Resources for Dreaming, & Dreaming About Dreaming.

Part 1: Resources for Dreaming

In preparation for the coming year I have been filing through the cabinets of my brain, the pages of many books, and the nooks and crannies of the interwebs. If you are serious about acting on what the Lord has put on your heart and would like some more wisdom and direction, or if you want to know what this whole fluffy dreaming thing is really about, here are a few things that have given me the necessary kick in the pants:

If you are the visually-inspired type, check out my Dreaming board on Pinterest. I encourage you to make your own! My Dreaming board just puts me in the right place to ruminate on possibilities and think outside the box.

Some great titles (most of these, with reviews and ratings, are on my Dreaming shelf on Goodreads):

 

A Million Mile in a Thousand Years // I've always loved Donald Miller and I can relate to the way he thinks and writes. Don shares his memoir of how he started to change his life after realizing his life was boring. This is a great starter, an easy read, hilarious, touching, and will prod you to get off the couch.

(all images from Google images - hopefully this doesn't defile my journalism degree)

Dreaming With God // This is probably the best book I've read through so far about what dreaming with God looks like. If you want to learn more about the creative wisdom of God, read this. Bill provides context through stories from his life and from the patriarchs of our faith. It's all about partnering with God and revealing who He is to the earth through every sphere of influence.

Dream Culture // This book is the idea that really catalyzed the process of dream coaching for me. Dream Culture is a great book with activation exercises and questions to get you thinking about what you were made to do. It's easy to follow and immensely practical. Eric and I helped lead a trip to Bethel Church in California this past spring break with UGA Wesley and we met with one of the authors (Andy). He went through a couple of simple exercises with us - critical thinking and inner healing - that really got me started with what I'll be doing this year.

  

Face to Face with God and When Heaven Invades Earth // Again by Bill Johnson (I really respect him, so naturally anything he writes is extremely credible and edifying to me), these are about how experiencing the Lord personally and partnering with His purposes flow together. Face to Face with God is about hungering for His presence; When Heaven Invades Earth is more about living out what we are called to. There are a lot of similar themes between these two. The people at Bethel really practice what they preach and I LOVE learning from their community's experiences and beliefs about the nature of God.

  

Always Enough and Compelled By Love // If there's anyone who knows what it means to know and fulfill the desires of God's heart, it's Heidi Baker. This woman is living the Great Commission through the outflow of the first commandment. Always Enough chronicles the Bakers' experience of loving the poor and how the Lord has always provided for them. Compelled By Love goes through what the Beatitudes have looked like on a daily basis in their lives.

Books I have yet to read but are next in line

(or just seem interesting enough to recommend)

     

The Creative Habit and  The War of Art and Bird by Bird // These are next on my books-to-buy list. They all deal with making art a discipline (TCH), overcoming creative blocks (TWoA), and for all you aspiring writers out there, offering wisdom on how to write with a specific step-by-step guide (BbB). If you are a creative who wants to intentionally invest in your gifts, I have heard different writers and teachers recommend these ones over and over.

 

Put Your Dream to the Test // I just ordered this book and it's probably the one I'm most excited to read. It's an aspect of dreaming that I've been hungry for - refining my dreams. The 10 questions are questions of: ownership, clarity, reality, passion, pathway, people, cost, tenacity, fulfillment, and significance. I bought this one because John seems to really combine theory with practice, which I'm a huge fan of because I need balance.

The Dream Giver // This one is written in the style of a parable - "Ordinary leaves the Land of the Familiar to pursue his Big Dream." I bought this one because it sounds like everyone's life (including mine).

Heavy Rain // Like Face to Face and When Heaven Invades, this is another Bethel book centered around the theme of awakening the world. I've only read a few excerpts from this one but I LOVE how Kris Vallotton thinks and teaches. Kris also talks about how renewing the mind of the church (i.e. our thoughts about eschatology) will change how we live out the Good News.

Fiction to inspire you

The Alchemist // This one has been a bestseller for a while now. It's not a Christian book but is definitely the classic tale of man going after his dream. I love reading secular fiction that reminds me of the truth that eternity is written on everyone's heart.

