Dream Giver by Kim Checkeye

One of my favorite books is The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson. It was given to me by a very powerful woman many many years ago. If you have never read the book, let me briefly tell you about it.

It is a story about a Nobody named Ordinary. He lived in the Land of Familiar. Ordinary had a Big Dream so he decided to visit the Dream Giver but in order to do this, he had to leave the Land of Familiar and leave his comfort zone. He met many bullies along the way and he entered into The Wasteland. Many times he cried out to the Dream Giver but he heard no response. There were times when Ordinary felt like his dream was dead but the Dream Giver sent Faith to help him.

The Nobodies came along and told Ordinary that what lay ahead was too hard and too difficult. But Ordinary pressed forward and his dream shone brighter than ever in his chest.

Ordinary had another dream. The Dream Giver asked him to come into His sanctuary. Ordinary climbed higher and higher as he followed a stream of living water. He heard the Dream Giver tell him to go to the water and then to come into the light. Ordinary obeyed but at one point in time, he could see into his heart and he was afraid. He saw things he had done, rebellion, selfishness and betrayal. He saw darkness and he cried out to the Dream Giver to give him light. The Dream Giver did and He asked Ordinary to come closer and to come higher.

Finally Ordinary got to the Land of Promise and he was overcome with happiness. His big dream was finally in reach. The Dream Giver spoke to Ordinary one more time and His words were “Give me your dream.”

Ordinary didn’t understand because the Dream Giver was the one who gave him that dream. So he questioned the Dream Giver. His response was “Yes. And now I am asking you to give it back.”

The book goes on to say how after much internal struggle, Ordinary surrendered the dream and in the end, the Dream Giver didn’t want it back, He just wanted to see if Ordinary cared more for the dream or more for the Dream Giver. After he surrendered the dream, it grew even bigger and he saw how it was part of the Dream Giver’s big dream for the world.

The book goes on to apply it to our lives and the dreams that God has given us. I highly recommend this book to all of you because God has a call on each of our lives and He has put a dream deep within your heart.

On September 11th, the Dream of Truth for Women will become a reality. It has been a dream that we have wanted so badly. We must be real and honest with ourselves that at times, we had to give the dream back to God because it was taking our focus off of Him.

There are days when we sit with women and we hear their life stories or we listen as they weep because they are going through some turmoil or crisis in their lives and our hearts break for them. We hold them as they cry in our arms or we pray for them for hope in God. We give them the Word of God because we know it is the only truth and hope for their lives. There are days when some of their stories do not leave us for weeks, months or maybe even years because they were so heart breaking.

God has put a dream within Truth for Women and for all of us who help lead this ministry. It is a dream of a place where a woman can go to receive the help that she needs whether it is resources, skills, Biblical truth or just needing someone to talk too. This dream is HUGE and the task is great. There are days when the work is overwhelming and seems like there is no way that it can ever be completed.

We have times when we desperately want to stay in the Land of Familiar and never get out of our comfort zones especially when the “bullies” and the “nobodies” come to tell us it can’t be done or to distract the work.

Yet, day after day, God made the dream brighter. God open doors and paths that no man could open. He made the connections; He put the desire deeper and deeper within.

Why am I telling you all this? For two reasons. One, you have a dream that God has given you. Don’t stop. Don’t give up! Keep moving forward and never let the dream become more important that your walk with God. Go dear one! Go and take the steps forward to see the dream become a reality.

Secondly, is to give glory an honor to God for He is mighty and absolutely amazing. He has brought Truth for Women to this point in time. He has done this great and mighty work and He has allowed us to be a part of it. Even though our hearts break for the women of the Lehigh Valley, His heart breaks even more. Even though we want to see women healed, transformed, helped and set in truth, He wants to see it even more!

Thank you Lord God Almighty for this amazing Dream that you have placed in our hearts. Thank you Father for allowing us to be a part of what You want to do here in the Lehigh Valley. Thank you for women who have put their hand to this ministry in the past, who currently help serve now and for those who are to come.

Patience and Obedience go Hand in Hand by Kim Checkeye

Do you ever wake up with a heavy heart? This morning I awoke and my heart is much burdened. Sometimes when this happens, I have no idea why I am so burdened. This morning I know why but what can I do about it? As we all know, I can pray and intercede to God but if you are a doer like me, I want to do something about it. Now, this is a lesson that God is working with me! He is trying to teach me patience and that there are times when I am to do nothing but trust in Him. At times, this is very difficult for me because I want to step in and fix things.

