Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Wide Awake

The average American sleeps 6.9 hours a night. Our average life expectancy is about 77 years. This means the typical American sleeps 48 hours a week, 105 days per year, and 22 years over the average lifetime. That's almost 30% of our lives! Most scientists that study sleep believe most people have several dreams every night and we simply forget the vast majority of them. Simply put, we sleep our lives away.

That sleep is necessary for our bodies to continue functioning at a high level. However, many people find themselves trapped by a completely different type of slumber. It is the slumber of daily life, the monotony of a daily routine, the acceptance of the status quo. This slumber begins when our nightly rest ends, and it too is full of dreams. Our lives are filled with dreams, current dreams that strangely keep us awake, and bitter memories of dreams that have gone unfulfilled. Our nightly sleep is full of dreams that we forget while our daily slumber is full of dreams that we cannot escape.

Our dreams, in a way, define who we are. We are shaped by our dreams because they reveal our deepest passions and desires. They also reveal what can wound us in the deepest way. Our dreams haunt us in ways only we can know. There is no joy like living in a moment when a dream becomes reality, and there is no greater pain when a dream we have dies.

Perhaps you have let the pain of your unfulfilled dreams stop you from dreaming at all. Maybe your life resembles a restless night, tossing and turning, seeking some resolution and peace. I want you to realize the incredible dreams God has for your life. They are bigger and grander than anything you can imagine! I truly believe there is something heroic inside every single one of us that is waiting to be discovered........explored...........ignited.

It's time to recapture our God given dreams. It is time to rise up from the slumber of everyday life. It's time to wake up to what God is doing in our lives, in our families, in our community, in our world.....its time to live Wide Awake!

When your dreams reflect the dreams of God, every day becomes extraordinary. Let's journey together and see what God is dreaming for us all.

Make sure you are there for our 8 year anniversary service! Please consider this your invitation to attend! Invite a friend to be a part of this service, you won't regret it! Remember that the dreams God has for humanity are not just for us, they are for all people. Make sure you include all of those who are around you.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Sometimes it is hard to keep on reaching for my dreams. Trying to juggle work and family sometimes wears me out. I do what I have to do just to start over again the next day. I often feel like I have reached my full potential and that there isn't anything else to dream of in life.

Zac said...

Hang in there! I hope this series has been beneficial as we have moved along through it.