Tag Archives: dreams

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34 lessons I’ve learned over the years

marking my 34th birthday

In 34 years, here’s what I’ve learned…

  1. Love is the answer; being right rarely is.
  2. We spend way too much time in the work of crafting ourselves, and far too little time just being ourselves.
  3. The greatest adventures come from wrong turns, so don’t let fear stop you.
  4. Discipline is important to achieving dreams. Grace is even more important.
  5. You can start over whenever you decide to.
  6. Your childhood gives you character but it doesn’t control who you become.
  7. Worrying about something that might happen is wasted energy.
  8. If you want to be successful, surround yourself with successful people.
  9. Success is not defined by status, money, education, career or another person but by the peace in your heart.
  10. Money doesn’t give you character. Failure does.
  11. When someone shows their true colors, don’t try to repaint them.
  12. Anger isn’t nearly as impressive as patience. Nor is it as effective.
  13. Listen more and talk less.
  14. Boyfriends and husbands are lovely. Close girlfriends are gold.
  15. You have to go home with your heart, so love freely but keep the key.love, answer, trishakeehn.com, life lessons, 30's lessons, love is the answer,
  16. Vulnerability is the strength that separates the strong from the weak.
  17. Everyone has a story. Make time for the adventure.
  18. The more mistakes you make the more you learn. Take risks.
  19. Dimming your light to make others feel more comfortable doesn’t serve you. Or them.
  20. Go neither right nor left at the fork. Go right up the middle. Choose the narrow path. Take someone with you.
  21. After thinking I would never fall in love again, I did.
  22. No one has it all together. Forgive people. Even your exes. They’re just winging it, too.
  23. There’s not just one person for you. Love takes a commitment. If you’re both willing, you can make a relationship work. Soul mates are made over time.
  24. Another person will never complete you. Only you can do that.
  25. If you’re not happy with yourself, you’ll never be happy in a relationship.
  26. No amount of designer handbags or shoes is going to make you happy in the long run. The same goes for chocolate chip cookies.
  27. The way people treat you is probably more about them, not you.
  28. Boundaries are about self-preservation, not about alienation.
  29. Black and white is an illusion. Life is gray.
  30. Help out someone less fortunate for the joy of doing it. Then keep it to yourself.
  31. Small minds focus on problems. Big thinkers focus on solutions.
  32. Working hard doesn’t mean working smart.
  33. Failure only happens to quitters.
  34. Believe everyone has good intentions… even God.


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Discovering Joy in the Journey

What I love about the ring of a new year is the hope that’s swirling in anticipation of a do-over. All those leftover disappointments from last year hit the reset button.

It’s uplifting to be around people who believe they can begin again.

However, by the time this post is published, statistics say one in four people will have already abandoned their mission for the year. And unfortunately, these numbers show it will be the same goal that’s been spoken and broken at least ten different times now.

Over the years, I’ve picked numbers and words, scarier dreams and SMART goals. Some are successful, while others get tangled up in small setbacks before Spring. Interestingly enough, 60% of all new year’s resolutions will be dumped by June.

Has this already happened to you?

Perhaps you started the year flying high on your hopes that these coming weeks would be your best ones yet, but no sooner had the party favors been put away, your goals plateaued leaving you on autopilot for a repeat of last year.

The devil is constantly trying to run us off the promised land God has for us.

Pastor Steven Furtick with Elevation Church says this, “resolve cannot change what routine created. In other words, the faith to step out is worthless without the faithfulness to stick it out.”

Powerful. Let those words marinate in your mind awhile. It took me a couple days to soak this in.

journey to get thereThere are so many nuggets to draw out in Mr. Furtick’s sentences, but what it says to me in this moment is that reaching a goal is less about the final destination and more about the journey to get there.

New mantra: To rejoice in established routines I walk out today as they develop the faithful habits I need for the following months. This will lead to the goals I plan to conquer that eventually fulfill the dreams God has for my future.

