tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post3584511422898113680..comments2023-05-02T03:25:43.143-06:00Comments on Blessings Like Winged Horses: Around We Go: Dreams and Other Flying ThingsSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05220448315369951650noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-47719510003049432502009-04-29T06:55:00.000-06:002009-04-29T06:55:00.000-06:00i haven't read this yet, but it's not because i do...i haven't read this yet, but it's not because i don't want to. i'm seeking the space and the time because it's important to me to soak in every word. <br /><br />love you, girl. i'll be present soon.kirstenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09789771023962578029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-36246946890135405322009-04-28T12:25:00.000-06:002009-04-28T12:25:00.000-06:00I am so blessed to know all of you, just so you kn...I am so blessed to know all of you, just so you know. I have so many thoughts that I think I'm just going to write a whole 'nother post, but I wanted to thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU all for your offerings here...I'm blessed indeed.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05220448315369951650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-72617743682887152742009-04-27T16:47:00.000-06:002009-04-27T16:47:00.000-06:00Let me be blunt.
I believe we've taken a very cult...Let me be blunt.<br />I believe we've taken a very cultural idea of dreams (i.e. What Color Is Your Parachute) and infused it with all sorts of piety so that it sounds something like "Am I in the center of God's Will?" (As you hinted at with your questions about how those in 3rd world countries see dreams.)<br />Don't get me wrong: I absolutely believe that God gives us unique gifts and personalities and desires. But I think there's a lot more freedom than our rhetoric and approach make. God has revealed his will in the Bible: it is the story of how his good creation fell and how he acts to redeem it. He has revealed our calling: to glorify him, to go and make disciples, to love our neighbor as ourselves. And the Bible gives us a plethora of wisdom in decision-making in both how his people make decisions (some bad examples, some good--probably more bad!) but mainly in the wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, James).<br />I'll be blogging about this on Friday (good timing!), but basically, the thought process goes like this (I'm into colons lately, colons of the grammatical variety, that is): We follow God's revealed will (which we discover in Scriptures with the Holy Spirit and the community of faith). In prayer, we make decisions based on this revealed will (does it glorify God? will it make him known?) and trust that God will intervene when necessary. (This isn't far from what Tammy says. Interesting that she believes her discernment process not as spiritual. Also note that Gideon was clearly told what to do and his fleece-trick was a way of stalling and hopefully getting out of it. Yet we use this as our model?)<br />I think God gives us a lot of freedom. I also think you are wise to ask the question of motivation. While we will always have mixed motivations, we should always pursuing God in everything we do and every decision we make.<br />So you see, I have no advice for you. I have not clarified anything for you. But I do hope to lift a bit of this burden from you. The fact that you are concerned with doing what's best for your spiritual growth reveals that you are concerned more about loving God than loving yourself (although, of course, we are still striving toward perfection, not having reached it yet). Fear not, my friend. Pursue opportunities wisely, but don't let these questions paralyze you. Trust that God will intervene. I believe God gives us more freedom than we think he does (and maybe we're afraid of that freedom, to be honest--it's a heavy mantle). As long as we obey him and display fruit of the Spirit, I think he delights in any number of decisions we may make.<br />All right. I'll stop stepping on toes now.heatherhttp://heatheragoodman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-29123167840211921912009-04-27T15:41:00.000-06:002009-04-27T15:41:00.000-06:00Hi Sarah,
I'm with everybody else: you're asking ...Hi Sarah,<br /><br />I'm with everybody else: you're asking great questions, and I love to watch you think out loud. <br /><br />I'm also with Terri: I'm not sure there is one clear-cut answer for this. As I was reading, I was thinking it's possible for God to work in multiple ways with multiple people and times and places. As economies and cultures grow in different directions, the needs of those people change. One culture isn't better or worse than another because the people living in it are or are not able to pursue higher-level dreams or simply need to subsist on enough to survive from each day to the next. I am thinking that each of these different people are precious in the eye of God and that his eye is on each one of them, meeting their needs and drawing them to himself and working out his purposes through them, wherever and whenever they are. <br /><br />I think, too, it could have a lot to do with intent. Two people could do the same thing and have totally different intentions. One person's intention could be for love, while another person's intention could be for selfish gain. So the dream itself is not the good or bad thing but what is motivating it. I think that's the part God is concerned about being in conversation with us about. And that comes back to it being an individually based thing. <br /><br />I was thinking, too, about this idea of whether to wait until we know our motives are completely pure until we act. I'm not sure about this. In some ways, our motives may never be completely pure. In other ways, we may never be able to be completely conscious of our true motives at any given point in time. All we have is what we can see in ourselves at the time: what God allows us to see when we wrestle honestly with him. <br /><br />I don't know. I had a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head as I read this, and they seemed to make sense in my head when I thought them. But I don't think that translated very well here. I guess what it boils down to is that I think God is