The Dream Giver- How Do You Know If It's Your Dream or God's Dream?

Today we had a guest pastor who spoke on the "Process of A Dream". It was a message I needed to hear and I figured there were others who might find this message very timely so I wanted to share some of the main points.

We've probably all questioned at one point or another if the dream in our heart is what God has placed there or one we have created ourself. Below is what Pastor Steve Robinson shared:
1.) God is the dream giver. The one way to tell if it is your dream or God's dream is if the dream is something you cannot achieve in your own ability and strength, then it is a God-given dream. God's dreams are always so much bigger than anything we can imagine for ourselves and his dreams require us to be equipped by him to fulfill it.
Gen 15: 4 - 5  -- God gave Abram the dream of an heir from his own body. At the time, Abram was 75 and his wife Sarai was 65. If Sarai was to conceive, it could only happen by God.

2.) Delays are always inevitable. (This is the stage where many dreams are derailed.)
Gen 16: 1 - 5 -- Approximately ten years had passed since God gave Abram the dream of an heir. Sarai and Abram weren't patient in waiting on the Lord to fulfill their dream. Sarai didn't believe that God could give her a child, so she encouraged  Abram to lay with Hagar. When Hagar conceived, Sarai had a hardened heart towards her.  (We often take matters into our own hands rather than waiting on the Lord to fulfill the dreams. The time between the dream being planted and the dream being fulfilled is character development. God is using this time to grow us and prepare us. )

3.) God's timing is perfect.
Gen 21: 1- 2 -- "Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him."


Hebrews 6:12 -- "We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."

Sarah and Abraham's actions demonstrate exactly what we often do in life. We ask God to give us his dream. We plead that if we he'll simply share what he wants us to do that we'll be satisfied in that knowledge. However, just like Sarah and Abraham we tend to get impatient and take matters into our own hands and often derail the dream, by not allowing God to fully equip us for his work.

However, just because a dream has been derailed for a time doesn't mean that God can't still equip and fulfill the dream or place another dream in our hearts.

I'll be honest . . . I know I'm guilty of trying to take matters into my own hands. I think I've derailed the dream God originally purposed in my heart to the point that I'm no longer sure of what it was. I'm praying for my heavenly father to place a dream in my heart. I pray that I practice faith and patience to allow God the time to equip me for his plan.

Mommy Guilt . . . How Do You Manage It?

I have no answers on this topic, but simply hope to open up the conversation and learn from more experienced moms about how they deal with mommy guilt. I'm a working mom, but I'm sure it affects those who are stay-at-home-moms, moms who work from home, and those like me who work outside the home.

Why is it that when my husband and I do something without Aubrey I feel mommy guilt?  I'm okay with dinner and a movie out, but when it comes to spending a full day away from her on a weekend or taking a weekend trip I feel incredibly guilty. I'm very fortunate that I have parents and in-laws who welcome the opportunity to care for my daughter for overnight stays, but having wonderful family members caring for her doesn't negate the mommy guilt that creeps up. 

I've had conversations with a couple of friends and know I'm not alone on experiencing mommy guilt. (Side note: Apparently daddy guilt is a syndrome that never hits my husband. I'm curious, does daddy guilt exist?)

A year ago, when my daughter was one, we went on a cruise as a family. Shea was not very excited about taking a toddler on the cruise, but I couldn't justify in my mind taking forty hours of leave from work and not spending them with her. We had a good time and Aubrey did pretty good, but it certainly wasn't the relaxing vacation we had prior to being parents. Of course, I think those days are simply over once you become a parent, because regardless of if she is with us or not, we're both thinking of her, checking in on her, etc. I still don't regret for one minute taking her. In fact, I think I would have had a hard time enjoying myself if we hadn't taken her with us.

However, I really want to get to the point that I don't feel guilty if I'm away from her. I know she benefits greatly from spending time with her grandparents and they throughly enjoy their time with her. I would also just like to enjoy a day with girlfriends from time to time without feeling selfish.

Shea and I are planning a weekend get away to Atlanta soon to attend a concert, take in a Brave's game and just do some other fun things in the area. The grandparents are splitting up the weekend between them to each have a turn to keep Aubrey for a day and night. I know she'll be in great hands, be wonderfully spoiled, and probably not miss us for a second, so I am determining to not let mommy guilt get me.

So to the experience moms I ask- does the mommy guilt dissipate with time or with more children? What did you find helped you keep your mommy guilt in check and allowed you to enjoy your time away from your kids?