Rock-N-Happy Heart: The Devotional By Yancy. by Yancy

Transcription

1 Rock-N-Happy Heart: The Devotional By Yancy by Yancy 1

2 73

3 Day 1-Dreams Will Come True Once upon a time a long time ago, I was a little girl with a dream. I loved to sing. (My parents have told that me when I was three years old, I had a Mr. Microphone toy, and I would perform constantly in front of the fireplace in our living room.) For as long as I can remember, I have loved music and have always felt like it was something God wanted me to do with my life to use music to shine His light to this world. What I love about God is His plan and purpose for our lives always tie in with the things we love our talents and our passions. The things we re good at are all for a reason. God made everything about us. He made us to be drawn to certain things. In addition to that, He knows everything about us. The Bible tells us that He has a plan and purpose for our lives. How cool is that? Even before we were born, He knew what we d do with our lives. Whether that s a career path for when we re grown up or the sports and activities that we enjoy doing as a kid, God has always known you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life. Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Wow... that verse is definitely one of my favorites. God has plans for you! He wants you to do some really cool things in your life to shine His light and so you will be filled with hope and prosper, which means you ll be successful. Don t ever forget that. This week we re going to talk about what it means to dream big, and at the same time, we re going to find the plan God has for our lives. What are three things you re good at? In Jeremiah 29:11 it talks about how God wants to give us hope and a future. What does hope mean to you? What excites you about your future? 74

4 It doesn t cost anything to dream. You don t need a filled-tothe-brim piggy bank or even a loaded gift card to your favorite store at the mall. Dreaming big is absolutely free. It doesn t cost anything. All you have to do is choose to dream. It can be daydreaming, dreaming while you sleep, or, most commonly, just imagining what you could do and be. What dreams do you have for your life? Do you think that you ve been dreaming big or not so big? Day 2- Dreams Will Come True God has a plan for every boy and girl. I believe it. I believe it. I really believe that God does have a plan for you. But the question is do you believe it? It s easy to limit in our minds what we think God can do with us. Geez, it s easy for us to not believe in ourselves enough to dream big. That s the problem: when we don t dream big enough, we choose to limit what God can do for us. It s time to start believing in you. It s time to start dreaming of what God wants for your life. It s time to blow your mind with the incredible things you will see and experience when you simply trust God to help you see your dreams come true. A great verse about not limiting the size of your dreams is found in Ephesians 3:20, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. God wants you to be successful. He wants you to have fun living your life. He wants great things to happen to you. It s important to remember that it s God working on the inside of you. It s time to believe it. Pray and ask God to help you learn to dream bigger. Ask Him to show you more of what He has in store for you. 75

5 Day 3-Dreams Will Come True I mentioned the other day how much I loved music while growing up. I was so blessed to have opportunities to do my thing... to get to sing my songs at church, school, or the fair. Wherever I could sing, I did. As a kid I even got to record some of my singing in a studio. Every one of those opportunities encouraged me to keep dreaming and to dream even bigger. More importantly, every one of those opportunities came about because of somebody in my life, someone who believed in me. Doesn t it feel great when you know that someone genuinely believes that you can do it? I can think of teachers and coaches I have had, even at times when I wasn t the best in the class, whose belief in me encouraged me to do my best. I am who I am today because I had people who believed in me. Who in your life has helped you believe in yourself (might be a teacher, friend, or even your grandma)? Who in your life have you returned the favor and believed in them? (This one is probably harder for you to list, but you re never too young to show love and help someone else succeed. Start today with a friend or a younger sibling, and help them to know that you believe in them.) 76 When I was fifteen, my youth pastor had me do a concert for my church. It might have been small and insignificant to others, but to me it was the biggest thing I had ever done. Years later, I am still humbled and encouraged because of his gift to simply let me know that he thought I could do it. Philippians 4:13 nkjv says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Jesus gives us strength every day, and He never stops believing in you. Remember that today and always.

