Dreams.

We all have dreams, right?
Things we want to accomplish.
Ways we want to impact the world.
There’s something I’ve noticed lately, especially with myself.
We don’t really talk about our dreams.
There are plenty of reasons for this, of course.
We aren’t sure if they’ll ever actually come true.
We get caught up in the monotony of life.
Or the business of life.
Or, for me–fear.
I don’t talk about my dreams because I’m afraid of failing.
Or of what people will think.
Or that I’ll fail, and what people will think about me failing.

Do you know that some form of the phrase “do not be afraid” appears 365 times in the Bible?  I’ve seen things about this several times this week–through pinterest, other blogs, and twitter.  It seems to be blowing up right in front of my face.
And you know, it has really made me think.

God did not give us dreams so we could be afraid of them.
And God sure enough did not give us dreams so we would ignore them out of fear.
This has really challenged me this week, and truly given me a new perspective.

“I want to be a writer.”
Sure, that’s easy enough to say in conversation.
But when people ask questions beyond that, like “what do you want to write?” or, “what are you working on now?” I tend to change the subject.
Why?
Because what if I tell them, and then I fail at it?
Today, I have decided that I am done thinking that way.

I want to be a writer.
I am currently writing a book.
There are thirty-nine days until my twenty-first birthday, and my goal is to have a completed {unedited, but completed} manuscript ready by my birthday.
That is my goal.
That is my dream.
Sure, there’s a chance that I could fail at that.  But that is certainly NO reason not to try.

It feels really freaking good to write that down.
What’s your dream?
You should write it down.
You should tell be.
You should not be afraid.