Kristin Fields | Dream Again Process Video

I’m Kristin, a creative mama to two little girls — Ella (8) and Sophie (5) — and I blog at Taz + Belly about motherhood, faith and family. I cannot even begin to tell you how flattered I was when Shanna asked me to guest post this month! I fell in love with Bible Journaling about six months ago and not a day goes by that I’m not digging in the word, adding to my supply stash or stalking the #illustratedfaith hashtag on social media.

My husband and I have been looking for a new church home for several months now and that can take a toll on your spiritual health in a big way. Being separated from a fellowship and not knowing where you and your dreams fit in the “big picture” is overwhelming and discouraging at best. For the past several weeks, the church where we have been visiting has been presenting a sermon series called Dream Again. It was one of those Sundays where you feel like the whole thing was orchestrated just for you — your children woke up on the right side of the bed ON A SUNDAY MORNING, the stage lights were your favorite colors, they sang all of the worship songs on your favorite playlist and you just knew the pastor was going to call you by name because the sermon was so clearly written just for you. Haven’t you had those moments?

The theme verse for this series is “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are more blessed” (Proverbs 29:18 Message; emphasis my own). This particular week’s message was called “Don’t Give Up on Your Dreams.” Pastor Chris shared so many scriptures where God was allowing His people to wait on Him through trials and affliction, but at the same time encouraging them not to give up on their God-given dreams. He focused on the story of Joseph and how if you listed all of the things that happened in his life, there were far more reasons for him to give up on his dreams than to persevere. Galatians 6:9 says “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Dreams don’t always start off well, they are often full of surprises and sometimes take a long time to be realized. I am so comforted in the knowledge that God is a “process-driven God” and not a an “event-driven God”. Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by how we respond to those things that happen. No matter what we face in our lifetime, our story — our history — isn’t bigger than God’s grace. God works for the good of those who love Him, in our current situation and in every situation (Romans 8:28).