Honestly, you can read anything. Every book has the imprint of the dreamer within (especially the current dystopia trend in today's literature - they are all about dreaming for a better world).

Do you have any recommendations for that dreaming part of us (especially fiction)?

//

Part 2: In which I dream about dreaming...

(art by Katie Daisy - this quote is my current inspiration for dreaming; the Lord is haunting me with this beautiful question)

When Clay and I first met recently to discuss what this year will look like, he asked me some helpful questions. One was, "How does this [dream coaching] tie in vocationally for you?" I told him that, sadly, I am not confident about a whole lot of things, but I am confident about dreaming and helping people dream. I told him that I didn't know exactly how it figured into my life (and will never be able to say that about most things, because things change, and that's okay).

Awakening.

Yesterday at dinner Bob said something that has been running through my head over and over and over.

"He is awakening our hearts to Him."

Our last day on staff (about a month ago), and then continuing this past week, something has been blooming in me, waking up, getting a glimpse of "Christ in me the hope of glory." It's like a woman who has been receiving letters from her love for years and then out of the corner of her eye sees his face in the window or hears his boots on the wood floor behind her or feels the weight of his shadow coming over her shoulder. That moment right before you turn around, screaming and whispering at the same time, "This is it. This is it. This is it."

This is it. It has always been it. Now has always been the time.

Now I believe it. I feel it. Now is the time to dream. To be fearless. Now is the time of favor and salvation. Our world waits.


Our Beloved waits.

Update: Six Months.

Well, it's been six months since our wedding day.

We are really excited about that; marriage is only increasing in beauty and awesomeness for us. We have learned so much about ourselves and (naturally) each other. I know both of us can say that we love each other even more today than we did on July 24. All I know is, I'm glad he's still my boyfriend and fellow nerd.

The past months have been incredibly full for us--and I mean that twofold; we have been up to so much, and we have been eagerly tasting the abundant life.

I am honestly amazed. The Lord is turning my heart upside down, and I'm not alone. It's happening to this whole city. The Bride in Athens is flourishing as she encounters the Father's heart. I haven't seen anything like it before. The past couple months alone have been marked by beholding the beauty of God and being completely transformed by it. We are learning that changing the world isn't about trying to correct human behavior; it's about the transformation that comes from being face-to-face with God and experiencing His character, His personality. So that's what we do. We lead people into that face-to-face moment. We speak His truth, His thoughts, and His feelings.

A couple of weeks ago I was leading a prophetic room with two other interns (husband included). This one girl came in and I'll never forget it, because you could just see her brokenness and, consequently, her deep longing to be affirmed. So we began to hear the Lord's heart for her and it was incredible. We could have told her, "Stop messing up," or "You know what you're doing is wrong," but that was not the fullness of the Father's heart. The fullness of His heart was that He had revolutionary hope for her and an extraordinary romance that nothing else could possibly provide. We began to speak Song of Songs over her, that even in her darkness God calls her lovely and beautiful, that he draws her with gentle cords. We began to speak that God wasn't okay with what had happened to her in the past, with the ways people had hurt her. We began to speak dreams over her, that she would receive back the things that had been taken from her. It was beautiful; and it was all true. Hope was all over her. I watched this beautiful girl begin to unfold. At first she would barely lift her head or look us in the eye. By the end of it she was less afraid.

I know it was only the beginning, but in those moments I realized our power as believers. That light IS more powerful than darkness, and it doesn't need to raise its voice to be heard. Jesus did not need to be loud (Isaiah 42:2 - "He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street").

And that's just a glimpse. I am touching the surface of Love. And once you touch the surface you are enthralled.

With each lovesick gaze we are unleashed.

And honestly, it is incredible to me that when we turn toward Him and listen and lay ourselves down before Him... we begin to hear His thoughts and feel His emotions. Excuse the punctuation... but seriously now?!?!?!!? This actually happens, every day.

I am convinced that without knowing Him, there is no way to truly live. And that is a truth I'd lay my life down for.

