DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Our Dreams Come True Like Puzzles
© NaimaLett.com/blog



© The Hope Center, Plano, TX

Our dreams come true like puzzles – piece by piece.

They are not some lump-sum payout once in a lifetime. They roll out more like a series of deposits growing into a massive investment that blesses more than just us.

What’chu talking about, Willis?

I experienced another puzzle piece fitting together yesterday. That’s what got me to thinking about this idea and how your dreams and my dreams come together.

Things Come Together

So, I’m not in the LaLa this week. I’m in Dallas teaching workshops and conferences and having Adventures with Plano police. I’ve also had wonderful reunions with friends who make life really rich.

One such friend is Terri Burnett, founder and president of ProvenWay Ministries, “a diverse network of experienced ministry leaders called to equip, connect, and advance women of influence”. If you’re a woman serving in a leadership capacity, check them out. Lots of great resources and connections. They’re celebrating 10 years of ministry and invited me back to share for their Dallas Leaders Retreat in August called “Free to Lead”. Check out their site.

Yesterday, Terri graciously agreed to take me on a tour of The Hope Center, a 9-acre campus housing ProvenWay and about 50 national and international ministries including June Hunt’s Hope for the Heart, Josh McDowell Ministries, Joni & Friends, I Am Second, Global Aid, etc.

June Hunt’s vision for creating The Hope Center (pictured above) was “a dream to co-locate like-minded Christian ministries as they work together to fulfill the message of Christ. The goal: to have a setting that promotes synergy, financial stewardship, and global expansion among Christian nonprofit organizations.” Fam, this campus is a phenom! I was so encouraged.

The Hope Center

Over a year ago, my husband Kevin started talking to me about a Hope Center for the Arts & Media (Hollywood) – a center that houses our H0PE IN THE HILLS services on Sunday, but also has community service all week long. He started drafting elaborate plans and researching architecture. He had no idea about this Hope Center in Plano, just a few minutes from where we used to live once upon a time.

A Hope Center in Hollywood will look a lot different than the one here in Dallas. We probably won’t have the lovely Texas grand chandelier made of elk horns or table cloths of fur (PETA would cover us in red paint for sure!); but here’s where the dream puzzle piece fit:

We now have a tangible, God-created example that screams, “This is possible!”
Kevin’s dream, our dream is totally doable.

Hope’s Center

This is just one piece of the whole puzzle, Fam. It’s just one component of a multi-layered dream that God inspired in my husband and me before we were even married. We’ve been fitting pieces together and moving them around like a great big jigsaw for almost 12 years. And nothing happens overnight. It’s been a slow, bumpy roller coaster.

We have personally lived Romans 5:1-5 that I mentioned yesterday in There’s Hope, “knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Hope’s center is created through tribulation, perseverance and proven character. We want artists and professionals to have a place where they can do life with those of us who have walked through some stuff with the Lord and know without a doubt that things will work out for the best.

What’s Your Next Piece?

So, what’s your God-given dream? Hasn’t it rolled out piece by piece?

I think we can avoid a lot of disappointment if we embrace this idea that our dreams unfold like a jigsaw fitting together over time, instead of expecting God to do everything all at once. I don’t know when it’s ever happened that way – Biblically or now.

So, let’s focus on the next piece and keep each other in prayer.
How does that sound?
Naima

Rev. Naima Lett, D.MIN, ABD
Author of coming release Confessions of a Hollywood Christian

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