Dreamin' To Live
*The week’s post is a “Reader’s Contribution” blog (written by my long-time friend, Cory).
Cory is married with 3 kids, a manager in the restaurant industry, and one of the most down-to-earth people you could ever meet. I always appreciate his honest and straightforward perspective, and I hope you’ll experience the same with this blog.
Enjoy the post!
Living the dream
I think we all know “that guy” in life, don’t we? You know, the person you’ve had the same conversation with since the day you first met. The one that, regardless of what’s happening, has the exact same thing to say. For me, the daily conversation with that guy usually goes something like this:
Me: “Hey man, how are you doing today?”
That Guy: “Oh, you know, just livin’ the dream.”
And there it is. The same broken-record response, day-after-day, week-after-week, month after…well, you get the picture. Over time, I’ve learned that this universal response has many different meanings. Some days it has a sarcastic undertone, which tells me we won’t be talking about much else for the rest of the day. Other days, it has a little enthusiasm behind it, letting me know the sun must be shining a little brighter that day.
Either way, the tone tells me all I need to know. And the verbiage tells me that not much has changed in this guy’s life (apparently for years now). That is, until a few weeks ago, when I walked into work expecting to have the same old conversation. Only this time, the response had changed.
When I asked how he was doing, there was some genuine thought put into his response. He said, “just livin’ the dream, or maybe I’m dreamin’ to live—I’m not really sure.” Now I know that’s a small twist to this cringe-worthy phrase, but it actually got me thinking.
If I had to honestly tell someone how I’m doing, which of those two phrases would it be? Am I living out the dream I have for my life? Or am I spending most days stuck inside my own head dreaming of something different?
That question stuck with me over the following week as I took off on vacation. So much so, that I made it a point to dig deeper and answer it for myself. But before I get into some of the answers I came away with, I think it’s important to start with this realization. Regardless of how I feel on a particular day, the truth is that—
God wants us to feel like we’re living the dream.
If you don’t believe me, just try reading through your Bible without noticing the word “joy” or “happiness” a countless number of times. One of my favorites is what Jesus shares in John 15:11 (KJV):
“These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
The key here is understanding that life with Jesus doesn’t guarantee circumstantial happiness, but it does guarantee His joy. Just as Jesus found joy in the Father, we can also find joy in Him and—
the blessings He’s given us.
simple But satisfying
The vacation I referred to earlier was a trip to the family lake house over the 4th of July. It’s the same vacation we take every year, but this year my wife put an intentional focus on something I thought we did plenty of—taking time to enjoy the sunset.
On our first day of the seven-day vacation, she told me that we’d be dropping everything each evening to go watch the sun set over the lake. It sounds simple, but it’s not always easy to drag yourself away from the many activities that we do out there. Especially at the same time every day.
My wife was certainly the only reason we made it to 7 sunsets in a row, but her persistence paid off in a big way for me. While there’s a lot I gained from this simple activity that I can’t put into words, there are a few things I came away with to help me (and hopefully you) get back to living the dream.
Enjoy the Ride
We’re all guilty of claiming to be “tired” and “busy”, even when our overall circumstances are pretty good. Maybe life is just requiring too much from us, or maybe we’re spending a little too much time chasing that “dream” we keep talking about. One thing I know is that God clearly simplifies things in 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (MSG), which says:
“A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.”
Taking a moment to spend some time with Jesus is something I’ve never regretted. And most of us have plenty of blessings He’s given us to enjoy as well. So while you’re hustling through this busy life we seem to have created, make sure you stop & enjoy the God-given moments and blessings along the way, especially the people closest to you.
Don’t do it Alone
Considering that loving others is a part of the Ten Commandments, it must be pretty important, right? While everyone needs a little love and support, let’s not forget how much we have to gain from giving it as well. Philippians 2:4 (ESV) says this:
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
When is the last time you didn’t get a good feeling from investing in someone else’s life? Not only is loving others the right thing to do, but it gives us a much needed break from the constant focus we put into our own exhaustion, busyness, and problems. Don’t just take my word for it, give it a try—
Help yourself by helping someone else.
Give it to God
Life isn’t always a sunset at the boat dock or spending the afternoon helping out a loved one. We have real conflict, pressure, and trials that come at us nearly every day. The good news is, God gives us the formula for enjoying the good and enduring the bad, and it can be found in James 5:13 (ESV):
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”
I’m not sure about you, but there’s a common trend in my life that seems to sneak up on me over and over again. I tend to lose focus on the One who gave me my blessings during the good times, which makes it harder to ask Him for help during the bad times. However, when my heart is fixed on Jesus while I’m enjoying my blessings, He sure does feel a lot closer when things get rough. The key is giving it all to God—
At all times.
keep him close
Many of our dreams and aspirations are tangible desires that almost never align exactly the way we want them to. So I challenge you to consider for a moment, that the “dream” is achieved by how you respond to what each day brings. Rather than allowing your circumstances to dictate your happiness, allow Jesus to direct the way you respond to life’s daily struggles.
You’ll certainly realize that there are no limits to the way He can turn a day around when you give Him permission to do so. Likewise, you might just be surprised by the deeper joy you feel in the highs when the lows don’t bring you so far down.
So, pick any given day and truly enjoy a moment or two, preferably with some selfless love added in. And whatever you do, keep Jesus close. At the end of that day, you may come to realize, you are in fact—
living the dream.
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today’s Takeaways
Are you “living the dream or Dreaming to Live”?
Enjoy the “rich simplicity of being yourself before God” 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (MSG)
Help yourself by helping someone else.