How do you adapt when your dream isn’t quite what you planned? Fear and perfectionism are two of the biggest enemies when it comes to pursuing a God-shaped dream. Maybe you’d prefer to have it all figured out before you begin. Or you’ve stepped out in the past but then retreated when things didn't work like you thought they would. My guest Christine Bailey knows all about stepping into a dream that is not fully figured out and the courage that comes from taking simple steps of obedience.
250 || [Solo] Four Ways You Will Grow When You Build Your Dream in Community || Merritt Onsa
Have you resisted invited others into the hardest parts of your dream? We all want to be the one who’s there to help a friend in need, but who wants to be the needy one? Few of us easily admit weakness; it’s our fallen nature as humans. But it’s also the lie we see all around us: everyone else has their stuff together. Instagram highlights rarely touch the hard stuff, not in a real or meaningful way. So you end up feeling like you’re the only one who’s struggling.
249 || How to Go All in with Your Dream Right from the Start || Simone Ispahani
As a college student, Simone Ispahani learned the devastating truth about the millions of victims worldwide who suffer from human trafficking. With newfound perspective, she began to learn as much as she could about the issue, and in 2021, she founded Social Brew, a global e-commerce coffee marketplace devoted to fighting human trafficking through profits shared with organizations committed to the cause.
248 || How to Pursue a Dream That You Might Never See Finished || Angie Weszely
In June 2022, the nationwide conversation about abortion rose to the top after the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Dobbs v. Jackson case and overturned Roe v. Wade after decades of legalized abortion in the U.S. It was long before that, though, when today’s guest Angie Weszely began to understand how the politicized nature of the abortion discussion in the United States was doing more harm than good to everyone involved.
247 || How a Healthy Lifestyle Can Give You Capacity to Get Your Dream Moving || Robin Rhine McDonald
What can you do when you lack the energy and vitality to pursue your God-shaped dream? Oftentimes we find ourselves with to-do lists that far outweigh the hours we have in a day to complete those tasks. And somewhere in the mix, you realize you’ve lost sight of your health and how that impacts everything you do, including running after a God-shaped dream. But where do you start and how do you make healthy living sustainable?
246 || [Solo] The #1 Reason to Start Pursuing Your Dream before You Feel Ready || Merritt Onsa
One of the biggest lies keeping dreamers stuck is thinking you are lacking something necessary to begin. It’s like there’s a box to check, an accomplishment to achieve, or a degree to earn before you can truly begin on the dream in earnest. Well, that’s just not true. In this episode, you’re going to hear what’s at stake if you wait to feel ready, the truth about what pursuing a dream is really like (instead of what you’ve made up in your head), and strategies for starting before you feel ready.
245 || Listeners Ask: What are the Best Ways to Grow Revenue? || Jenn Jett Barrett
Do you have a burning question that feels too small to ask? If you have an Enneagram 7 friend, you will likely see the value in sitting down to brainstorm with her about the challenges you’ve faced with your God-shaped dream. Jenn Jett Barrett offers that gift to two podcast listeners on the topic of creative funding ideas for a dream. You’ll walk away from this one with creative inspiration for your own ambitions, and I can’t wait to hear what this conversation sparks for you!
244 || How to Invest in Your Spiritual Growth as the Foundation for Your Dream || Jen Evangelista
How do you discern God’s will for your life? I regularly speak to Christian women seeking to discern what God wants for their lives. They worry about hearing Him incorrectly, making a wrong decision about a direction to pursue, or lacking clarity in a vision for their purpose on earth. None of them wants to miss God’s plan for her life. That’s why I’m excited for this conversation with Bible teacher Jen Evangelista to shed light on what God has to say about His will for your life.
243 || How to Thrive Even While Feeling like a Foreigner in a Strange Land || Mabel Ninan
Mabel Ninan shares about realizing her identity as a spiritual immigrant and her dream to inspire believers to embrace their pilgrim journey and boldly pursue their heavenly calling. We talk about finding stability, permanence, and security when you’re feeling adrift in the world, knowing what you were made to do but having no idea where to begin, and how God meets you when you walk right out of your comfort zone.
242 || [Solo] 5 Phases of Chasing a Dream and Which One is the Most Fruitful || Merritt Onsa
Have you wanted to quit on a dream before you really started? In the early stages, the details are still foggy, and the lack of progress makes it feel like you’re pushing a boulder uphill, which can make it tempting to quit. But don’t give up before you get to the good part! In this episode, you’ll discover a simple process for confidently taking the first steps into your God-shaped dream and how to let go of excuses that are keeping you stuck.
