Dream Again

The year was 1976, and I was in kindergarten—Mrs. Zoozalo’s class. Now, I don’t remember much from that year (it’s been a while), but there are a couple of things that stand out.

First, I really liked Mrs. Zoozalo. Probably because I had a little kindergarten crush on her. She was young, pretty, and in my five-year-old mind, she was absolutely awesome.

The second thing I remember? Dream Time.

Now, Dream Time was essentially just nap time, but calling it that made it sound a whole lot cooler. Each day, we’d grab our little mats, find a spot on the floor, and Mrs. Zoozalo would dim the lights and play soft music. Songs like Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head and Somewhere Over the Rainbow would fill the room, and instead of just telling us to sleep, she’d encourage us to dream.

She’d tell us, “You have endless possibilities. You can be anything you want to be.” And for those few minutes each day, we believed it.

But then life happened.

Somewhere along the way—middle school, high school, college—Dream Time disappeared. Instead, reality set in. People said “no” to our ideas. Our confidence took a hit. We learned to play it safe, and little by little, our dreams got smaller and smaller.

It’s no surprise. Statistics show that we’re most creative when we’re young. The older we get, the less creative we become, and the less we dream. And if we’re not careful, we stop dreaming altogether.

That’s why I feel like this topic is so important. Too many of us have let our circumstances, hardships, losses, or failures steal our ability to dream. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

I believe God is calling us to dream again—to stop settling for the status quo and to believe for more. So today, let’s take a moment to go back to Mrs. Zoozalo’s class. Let’s bring back Dream Time.

Take a few minutes. Play Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Grab a pen and write down your dreams. Maybe it’s a dream for yourself, your family, or a better future. Whatever it is, don’t let the limitations of the past keep you from what God has placed in your heart.

Because it’s time to dream again.

Three Ways to Dream Again:

Make Space for Dreaming – Life gets busy, but we have to be intentional about setting aside time to dream. Whether it’s in the morning before your day starts or at night when the house is quiet, create space to let your imagination run.
Silence the Dream Killers – There will always be voices—internal and external—that tell you your dreams are too big, too unrealistic, or too late. Stop listening to the negativity and start trusting that if God placed a dream in your heart, He will make a way.
Take a Step – Dreams don’t become reality overnight. They start with small steps. Write down your dream, pray over it, and take one small action toward making it happen. Even the biggest dreams start with one step of faith.

So, what are you dreaming for? What are you believing God for? Whatever it is—big or small—don’t let it slip away.

Dream again.

We presented this as a creative element back in 2021 right after Covid. I did a monologue and our team performed the song Somewhere over The Rainbow. You can check it out at 21:30 into the service at this link.

https://youtu.be/AGdXaxm7d8I

Get Some Grit

Grit is passion and perseverance for meaningful goals. It’s the ability to keep pushing forward when things get tough, to roll up your sleeves, and to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

I Learned This the Hard Way

Early in my time at Stevens Creek Church, our lead pastor, Marty Baker, taught me a lesson in grit that I’ll never forget. Back in 1997, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the internet was just a rumor, we used to perform drama sketches in our services to illustrate biblical messages. The only way to get these scripts was to have them faxed. (For the younger crowd, a fax machine was basically a loud, slow, and temperamental printer that worked over phone lines.)

One week, we missed the Monday deadline to request a sketch. No big deal, I thought. I told Marty, "We missed the deadline. We can’t get it."

But Marty wasn’t having it. "Did you try other options?" he asked.

So I went on a wild goose chase, calling every number I could find. Nothing. Dead ends everywhere. I went back to Marty, expecting him to concede defeat.

Nope. "Try again," he said.

At this point, I was ready to declare that maybe it just wasn’t God’s will for us to do the sketch. But Marty was relentless. He wanted the sketch, and by some miracle (and a very patient company that took a credit card payment over the phone), we found a book with the script in it. They copied the page and faxed it over.

Did I grumble during this process? Oh, absolutely. Did I learn a valuable lesson? 100%.

Grit Is in Short Supply

Today, things are different. If we need information, Google has it in 0.0003 seconds. Siri will literally read it out loud for us, and Amazon will have it at our doorstep by morning. With all this convenience, it’s easy to see why grit is becoming a lost art.

But here’s the thing: great leaders aren’t made in comfortable, easy situations. They’re made in the moments where they refuse to give up, even when things seem impossible.

The Difference Between Good and Great

I believe you can be a good leader without grit. But you will never be a great leader without it.

So when obstacles come—and they will—don’t take the easy way out. Get some grit. Find another way. And, for the love of all things holy, be grateful that you don’t have to rely on a fax machine to do it.