Dream Book

Introduction:

The first day of first grade was so exciting for me, I got to go to school all day long. I was starting to be a big kid! I can still see the classroom in my memory to this day, I can also remember who my teacher was, but we will leave her name out of this story.

First grade was memorable time for me, but it wasn’t exactly the memories that I thought I was going to have when I started on the first day. First grade was actually the first time that I could remember that I understood that I was not as smart as other people in my class. It was the first time I can remember quitting something before I ever started because I knew in my heart that I was dumb. So how did I come to this conclusion?

One day in class my teacher decided that she was going to break up everyone in different reading groups according to how “smart” you were. Three different groups with one being the more advanced kids and three being the less advanced kids. I can remember when she was telling us what groups we were going to be in, I was still naive to think that I was going to be in the advanced group. She named the names and I didn’t go to the advanced group, I was in the bottom group. I felt so stupid. Stupid enough that subconsciously I accepted being below average and is started to show.

Later in the year another event happened that reinforced my “below average” mentality. One day we were at our reading centers, I was wearing those cool blue headphones listening to a book. I was a young first grader and while I was in my center I needed to go to the restroom. Not number one either! So I asked my teacher for permission to go, but she refused and told me to stay. I actually pleaded with her, but because I felt unworthy I quit asking. I really needed to go, and I could not wait so I went. You guessed it, I went in my pants. Unfortunately this was in the morning and I was way too embarrassed to tell anyone. So I suffered it out for the rest of the day. I actually did a pretty good job of playing it off as the smell got worse.

I walked home that day with my pants still filled with “mush.” I couldn’t wait to get home. My mom was sitting on the automan in the house waiting for me. I came up to her and hugged her hopping she would not smell me, but she did. She immediately reacted and asked me why I have used the restroom in my pants. I told her the story about how my teacher had not let me go, and then the momma bear came out. All I remember from what happened next is that my parents had a meeting with the teacher that I am sure did not go well. I can remember my mom telling others that my teacher had called me “Stupid.” This experience formed an opinion in me about myself that lasted my entire school career, until my senior year.

My senior year I met another teacher, her name was Mrs. Scot. She was not an easy teacher, but she really helped me see something different about myself. Mrs. Scot was in charge of the debate team for the school, she also taught a lot of advanced classes. Classes that I never thought I could be a part of.

One day we were talking and she said something that forever changed how I saw myself. She said “Brett you know you are smart enough to be on the debate team.” This belief that she had on me came at just the right time. The words she spoke were life to me! I immediately agreed with her and started to see myself as smart and not stupid. I saw myself as a person who could dream and offer something to this world. From that point on I took education seriously, I have studied and read hundreds of books.

Mrs. Scot helped me so much that day with a short conversation, my hope is that this book can do what Mrs. Scot did for me. She woke up the dream in me, her words changed my entire focus on life.

God brought Mrs. Scot into this world to inspire me with her dream to teach. I believe God has a dream inside of every person on this earth and that dream will cause the world to see the beauty of God.

So take this journey with me and lets begin to dream again! Lets begin to believe that God can do wonderful works inside of everyone of us.

Dream God Has Plan

The meeting was going well, the plan was going to be put in motion. The plan was to expand the kingdom of heaven and create a place that would be heaven on earth. The plan was Gods plan and it was a good plan. In just a matter of six days the entire earth would take on a totally new look, and instead of it being a dormant place that was offering no production, it would be place that had the ability to produce and sustain a life that no where in the universe has ever experienced before. This new life would rule the earth with presence of love that would drive out any form of hatred and darkness. Earth would be unlike any place in the universe.

For six days straight something new would be added to the earth. There would be ground, animals, vegetation, light where there is darkness, and finally there would be creatures created that were unlike anything created before.

Genesis 1:26–28 NLT

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

Nothing had ever been created with such authority and creativity. Man was going to live on the earth with delegated power to create a world that looked like heaven on earth. Man had the ability to oversee the earth, to fill the earth, and subdue the earth. The had the ability to create more humans from one another. There minds could be filled with dreams of the future, the excitement of being able to build something incredible. The father spoke and gave them instructions.

