Keeping the dream alive

I am beginning to formulate in my mind a teaching series on the life of Joseph. Great guy. Interesting life.

Joseph was a dreamer. From childhood. He dreamed dreams. He lived life to the fullest.

Mark Batterson writes:

"I want to die the same way Wilson Bentley died.

Wilson grew up on a farm in Jericho, Vermont, and as a young boy he developed a fascination with snowflakes. Obsession might be a better word for it. Most people go indoors during snowstorms. Not Wilson. He would run outside when the flakes started falling, catch them on black velvet, look at them under a microscope, and take photographs of them before they melted. His first photomicrograph of a snowflake was taken on January 15, 1885.

Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.

The first known photographer of snowflakes, Wilson pursued his passion for more than fifty years. He amassed a collection of 5,381 photographs that was published in his magnum opus, titled Snow Crystals. And then he died a fitting death—a death that symbolized and epitomized his life. Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley contracted pneumonia while walking six miles through a severe snowstorm and died on December 23, 1931.

And that is how I figured out how I want to die. No, I don't want to die from pneumonia. But I do want to die doing what I love. I am determined to pursue God-ordained passions until the day I die. Life is too precious to settle for anything less."

If there is one thing we can learn from him it is this: Don't give up on your dreams.

Do you have a dream today? Don't give up on it.

Perhaps it's a dream of bringing your marriage back together.

Perhaps it's a dream of getting out of debt.

Perhaps it's a dream of starting a new business.

Don't give up on your dreams.

Here's what I know:

I shouldn't give up on my dream if it doesn't start out well.

Joseph's dream comes to him when he is about 17 years old. It wasn't really received well by his brothers and fathers, especially the part that they were going to bow down to him. It really got him in trouble.

John Maxwell writes, "the beginning of a dream often generates more enthusiasm than wisdom. We say things we shouldn't say and do things we shouldn't do......but...too often we give up on our dreams in the early stages when they are they most fragile."

I shouldn't give up on my dream if my family (friends) doesn't support it.

The family of Joseph didn't respond well. Dad responds in Genesis 37:10, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?"

It's very difficult to guard your dream when those around you aren't in sync.

I shouldn't give up on my dream even if my journey is full of surprises.

Joseph was thrown a lot of curve balls....

He was misunderstood by his family.
He was sold into slavery by his brothers.
He was living in a strange country far from home.
He was given favor in Potiphar's house.
He was wrongly accused by Potiphar's wife.

On and on it goes.

Yet he kept his dream alive.

I shouldn't give up on my dream even if it takes a long time to realize it.

This is a hard one. The amount of time from the beginning point of Joseph's dream to its fulfillment was 23 years!

The point is: never give up!

Keep your dream alive!