| God builds your faith by giving you a dream | |
| "Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes." Ephesians 3:20 (LB)
Faith is like a muscle: it can be strengthened. It can be weak or it can be strong, depending on how much you use it. How does God build your faith? He uses a very predictable pattern that we will look at this week; and, if you understand it, you can cooperate with him in developing greater faith. It's like when the father, seeking help from Jesus for his son, said, "Have pity on us and help us, if you possibly can!" (Mark 9:22 TEV) Jesus replied, "What do you mean, 'If I can'? . . . Anything is possible if a person believes." (Mark 9:23 NLT) The first thing God does to build your faith is give you a dream. When God wants to work in your life, he'll always gives you a dream—about yourself, about what he wants you to do, about how he's going to use your life to impact the world. There are many examples in the Bible of this.
How do you know when a dream is from God or when it's just something you've thought up yourself? The Bible tells us that God, "by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes." (Ephesians 3:20 LB) In other words, if a dream comes from God, it will be so big in your life that you can't do it on your own. If you could do it on your own, you wouldn't need faith. And if you don't have faith you're not pleasing God, because the Bible says whatever is not of faith is sin. (Roman 14:23) God starts to build your faith by giving you a dream. He may be speaking to you now, but you just don't recognize it for what it is. That dream you have—the idea, the concept —that thing you've been thinking about doing that would be of real benefit to other people, where do you think that idea came from? God will never tell you to do something that contradicts his truth. In other words, he won't give you a dream of leaving your family and kids and moving to Hollywood to be a movie star. If you've got that dream, then you can know it is not from God. God starts with a dream as he works within your life to build faith. |
Monday, May 24, 2010
Dream Big!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
“You Cannot Out Dream God”
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| Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Venturing ForthIt's better to stay in the safety of the camp than venture forth on a wing and a prayer. Who knows what dangers lie ahead? This was the counsel of the ten faithless spies sent in to have a look at the Promised Land when the Jews came out of Egypt. Only two of the twelve, Joshua and Caleb, saw things differently. Their hearts were captured by a vision of what might be and they urged the people to press on. But their voices were drowned by the fears of the other ten spies and Israel wandered for another forty years. Without the anticipation of better things ahead, we will have no heart for the journey. |
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Project One Forty Three
Most everyone reading this is familiar with how our world was rocked over the past year through our adoption of Aleks. If you have followed our story you also know that Aleks Tuttle is the result of our good friends Chris and Jamie Crutchley being faithful to Gods leading and hosting Aleks during Christmas of 2008. Through this journey Chris has launched Project One Forty Three which has become his mission in life.
Please take a few minutes to visit www.ProjectOneFortyThree.com
Around the world, there are an overwhelming 143 million children in orphanages and foster care waiting for the love of a forever family. Amazingly, this is more than the population of Russia. It is a staggering number and an issue that few people realize, or could even begin to comprehend. Most of these children have never had loving parents with which to share a warm embrace, a game of catch or even a family vacation. Most importantly, these children never realize the feeling of belonging and self worth that come with being part of a nurturing family.
Unfortunately, many of the children are older than six years old, and with each passing year, they are less likely to be adopted. Thus, they will eventually “age out” of the system and never experience the life giving, life changing love that family provides.
It is our belief that there are millions of families around the world who would welcome these children into their homes if given the opportunity to meet and spend time with them. Further limiting the opportunities for older orphans, many families are not able to pursue adoption because of financial limitations or lack of know how.
Together we can change that!
Project One Forty Three endeavors to show you how ONE person, ONE idea, ONE donation, etc., can create CHAIN REACTIONS that ultimately saves the life of a child.
Having experienced firsthand the awesome power of CHAIN REACTIONS, we are guided by the knowledge that when any one of these children are given their voice, when they are no longer just a statistic, but become a face with a name…miracles happen!
We exist to shine a light on these kids, to bring them out of the shadows, bring them to life, to give them names and help unite them with forever families.
