How are you entering 2022? Is it with worry, excitement, sadness, fear, or ready to take on a new challenge?

I’m entering the New Year with hopefulness—hopefulness for the dreams God continues to plant in my heart.

What dream has God given you? It doesn’t matter what that dream looks like to others. What is God placing upon your heart?

I had some new God-dreams (for myself as well as my husband and I as a couple) planted in my heart years ago when we entered the “empty nest” years. We have been in the process of working on turning those dreams into reality since 2018. Although I had these dreams placed on my heart long before that time, my timing wasn’t God’s timing.

I have also been working on simplifying at home. After both of my parents passed away, I realized even more how insignificant and meaningless “things” are. They truly hold no value in Heaven. Living a life of significance for God, however, does hold value for eternity. Sure, I keep a few things that hold sentimental value for me, but overall I long to simplify and focus more on God’s calling, not things. He has a new vision for me to accomplish that couldn’t have happened in younger years for many reasons.

Dreams take work.

I soon discovered how much prayer, learning new things, and hands-on work these dreams would take at this stage (I’m not 25 anymore!). However, I began to pray myself/us through each stage—one step at a time—one obstacle at a time (and there have been many obstacles). When God plants a dream, the enemy loves to throw distractions, problems, and doubts our way. Don’t give in to them. Pray it out, sweat it out, and work it out.

If you believe the Lord is giving you a dream, submit it back to him in prayer—fervently. Make sure it lines up with him and his Word. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what qualifications you have at the moment, or what your current situation or position is! Begin by taking one step at a time. Expect it to be difficult—with tears, frustration, and a ton of hard work mixed in as well as opposition from people (maybe even friends and family) and, of course, the enemy himself. But they are not the givers of your dreams.

Keep your heart and mind focused on the true Dream-Giver, God. Whatever dream God places on your heart and calls you to do is between you and him. Keep following! Allow him to bring it to fruition in your life.

So how are you entering the New Year? I pray it will be with hope and a new God-dream! Let’s watch and see how God works in 2022!

“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” —Luke 1:45 ESV

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'” —Jeremiah 29:11

“And let the [gracious] favor of the Lord our God be on us; Confirm for us the work of our hands—Yes, confirm the work of our hands.” —Psalm 90:17 AMP