Pursuing a God-sized dream is about following the One who makes the sun rise every day and never tires of it.

Receive the Gift of Your Life as an Adventure from God

Posted on by Michele Morin

“Again!” he demanded with a giggle, his eyes sparkling with joy and anticipation. And so we did it. We read the book again . . . and again.

My grandson doesn’t look for thrills in the new and different. He finds his greatest joy in more and more of what he knows and loves. The truth is, I want to accommodate his requests, but I get bored with the same old words and pictures.

“Let’s read this one!” I offer and try to tempt him with the brightly colored illustrations because I’m weary of the same, old same-old.  I’m the girl who curates a varied menu, struggled for years with a homeschool curriculum, and despises shopping because repetition is where my soul goes to die. However, when I’m with my grandson, he schools me in the delight of the present moment. His fondest dream is to keep on doing what we’re doing, and in his joyful abandon, he turns my heart toward God.

G.K. Chesterton envisioned our Creator with that same childlike spirit:

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It’s possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

Made for “More” in 2021

At the beginning of this new year, I hear the words “Do it again” as a summons. I have my marching orders and the tune is familiar:

There is a home to adorn with grace.
There is a family who needs a faithful wife and Mum.
There are sparkly-eyed grand-babies who need to know that their “Bam” takes delight in them.
There are women in my church who need Truth from the Word applied to their everyday lives.
There are readers who come to my writing home expecting to be challenged.
There is a God who unfailingly offers to meet me wherever I am, bringing to me the gift of Himself.

This is the “More” Holley Gerth has written about in You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream. It’s a tenacious belief that you and I can find fulfillment in 2021 with “more of Jesus, more of what he’s created [us] to be, more of what he’s called [us] to do.”

Receiving the gift of my life as an adventure with God redefines monotony and turns it into the More that I was made for. And with feet firmly planted in the beauty of Now, I’m free to let my imagination go wild, because yes, I can read Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel a half dozen times; I can pack sandwiches and fruit into the same lunch boxes five times every week; I can thaw hamburger one night, chicken the next, and “exult in monotony” alongside God who is also exulting in what my custom-designed monotony is creating in the cracks and crevices of my soul.

Your Invitation to Do it Again

Pursuing a God-sized dream is about following the One who makes the sun rise every day and never tires of it.

I invite you at the beginning of this new year to stop listening to the voices who say your dream is not big enough – who say that your dream is not really God-sized because it does not call for a more exotic address or a job title with a greater wow factor.

Pursuing a God-sized dream is “not about what you do as much as how you do it. It’s about pursuing life with passion and purpose and going with God wherever He leads.”

It’s about following the One who makes the sun rise every day and never tires of it.

The “More” God is calling me to in 2021 is an invitation to greater intimacy with the creative mind behind the daisy, and His message is clear:

“Be like Me. Keep showing up. Delight in My dream for your life because — trust Me. You were made for ‘More.’”

Praying for you in 2021,

Receiving the gift of my life as an adventure with God redefines monotony and turns it into the More that I was made for. 

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and six adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

61 thoughts on “Receive the Gift of Your Life as an Adventure from God”

  3. The quote from G.K. Chesterton says it all. This post is beautiful and moved me to tears as I was reflecting and writing about my recent playtime with our youngest earlier this morning. Our youngest not only says “Again” but her wise mom has taught her to use sign language for the word “More”. So the two usually go together. I love the lessons we continue to learn from our grandchildren. Blessings to you and yours!

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  4. Oh Michele, this is a great reframing of the ‘more’ we think we need. Thank you. Very good word for a new year, wherever it does or does not take us. Let it be one where we come to know God more truly.

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  6. Michele, what a blessing to read this post! I DO accept my life as an adventure from God and treasure the things He shows me. But like your grandson, I have to admit I have a fondness to simply repeat what I know and love sometimes!

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  7. Such a wonderful reminder to lean into our daily routines and find our purpose in how we do what we do. Those daily things that need to be done everyday, or weekly. Joy, is something I have been looking for and finding. It’s there. Our purpose is not often exotic, and if it was, that too would become routine and boring after awhile.

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  8. I love the picture you paint of you reading to your grandson. It has been my experience that if something is funny to a toddler the first time, it is HILARIOUS the fifth time! 🙂 Life is an adventure given to us by God. Children know this intuitively. We should never forget it.

