Thursday, April 26, 2012

I Wonder: Dreams


         Another from BreAnne!  This one sticks with me as we prepare for the next season of our life. 

            As I looked over the wing of the airplane I was aboard, I couldn't help but wonder what the Wright brothers would think if they could see our modern air crafts. Their impossible dream evolved into something much bigger than themselves so much so that it continues to evolve even to this day. People must have thought them crazy to dare to dream such a dream. Not only did they dream it, they pursued it. I wonder how many people who genuinely cared about them pulled them aside to urge them to not try to make that contraption of theirs fly with them in it. I wonder how many people scoffed. I wonder how much their dream must have consumed their thoughts every day. I wonder how many disappointing set-backs they had to face before they realized their dream. I wonder if they even had any clue how big of a dream they were dreaming.

            A dream is such a powerful thing. For a dream we will set goals. For a dream we will do the hard stuff to see those goals accomplished. For a dream we will endure scoffing, ridicule, and even persecution. For a dream we will stay up working all hours of the night. For a dream we will rise with the morning light. For a dream we will deny ourselves pleasures and comforts. For a big dream we will deny other lesser dreams. Dreams are beautiful things. However, if we don't have the conviction to back up those dreams; we will never see those dreams brought into reality. A dream remains forever merely a dream if we are not willing to make the sacrifices required by such a dream. I wonder how many young men, or even women, before the Wrights dreamed of flying machines. I wonder how many tried to make it happen. I wonder how many even invested great amounts of money, time, and energy. What was the difference? Why didn't they see their dreams fulfilled. I am sure many people would say that the reason must be that they didn't have anyone to believe in them or they never got their lucky break. That could be the case. But how often are those the excuses of our generation? Quite often I feel. It seems like we know how to dream, but we also know how to make excuses for when we fail or don't even try to pursue our dreams. We seem to lack the conviction and perseverance required of a big dream. Most of us will not do the hard things to make our dreams succeed and our dreams will die with us. However, there are some of us who will push and push and push and dream and push and dream some more and work hard and push until we see our dreams come into fruition. There are sadly only some of these kinds of people in every generation. Here's another thought, not every one of these people have dreams that are for the good of their fellow men. Some evil men have the conviction and perseverance to make their dreams reality. Part of how they succeed and are able to continue in succeeding is that good men don't dream.

            I wonder what kind of a woman I am. Am I one of the "some" in this generation? Or maybe I am merely one of the "almost some," one who will make an attempt at my dreams but not see it through to the end. Do I have what it takes to be one of the "some?"

            I wonder if my dreams are big enough to be God-sized dreams. God gives God-sized dreams to those of us who have hearts that are fully yielded to His, hearts that have the courage to do the hard things and the humility to give Him the credit. God loves it when we dream God-sized, God-directed, God-empowered dreams. God loves it when we will grab hold of His God-sized hand and hang on tight while we obediently follow Him in pursuing a God-sized dream. Such a dream is not about ourselves, our strengths or weaknesses, our pasts or presents. Such a dream is about God's will and God's ability to make a way. I wonder what kind of dreams I have been dreaming.

            I wonder.


Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Fields and Fields of Plastic!


Yep - it's spring time around our house! 


Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Snatching Solitude

I've been thinking, praying, meditating on solitude and secrecy....it started as my 2012 Memorial Stone - but I'm also doing a session on this at the upcoming spring retreat.  I decided to try something out and snatch a solitude moment in the midst of activity. 


We finished school and headed 5ks up the road to Swan Park....Lovely walk, playground, swans, ducks, budding trees....It was a GREAT idea....though "someone" was heard to say, "Stacia, can you please quit talking just for a second so we can hear the birds!"


Stacia is begging we go back camping...we need to make that happen this summer. Cherry Blossom season is coming! It (or fall) has got to be the PERFECT time of the year in Misawa....not cold, not hot....


Yuuki pulled Nolan down the hill - she was really excited by the swans


Can you see the kids at the top? 
 

We have budding trees - lanterns getting reading for Hanamai!

It's going to be gorgeous when they bloom! 






Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

KP Duty

Watching the kids do dinner clean up tonight took me back to the fun of KP in the Step dorm. I know I've seen a photo somewhere of myself, Donna and Lor (Possibly Julie or Cheryl? - maybe I did dream this photo up as I picture the whole dorm in the thing) looking oh-so-excited to be cleaning up. I've wasted an hour searching FB for the photo....maybe it was in my dream. 


BUT I did snap photos of the kids looking oh-so-excited to be a blessing. Not quite the impact I planned without the 30 year old photo. LOL 





Thanks, kids, it really IS a blessing for you to do this each night. And Nolan was a great pre-dinner helper too! 


Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Day in Bullets


  • First time EVER that I've given my name over the phone and had someone say "Gerker" that would be and spell it correctly! The spot - clinic laboratory...unfortunately my lab orders weren't submitted for my thyroid retests...another month of no energy before I can get labs and appointment synchronized. 
  • School - pressure is off...but we still have an hour of table school and some reading or craft each day. 
  • "So, Zander, how are your relationships going?" Stacia's random question. 
  • Love Jared taking Zander for runs. 
  • Jared and Arielle both out this afternoon earning money - THIS is what life will be like in a couple of years....hmmm.
  • I've become my Grams. I found myself saying, "When the girls get here, I'll see if they'll help me reorganize the kitchen." ::snort:: 
  • About that SCHOOL somehow it took Stacia just as long to do table school as all of school used to take us...::sigh::
  • Ran (as in drove 5k in my little Nissan) to Swan Park today in search of a "solitude break"*
  • Five cases of free books!
  • Watching the kids do dinner clean up brings back fond memories of KP duty!*
  • Cannot BELIEVE I missed farewell scones and tea! I even sent an email this a.m. to a friend saying, "I've got it on my calendar"....um but evidently you have to also remember what DAY you are living for your calendar to be really effective!
  • Dinner done....house is slowly quieting as all "run to their personal corners"....I'll stay up until Jared is home from work (riding his bike tonight). I'll finish blogging and then go join someone in their personal corner. ::grin:: 
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Marinated Flank Steak


I've never cooked flank steak before, but this was good. I'm hearing flank steak is a good fajita meat so I'll do some more exploring in the future. We ate it before I snapped a photo. 

1/2 C Vegetable oil
1/3 C soy sauce
1/4 C red wine vinegar
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T Dijon mustard
2 gloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds flank steak

Mix all in a bowl. Pour over steak. Marinate in fridge 6 hours (I did overnight). This was made to be on the grill, but I did it at 350* for an hour instead. I think that was a good choice for this steak as it would have been overly tough on the grill. 

After baking (I did pour the marinade over it and I'm not overly worried about that), I used juices from pan, 3 T cold water and 3 T cornstarch to make a sauce. 

Very good flavor.  This is from All Recipes - there were lots of comment about this and that...but I kept it simple. Below facts from All Recipes. 

Choosing Joy!

©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...