Friday, February 17, 2012

You Shall Dream Dreams, by Eddie Jones

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. - Joel 2:28 (King James Version)

Arthur watched his friend’s eyes grow wide with excitement as the car turned off the main highway and onto a dusty drive. To the east he saw the snow-capped slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains shimmering silver. To the west, a copper sun sank into the Pacific Ocean. Beyond the hood of the car lay 160 acres of dirt.

His friend pointed through the windshield. “Right over there, Arthur, where those trees begin, that’ll be yours.”

“It’s a big field of dirt clods.”

“’Course it’s a field. That’s why it’s cheap.”

“I don’t know, Walt. The price they’re asking is a lot of money for acres and acres of dirt.”

“You’re not buying dirt. You’re buying a dream. There's a fortune to be made here, you’ll see.”

“Tell me again how this park of yours is going to work.”

Author’s friend turned off the engine and stepped out. Arthur followed, wishing now he’d kept his mouth shut.

“It’s not going to be just any park. It’ll be magical.”

“Right. An enchanted amusement park,” Arthur said.

“Think of it more as a Kingdom. It’ll have a castle and moat, guards, wizards, princes, and princesses.”

Arthur said, “You got a name for this park?”

“Mouse Park.”

“You’re kidding, right? Who’s going to pay to come play in a mouse park?”

“Okay, we’ll work on the name. The point is, this’ll be a place where dreams come true. I got the plans all right here, in my head.”

“Why not put your tiny town in that clearing?” said Arthur, pointing toward a wide swath of tumbleweeds and sagebrush. “That way, you wouldn’t have to knock down as many trees.”

“My Wild West settlement goes on that plot.”

“I suppose it’ll have cowboys and horses and gun fighters.”

“Wouldn’t be much of a frontier village without those, now would it?”

“I wish I had your vision, Walt, I really do.”

“You can. You just have to believe.”

Too often we see life through the tiny periscope of our past failures. Fear and friends warn us to turn back from the dream God places within our hearts. Next week, I’ll join seventy-five other writers who have heard God’s call and responded with a shout of, “Yes, Lord. Send me!” We will gather for our annual Writer’s ADVANCE Boot Camp and train for the challenges of changing our culture and world through words.

The prophet Joel spoke of a time when God would pour out his Spirit on the people and infuse them with new visions. The wonderful thing about serving a living God is that He takes the initiative to inspire us with His power. If the dream is only ours, we’ll tire and quit. But when God gives us a vision and we respond with a "yes" by buying land, clearing trees, and building His "magic kingdom," we can change the world.

Walt Disney wasn’t the sort of man to let a dream die. How about you? Is God calling you to a dream? Stretch out your hand and touch the stars.

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To learn more about how you can tap into your spiritual gifts and use them to change the world visit: Milestone Motivation

3 comments:

  1. I have a dream that some day my book will be published somehow. I dream that its sequals will take less time to create and produce and that the next chapter of my life will find me in full time service to my King. Using my gifts and being his willing vessel to teach and encourage others in their faith.

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  2. Keep dreaming, keep pitching. Keep looking for the deep things of God by the sea. The spiritual applications found in His creation.

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  3. Love this. Love Walt Disney's dream too. Thanks for the reminder.

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