Other logistical things:

• Eric & I are contemplating what next year will look like for us. I'm planning on coming back to Wesley for a second year; Eric will probably be full-time at Best Buy, and he's pondering his place at Wesley for next year.
• I've booked two weddings (exciting!).
• As soon as I come up with a name, the photography thing is a go.
• I will experience my first time in the hospital delivery room (and with a camera) in less than two months with the Kirklands.
• We have some other dreams up our sleeve. More to come.

Projects.

This past week I have been working on a couple of design assignments, both for Wesley.

The freshmen ministry is starting a new series on God's global mission--His heart and plan for mankind from the beginning to the end of time. I'm excited for the desires and passions that the Lord will awaken in the students. Majorly excited. I love the nations.

Here's the evolution of the logos.

The country shapes are actually a typeface called GeoBats, and that is the template I started with.

This logo is more contained, specific, and informative, but when I started the project I had only a little information to go off of. I met up with Stephen (Freshley director) and he gave me the vision for what we wanted, so now we have this:

Yeah, pretty big difference. Replacing Algeria with the U.S. makes the countries more recognizable--since we naturally recognize our own country pretty immediately.

As for now, I'm hoping to finish the draft of the first Wesley newsletter of the year. To be continued.

I love my job.

Other projects:

1. Cover our walls in photos and art.
2. Ongoing photography projects: photograph a pregnancy, door project, Wesley project
3. Produce stop motion art films
4. Building photo website, picking out a name, so Eric can get the server up and running
5. Rebinding hardcover journals
6. Learn to sew
7. Conceptual design

More tom foolery to come.

"So you're a NEWLY newlywed."

Welcome friends, family, strangers, and stalkers.

Life has been nonstop (what a surprise! You mean it keeps going?) for the past month and a half for us--a heaping handful of transitions all at once. Me--I'm the deep emotional one, so I'm still trying to process all of it. Meanwhile, Eric--the deep logical one--is floating by without much of a blink. He is one of the chillest people I know, and can be so unaffected by change. His joy strengthens and encourages me, pushes me forward when I would rather grieve the former season--the one where I didn't have to work, had more time with friends, and didn't have to pay my own bills.

But this is a good season. Such a good season. I am being so refined and I feel like I'm letting the Lord take me deeper.

So here's the basic summary of our past few months (with pictures!):

1. A wedding happened.

2. It was our wedding.

3. We honeymooned to Charleston and stayed at the most ridiculous hotel ever, where they spoiled us until we cried. And by spoiled I mean, wine and cheese every night, chocolates on our bed every day, breakfast in a picnic basket every morning.

(That's my husband. He's pretty spectacular. And handsome.)

4. We came back to a sea of presents, opened them, and are now waiting for the gnomes to finish our thank you cards. (But for real... we're sending them out soon.)

5. We started work as full-time interns at the UGA Wesley Foundation a few days after our honeymoon. Eric works with the administration staff and the healing prayer team; I work with the freshman and prayer ministries and help with the newsletter.

6. Eric has been working at Best Buy for several months, and I just started working at Borders. I am pretty much in love with the people I work with. They rock.

Currently I am thinking of how good the Lord is, the amazing ways He has been speaking to us, and the fact that I had the best conversation today with my beloved 60-year-old coworker (Kathy, you are the BOMB) about NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.

You're right, this picture is pretty irelevant. That's my husband again. Ever since marriage happened these faces have become a lot more frequent. I'm also posting this, hoping he won't notice, as payback for the picture he previously posted as his desktop background--see below.

Alas, we love you. We hope you'll join us as we live a very full life together. Love-full, joyful, peaceful, powerful.

Love lavished,

Autumn (& Eric... once he finds out his silly mug is all over this page)

*Wedding photos courtesy of Brian Davis @ bdavismedia.

**Eric just held up a white board with our thank-you note homework schedule. He had a toothbrush in his mouth. Just thought you should all know.

***Feedback: Eric wonders if above picture of himself is inappropriate. Thoughts?