"We all have a dream, but there is always a dip before you get there."

A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book, Don't Quit in the Dip (p. 4). Worthy. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Maybe this is where you are but didn't know what to call it.

Shaun says, "When you’re in the dip, you can see where you want to be, but no matter how hard you try, it seems you can’t get there. You begin to loose hope and doubt you’ll ever reach it. The dip is where your dream is just out of reach and you feel stuck. We all have a dream, but there is always a dip before you get there. Sadly, most people give up in the dip. But successful people don’t quit in the dip and they’re the ones who see their dream fulfilled. We’ve all been in a dip at one point or another. Maybe you’re there now."

He goes on, "None of us have the perfectly filtered life we present on social media, right? Every person, even the ones who seem to have everything together, has at least one area in life that isn’t what they want it to be. So we sink back in the chair, staring at our life chessboard, and believe our situation is hopeless and give up.

"The dip can be your health. You want to get in shape, attempting every diet fad and workout routine, but nothing is working. The scale ain’t moving. When it comes to losing weight and stepping on the scale, there’s no such thing as 'too naked.' You’re taking out your contacts from your eyes, exhaling every ounce of air from your lungs, and stretching your arms high to try to defy gravity. Every little bit counts. Or so we think. So discouragement sets in, along with the desire to eat your emotions."

He continues, "Maybe it’s your career. You know there’s more in you to express, but there seems to be some invisible ceiling keeping you from reaching your potential or landing that dream job. If only someone would just give you a chance. So you lower your expectations and trade in your hi-def dream for a low-res version of reality.

"What about your marriage? You’re giving your all, but things are not getting better and you’re even contemplating divorce. If marriage is such a sacred relationship, why isn’t God swooping in to save the day?

"It could be that you’re single and looking for a spouse but you just can’t find Mr. or Mrs. Right and you’re tempted to settle for Mr. or Mrs. Right Now instead."

He also says, "The dip is also where you might stand, wondering, If God has a wonderful plan for my life, why is He so slow to reveal it? Does He even see me here in this place? It feels like you have one piece of a ten-thousand-piece puzzle and don’t know where to begin."

He later says, "When we are ready to quit in the dip, we have a God who is just getting started! God doesn’t see as we see! He says, 'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts' (Isaiah 55:8–9 NLT).

"Just as that chess champion saw a winning move that the young man couldn’t see, God sees what we don’t see in our lives. We see impossible, but He sees possibility. We see financial ruin, but He sees a path to blessing. We see the diagnosis, but He sees the way to healing. God sees the end from the beginning when all we see is our past and our present.

He then says, "We see a dip, but He sees another opportunity to show up and work through us and show us just how amazing He really is."

So, let's put our trust in the one who sees what is ahead, let's trust God, okay

Yes, yes!

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference. You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

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