If the mind isn’t satisfied and celebrating in the incremental advances in the moment, we will lose sight of why this goal is tangible and meaningful today.

The end is only a conclusion to the story; the real adventure is in the peaks and valleys. If we’re not grateful for where we are, we won’t appreciate goals when we reach them.

Beware! The devil is constantly trying to run us off the promised land God has for us. There is no room for regret in a life full of God’s good things, so turn over these stones of setbacks and allow them to become the wisdom you need for tomorrow.

Jerry Jenkins, author of nearly 200 books and most notably known for writing “The Left Behind” series and Billy Graham’s autobiography, has a great take on goals and success.

“My father had long counseled me that the popularity of goal setting as a means to success was good only to the extent of the definition of success. “Be the best you can be at what you’ve been called to do,” he said. “And you’ll be more of a success than the person who is the best in the world at it but is not working to his potential.”

So my aim became to obey and let the results fall where they may.”

Remind yourself that God’s promises will come to pass and you have been gifted to carry them out. Give yourself permission to try again, and then pick up that God-given assignment and start, no matter what month we’re in. Drop the pressure to perform and be confident that you already have what it takes to carry out His work. Give Him your best and the rest will be blessed.

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Distinguishing The Distractions

About the time my mind matches my destiny and it seems there’s nothing stopping me from achieving a dream, my eyes fall prey to the allure of ‘everything else’ beckoning for my attention at that exact moment. My drive becomes victim to the demands of a distraction.

Sometimes, my own cunning desires manipulate logic and I wind up doing what others want me to do, even if I have no anointing for it. I leave with immediate gratification, but it later fades and I’m left empty of the lasting joy, peace, rest, and wonderful relationships. This isn’t about deceit, it’s simply defining and dividing out the good things from God’s greatness for me.

Not every diversion from schedules and routines is a distraction; I’m still discovering what is and isn’t. I remember in a sermon, my pastor made a statement, “anything that keeps you from church, is probably not from God.” The church, of course, is not four walls of brick and mortar, but fellow believers. That seemed logical, and an easy way to decipher Sunday interruptions at least.

But what about commitments I make the other six days a week? How do I deem what’s a distraction or actually aiding my efforts in a roundabout way?

The tantalizing trait of temptations is that they feed our flesh and ultimately lead us away from God. Temptations are distractions. Distractions are temptations in disguise.

In order to differentiate the devil’s devices from what is heaven sent, I think I need to evaluate whether I’m getting further away from my relationship with Jesus or coming closer as a result of these activities. Do they bring full-on glory to God or mediocre methods to my own madness?time vs distractions

And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction. 1 Corinthians 7:35

And let the beauty and delightfulness and favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands-yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it. Psalm 90:17

Lead me in the way that I should go, Lord. Strengthen my spirit to discern the difference in these distractions. Help me clear away the clutter so I can clearly see what is worthwhile. Keep my mind steady on the Rock of my salvation and at rest upon your gift of redemption, even when I fall victim to these disturbances. I’m clinging to the promise that you make all things good, all things! Jesus, your grace is all I need. Your grace grace upon grace is all that I breathe.

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As I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Shhh… listen. Can you hear Him calling out to you? He’s there and His whisper is pursuing your heart. The search for God’s still, small voice in your life can be a challenge. Sometimes we hear a voice but struggle to discern the source. It’s difficult when distractions like work, family, friends or opportunities come knocking on the same door you were trying to close to get away with God. (That’s an infamous trick by Satan, by the way.) Being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice comes from the discipline of quiet time and fasting. But what if you’re doing that and still stuck in the struggle?

Every day God is calling out to us in a million ways. He’s the great pursuer, He never gives up. He’s the Author and greatest grand daddy of true pursuit! But are we trying to get to know Him for who He is or for the blessings His hand will bring to our lives? Diligent quiet time, those moments when you spend less time talking and more time being still and just listening. This kind of surrender is a pleasing aroma to the heavens. It’s how we get to know our Heavenly Father and the sweet sound of His voice. No agenda. There’s a physical portion as well; humbleness in the presence of our Lord as we take to our knees and silence the sound of our mind.

