Have your dreams been buried in the dust of day to day living?
“Coincidences are simply when God Winks at you and redirects your day, or even your life”.
- Squire Rushnell, Author
It wasn't a coincidence that we ended up working for the same Fortune 50 Company at the same time. You see, we both had accepted high profile jobs with great excitement. It wasn't long before our excitement would wane as the political agendas of corporate denizens would attempt to derail us at every pass. Our gifts and talents were challenged. Our prior successes were now with merit. It was a difficult time to say the least. But, God; He had a plan that was being worked out before our eyes. It was in this valley that we became friends. We shared our frustrations and eventually our dreams. We also shared our faith and the sense that there was something more that we should be doing... Not just accumulating titles and stock options, but we both felt like we should be doing something for God...For God's people. As the years passed, our friendship solidified. We were there for each other through births, deaths, marriages, lost jobs, new jobs, and a host of vacations. Through it all, we still felt a longing and a pull. We just weren't sure where it was taking us. But we continued to seek God's direction in our weekly prayer circle. And then, after some years, it started to become a little clearer. We had identified our God given gifts and realized that they were complimentary. I enjoyed reading and writing. She enjoyed pulling things together. Sharlyn and I enjoyed generating ideas and thrived on bringing things to fruition. Things were becoming clearer and we continued to petition God.
During a visit with a relative, the relative shared her desire to update and elevate their church's Women's Ministry Retreat. As a result of our years of corporate strategic planning and corporate training experience, she asked if could do some over the shoulder consulting on their Women's Ministry Retreat. We agreed. The relative then asked us if we would be willing to present a session on helping the women elevate their lives and their careers. We agreed and sought God's direction. Immediately, He replied. He reminded us of the dreams that we had and how they had been buried by the dust of day to day living. He brought to our minds our desire to utilize our gifts to do something for God's people. We became reinvigorated and revived by the possibility. We sought him again as we prepared for our session. We struggled with what we should say and how we should deliver that message.
While preparing for a cruise vacation (another shared vacation), we promised each other and God that we would spend time preparing for the Women's Ministry Retreat while on the cruise. A few days into the cruise, we met on my veranda to talk with God about what he wanted us to share with His women. It was there that Dream...Do...Become! was born - in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South America. So, with gospel music blaring, and the Holy Spirit present, we started on the path to walking out our own Dream. From that day forward, we've been working on Dream...Do..Become! The presentation was completed, our vision and mission drafted and our prayers were being answered. Within a few weeks, we debuted Dream...Do...Become! to a loving and receptive group of women. God winked again as he validated our message over and over again by the other speakers and the excitement of the participants. He even saw to it that one of our dear friends was staying at the same hotel as we were without either one of our prior knowledge. Imagine our shock as she walked down the steps in the lobby while we sat with some of the Retreat participants. She was there to share in the excitement and our joy! We marveled at the favor and completeness of God.
So, here we are walking out our Dream. We're sharing it as we're doing it. We're taking our own medicine and working through the same Companion Guide that we make available to you. One thing is for sure, we'll know if what we espouse is viable or not. And we can course correct as we walk through.
We cannot find the words to properly capture our gratefulness for all that God has done, is doing and will do. We are filled with joy because we know the God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. Thank you God for planting dream seeds in our hearts, watering them with your love and continuing to wink at us.
Be Blessed,
Britta & Shar
- Squire Rushnell, Author
It wasn't a coincidence that we ended up working for the same Fortune 50 Company at the same time. You see, we both had accepted high profile jobs with great excitement. It wasn't long before our excitement would wane as the political agendas of corporate denizens would attempt to derail us at every pass. Our gifts and talents were challenged. Our prior successes were now with merit. It was a difficult time to say the least. But, God; He had a plan that was being worked out before our eyes. It was in this valley that we became friends. We shared our frustrations and eventually our dreams. We also shared our faith and the sense that there was something more that we should be doing... Not just accumulating titles and stock options, but we both felt like we should be doing something for God...For God's people. As the years passed, our friendship solidified. We were there for each other through births, deaths, marriages, lost jobs, new jobs, and a host of vacations. Through it all, we still felt a longing and a pull. We just weren't sure where it was taking us. But we continued to seek God's direction in our weekly prayer circle. And then, after some years, it started to become a little clearer. We had identified our God given gifts and realized that they were complimentary. I enjoyed reading and writing. She enjoyed pulling things together. Sharlyn and I enjoyed generating ideas and thrived on bringing things to fruition. Things were becoming clearer and we continued to petition God.
During a visit with a relative, the relative shared her desire to update and elevate their church's Women's Ministry Retreat. As a result of our years of corporate strategic planning and corporate training experience, she asked if could do some over the shoulder consulting on their Women's Ministry Retreat. We agreed. The relative then asked us if we would be willing to present a session on helping the women elevate their lives and their careers. We agreed and sought God's direction. Immediately, He replied. He reminded us of the dreams that we had and how they had been buried by the dust of day to day living. He brought to our minds our desire to utilize our gifts to do something for God's people. We became reinvigorated and revived by the possibility. We sought him again as we prepared for our session. We struggled with what we should say and how we should deliver that message.
While preparing for a cruise vacation (another shared vacation), we promised each other and God that we would spend time preparing for the Women's Ministry Retreat while on the cruise. A few days into the cruise, we met on my veranda to talk with God about what he wanted us to share with His women. It was there that Dream...Do...Become! was born - in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South America. So, with gospel music blaring, and the Holy Spirit present, we started on the path to walking out our own Dream. From that day forward, we've been working on Dream...Do..Become! The presentation was completed, our vision and mission drafted and our prayers were being answered. Within a few weeks, we debuted Dream...Do...Become! to a loving and receptive group of women. God winked again as he validated our message over and over again by the other speakers and the excitement of the participants. He even saw to it that one of our dear friends was staying at the same hotel as we were without either one of our prior knowledge. Imagine our shock as she walked down the steps in the lobby while we sat with some of the Retreat participants. She was there to share in the excitement and our joy! We marveled at the favor and completeness of God.
So, here we are walking out our Dream. We're sharing it as we're doing it. We're taking our own medicine and working through the same Companion Guide that we make available to you. One thing is for sure, we'll know if what we espouse is viable or not. And we can course correct as we walk through.
We cannot find the words to properly capture our gratefulness for all that God has done, is doing and will do. We are filled with joy because we know the God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. Thank you God for planting dream seeds in our hearts, watering them with your love and continuing to wink at us.
Be Blessed,
Britta & Shar
