Hitting the Proverbial Jackpot

"I dream my paintings and then I paint my dreams." - Vincent Van Gogh

"Finding Angela Shelton" - Day Twenty-one...

The task for Day 21: start a dream journal.

I actually completed this task yesterday. For those of you who don't know, I live in a rural area. When it snows here, I am STUCK. Stuck with a capital "S" - for real! Well, it's been snowing for a few days now and I don't have any blankbooks or notebooks just lying around. I couldn't get out yesterday to go buy myself something to use as a dream journal, so I turned my house upside down to find materials I could use to make one. After gathering a hodgepodge of stuff, this is what I came up with:


That's five yards of packing tape, 45 reinforcement labels, 25 heart stickers left over from last year's Valentines Day projects, one yard of leftover Christmas ribbon, one sheet of my son's origami paper, and 70 sheets of colored copier paper. A girls' gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right? I've said it before and I'll say it again... I'm committed to this joy journey and I was not about to let a little thing like being snowed in keep me from completing this task. I felt so resourceful after pulling this one out of nowhere!

Since I was a child, I have literally dreamed about helping others who have been through hard times. I've done many things to try to realize those childhood dreams. I've taught Sunday School, volunteered for special needs kids, lead youth groups and taken in friends and family who were in need of a place to stay. It's all been very fulfilling. And it seems the more I'm able to help people, the more people I want to help. My dreams are still basically the same as they were when I was a kid... I still want to do the best I can to make a difference in the lives of others.

My most recent "help" dreams began somewhere around October of 2009. As I watched my accidental support group evolve and grow into the beautiful flourishing thing that it is now, I noticed that I was having dreams again. Not just any kind of dreams, but the kind of dreams that stir your soul upon waking, the kind of dreams that make you want to hop out of bed and get busy with making them come true. One of the dreams I had in early December 2009, I will never forget. In the dream, I was contacted by Ms. Angela Shelton via email. In the dream, she asked me to be a contributor to Survivor Manual. Survivor Manual is a website that was created in order to bring together a multitude of people and resources and information to help survivors lead joyful lives. This dream inspired me to set three specific goals for 2010. The goals? 1) Be a contributor to Survivor Manual in some capacity, 2) Be listed in the "Survivor Blogs" section of Survivor Manual, and 3) Start sharing my story on other sites in order to make more people aware of the Angela Shelton Foundation and the 30-Day Healing Journey.

I had no idea these goals would be realized within the first week of 2010! I feel like I won the lottery! Here's how it happened:

Social Networking! I tweeted about my first "vlog" and Angela Shelton gave me the best surprise ever... she added the video and a bit of my story to Survivor Manual! Then she added my blog link to the list of Survivor Blogs. What?! Yup! TWO dreams/goals come true in one fell swoop! As a result of the Survivor Manual feature, we have gotten some new members in the facebook support group, and I've gotten a few really great messages of support from survivors I didn't know before. Along with the feature on Survivor Manual, there have been other opportunities... more sites and blogs highlighting my story, and some proposals I'm not ready to talk about because I just don't know what's going to happen with them. ALL THREE GOALS FOR 2010 are ALREADY realized!

If I can make my dreams come true, so can you! But it didn't just happen. I have poured my heart and soul into this little purpose of mine. I feel like God lends us a great big helping hand when we step out in faith and do what we feel like He has created us to do. I really believe this is what I was born to do, to show people that they can HEAL and have JOY in their lives in spite of their past experiences and present circumstances.

I firmly believe we all have our own unique purpose in this world. What do you feel like you were born to do? Are you a painter, a writer, a helper, a healer, a homemaker, a crafty diva? Are you taking steps to realize your dreams? Are you painting, writing, helping, healing, filling your home with love, creating wonderful things to share with the world? What are your dreams? Do you want to exhibit your work, get published, start a nonprofit, redecorate your house, start a business? Do you have dreams? Don't deny them. Make them happen! You have to play the lottery if you want to win the jackpot... you get me?

Consider starting a dream journal of your own and see where your dreams take you! They just might give you the fuel you need to get your show on the road!