minister to teenage and/or college-age girls. My prayer is that I will be used to show these girls that God loves them and His plan is better than anything they could have imagined for themselves–and help them see their worth in Christ.
Those are amazing dreams…
And I will pray right now that those dreams are realized in one way or another.
Thanks so much for this post!
Right now, I’m working really hard to pass my US medical Boards (but it’s not so easy, because I’m cramming it in between my third & fourth medical year in the UK)… and my Mommy’s been so supportive— praying for me, cooking for me, comforting me daily. I know that her dream for me is that I can do this and be a really awesome doctor. And to follow hard after Christ in the process! This just puts tears in my eyes (and snot in my nose), as I know that some day, she’ll be able to be in the grad photo with me (and be the happier one in the photo!) Thanks so much for an awesome post!
Liz, you are right. I remember seeing one picture of my dad hugging my brother and tears in his eyes…
beautiful post
gracias.
Way, way, way encouraging… I needed that. As for my dreams: I’ll keep writing. Hopefully write a book someday. Writing’s just a part of who I am. I’ve got tons of dreams, and I’ll get to dive into one of them again late next month when I get to share Jesus and speak at a prison.
Oh man…baby is due in December. We find out the sex tomorrow. Dreams already starting to form!
WOW. I spent like all day Saturday talking (texting) with my mentor about God’s dream for me. It was one of those convos where you realize that your dream for yourself might be different from God’s dream. And you’re forced to ask yourself if you’re willing to let go of your dream and let God’s will be done.
this post just preached. love it!
hooooray sohalia!! water skiing is not for sissies.
I want to baptize my son. He’ll be four next month. When he’s old enough to understand what Jesus did for him, I want to baptize him. More than that. I want him to want to be baptized. I want him to want Jesus in his heart and the Holy Spirit in his life. I want my son to love Jesus with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. I want my son to know the perfect, unconditional love of his Heavenly Father. I want to baptize my son.
Oh, I am weeping right now! The look on her face is just priceless.
Isn’t it amazing!!!!!
i dream that i may be able to one day provide the same opportunities given to me by parents, to my kids and more.
Love thinking of God’s face lighting up like that when we live out our dreams. Thanks.
Yup. It will!!!
as a parent myself i can’t agree more! I can’t wait to see my girls develop their interests, skills and blow us away. My dream is that that they far outreach anything their mom or I ever accomplish. That would also include a whole bunch of grammys
I get choked up with pride when my daughter hugs her sister without body-slamming her. Can’t wait to see it when she’s shines for the world. But for now, I’ll settle for my living room…
Awesome picture and post. Thought of this book, Dream Giver, when reading your post. Check it out. http://amzn.to/cIaHTC
That book changed my life… Seriously
I want to change the voice that the world has been hearing from the Church the last 100 years
Los – this post sits with me a lot different than it sits with others mainly because I am not sure if I am living up to anyone’s dreams.
I am the 30 year old child who has done good things and has made choices that some, like my parents, would not be so happy with. I am now at the point where I need to “crush” my parents dreams. This is not a fun place to be in. Many fears of rejection and pain haunt me. I want to have a good relationship with them, but I have a fear that their dreams will overshadow where I currently am in life.
I already saw this picture over at Heather’s but your post brought me to tears…I so long to please God in that way.
I guess that my dream is in full motion…has been since I got off a plane in Korea and was handed my first child, my son…and again 2 years later when being handed in that same small office, my first daughter…and then…lastly, when the doctor handed our third child, a daughter, to me…after she was born.
Watching them grow, leading, guiding and sharing God’s love with them every moment of every day….much better than any thing else I could have ever done…with my one true love at my side…
wow, I am blessed….
what a great post! the line “That the look of amazement from the Dream Giver is always greater than the amazement of the dream getter.” made my eyes teary. maybe because i’m in the phase where i have no idea what the dream is for me and i feel useless, alone and confused. i want to know what that dream is, so i can light up his face…
best thing ive heard all month! the dream giver and the dream achiever in one shot. so awesome! the pic says it all!
Great post, Los. Love that you ask “What dream has HE placed inside of you?” I think sometimes we’re afraid to dream because we look at it as focusing on ourselves and we’re taught not to do that as Christians (in an incorrect way oftentimes I think). Great reminder that when we’re in relationship with Him our dreams & desires are God-given and we honor & glorify Him when we live them out. Thanks!
I want to be a healer. I don’t know what that means yet. I currently make brides feel beautiful on their wedding day with photography- which sometimes is healing in itself…but I think there may be more. I’m ready to make my Father’s face light up when I find it more clearly. Great post.
I want to be a wife and mom.. and it was so awesome to read this because today particularly I’ve been struggling, like is this me and my pride of not wanting to be ‘different’ as a single woman? Is God happy with me single and I just need to get with the program? It’s amazing to realize maybe He wants this for me even more than I want it. Thank you!!
I want to feed hungry people-spiritually and physically.
Such a dope post.
Thanks so much for the post. May we remember who our dream giver is. May I know that God has given me the dreams to fulfill.
My dream is to work in a church and lead in music and lead a creative team to a place they have never been before. I dream of leading these teams to accomplish God’s dreams not only for our church family but THE CHURCH as a whole.
Thanks for this post Carlos. It has really made me think.
-Luke
My dream is to seve on the staff of a multiethnic church. Your earlier post on church staff diversity really hit home. I long for the church in its diversity to be a visible representation of the “one new man” (Eph 3:15), that Christ created by His death on the cross. All for the glory of God.