Genesis 2:15–17 NLT

The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

Man was given there responsibilities and their boundaries. However, they became tempted to do what God asked them not to do. They listened to the reason of the serpent.

Genesis 3:1–7 NLT

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

God had a plan and that plan was to see man subdue and rule the earth. He planted dreams inside of man to fill the earth. However, that day changed when man chose to be disobedient and eat from the forbidden tree. Man began to see shame and guilt instead of having a purpose in a dream.

God’s plan was not ruined that day. God was ready for this moment and he made a promise to restore the original plan to the enemy.

Genesis 3:15 NLT

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

This was the first messianic prophesy in the Bible. The Father told the serpent that “He will strike your head.” Who is he? He is Jesus! He was going to come and strike the head of the enemy destroying his work forever more. From this moment on man was now looking for the messiah to come redeem mankind and restore him to his original place.

Jesus is the messiah who would come. The very first message Jesus ever preached was the affirming His own purpose.

Matthew 4:17 NLT

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

The word repent means to turn and change the way that you think. Jesus was telling them that the time of the restoration of the Kingdom had come. Its time to dream again! The original plan was being restored and evil was being overcome. What the enemy had stolen Jesus has returned to redeem his creation. His death resurrection as the perfect sacrifice would wash away all the sin of mankind and return them to the place God originally intented for them.

Created to Dream

I can still remember waking up and driving to the church. I was a little amped up because we were hosting some pastors for a sectional meeting, so we were going to be busy. We were all gathered in the fellowship hall of the church when suddenly we got some news that would forever change our lives. Two plans had flown into each tower of the World Trade Center. I can remember trying to get a TV together so we could watch the news. Once the TV was setup we saw what was happening. I could not believe my eyes. Fear started to grip my mind. The United States of America has been attacked, and it was one of the first times in my lifetime that an attack on America soil had happened.

The fear of what would happen the next day or the next year began to paralyze me. I thought of the families who lost loved ones in the attack. I thought of my wife, my daughter, and our future. Everything was going to change. I became very anxious and worried. I started having anxiety attacks that I just could not seem to stop. I was so worried about what might happen, I was consumed with fear. I felt so paralyzed, I couldn’t work, I could barely eat, and I couldn’t quit thinking about everything that could happen. The dreams in my heart seemed like they were impossible to ever achieve.

The attack on 9/11 was stealing from me, it was stealing from family, and it was stealing from America. America has always been a place where people had the freedom to dream to believe that anything is possible if we will only believe. However, the dreams seemed so distant and the fear of tomorrow was very real. What was happening to me was exactly what the terroist wanted to happen, they wanted me to be paralyzed with fear. The goal of the terriost attack was not just to kill people, it was to attack the heart of the American people. It was to strike such a fear in people all over the world that they wold quit dreaming and come under the subjection of their radical ideas.

What would of happened if they were successful? Man would no longer believe in the American way, they would no longer believe that anything was possible. People would not dream anymore, they would invent anymore, they might be alive, but they would be dead on the inside. It would be like the day when Adam and Eve chose to eat of the forbidden fruit, people would be striving to survive instead of dreaming.

We are all created with a dream that is meant to be expressed on this earth. The dream on the inside of you is not about you, it is about Gods plan for the earth. God created you specifically designed to fulfill the dream so that the earth can look more like heaven.

Have you ever wondered why you think the way you do? Have you ever wondered why others don’t think like you? Why is your passions so diffferent than others? Why is it that what you care about is more important to you than others? It is is because God created you in a unique way to fulfill your dream. God created you and he knows you.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Before you were ever born God put the wires in your brain that connect to your heart. He made your heart to pump in such way that your passions are in line with your dreams. He created you with abilities that are automatic to the muscle memory in your brain. He created you with a drive makes you to overcome and keep moving toward your purpose when life becomes difficult.

Jeremiah 1:5 ESV

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

The truth that God spoke about believe God is speaking to all of us. He knew us before we were born. The word Knew is from the greek word Genosko which means intimately. God knew us intimately before we were born. Could it be that we knew God before we were born as well. That when he made us he spoke to us about our future and we spoke to Him in agreement?