(From the heart of Chris Crutchley) If you are reading this, I consider you to be someone who has impacted my life. With that being said, I would like to share with you what God has been doing the past year of my life and how you can be apart of it. You may or may not know; 14 months ago Jamie (my wife) and I had the privilege of hosting an 11-year-old orphan from Latvia named Aleks. Throughout Aleks’ time here in America God began to open my eyes to a world that I never knew. He began to change my heart for orphaned children around the world.
When Jamie and I decided to host Aleks we knew that it was going to take the help of others to make it possible. The cost to host Aleks was $2,500; money we did not have just lying around. So we reached out to a few close family and friends asking for help. Looking back, we continue to be amazed at the remarkable Chain Reaction that occurred--as if each person that contributed became ONE domino in Aleks life. When all the dominos were lined up in exactly the right order, the chain reaction led to Aleks finding his forever family. This was only possible because a few people decided to play a part in changing his life.
Now I am asking you to play a part as well and help change the life of an orphan. Except this time it’s not just one life. It’s 143,000,000 lives! That’s right; 143 million orphans still exist in the world today. The time has come to save more lives. And, we need your help!
It’s called Project One Forty Three (Project 143). Project 143 strives to raise global awareness of older orphans and the many ways people can help these children find forever families. It is our belief that there is a loving family for every child on Earth. This belief can only become a reality if we join together and focus our efforts on saving these children.
How? You might ask...
Together, with you, Project 143 will focus on two objectives. First, raising awareness of the orphan crisis. This means telling everyone you know (your friends, family, co-workers, church family etc). Spreading the word about how others can help save the lives of orphans around the world. Second, breaking down the financial barriers so that more people can experience the joy of hosting or adopting one of these amazing children. By placing grants in the hands of those who wish to host or adopt, but can’t due to financial constraints, we remove the number one reason people say ‘No”, and unite an orphan with his/her forever family.
For Project 143 to be effective, we need financial contributions. Lets face it; without financial resources to help others, Project 143 is helpless. I am asking you to help us save more of these children by supporting Project 143 in the following ways:
- Provide financial support to Project One Forty Three through a personal donation
- Forward this information to everyone you know, encouraging them to help save more kids like Aleks. °
- If you are a blogger…take a day and feature Project One Forty Three on your blog.
We all have a part to play. Please help us start more chain reactions that change the lives of these forgotten children by visiting us at www.projectonefortythree.org.
We can do it...One child at a time!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spring Thoughts
As spring begins to take over our thoughts we begin to look around us with anticipation. New beautiful flowers. The changing of the grass from brown to green. The tree branches are swelling with new leaves ready to burst out at any time. The sunshine takes on a new intensity and brings warmth to the day. New life…new hope. A time to reflect on the past year and plan with anticipation for this new year.
This year there are also new relationships, new hopes and new dreams. I have no idea where all of this will ultimately lead but I am excited to see God moving in new and fresh ways.
But just as spring comes and new life emerges to awaken the world around us…there is still evidence of the past gone by. What we see coming to life around us is simply a byproduct of the past…the beautiful and the ugly. As our lives continue to grow and produce new fruit…it is influenced by our past but not controlled by it. We were created to be so much more than that which entangles us. The whispers of the past are just that…the past! What lies ahead of us brings life and offers us freedom! Things are new and fresh, last year is behind us. If you stop to stare at the past, you will stop moving ahead on the path of life. “It’s a journey”, my wife has told me a million times. Its true, and I need to embrace it, to run after it.
There is something that lies ahead of each of us which excites us. There is adventure. There is opportunity. There is hope. There is risk…. Don’t let the RISK cripple us.
We have a choice to make. I have a choice to make. The choice is to stay in the familiar zone of comfort…or to step out in faith and pursue the adventure and passion we have carried so long in our heart.
Adventure…
Freedom….
LIFE….
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (New International Version)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Communicating Hope
This is a great post I read today by Jeremie Kubicek. Do you know who you are an what God created you to do?