complex enough in his dealing with humanity to be able to handle all sorts of scenarios and have them be individuated each and every time ... which lands me at the idea Terri voiced, which is to say that we each individually have to wrestle honestly with God from the place we are, and there are no black and white answers.christiannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06278757714101308785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-49545108775222166252009-04-27T15:08:00.000-06:002009-04-27T15:08:00.000-06:00i've been through what you are going through and i...i've been through what you are going through and i took the plunge to pursue the dream because i believed God told me to follow my heart's desire - i'm still not sure where it will lead me but i am doing it because i believe God ordained it and my family supports me in it - as far as your situation is concerned i believe you will get an answer from God when the time is right for you to make the decision and if you happen to make the wrong decision, i believe God will bring you back to where you need to be and you will be better for the journey - that was my simple response to you - but right now i would love to know the particulars of your dream - what is it that you want to do?sojournerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03995591556892143652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-25828319249992353592009-04-25T18:41:00.000-06:002009-04-25T18:41:00.000-06:00WOW! What profound, deep thinking here, Sarah. A...WOW! What profound, deep thinking here, Sarah. And I have such little to say in response. Mostly listening to your wondering wisdom, your own God- and self-knowing that is alway unknowing somehow. I don't know. I really don't, what dreams are "good" and which are "bad." But I trust that there is an undercurrent of Love that graces my dreaming and doing, flowing through the choices I make so that Love comes out of even the biggest selfish mistakes. May you trust that Something that is bigger than you, bigger than your longings, the very Source of your desires. And may all your dreamings take you to Love.... You've made me think. And I'll keep mulling on what you've asked for a long time.Joellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01548545260637445141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-40602994040856662632009-04-25T13:26:00.000-06:002009-04-25T13:26:00.000-06:00hi sarah,
seems like you and i think the same way...hi sarah,<br /><br />seems like you and i think the same way. i don't think i have many answers for you, but i do think it's good to wrestle with these kinds of questions. <br /><br />sometimes i think there really are no universal ways to think about all of this. maybe it just comes down to you and God and the integrity to listen well for as long as you need to. i don't know. i hope you can find enough peace to move forward or let go of whatever is stirring up the water in your heart.terrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08284855262535595879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-32990653858013633862009-04-24T23:50:00.000-06:002009-04-24T23:50:00.000-06:00“It may take courage to embrace the possibilities ...“It may take courage to embrace the possibilities of your own potential, but once you've flown past the summit of your fears, nothing will seem impossible. ”<br /><br />Remember to always..."DREAM BIG!!!"My Wishhttp://www.mywishthemovie.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-39307965843890870092009-04-24T23:39:00.000-06:002009-04-24T23:39:00.000-06:00“It may take courage to embrace the possibilities ...“It may take courage to embrace the possibilities of your own potential, but once you've flown past the summit of your fears, nothing will seem impossible. ”<br /><br />Remember to always..."DREAM BIG!!!"My Wishhttp://www.mywishthemovie.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863554872321330259.post-53121589120144921862009-04-24T19:46:00.000-06:002009-04-24T19:46:00.000-06:00Sarah, sweet Sarah. This blog made me smile, all ...Sarah, sweet Sarah. This blog made me smile, all the way to the end. It is very precious to me to see someone even bother to ASK these questions (taking the reaching a conclusion out of the equation entirely). <br /><br />I don't have a magic wand to wave here. You are presenting some hard core questions. <br /><br />Okay, so I am weird alright, but I loved this statement: "Even the ones that offer good to the world are usually done first for the well-being of the do-er, not for the people who get the good as a sort of by-product."<br /><br />I liked that statement because it is reality. I go through this mental dialogue constantly over some decisions that I have made.<br /><br /> I used to do the opposite of Gideon "throw out the fleece" thing when it came to a job though. Gideon wouldn't make a move until he was sure God was going with him. <br /><br /> I would say, "okay God, this is what I am about to do. If you object You better do something quick cause I'm confused." Don't You have a grapefruit tree hanging around up there somewhere? Maybe You should consider knocking me in the head cause I can't hear a dang thing You are saying about this. And if you don't I am gonna blame YOU when things go South!" It is YOUR fault God. You should have stopped me. You of all people know how blind, deaf, and dumb I am."<br /><br />I realize I have said a whole lot of nonspiritual things here.<br />As you can see I am not the person to consult with about your predicament. As usual I have rambled through a looonnnnggg comment and said nothing of worth.<br /><br />I wish I could say something profound and wise like Christianne or Terri, but I am just not that "deep."<br /><br />Sarah can you believe I am going to school to be therapist? Considering what I just said that is sorta a scary thought. Malpractice suit here I come. If have never seen the movie anger management you won't understand the photo of my therapeutic skills. Jack Nicholson plays this totally twisted therapist. <br /><br />I will say this, I love the way you think. Although I know just how torturing that can be. It is an inner war. But, nonetheless I think it is a very beautiful snapshot of someone who wants to follow God.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com