Living the Dream!

Painting her dreams from God

I just came across a wonderful article in christianitytoday.com about of young girl named Akiane who paints the dreams and vision she receives from God.  She began seeing and talking about Jesus at age three.  Her parents didn't have any religious interest and she had never been exposed to any idea of God.  They didn't even have a television in their home.  She began drawing and later painting the pictures she saw in her dreams.  She now paints and writes poetry and sees her mission on earth to help other through her gifts.  Please take time to read about her life  at Christianitytoday.com and visit Akiane's own website where you can see her beautiful art and read her poetry.  She has appeared on Oprah and CNN and won numerous awards world-wide. 

Zappos.com and the Golden Rule

Here's a story I learned about from my husband's blog, Chuck Warnock: Sermons, etc.  It's about how some folks at Zappos.com used their hearts instead of the company policy manual to make a difference in the life of one customer.  She wrote about her experience on her blog, Writing- Cooking- Life.  This story made me realize the power of genuine human kindness and compassion.  Read it...you'll be glad you did.

Make a Child Smile!

Here's a website that will really touch your heart.  Makeachildsmile.org/ gives you an easy way to encourage children who are going through major illnesses.  They have a list of children with pictures, addresses, interests and updates from their family.  All you have to do is choose a child (this will be the hard part when you see all those little faces) and send them a card to brighten their day.  Take a few minutes and wander through this site...you'll be glad you did.  I'm going to send cards to some children this week.  Won't you join me?

Tag! You're it!

Help Others.org is full of stories about random acts of kindness, paying it forward, and uplifting moments.  They have a long list of ideas about things you can do to show kindness.  Here's a quote from their website about their mission.

"At a coffee table conversation one day, some friends wondered if people could use their energy, creativity and enthusiasm to do some good. And thus started this experiment. In September 2003, we printed our first batch of smile cards and started doing small acts of kindness.  To date, we've printed 350,000 cards."

The idea of the cards is simple.  It's like the game of Tag... your it.  You do something nice for somebody and give them a card and ask that they pass the kindness and card on to somebody else.  That would make anybody smile!

If you've ever thought obstacles were keeping you from realizing your dreams, you'll love "Three Strings of Itzhak Perlman"

Bridges of Hope

You can meet some really wonderful people through blogging.  I was recently contacted by  Marianne from Save Our Youth in Denver, CO.  She stumbled across my blog and was interested in some Goodthoughts Cards for the volunteers who mentor the kids there.  I looked up their website and learned that Save Our Youth mentors 275 mostly minority youth between the ages of 11 to 19. I was touched by their mission and the way ordinary people are volunteering to build bridges of friendship and hope to the youth of poor, urban Denver.

I thought you might be inspired by their story. In 1993, after a spree of gang violence,  pastor Luis Villarreal prayed with others in the community for a way to reclaim the city's at-risk youth.  Mr. Villarreal is now the executive director of Save Our Youth.  He and the staff and volunteers are working to change their world one youth at a time.  Here's a video clip of their story and a few of the teens and mentors who are making a difference in each others lives.  As you watch it think..."What are some ways I can make a difference in my own corner of the world? 

www.saveouryouth.org/page.php?pname=about/video

It's never too late

Inspirationalstories.com has a great collection of stories to encourage your dreams!  Today's selection is the story of folk artist, Grandma Moses.  She painted colorful memories of her rural childhood.  Twenty-five percent of her paintings were done after her 100th birthday!  Maybe it's not too late for the rest of us!  Read this short story of how she was "discovered."

Seeing is Believing

I get an email newsletter from Charityfocus.org. which recently told the story of Miles Hilton-Barber.  He didn't let blindness keep him from continuing his childhood dream of flying.  In April 2007 he flew halfway around the world with the help of his assistant, Richard.  And while he flew, he raised over a million dollars for Seeing is Believing, providing cataract surgery to people in developing countries.

Read how he did it with a little change of attitude.

 If you think that's something, take a look at his website to see the other amazing feats he has accomplished.

www.mileshilton-barber.com/adventurer.html

Miracle-Gro for your dreams

Don't you just love stories about real people?   Stories of people who against all odds were able to make the world a better place.  Stories of ordinary people who took what talent or determination they had and made something good happen.  Every day (or almost every day!) I'll put a link to an inspirational story about some real live person who is living the dream.

Turning your dream into reality can be hard!  The journey is often a lot longer and more tedious than you planned.  Negative people are quick to point out the top 100 reasons why your dream will never work.  Sometimes you wonder if they're right, and you're just deluding yourself by thinking you could make a difference.  In this garden of life, a little Miracle-Gro now never hurts!  So, when you're feeling a little wilted, come check out this page and get some inspiration for your dreams!

Here's a link to 7 very short stories of famous and not-so-famous people who the nay-sayers said would never succeed!

Grow some dreams this spring!

Spring is in the air!  The bluebirds are checking out houses and making plans. Trees and flowers are starting to appear in the garden centers.  It's that time of year when all of nature, ourselves included,  gets a fresh start...a chance to bloom better than we did last year! 

So while your planting that dogwood and those Knock Out roses, plant a few dreams this spring, too.  Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1.  Grow a real garden to share with others.  Don't hide all the good stuff in the backyard...put it close to the curb or sidewalk for folks to enjoy.  It's hard to frown while you're looking at flowers!  Pick a few posies and plop them in a jar of water, tie on a ribbon and share with a friend.  Be generous with your life!

2. Take a walk outside every day and notice all the things you can be thankful for.  It's free, it's good for you and you just might get some great ideas along the way while you're saying thank you.  Don't you just feel better when the wind's blowing in your hair and the sun's warming your back?  It gets your creative juices flowing.

3.  Get rid of the clutter.  It's spring, isn't it!  Make room for your dreams in your brain and in your life.  It's time to clean and organize.  Now, I'm a messy worker, but have to  have order to think.  So, I have to dig out of the clutter in my studio every now and then!  Don't get bogged down.  Do one little baby step a day to get you going.  Check out flylady.net for free help and encouragement by email.  She helps me stay on track.  You may think it's crazy, but it really works!

4.  Make a dream notebook. Write down all the good things you want to happen in your life.  List them and date them.  Read it everyday and check it off and date it when the good things actually are reality.  Dreams need tending just like a garden.

5.  Begin living your dream!  Want to be a singer...join the church choir.  Want to be a writer...start a blog or write some stories for your kids.  Want to end world hunger...volunteer to deliver meals on wheels.  Do something however small and ordinary it may seem.  If you want to bloom, you've got to get planted!  So do something!  Get started!  Aim yourself in the right direction!

Do you have some more ideas on getting your dreams going?  Add one or more to the comment section.  Your ideas might just inspire somebody to grow some dreams this spring!

What's your dream?

I've been wondering why this page seems so lonely!   It could be that nobody has a dream... but I don't think so.  It could be that it's too much trouble to write about your dream because the story is too long or complicated and you don't have the time. It could be that you think your dream doesn't count because your not actually there yet.   It could be that it's too scary to share anything with people you don't know and can't even see! 

Well, let's just try something new!  If you're out there and you have a dream, just post a one sentence comment or even a one word comment to let us know what your dream is.  I know some of you have a dream that you would like to share.  It won't take but a minute.  You can now leave a comment on Living the Dream page and Goodthoughts page without having to put in your email address if you like.  You can use your first name and remain anonymous.  I hope this makes it more comfortable for you to say what you want to say.

If your thinking..."Oh, no!  I just got around to writing my terrific story and now she's changed everything!"  Go right ahead and write whatever you want to!  We would all love to hear from anybody with a dream!

Debbie