You hear it every year around this time: you can live your dream life. But how do we do it? How do we get from point A to point B?
And more importantly, how do we know that point B is where GOD wants us to be?
In today’s video, I’m sharing 3 steps to living your dream life. A dream life that lines up with God’s plans for you. Plus I’m sharing some details about the future of The Renewed Mind!
Resources Mentioned:
Renew180 Christian Coaching: https://ashleyvarner.com180
Weekly Reset Guide: https://renewedmind.lpages.co/weekly-reset/
Highlights From the Episode:
I want you to think about your dream life. Whenever you think about the perfect life, what do you dream about? Is it living close to your grandkids? Is it being able to stay home with your kids? What is your dream life? Being able to garden all day? I don’t know what your dream life is, but today I wanna talk to you about how you can live your dream life right now. Let’s jump in.
Hey, there my friends and welcome back to The Renewed Mind. This is the last video of 2022. And I just wanna say thank you to all of you who have been watching. The channel grew this year. And I’m just really thankful for your community and your encouragement to me, the emails, the comments that I’ve gotten, I just wanna say thank you.
So, let’s talk about how you can live your dream life. Now, whenever I was labeling this topic, this lesson, I thought about calling it this, and then part of me thought, maybe I shouldn’t call it your dream life because it seems a little bit self-centered or self-indulgent. But I wanted to name it this because I think that God puts dreams on our hearts that sometimes we let go of because we’re not willing to live them out.
Maybe we’re, in our hearts, we think that we are, but we’re not willing to make the effort to accomplish those dreams. And truly, God wants what’s best for you. It doesn’t always look the way that we think it looks. And so, I wanted to give you a couple of ways that you can start to live out your dream life right now.
What do you really want?
The first is to ask yourself the question, what do you really want? Before you can live your dream life, you have to know what your dream life is, right? So I wanna ask you, what do you really want?
It’s Not About What Other People Want
Now, this is not about what other people want because sometimes we can see, social media is really good about this, and Pinterest and all that. It’s really easy to make us feel like we want something that maybe was never on our heart in the first place.
So, I know that there are some people who love the idea of living in a big city and having the, you know, the high-rise apartment and all of that. Whenever I see pictures of that, I think it would be beautiful. The more I spend my time focusing on that, the more I think, man I would really love to live in a city. But when I sit back and I’m just introspective and maybe reading God’s word and thinking about His goals and His plan for my future, a big city isn’t really in my future. I live in a really rural area and I like the idea of not having, you know, neighbors right next door. I love the idea of not living in an apartment.
So for me, maybe what other people want is not what I want. And so for you, as you’re asking yourself the question, what do I really want? I want you to think about, the things that come into your mind, maybe those quick thoughts I want you to ask, okay, is this what other people want or is this what I want?
It’s Not About What the World Says:
Now, another area that we can sometimes get confused on this is, it’s not about what the world says that you’re supposed to want. So for some people, they may want to have one child and travel the world. And that’s fine if that’s what God has for you.
But sometimes we look at the world and we see, you know, the things that the world tells us that we’re supposed to want, that big bank account or that big house or whatever it is when really it might not be what we want. Maybe what you want is to be able to live off grid. Maybe what you want is to be self-sustainable with your own garden. It just depends on what you really want in your heart versus what the world tells you that you want or what you’re supposed to want.
It’s Not About What You Used to Want
The last area where people can get mixed up on what they really want is, they think about what they used to want. I know someone who used to want to just be single and they recently got married. Now, they were far into their 60s. And all of their life, they felt like they were supposed to stay single. That’s what they wanted, was to stay single. But as they really started seeking the Lord even later in life, I mean 60 years old, they found that what they used to want wasn’t what they wanted anymore. Now they wanted to have, you know, that companionship, they wanted to have that marriage. And she got married later in life. And I thought it was just a beautiful thing to see what they really wanted and how it changed from what they used to want.
It is about what God is sharing on your heart:
Now, it’s not about what the world says that you’re supposed to want or what other people want or even what you used to want but it is about what God is putting on your heart. So I really want you as you are thinking about what you really want, think about the things that God is putting on your heart.
Be Open to What His Will is for Your Life
I really want you to be open to see what His will is for your life, because I don’t care how happy that you think all of these big dreams are going to make you. If you are not walking in God’s will, you are not gonna be happy. And so make sure that you are open to what God’s will is for your life. And to be honest, we don’t really have to question that sometimes because he shares it in his Word, right.
He shares it in His word
He shares the things that he wants us to do, the ways that we are supposed to act towards people, all that is in his word. But also be open and paying attention and aware of what God’s priorities are for you. So, whenever you think about what you really want, keep in mind and be really intentional about making those things that you want line up with God’s priorities for your life.
His priorities: your relationship with Him, your health, your family, your ministry
Things that God prioritizes are your relationship with him, your health, whether that’s physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, your family and your ministry. Those are priorities for the Lord, for your life. And those look different for everyone. Everyone’s family looks different, everyone’s relationship with the Lord looks different, everyone’s ministry looks different.