Communicating Hope
On a recent trip to Washington D.C. I had the privilege of meeting a great driver named Harvey. He picked me up at midnight to drive me 45 minutes to my hotel. We had an amazing conversation.
Now I realize that some of you are not into conversations with strangers at midnight while trying to get to a hotel. On this night I was in the mood to talk.
I simply started to connect with Harvey and to my appreciation he worked to connect back. What happened was amazing. We spent 20 minutes or so talking about why Georgetown basketball was amazing and if Shaq should retire or not. While I am not a basketball scout I do know enough to have a conversation, which is why it is important for influencers to be well-versed.
That said, we spent another 10 minutes getting into his world. He then asked me a great question, “How did you know what you wanted to do?” The final 15 minutes shifted to building a plan to help Harvey figure this question out.
Harvey, if you are reading this I wanted to finish the conversation to help you further. I hope you go for what we discussed.
Here is how I answered the question…
To know what you want to do you must first understand who you be. I know that is not proper grammar, but it works. It means that you must know who you are before you know what you want to do. So the obvious question came from Harvey: “How do you find out who you are?”
Here are 3 ways to find out who you are:
1. Listen to What Others Say - What do your parents, teachers, siblings, mentors, co-workers, etc. say about you. If you asked them “Who am I?” what would they say?
2. Experience Through Practice - I knew I was a pioneering encourager for years but it took me going through trial and errors to get to a confidence of who I was.
3. Get to Know Your Father - I am referring to our Heavenly father here. When we know God as our father and view ourselves as sons and daughters we will begin to ask him who we are and He tells us.
Think of it this way…
Adam knew he was God’s special creation. Out of that came his vocation - tending the garden. The problems started with that tempting apple. When Adam was cast out of the garden he had to work three times as hard to get food, so he shifted his focus on what he had to do in order to survive. Thus, Adam forgot who he was and focused more on what he had to do.
The same thing has happened in our culture. We always talk about what we do, but rarely spend time talking about who we are.
Harvey, ask your friends and family to tell you who you are. Then look back at your experience and ask God for clarity. After that you can start building a plan around the best vocation possible.
From my perspective you were amazing at connecting with me and, thus, I assume you can do that with many people. You have a high Emotional Intelligence so start looking for a vocation (whether you start a company or work for some one). Do the hard part of finding out who you are and then work on what to do.
Wishing you the best!
Posted on March 04, 2010 in Personal Growth
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Spirit of the Age
If I were to ask you what the “Spirit of the Age” is….what would you say? Maybe you would give me a funny look and say…”I don’t have time for stuff like that.”
EXACTLY!
As I try to find a moment to just stop…or slow down enough to evaluate my life, I quickly realize I am consumed by a busy life. I have read about this. Family, a business, a wife, two daughters, a son, adoption stuff, my list could go on and on if I really shared my calendar. I have heard others talk about this. I have been moved and convicted previously by this…yet here I stand again. Consumed with busyness. What is the most effective way to render us ineffective for the things that really matter in life….Busyness! This has got to be one of Satan’s sharpest blades…it cuts so deep and yet we don’t even feel it till its too late. It renders us as effective as warm butter.
Its so easy to justify this wound, after all, the things I am doing are good…right? I am doing it for my family. I am doing it for my church. I am doing it for my kids. I am doing it for our future. Really…I can justify most anything…and I would venture to guess, so can you. If we are not careful we can get so consumed with arranging the piles of papers on our desk of life that we don’t ever get to the real work contained in those piles. I am reminded that the most efficient time at work is right before vacation since that is when I go through the piles with a different perspective. I am much less tolerant of the busywork and non-essentials…honestly, this is when I trash the most stuff from my office. If I worked this efficiently every day just what could I accomplish? How much more time would this free up for the things that really matter?
Lord, help me to stop and honestly evaluate what I am doing in this life…and do what really matters most. Show me today, and tomorrow, what is most important to You. What can I do for You that will make a difference in the lives of others? Are You pleased with this life I am living…..? Give me the guts to focus on and pursue the things that matter most. Show me what You really think of me.