Well, this morning I got knocked upside the head! Don’t you just love it when God does that to you? I taught a Bible study at my old church for many years and we had a saying. First we would say “It was like God hit me with a 2 by 4.” It progressed to various things like “God dropped a wall on me to God dropped a house on me” until one of the ladies really had a precious moment with the Lord and she mightily exclaimed “Forget the 2 by 4, Forget the house, God dropped a whole development on me!” For me, this is one of those moments!

I am reading and studying about the leadership styles of King Saul and Samuel in the Old Testament. The Israelites were crying out that they wanted a King just like all the other nations. (As a teacher, I desperately want to stop here and go off on a tangent but that is for another day. What I will say is parallel Israel’s cry for a King to the United States crying out for a leadership who will mend things. Very interesting!)

God gave them their desire even though He knew the outcome. The people rejected God even after all that He had done for them. God gave them what they wanted but clearly told them what the new King was going to do and what he was going to be like. God warned them but they did not listen.

God appointed Saul as the King over the Israelites and when it came time to bring him before the congregation, Saul hid. Saul knew he was to be the King but he hid himself among the baggage. Why would he do that? Some commentaries say that Saul was running from his responsibilities or afraid of failing so he hid. I like to think of it this way: Saul was a humble man at that point in time so he did not feel worthy of being the King. But then I have to ask myself “If Saul was a humble man, then how in the world did he turn out the way he did?” The answer is very clear.

The Israelites had become an abomination to the Philistines because Jonathan (Saul’s son) attached the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba. The people became terrified and were trembling. The Prophet Samuel told Saul to wait seven days for him to return to do the sacrifice. When Saul saw that the Philistines were closing in and that the people were full of fear, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Samuel told him to wait seven days but because Samuel did not return when Saul “expected” him on that seventh day, Saul decided to fix it himself.

You know the rest of the story. Saul offered a burnt offering and a fellowship offering but the Lord rejected it. Saul was trying to do the right thing by offering a sacrifice to God before going into battle but he was going against God’s laws and against the specific instruction of Samuel.

Saul was under great pressure and during this time, his true character was revealed. He disobeyed God and this became the downfall in his life. This is where you can see that he began to change from that humble man hiding behind the baggage to a man full of himself and pride.

Saul had a goal that he wanted to accomplish. He wanted to win the battle. However, the methods he used to attempt to attain this goal were not true to God’s standard.

I think about how many leaders, Pastors, friends, family members, elders, deacons, presidents of ministries and list goes on who have taken matters into their own hands because somehow pride snuck in and it literally began to destroy them. I have seen many good, loving and humble people see a problem and they want to fix it but they end up so focused on the goal that they will do anything to attain it. Even if it means cutting corners or handling things in an ungodly manner.

What does this mean for you and me? Be careful! Watch your heart closely. Do not let any seed of pride come in. Constantly take every thought, idea and task captive to the Word of God. Make sure everything you do lines up with the God’s truth. When you see this stuff, remove it immediately, repent and ask for forgiveness. Ask God to help you not to allow these things in. We all struggle with this. The key is what you are going to do about it when you see it.

As you know, the goal of Truth for Women is to open Phase One of The Women’s Center on September 11th. Why? Because this is something God put in the heart of one woman 10 years ago and now He has called a group of women to accomplish this goal. We go after this goal because our hearts break for the women in the Lehigh Valley. We weep because there are so many women who are lost, hurting and live every day in hopelessness. We encounter woman after woman who tell us their stories and it takes us to our knees to want to help them and intercede on their behalf. We wake up in the middle of the night with a burden so strong that it hurts in our bodies.

BUT we must at all times obey and follow the Lord. We know that the enemy is a prowling lion looking for his way to get a foothold into this ministry so the God given dream can be stopped. We know that he attempts to stop the work by sending in distractions so we are not fully committed to the goal.

What can you do? Pray for us daily. Pray that we see all things with our spiritual eyes. Pray for discernment and wisdom beyond our years. Join us in this journey to attain the goal that God has set before us. Pray that at all times we wait on the Lord for His perfect timing. Link arms with us so we can become an unstoppable force.