I hope you have a dream, and if you do, I hope you are pursuing that dream, now.
There have been quite a few in my own life, there are some now, and I know there are others yet to come.
Thank God He gives us dreams, visions, hope for a future. The God of All Creation loves the creative collective minds of His children.
But you know, God doesn’t always speak clearly to me about dreams. A few times (maybe just a handful) He’s given me guidance with crystal clarity on things I needed to pursue, OR those from which I needed to distance myself. But by and large, He typically leaves it to me to explore the possibilities for myself.
And I’ve found there are two methods I can use to make a decision on pursuing huge dreams or every-day tasks of a smaller magnitude.
I can do some seismic testiing, or go with a gut check.
Credit for the phraseology here goes to author/entrepreneur Bob Buford, creator of “HalfTime.” As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, his book is one that has had a profound influence on the way in which I view the “second half” of my life. Buford talks at length about seismic testing, or low-risk measures we can take and with which we can experiment before making a major decision – especially a potentially life-changing one.
Unbeknownst to be, I’d been working through the various exercises of seismic testing just about all my life, but I simply called it, “dipping my toes in the water.” Seismic testing sounds way cooler.
There are friends now who are doing their own seismic testing. I have a friend across town who’s spending a week in Jackson, MS, checking out the lay of the land for a possible new career. For her, it’s a major “lifepoint.”
There’s a couple friend in Colorado who was told a week ago that they had that – exactly one week to make a major life changing decision which was forced upon them. They are in maximum seismic testing mode.
Myself – yes I’m doing some too. My dream is to publish a book in Summer 2012, and sometimes these very blogs are seismic tests designed to see how readers react to the presentation of certain topics. The wordpress analytics make it easy for me, and the comments breathe life into the tests.
When God stays silent, what to do?
I’m naturally inclined to act from the heart rather than the head. That’s why I appreciate the benefit of seismic testing so much. It’s a balancing tool.
My wife is a heart follower as well, so it sometimes makes it all the more challenging for us to make major decisions as a couple. We think it, and we want to do it.
When God stays silent, I go with a gut check. I simply use my life experience of 45 years, a close circle of friends which is VERY small by design, and what my heart says to me. That’s the presence of the Holy Spirit I believe, and we can never avoid hearing that voice.
Seismic tests and gut checks have given me some great experiences in life, and they have also resulted in some tough times.
With the combination of the two, I’m about to go down a path that should prove interesting.