On 9/11 the enemy tried to destroy the dream inside of me because he knows that the dream inside of me is going to change the earth. The dream may or may not reach all over the globe, but it will fulfill the purpose inside of me. The dream in me will help mankind.

You were created to dream! The dream inside of you is not about you, but it is about others. The dream is created to bless other and bring more of heaven on earth. So don’t let fear stop you, get out of the tent and see the stars.

See the Stars

Can you imagine with me one day that your spouse comes to you and tells you that they believe its time to sell your home and leave for another place. The only problem is that they do not know where that other place, all they know is that God told them it was time to leave and go to another place. That is exactly what happened to Abraham and Sarah. God told Abraham

Genesis 12:1 ESV

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

Abraham was a man of God, so he gathered his family and left his land.

Abraham and Sarah loved God, they were obedient to God. Abraham and Sarah also had dreams in there heart. Like most married couples they desired to have children of their own. Abraham wanted to leave a legacy on this earth by passing what had been given to him by God to his own children. Sarah wanted to be a mom and she desired to give her husband the desires of his heart. However, they were getting old and the dream seemed like it was impossible. Sarah especially saw her body as old and did not believe her body could possible concieve and carry children. Sarah had given up on her dream.

One day we read in scripture a conversation between Abraham and God.

Genesis 15:1–6 ESV

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Abraham asked God to fulfill the dream in his heart to have a child of his own to pass down his inheritance. God promised Abraham not just one child, but so many children that he could not count. He told Abraham to get out of his tent, go outside and see the stars. Abraham was dreaming, but God challenged him to dream even bigger! God’s dreams were bigger than Abrahams, however, when Abraham stepped out his tent and saw what God saw and he believed. So because Abraham believed God said he was credited with righteousness. God blessed Abraham because He believed in the dream.

Sarah however, struggled.

Genesis 18:1–5 ESV

And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”

Genesis 18:1–15 ESV

And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

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Sarah was inside the tent and heard what the men told Abraham and she laughed. If we are honest with ourselves we would all probably laugh at the promise of children if we were ninety years old. She looked at her body and said “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”

The problem with Sarah was that she was still in the tent. So many dreams are not fulfilled because we are spending more time with a roof over our heads instead of seeing all the stars of possibility.

The Tent is Filled with Excuses

Sarah compared her current circumstances with the promise of God. When Sarah started to compare she left any of the possibilities of God power being able to fulfill what he promised. The tent represents a place of limitation, you can only see so far in the tent. Sarah was limited, she couldn’t see the stars.

What are some the excuses do we use today?

“How is my dream going to happen?”

“Who am I that God would choose me?”

“There is not enough money?”

“The world has been cruel to me, I am damaged goods.”

“I don’t have what others have.”

“If the government would get there act together I could make it?”

I am sure you could list many more excuses, but whatever you excuse is you have to deal with it. Abraham had to leave the tent before he could see the possiblities. He confronted disbelief by looking at the stars. He chose to believe a different report than what Sarah did. He did not consider his body, but He Considered God.

Focus on the Stars and not the Ceiling

One of my favorite quotes on faith come from Doug Jones “Preach the God side first it makes the man side easier.” Another way you could say this quote is “see God’s side first it will make your dream believable.”

God spoke to Sarah and reminded her that there was nothing too hard for God. He reminded her of His promise and then gave here another promise that she would have a son by this time next year. Sarah had a choice, get out of the tent or stay right where she was. Sarah chose to believe God. She had a child that began the fulfillment of God’s dream.

Get Out of the Tent

So what is holding you back? Get out of your tent and go for your dream. Here are some steps that will help you break free from the tent:

Number One: Write down your dream

Number Two: Identify your excuses

When you recognize your excuses then you can confront them.

Number Three: Believe that do is able

Abraham believe and God rewarded him. Give yourself persmission to believe that God is willing.

Number Four: Get around some other dreamers

Sometimes that best action you can ever take is to find some new friends. If you are the smartest person in the room then its time to find a new room! What networks do you need to connect with? Who do you know that has a connection to dreamers?

Express Yourself

The Seed of Ideas

The Climb

Speak to the Mountain

Dealing with Disappointment

Learning to Rest

Wake up the Dream