by Beth Vogt @BethVogt
I’m all about
dreams … and I know what it takes to make dreams a reality.
In Your Words: Where are
you with your dream: beginning, middle, or end? Do you believe in the magic of
dreams — and what does sweat, determination, and hard work look like for you
when it comes to pursuing your dream?
TWEETABLE
The reality—and hard work—of following our #writing dreams - @BethVogt (Click to Tweet)
Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A women's fiction novelist with Tyndale House Publishers, Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, as well as a 2016 ACFW Carol Award Winner and a 2015 RITA® finalist. In 2016, she continued her destination wedding series published by Howard Books with You Can’t Hurry Love (May) and Almost Like Being in Love (June). Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.
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| The Reality of Dreams |
I love the
beginnings of dreams. The
“what ifs” and the “maybes” and the daring it takes to reach for that
oh-so-personal wish upon a star. I get just as excited when someone else shares
the beginning of their dream with me as I do about my own
dream-just-starting-to-come-true.
The middles of
dreams? Now
that’s when you sweat. That’s when you have to decide if you’re up to the hard
work of seeing this dream through to the end. How determined are you?
Determined enough not to quit when the first glow wears off your dream and
you’re staring at all you have to do … all you have to give up … all the
obstacles labeled “YOU CAN’T” … and you’re not so sure you can anymore?
The ends of dreams? Sometimes, you celebrate
because you achieve your dream — the sweat, determination, and hard work pay
off. But sometimes the end of a dream can break your heart. You’ve worn
yourself out working toward your dream. And it ends. Your dream fails as they
sometimes do and you have to be brave enough to let your dream go.
And brave enough to dream again. And sometimes … sometimes, the dream is
resurrected even better than you originally imagined.
TWEETABLE
The reality—and hard work—of following our #writing dreams - @BethVogt (Click to Tweet)
I am just past the beginning of my dream. No magic. All call, faith, and obedience. Sweat? Fighting that voice pressing against me, early/late hours around higher priorities, and skirting fear in obedience to the pursuit. Great post. Thank you for this nudge!
ReplyDeleteCharla: Cheering you on in this "no magic" phase of your writing dream. There's a quote I found that I'll share with you. It's simple, but profound: Remember why you started.
DeleteMay God bless you and your dream!
I'm at the beginning - and the dream keeps getting bigger and bigger - like a tub full of bubbles. So happy to have these dreams.
ReplyDeleteBrad: What a beautiful image you painted of your dream -- a tub full of bubbles. And yes, dreams make our life more beautiful! Praying for your dream today!
DeleteGetting close to the end. 😃
ReplyDeleteJennifer:
DeleteMay you have renewed strength to finish your journey. And joy. Praying for you!
Thank you for this article and the beautiful quotation from Collin Powell and the rock image. It does take hard work and continual effort for our dreams to become reality. It's the journey which is important in our lives as well as the dreams (which we need to have and hold on to).
ReplyDeleteTerry
Good morning, Terry!
DeleteAnd yes, the journey we take as we pursue our dreams, fashion and adjust our dreams, is just as important -- if not more so -- as the dreams themselves. God uses both to draw us closer to Him.
Where I am depends on how I define my dream. If my dream is to get published, then I'm living it. :-) But if it's about a particular task inside the dream, then I'm just beginning as I start a new book. Either way God has blessed me far beyond I ever dreamed. Excellent post.
ReplyDeletePat: I'm living my dream of being an author, too. But, as you said, there are many kinds of dreams. And one dream can lead to another ... or your dream gets adjusted a bit, which is sometimes a good thing.
DeleteThanks for the encouragement to continue pursuing my dream.
ReplyDelete