A few months back I started to have wild dreams… prophetic dreams that I wrote down and shared with a few people close in my life. Dreams that later came to fruition. As I was studying scripture, I noticed how frequently God speaks to people in dreams, in fact, it’s a common practice. But most of us, like king Nebuchadnezzar, don’t know how to interpret these God-inspired dreams. So I started praying for a Daniel-like ability to interpret the voice of God in my sleep. I sought out wisdom and studied scriptures.

Dreams are filled with God’s encouragement, warnings revelations and prophecy. He’s given us the Bible to help guide us through interpretations, as well as His spirit. Over these last few months, I’ve gained alot of insight and I started praying for more of His voice as I rested. It has been an absolute adventure! I keep a journal next to my pillow to write down our journey through the night. In the morning, I scramble to read through the pages. One morning I read through chapters to a book I’m writing. Several times, I have been warned of the enemy chasing me. God exposes the devil at work, so the safest place I can be is in the shadow of His wings, close enough to the truth so that I may hear the warning in His voice.

In my dreams, there are no distractions. Just a journey with my Father through the seasons of life. It has been the most absolutely astounding walk I’ve ever been on. If you struggle to hear or discern the voice of God while you’re awake in the midst of endless disruptions, pray for His voice in your dreams. He’s pursuing you. Everyday. Are you listening?

God, you are so good to us. Even when we’ve strayed and made a mockery of your name, you are still on the throne and pursuing us, calling our hearts back to yours. God, your love is more than this mind can even imagine, but already, I am overcome with joy, peace and desire for more of you everyday. I fall short, but my soul is recklessly pursuing you with complete abandonment to this world. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your voice. Thank you for who you are.

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His Plan Revealed

Isn’t our God just remarkable? I mean, if you think about it, He takes the time to walk hand in hand with each one of us everyday when there’s an entire world to take care of. We are on His mind from the rising of the sun to the next rising… not even in the darkness (when the sun goes down or when our sin rises up) does He set us aside. I’m just in so much awe of how amazing He really is. I cannot pour out praise enough for what a magnificent God He is!

I have to share about a most incredible experience God gave me this last week. He just consumed me with answers to prayers in one sweep, in the most unlikely way you can imagine! To make a very long story short, a trip to Verizon Wireless to restore service on my phone ended in the sales rep delivering messages from God over an hour and a half. Yes, that really happened! Prayers I’ve been praying, answers I’ve been seeking, the depths of my heart only God could reveal began to unfold right there!

How did that happen you might be wondering? Well, I’m not sure. I was sharing a testimony to the sales guy of God’s hand at work with my broken phone and a few seconds in he grabbed a pad of post it notes and began writing messages down. I asked what he was doing and he simply responded ‘you’ll figure it out later… keep talking’. So I continued with my story of praise to the Lord and post it after post it, this guy began revealing God’s direction for my life, the source of conundrums that have been perplexing my thoughts, what the future has in store, gifts He has anointed me with and interpretation of the crazy dreams I’ve been having recently. There were details delivered from my prayers; things that made me laugh, blush, raise eyebrows and be overjoyed. Only God… only God.

I’ll start to share some of those in the days to come, as they’ve already begun to unfold. But all I can think of right now is this prayer…

Restore us again, O God of our salvation…revive us again, 
that Your people may rejoice in You.
Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD, 
and grant us Your salvation.

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, 
for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints; 
but let them not turn back to folly.

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, 
that glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; 
righteousness and peace kiss each other. 
Faithfulness springs up from the ground, 
and righteousness looks down from the sky. 
Yes, the LORD will give what is good, 
and our land will yield its increase. 
Righteousness will go before Him 
and make His footsteps a way. Psalm 85: 4-13) (ESV)