A New Year of Dreaming

One of my favorite books from this past year was Andre Agassi’s auto-biography Open.  The most surprising part of his story was that tennis was never his dream.  It was his father’s.  #1 in the world, over $31 million in career earnings and one of the best players of all time and yet, tennis wasn’t his dream.

As I read his story, I felt his pain, his frustration and his loss of identity as he pursued a dream.  A dream that was never his own.  And as much as he didn’t love the dream, he loved his father and he poured himself into it to make him happy.  His father’s dream eventually became his dream.

If Andre’s father hadn’t had a dream and held his son to the pursuit of it, I wonder what Andre would have become?  How good would he have been at tennis if he hadn’t spent hours on the court as a seven year old?  How realistic would the #1 seed have been if he hadn’t moved thousands of miles away from home to go to tennis boarding school?

What he achieved would have not been possible without the sacrifices.

His story gets me thinking about my dreams.  Are they big enough?  As a seven year old kid, Andre’s dreams weren’t big enough.  Only his dad had the experience and the foresight to know what could be.

What would happen if we traded our dreams for God’s dreams?

I’m pretty sure that I think too small.  I know I don’t dream big enough to push through the discomfort and the sacrifice.  What does it really look like for me to pursue God’s dreams?  What kind of sacrifice will that mean?  What kind of frustration will I need to face?  How lonely will I feel?

I’m not suggesting that the Agassi story is the perfect model for following your dreams.  It’s not.  But I have to wonder what God could do through me if I gave even a fraction of the energy that Andre did to my Father’s dream for me?  God’s dreams, God’s plans for me and for you are so much grander than what we can comprehend.

So with a new year ahead of us, I hope you’ll dream.  I hope you’ll seek God for his dreams for you.  Better yet, I hope you take the steps to see that dream become a reality.

I’m so excited that Cross Point is hosting Ben Arment‘s Dream Year weekend.  If you are ready to pursue a dream, this would be a great place to start!

THE DREAM YEAR WEEKEND IN NASHVILLE – JANUARY 21-23

Dream Year is a process designed by STORY creator Ben Arment to help people bring a God-given dream to life in one year.

You’re invited to Nashville on January 21-23, for the first Dream Year retreat. In one, pivotal weekend, you’ll learn the principles behind Dream Year and create a personal plan to pursue your God-given dream. Here’s what you’ll experience:

– The Dream Year process from start to finish
(For an overview, visit DreamYear.net)
– Personal feedback on your dream
– Case studies of successful stories
– Milestones for achieving your dream in a year
– New friends to share the journey with you
– Tools for managing the progress of your dream
– Analysis of your dream’s history and viability
– Ways to overcome the challenges of your field
– Resources to help guide your journey
– Special guests throughout the weekend
– Meals listed on the event schedule
– Morning morning lessons for a year
– A much-needed getaway in an exciting city

If you register by this Friday, January 7, you can get $50 off with the discount code CROSSPOINT.

For more info, visit DreamYear.net. To Register for the weekend, go HERE.

How can I pray for your dream?

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  • Janet Oberholtzer January 4, 2011  

    Jenni, I’ve been wanting to read “Open” by Andre Agassi, now you’ve really peaked my interest in it. I’ll have to make that my reading material as I travel to Nashville for Dream Year.

    Other readers … I was part of Ben Arment’s 2010 Dream Year program. It was an excellent thing for me. Step by step I’m moving closer to making my dream happen … I won’t be where I am without the coaching I received from Ben.

    I’m excited for the Dream Year weekend because I know it will be inspiring and helpful for many that can’t commit to the yearlong program. In one weekend, you will receive so much. Consider it as a gift to yourself or for someone else with a dream brewing. If you aren’t sure what your dream is … but you want something bigger or a passion to strive for, this weekend could help you define what it is. Through Dream Year, what benefited me as much as the coaching to make my dream happen, was finding out what my dream was and what it was not … my focus is so much more defined now.

    See you at Dream Year Weekend!

    • Jenni Catron January 4, 2011  

      Looking forward to seeing you Janet!

  • Sherie January 4, 2011  

    Jenni, I’m so glad you are attending the weekend. I wish I could be there, but feel I need to be here to invest in something major that is taking place and will long term be part of my heart and dreams. I will be praying for all that are attending the weekend as I know several of you and know how important and pivotal this can be. I pray your hearts will be open and receptive.

    I agree with Janet that sometimes what we need most is to define exactly what our dream is and is not, or as Ben posted on his blog today…limiting it to one dream because we have too many. This past year/year and half have been a time of completely rebuilding my understanding of God, faith, life, and what my identity is because of what Christ has done. It has so radically changed me that I can’t stay put or stay silent. That drives dreams and change. I spent a lot of time over the last few weeks preparing my heart and life for an incredible ride this year. I have entered the new year in a really humble, open, and receptive place. I am ready to learn, ready to change, and ready to pursue and fight for the important things. My next steps are to put some tangible actions in place to pursue dreams.

    I will be praying for your dreams. Thanks for the ongoing reminders about important things.

    • Jenni Catron January 4, 2011  

      Thanks Sherie. Wish you were coming too, but sounds like you have some exciting things happening!

  • Jeremy January 4, 2011  

    I find it out hard to figure out my dream. What I do know is what I have dreamed about since I was in high school. Now that I am there, I am not certain. Is it that my dream changed or am I just not content?