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  9. Oh my, Michele … did I ever need to read this today! I started going through boxes in the basement earlier and felt a few pangs of “what if I had pursued this instead of that” way back when. Not that I haven’t loved my life thus far, but perhaps I would been “farther along” (whatever that means) at this point if I had gone toward math instead of words in college. Perhaps I wouldn’t be sitting here wondering what’s next and how in the world do I figure it out? And then I read your encouragement (and Chesterton’s too) to find delight in “doing it again,” and I’m reminded that God has directed my steps all my life, even when my fears and insecurities got in the way, and will continue to do so. Thank you for these good words, my friend.

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  10. I had to smile at “repetition is where my soul goes to die” because I feel the same way. I love being home, but I do chafe sometimes at the same chores over and over. They make one feel like the person trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon–it never gets all *done.* But God has some reason for those repetitions. And the fact that His Word says “There is nothing new under the sun,” yet He’s not bored with it all, is an encouragement–Chesterton’s quote sheds great light on that.

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  12. Excellent advice, Michele. And I’m happy to be discovering this too: “when I’m with my grandson, he schools me in the delight of the present moment. His fondest dream is to keep on doing what we’re doing.”

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  14. We can always learn so much from the innocence of kids.
    & yes, those voices in our head can be so hard on us. Need to focus on the voice of God more than anything

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  15. “Pursuing a God-sized dream is “not about what you do as much as how you do it. It’s about pursuing life with passion and purpose and going with God wherever He leads.” AMEN, Michele! Strong truth we all need to embrace: to find delight in the here and now–right where God has put us. Thank you, my friend! (I’m copying this nugget of wisdom into my quote journal!)

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      1. Ah, that’s where it’s from. I’ve got that book on my Kindle, I think, but I haven’t actually read it yet. I think I read that quote somewhere else.

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  18. I swear I learned 1/2 a dozen books by heart when my boys were younger. I always looked for ways to make the re-reading just a bit different; asking different questions, reading in different voices, etc. Not that they minded but sometimes I felt like I was going to go nuts if I had to read the same story one more time!

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  19. I love routine Michele, which is what monotony in life actually is.. Don’t you think. I find it so very comforting when living with chronic health conditions!
    But there is always something a little different in a day to day routine if we but notice 😉 for though the sun rises & sets each day the temperature is different with the seasons coming & going. Though the moon is in our skies each night it has a different phase & position.
    Great post! Very thought provoking!
    Remember you’re always welcome to join me in a cuppa at Tea With Jennifer,
    Blessings,
    Jennifer

    Liked by 1 person

  21. I think kids certainly make you appreciate the little things and the simpler things. In fact my two boys have made lockdown easier as they have just got on with it, which means we have to also! #mishchiefandmayhem

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  22. I love this post, Michele! Not only do we get a peek into a moment with your precious grandchild but we also find encouragement in G.K. Chesterton’s words. The older I get, the more I dislike repetition too. So this gives me a whole new and wiser way to view it! Snagging that quote and posting it somewhere! Pinning and tweeting, my friend!

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    1. I find some consolation in the fact that you also are getting more impatient with routine. Maybe it’s a sense of the urgency to spend our time doing things that matter as we realize the limited nature of our days on this planet? (I’m hoping hard it’s not just plain impatience!)

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Thank you for this post, Michele, I do plan to make some personal improvements this year, and one of them is definitely changing ‘how’ I do things. I need to practice patience, understanding and empathy a little more, especially in my closest relationships. Wishing you all the best for 2021.

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  25. I need His reassurance occasional when I question my purpose, but He’s always gentle with replies 🙂

    Thank you for linking up at ‘My Corner of the World’ this week!

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  27. Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn

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  28. I remember this from my own childhood, repeatedly having a book read to me, starting as soon as the final page was reached. My own children are different though, maybe they have too many books! Thanks for linking up with #mischiefandmemories

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  30. What a delightful read! Is it odd that I actually quite like ‘doing it again’, but a little bit different each time? There’s something quite comforting about an extremely well thumbed book or worn out routine for us.. it gives us wriggle room to do it again, but even better. Thank you for joining us for #MischiefAndMemories

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