6 Anything is possible. Even when it seems unbelievable. Our God is more than incredible. So don t give up. Have you ever had something happen to you that was so exciting and so great you could hardly believe it? Wasn t that the greatest feeling? I can tell you that there have been times in my life when my expectations were shattered and, to my surprise, the unimaginable happened. God wants to bless you. He wants you to be successful at whatever you do. But even though we know that, why are we so often surprised when God helps us to see our dreams come true? God s plans for us are big. Remember, in Jeremiah 29:11 it says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Remember, we talked about the word prosper means to be successful. Make a list of a few people in your life that you think are successful. Day 4- Dreams Will Come True What is it about their successes that impress you? Matthew 19:26 says, Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. What are some things in your life that you ve thought were impossible? With God all things are possible. I love dreaming big because I know God has a plan for me and He s on my side. He wants me to be a success. He wants me to have those awesome moments in life that are so spectacular I never forget them. He wants the same for you. Believe the unbelievable. Anything can happen. 77

7 Day 5-Dreams Will Come True I finished up the words to the song Dreams Will Come True after a mission trip to Romania that I had the opportunity to be a part of. Most of my time there was spent with a dozen or so amazing little girls in an orphanage. Even though these girls have not experienced what any of us would call a fairytale life, or, for that matter, even an average life with a mom, dad, and house that is their own; God still has a plan for them. That promise and that hope are the inspirations that helped me finish the lyrics to my song about one of my absolute favorite topics, dreams... coming true. Even as you read this, you might be making a list of all the reasons why you don t think your dreams can come true. It may be that you have your own version of an incomplete family. You know, not the storybook picture-perfect kind. It could be that you don t feel pretty enough or good enough. You might be holding on to a lot of pain because people have hurt you. We could all make a list of reasons why our dreams shouldn t come true, but that s not how God works. There s a guy in the Bible named Joseph (read about him in Genesis 37-50). He was an ordinary guy like any of us. He went through a lot of stuff. His brothers hated him and actually sold him into slavery. He ended up as a servant who was wrongly accused and put in prison. He had a list a mile long of things to be frustrated about, reasons to give up and not keep dreaming; but see, that s what s so cool about Joseph. He was a dreamer, and he never gave up. Toward the end of the story, the truth came out. Joseph actually was promoted to one of the highest positions in all the land. He was very, very blessed. He later told his family when they were reunited that what they intended to harm him, God intended for good. Check it out in Genesis 50:20. How would you feel if the stuff that happened to Joseph had happened to you? 78 God wants to use you to make a difference in this world. He wants to turn your life into a beautiful story of His saving grace. The one who makes the impossible possible is our God. Serve him and love him with all your heart. You ll never regret it.

8 The Bible tells you to write your vision down. Look it up in Habakkuk 2:2-3. What are your dreams? What s your plan? What s your desire? Where do you imagine your life is headed? Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what s coming. It aches for the coming it can hardly wait! And it doesn t lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It s on its way. It will come right on time. Habakkuk 2:2-3 msg Did you read that? Even when it seems slow in coming, it s on its way. Our dreams come true at the perfect time because God s timing is always perfect, even when we don t understand. Even when we feel like it should have already happened, God s Word reminds us to not give up; it s on its way. But first you need to write your dreams down. Write and read them every day. Say them out loud, and really believe in the plan God has for your life. Day 6- Dreams Will Come True (If you don t feel like you have anything to write down, then pray and ask God to show you the plan He has for your life. Ask Him to help you dream His dreams for you. Always remember Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ) 79

9 Day 7-Dreams Will Come True I have a dream that is bigger than me. But if I have faith and believe... Dreams will come true. It s been fun looking at the subject of dreams with you this week. I hope you ve been inspired to dream big. Remember, it doesn t cost you anything to dream, so go for it! I believe in you. Bigger than that, God believes in you, so you have nothing to fear. You need to believe and trust God to lead and guide you every day. Continue to pray and talk to God about your dreams. He ll never lead you astray. Choose to make right choices, and learn the things you need to learn. We all know you can t just wish to be the greatest basketball player but never try to shoot a basket. You have to do your part. Study and learn about the things you re interested in. Share your dream with a parent or a mentor that can help you take some steps to see your dreams come to pass. But most of all pray and trust God. What has God said to you this week about the plans He has for you? What are two things you can do right now to fuel your dream? (It might be studying or taking lessons or talking to someone who does what you d like to do.) 80 Fill in the blanks: is possible. God is more than. Don t up. Dreams come true. Jeremiah : For I know the I have for, declares the. Plans to you and not to you, plans to give you and a.

10 125 About The Author

11 126

12 127

13 128