Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Following His Dream

'Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.'  Psalm 37:4

What are the desires of your heart?  I used to think that money, a big house, a nice car, a steady job, and many other things were the desires of my heart.  I used to think that if I pray and read the bible, then surely He'll bless me with these desires.  Because I really  needed them.  My life just wouldn't be complete without them.  Surely He knows that...He knows everything, after all.

Then I had kids.  And the desires of my heart changed.  I desired sleep, a clean house, money (because kids are expensive, I know He knows that), a bigger house, a bigger car, and the list went on.  I really needed these things as my life would be incomplete without them.

But then I found Jesus and my life has never been the same.  Now I want to give away the house, the car, the money, the kids (just kidding, I'll keep the house)...No, really, my desires have become His desires for me.  My dream has changed into 'what is His dream for me?'  I delight in Him simply because He is my Daddy.  And any blessing He sees fit to give me is above and beyond what I've already been given.

Through much prayer and seeking His direction, I'm beginning to see His dream for me involves writing.  Using the gift of encouragement He has given me to help other women (and men, Phil) is a delight to Him.  A very exciting opportunity for me to learn more about using my gift and following His will for me is attending the She Speaks conference held by Proverbs 31 Ministries this July.  I've stepped out in faith and registered because I know this is His will for me.

Please be in prayer for me as I seek to raise my own funds (learning His will is not cheap sometimes) to attend the conference.  Also pray for me as I continue to follow His dream for my life.  What about you?  Are you following your dreams or His?

7 comments:

Eileen said...

Great post Allison! It's beautiful how God changes the desires of our hearts to match His. I think this is one of the beauties of having the Holy Spirit residing in us! He guides us and "tweaks" us. I am excited about the conference and hope to meet you. I'll be praying for all of us who are desiring to go. And I SO wish Phil could come!!! I would love to meet him too :)

Jenifer Metzger said...

I am praying for you. If I am able to go, I will let you guys know and we can meet up. That would be so much fun! :)

When we are following hard after Christ, our desires become His desires. Great post.

Debbie Dillon said...

Isn't it amazing how God transforms us and our way of thinking? I share your joy over the inner peace He brings and in knowing it's the will of our father we now seek. God bless you - praying He'll make it possible for you to attend the conference. What a blessing that's going to be. I want to check into it :)

Unknown said...

God does have a way of changing our desires, doesn't He? And what He desires for us is soooo much better than anything we could desire for ourselves. Great post!

Mining for Diamonds said...

This post made me laugh!!! Loved the humor. I pray that the Lord fulfills every desire of your heart, including the desire to attend She Speaks. And praying to see you there! God bless!

Heidi said...

I am praying for you! I will be SO very jealous of several of you go and meet up!

Phather Phil Malmstrom said...

Thank you Allison, both for the chuckle of being included in your post and the wonderful articles you write each day. Your blog, and those of the other ladies are a daily source of inspiration, fellowship and encouragement. And you know Eileen, I wish I could come as well! ;-)

Have a Blessed Day!