My husband and I live on a ranch we fondly call CBell. Our place is a far cry from a ranch but we have two horses, a dog, a barn, and a lake, so it feels like we can loosely call it a ranch.

Before we built our house, the builder, architect, my husband and I walked the land with house plans in hand. My husband and I dreamed of overlooking a beautiful pasture, a picturesque barn and a calming lake. I envisioned myself standing at the kitchen sink surveying the views and enjoying the horses. So as we walked around the undeveloped property that day, I asked where the kitchen sink might sit. The builder used a string to plot out the entire footprint of the house. Then, he drove a stake in the ground where the kitchen sink would be. That stake remained in the ground for many months even after the foundation was poured. As the project progressed, I would often stand at that stake knowing one day I would be washing and drying dishes at that very spot.

The house has been complete for a while now. And just as I dreamt, I am able to stand at my actual kitchen sink and look out the window to see the beauty that surrounds. Ever grateful, I smile when I watch Barnaby and Minnie Faye stroll to the trough for a drink. Sometimes I witness an eagle soaring to see if he might scoop a fish from the lake for breakfast. Some days, the fog is so dense, the views have an eerie appearance. The other day, I watched a storm move in and not long after, clouds were replaced by a rainbow.

I love looking at the views from my window that all began with a dream.

God created us to be dreamers…  He wants us to imagine a future so He can do the immeasurable. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20

What are you dreaming about? What kinds of things has God placed in your mind and heart that you might see lived out in the not so distance future?

Might I suggest you take a stake (whatever that looks like to you) and claim a future for it? Your stake may be asking God to put a new friend in your life. It could be seeking the Holy Spirit to assist you in reading your Bible regularly for the next 30 days. Dreams come in all sizes —big and little. So, I challenge you to go a little crazy.

Your window view will most likely not involve a kitchen sink. But it sure is fun when God gives you a dream and then lets you see it clearly.

We claimed this Bible verse for the window view at our kitchen sink:

(God speaking) “Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple (house) so that my Name may be there forever.  My eyes and my heart will always be there.” 

2 Chronicles 7:15-16