241 || What Is Soul Care and How to Know If You Need It || Mindy Caliguire
In this episode Mindy shares about a dream that’s been on her heart for decades, the shape it’s taken over the years, and where she finds herself in it right now. We also talk about how soul care differs from self-care and why both are important, how to step into a dream in small ways rather than waiting for clarity on the whole thing before you begin, and specific soul care practices you can take with you and implement once this episode is through.
240 || Releasing Your Grip on What You Want Because God Has Something Better || Lindsay May
If you’ve wondered whether you’re on the right path, or how to hear God’s gentle whispers, or maybe you’re even sensing that he has something different for you, you will enjoy today’s guest, Lindsay May. Lindsay is a professional photographer turned print magazine founder as well as a fellow dream chaser who is learning to embrace the journey instead of trying to control her circumstances. She’s also bringing her best tips on how to get your writing published.
239 || [Solo] Dream Taking Too Long? Another Way to Think About Your Timeline || Merritt Onsa
If you feel discouraged about the pace of your dream and wonder if everyone else is years ahead of where you are, I’m going to shatter your idea of the perfect timeline today. We’ll talk about a clear example from Scripture of waiting faithfully for a dream and how to avoid the biggest mistake that keeps you from making progress. I’ll share examples of small steps of faithfulness you can take today and how to courageously face the scariest part of pursuing a dream.
238 || Practical Ways to Build Intimacy with God into Your Day || Angie Gibbons
You likely already know the Bible’s instruction about not living an anxious life, but if that’s your current reality, how do you change? My guest Angie Gibbons is all too familiar with the struggles of anxiety and depression. It took a painful loss to help her wake up to see the reality of her life and the impact it was having on her family, particularly her children. She’s here to share how the Lord took her from finding momentary breakthroughs from anxiety to making them a lifestyle.
237 || Do You Know About the Hidden Gift in Your God-Shaped Dream? || Gail Root
Has God called you to be bold and courageous in your dream? If you have a God-shaped dream, you may be experiencing opposition, fear, comparison, and imposter syndrome. But instead of seeing your dream as a mountain too high to climb, what if it became an invitation from the Lord to trust Him more? In this episode, we’re talking about your invitation to intimacy with God, the boldness He wants to bring into your business or industry, and what we miss when we don’t submit our plans to Him.
[BONUS] How to Get Free Dream Coaching with Merritt—In Season 10!
People say my solo episodes are among their favorites! That’s why I’m kicking off Season 10 with a series of solo episodes focused on providing you with additional support for getting off the sidelines instead of waiting around for the right timing to pursue your dream. The time is now! It’s not a mistake. If there’s a dream on your heart, God means for you to pursue it!
223 || The Best Way to Get Started When You Don’t Know Where to Begin || Rachel Baker
Which do you struggle with most: starting on a dream or staying faithful through the messy middle? Along her journey Rachel Baker has questioned her lack of training, doubted her calling, and has been tempted to give up before reaching the finish line. Like many dreamers, she also went through a season of not knowing where to begin. In a beautiful turn of events (and a conversation with her husband), she realized that the starting line was just outside her own door. Maybe yours is there too!
222 || How Resistance Can be a Clue That You Should Keep Pursuing Your Dream || Devin Clevenger
Do you ever want to quit when it feels too hard to keep running after a dream? First, you are not alone. You also need to know that feeling resistance about some aspect of your God-shaped dream is not a reason to give up. Resistance may, in fact, be a nudge to keep going and keep trusting that God is with you, and He will carry you through it.
221 || Is It Possible to Find Meaningful Work in Our Changing World? || Michaela O’Donnell
The world of work has changed in the last decade. Yet the question remains: Is it possible to align work with a sense of calling while also navigating equally demanding personal roles and responsibilities? Michaela O’Donnell is no stranger to questions like these. Through starting her own company and listening to others, she has come to believe that we are all called to be part of God’s big redemptive work in this world.
218 || What if God Writes an Unexpected Dream on Your Heart? || Cindy DeBoer
Do you ever wonder if your God-shaped dream might be something He hasn’t yet revealed to you, or questioned why you feel blocked from God’s purpose for your life? Cindy DeBoer and her husband were 12 years into marriage when God put it on their hearts to examine if they were living out the faith they professed. What followed was a season of confession, questions, and a re-making of the life they thought they were called to.
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