So you might be saying, well, I’m not a pastor. You know, I don’t have a YouTube channel. I don’t know. I don’t really have ministry. But yes you do, my friend. It might not be full-time ministry but there are all kinds of ministries that you are involved in. Maybe these things are connected to your church but maybe they’re not. Maybe your ministry is that you own a business and you encourage your employees on a daily basis or you provide jobs for people who wouldn’t have jobs otherwise. That is a ministry. And so you can look at the things in your life that you want, you know, those dreams that you have and then align them with what God’s priorities are for you.
Realize that it’s important that seasons change
Things that used to be a big priority in your life, have to move over sometimes
The next step is to realize that it’s important for seasons to change. Seasons change and it’s good that they do. You know, things that used to be a big priority in your life, sometimes have to move over, you know.
Sometimes things that used to be really big and a huge part of your life, and it’s hard to let those things go. Trust me whenever I say that whenever you’re following God’s will for your life, when you let go of those things, even if they’re good things, even if they are ministries like I just talked about, there was a ministry I was involved in for many years, over a decade. And whenever I let that ministry go, it was really hard on my heart because it’s something I had known. It was comfortable for me.
But I knew that I was walking in God’s will by doing that. And he took me into a season of a brand new completely different ministry that I was so thankful for. And you have to realize that there are seasons, and that’s okay. It’s okay for seasons to end.
In fact, they have to end, right. If you want fall, then summer has to end. If you want winter, then fall has to end. And there’s a cycle and just a balance and an ebb and flow that comes from seasons. So just like the seasons change in our weather, seasons change in our lives where sometimes there’s things that are really important to us that have to be set aside for something else to come up.
People Over Things, Always
I always tell my kids, people over things always. So I tell my boys we love people and we like things. So there’s nothing wrong with enjoying things. But I always tell them, like if there’s a toy they’re fighting over. I say, we love people and we like things. Like consider your relationship with someone over the stuff. And so that’s why whenever you are in this season of growing in dreams that you prioritize people over just stuff.
Sometimes You Have to Say No
And then it’s also important to remember, sometimes you have to say no. And again, remember that these are seasons. So there might be a season when you are saying yes to a lot of things and then there might be a time when you have to say no. And that’s okay. It’s okay. I’m giving you permission. As long as you are listening to the Lord and really following His will for your life, trust me there are going to be times whenever He says, no, I don’t want you to go in that direction, even though it’s great, even though it’s a well-meaning ministry or a job or whatever it is. Sometimes the answer is no. And we have to learn that, that’s okay.
Value Your Face-to-Face Relationships
Another area about living out your dreams is to value your face-to-face relationships. So, this might not really feel like it has anything to do with your dreams, but let’s talk back about those priorities that the Lord has.
His priorities for your life are your relationship with Him, your health, your family, and your ministry. And so, if you are not valuing the relationships in your life, then that God is a God of relationships.
So we have to value our relationship with Him. We have to value our relationship with our family. And really value those face-to-face relationships more than just like the likes and the views that we get online.
As you are thinking about your dream life, the biggest question is the first question I started with is, what do you really want? As you are thinking about it, decide, you know, is this something that I want because God has put this on my heart, or is this something that I want because the world has told me that I want it or because my friend has it or because I used to want it? And really be intentional and mindful to pray and ask the Lord to show you what his desires for your heart are and what his desire for your dreams are. Because if He is part of your dream and goal-making process your goals are going to be that much more attainable because He’s with you in them.
Changes for The Renewed Mind in 2023
Now, I wanted to end this video by sharing a little update on The Renewed Mind. I have done what I’ve told you to do in this video for the last several months, just thinking about what I really want, what God really wants for the future of this ministry. And I wanted to share that we are going to be making some changes in 2023.
So, I’m going to be reducing the number of videos that I put out. Instead of every week, they will come out once or twice a month. And one of the reasons for this is that we are expanding our family. We are a foster family, and I have many kids in my home right now. And I want to value my time with them. And so that means that I do have to let go of some things.
Now, I’m not canceling The Renewed Mind by any means, but creating one video a month or two videos a month is way different than creating a video every week. And so there will still be content. The website will still continue to have content. And I’ll be featuring past episodes and past teachings throughout all of next year. So, you will still be hearing from me but the new content will be reduced a little bit.
Books Coming!
I am also excited to announce that I have a couple of books coming out that are being published. So, there’s a new devotional book coming out. And then, I also want you guys to be watching for my new book that is being published called “The Emotionally Intelligent Mom.” Now, I am going to be sharing a lot of what I teach on the site about learning how to control your thoughts and take them captive, but also how that translates to your children. And I am really excited about this book. It has really been a labor of love for me over the last several months. And I’m excited to announce that that will be published very soon.
So, make sure to check it out. I will leave links below. And depending on how quickly things progress, the book might already be out by the time that this video is published. So, I will leave links for you guys and I’m just so thankful for this community.
Renew 180
This has been an amazing year for The Renewed Mind. I will still be coaching through Renew 180. If you wanna be part of that mastermind that is the place where you can come on get coached by me one-on-one in those group sessions, get really in-depth teaching. So make sure that you check that out.
Those are some changes that are going to be made in this new season of The Renewed Mind. I am praying and hoping that this new year brings you closer to the dreams that God has put on your heart. It has really been my joy and pleasure to teach you how to renew your mind and how that translates into your daily life. So, I have enjoyed teaching you and really just encouraging you to transform your life by renewing your mind.
All right. That is it for this video. I will see you guys really soon. Have an amazing week.
