and the young men shall dream dreams...

i was talking this morning with a friend of mine about dreams -- the kind that we have for our future, the kind that shape us and engage our imaginations, the kind that make us soar with excitement and get that throw-uppy feeling and absolutely amaze us with their depth and breadth and scope when we get close to them. i gotta say that this seminary thing is one of those for me -- something i've thought about and ran from and wrestled with since i was in high school, a dream that is now taking shape and blowing my mind with the weight of it all.

on that topic, i was thinking about my kids and their dreams...here is a sampling of what i can remember:

kristyn -- she'd like to be a dancer. a dance teacher. maybe a teacher like mommy. she's been training in all 3 areas for 4 years now, so it shouldn't be difficult to achieve these things...

brady -- to be a firefighter. and president. but he doesn't want to live at the white house all the time; he wants to come live at home part of the time too. and to marry mommy. we are still working on that one.

emy -- to be dora the explorer. well, near as i can tell. that's about all she talks about...that, bria, and her belly.

so...what about your kids? what do they dream of? even at an early age, what do they dream about doing? and as parents, how do you see yourself encouraging their dreams?

one tough thing -- practicality! how will we balance the dreams with the desire for our kids to be secure/successful/grounded?

lastly...imagine what the world would be like without dreamers and dreams? how about the biblical landscape -- what about those guys and gals who had the courage to follow their dreams and the God inspired visions in spite of what those around them were saying?