Live Your God-Sized Dream

New Year's Resolutions are often condemned for being too ambitious. Run a marathon. Read a book per week. Lose 100 lbs. There are plenty of reasons that people don't keep their resolutions, and Mary Kate did a fantastic job of highlighting some major ones in "Resolution Solution," so I won't rehash those. What I will do is give you one big reason why people sometimes don't keep their resolutions:

Original photo by Kr. B. on Flickr.     

They are not sold-out, on-fire, bet-the-farm passionate about a dream.

If your resolution, dream, goal, whatever, is not compelling-- ensnaring your mind, heart and spirit until you can't think about or imagine anything else--then you're almost doomed to failure.

Some people "diet" for years.
They "quit" smoking twenty times.
Some people half-finish novel after novel.
Others get one closet organized and then burn out.

Why did they fail? Perhaps it was because they were too ambitious, but I think it's because they were pursuing dreams that were too small, too petty to catch their imagination and hold their focus. What do I mean by that?

Losing weight is a small dream. People "lose weight" every day. But being able to fit into your favorite pair of jeans, looking at yourself in the mirror and knowing that you're being a good steward of God's temple, and feeling beautiful and confident is an inspiring dream.

Getting organized is dull. Cleaning junk out of your life so that you can live a freer, more God-centered existence without the clutter of life bringing you down is an inspiring dream.

Reading more books is vague and uninteresting. Reading two books a month that will bring you closer to God, enrich your mind, and bring you into unknown and beautiful realms is an inspiring dream.

Unless you believe it, you cannot achieve it (click to tweet that). And when I say "believe," I mean it in the most visceral sense, with everything you are.

Holley Gerth, one of my favorite Christian bloggers, is always talking about a God-sized dream. She is passionate about helping other women come alive and live the life they were designed to live. "God-size" does not necessarily mean "big." It means perfect for you. It's the thing that you would do in 2013 if there were no barriers--no problems with money, transportation, family, lifestyle, etc.--a dream God created just for you.

What is your dream?

I'm still trying to figure mine out. It has something to do with 2-3 months in Europe this year, writing as a profession, and volunteering with amazing ministries. But what it comes down to at the core is making life an intimate adventure with God.

How can you transform your uninspiring New Year's Resolutions into a God-sized dream?