Faithful Footprints: Feed your Dreams; Starve your Fears

Go to work, work two jobs, work THREE jobs (?!), ~~give up on~~ keep up with housework, tweet what you're doing, blog about it, take lots of blog-worthy pictures, edit said pictures, instagram said pictures, post it all over facebook to hope that someone cares enough to read what you have to say and cross your fingers that comments will ensue (seriously, you're reading it anyway...why wouldn't you comment?!), check email, respond to email, tweet about nothingness, text your parents, text your friends, text your parents' friends, take more pictures, post more pictures, get back to work, cuddle with your husband, force your husband to take pictures together to keep in a folder on your computer for all of eternity, instagram those photos for all of your social networking friends can show you some love, go to church, keep up with your bible study, fall behind in your bible study, feel terrible, cry about something stupid, be an emotional disaster, tweet about how hard you believe your life is, throw a pity party, be sad that your friends have no time for you, text your friends, check your phone five billion times for social media updates/text messages/phone calls, eat, meet up with friends, be crazy, be random, be YOU, post about YOU on twitter, facebook, and instagram - blog about how awesome YOU are, answer emails, reply to texts, get sucked into that mindless game on your phone, eat, cry again, cry some more, check facebook, call your parents, sleep for a few hours...

And that's all in one day. DUHHH!

In today's society, life is hectic. But in all of that mess, it's easy to lose sight of yourself. Life is hard. No matter if you grew up in the 60's, 90's, or 2000's, it's hard. It has its ups and downs and all arounds, and a lot of times, it's not fair. But it's absolutely important to remain true to yourself. You've got to be courageous.

Be confidant in who you are - no one can be YOU better than you can! Do you have dreams? Go after them! Is there someone keeping you down? Release yourself from their grasp! Life is absolutely too precious to not life it to its fullest.

This week, I began a bible reading plan on my YouVersion app on my phone. The title of the plan:

COURAGE

Don't belittle yourself just because there may be someone better looking than you or better at their job than you may be. Everyone starts somewhere, and it's up to you how you want to achieve your dreams.

And in all of the craziness that is life, you've got to keep one thing in mind: Success in life requires one important tool - God's Word. It's not enough to simply own His Word - we must use it, read it, meditate it, obey it.

Have I not commanded you? BE STRONG and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9

Don't be afraid to be successful. Don't be afraid to be yourself and strive for excellence. It's okay if you fail, even if it happens time and time again. Because remember, nobody is perfect. Nobody skips through life completely unscathed and blemish free. It just doesn't happen. We all fall on our asses time and time again, but I know that I will succeed because I will trust in God, even if he chooses not to grant every prayer and petition I offer up to Him.

Daniel 3:17 says, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand."

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego allowed themselves to be bound and thrown into the furnace becasue they did not serve Nebuchadnezzar's gods or worship the image of gold he had set up. They knew that God could save them, but they also trusted Him even if He chose not to do so. When life doesn't go the way you'd hoped, and you're stuck in the furnace, will you choose to trust that God is still good?

I will. I do.

Just recently, I received some not-so-great news about my husband's job, and I took out my anger on him. Was I wrong? Absolutely! Did he forgive me? Of course! Did I apologize? Heck yes! Repeatedly. It's easy to be quick to anger and slow to peace, but I've got to make a conscious effort to change it all around. I just have to remember that God is good all the time. He knows what my future holds. He knows every twist and turn that my life has taken and will take in the future. But because I fully trust in Him, I know peace.

I have dreams. I have obstacles in the way of those dreams. But I don't give up. I won't. My dreams will be fed, day in and day out, with my husband by my side and the Lord as my guide. That doesn't mean it will be a seamless path, because I know for a fact that it won't be. I'm learning every day to not let my fears win; to not miss out on the ride of a lifetime by giving in to my fears.