In the early 1990s as a young high school student I thought I was going to pursue a career in computer science. Understand that there was no Google for me to find out more about this subject as the Internet was in it’s infancy. Also, I had never actually had any experience with computer science – no courses, no books. I had never talked to anyone that was in the field, but it sounded interesting. I was good with computers. I knew some stuff about science. Well, that came to a screeching halt when I took an introductory computer science course. What the heck?! This is like math! New plan.

I guess computer science was my back up plan as I was also pursuing a NBA career at the same time. Don’t laugh. As a six foot white dude with average hops, I held my own. The pinnacle of my career was dropping 42 points on our rivals my senior year. My dad later told me that he was talking to a parent from the other school before the game. Without knowing that he was talking to a parent of a player, the man made a comment that our team really only had one good player. He wasn’t talking about me. Justice served. Sort of. We lost the game, but man, was I on fire. Despite my heroic basketball abilities, the NBA never came calling. Their loss.

During our high school years we are expected to figure out what we are going to do with our life. We’ve got colleges to choose and subjects to major in. There is pressure, some outward but mostly inward, to pick a life track that makes good money and means something. I was no different. I had some ideas, some dreams, but really I didn’t know why I was put on this earth. I was mostly hoping everything would work out. While I accepted Jesus at 8 years old, I didn’t really make the relationship my own until my college years. This is key. Knowing what you are supposed to do is directly tied to knowing who you are. Through the years as my identity in Jesus has been strengthened so has my purpose in life.

College Life

I attended Liberty University earning a degree in Communications which involved graphic design and video production specializations. As a wide-eyed, ignorant freshman I had no idea where this road would lead. I thought I was just learning about something that I liked. Until recently, I did not realize the significance of my major in Communications. I was put on this earth to communicate, to help others communicate, to ultimately help others communicate with God.

At the start of my final year at Liberty I was listening to the president of a missions organization speak at our annual Missions Emphasis Week. As he finished his inspiring talk, he challenged those in attendance to give two years of their life to missions work. I was moved by the challenge and was one of the few to stand up in the basketball arena where we were meeting. I felt a strong leading to do so, but I did not know what that meant for me.

Fast forward to graduation day … I am on my way to Cincinnati to work with my girlfriend’s father who is the president of a mission organization. When I was standing somewhat alone in that arena several months before I barely even knew Jenny and had no knowledge of her dad’s ministry. Working with the organization opened my eyes to the power and love of God in a way I had never experienced. I saw parts of the world I’d never seen. I saw people saved, healed and delivered right in front of my eyes.

Career Minded

During my time working for the missions organization I got engaged and married to Jenny. Not until a few years after my time was done working with my father-in-law did I notice that I had worked exactly 2 years for his mission organization. God knows the plans that He has for you even if you don’t know what is going on!

The majority of my career since that time has been spent in the business world. I’ve always had opportunities to help ministries communicate more effectively through the skills and expertise I’ve developed professionally. My heart has always been drawn towards business and the part it plays in advancing the kingdom of God. As I matured professionally and spiritually I found myself not only having great interest in business but also the prophetic. Marrying these two seemingly vastly different ideas together may be a stretch for some, but for me it is a passion. What does God have to say about our businesses that can help change the world? That is exciting!

Dream Awakening

A significant part of my journey in hearing the voice of God has to be attributed to John Paul Jackson and Streams Ministries. I discovered John Paul on YouTube in 2008 as I watched a video on the Perfect Storm. He was explaining that major upheaval was about to happen over the next several years in finance, politics, religion, war and geophysical events. Many of the topics he covered during that video have come to pass.

From this point forward, I began to learn as much as I could from John Paul’s ministry. I felt a deep connection with the message God had given him. For the next several years I devoured any training that Streams Ministries produced in an effort to better hear the voice of God. Understanding Biblical dreams is central to John Paul’s teaching and it has become a invaluable addition to my life. Prior to these discoveries, I gave little thought or time to my dream life. Consequently I can’t tell you about any significant dreams that I had before this time.

Things have changed. In the years since I learned about the importance of dreams, I’ve had numerous life-altering experiences during my sleep. They have given me instruction, encouragement and inspiration to go after the things of God. Not only that, I’ve been blessed to help others understand what God is saying in their dreams.

A few years ago, I was driving home from church with my family. I mentioned to Jenny that I believed that the two major passions of my life were business and the prophetic and that God would use those together somehow. Sometime later I had a dream in which my pastor said that I had two dreams and that he wanted me to stand up and “pray them over the church.” There were several other elements to the dream but at this time I knew very little about interpreting dreams. I knew the dream had significant meaning but was not sure what that was.

Meanwhile, I was a regular viewer of a new online program John Paul was producing called Dreamipedia. He would take dreams that had been given to their ministry and use them as teaching tools on dream interpretation. I submitted two of my dreams at different times, one of them being the aforementioned dream. To my surprise, Streams Ministries eventually used both dreams as examples of elements that often show up in dreams.

The interpretation that John Paul gave for my “prayer dream” changed my life. Several parts of the dream spoke to the very heart of who I was and where I was going. John Paul said that my pastor was symbolic of God’s voice and that God was telling me to pray my two dreams into existence. I knew exactly what he meant.

Losing A Mentor

Early in 2014 I learned that John Paul Jackson was battling an aggressive form of cancer. I prayed and believed with many others who had been touched by his life that God would raise him up. By September 2014 John Paul was back to recording his online programming. I traveled to Dallas, Texas to participate in his first show recording since his health issues. His testimony was inspiring as it told of the goodness of God and His miraculous power. I had the opportunity to share about one of my recent dreams and John Paul gave his insight. The whole trip was a great experience and built my faith immensely.

February 16, 2015 I received an urgent prayer request for John Paul Jackson saying that he has taken a turn for the worst. Previous to this I had no knowledge that he was having any difficulty. I was shocked but as I prayed I thought this would be another failed attack from the enemy.

The next night I had a dream where basketball great Michael Jordan was giving a commencement address that I was attending. Later in the dream I was talking to MJ and he asked me what I did. I said that I was about to finish a marketing degree. Later that day I told Jenny my dream and she said, “Isn’t today Michael Jordan’s birthday?” Growing up I was a huge Jordan fan, so I actually knew that his birthday was February 17, but I never put the two things together until Jenny mentioned it.

February 18, 2015 John Paul Jackson, one of my greatest mentors, left this earth and it’s mortal toils. I was heartbroken as were many others. The early morning hours of that day before he passed I had another dream. In this message from God, I was gathering supplies to go back to school in a store. While shopping I saw a pair of Air Jordan basketball shoes that someone had discarded in a pile. I picked them up and saw that they were size 12, which is one size bigger than what I wear. The shoes were in great shape, nearly new, and I knew I should be able wear them. While I was doing this people were boarding a train to go to school. The train left without me.

It became quite clear to me that along with John Paul Jackson’s physical death, my training was now over. It was time to step into bigger things and soar to new heights. In my heart I knew that John Paul was the grain of wheat that falls to the earth, dies and bears much fruit. This same thought was confirmed and repeated by other minister friends of John Paul.

From Trainee to Trainer

Since that time I’ve had several opportunities to encourage others about the dream God put inside of them whether through dream interpretation or simply sharing the heart of God with them. It has been an exciting step into the larger shoes that have been left behind. I’m just one small part of the heritage that John Paul Jackson left behind. Many others are going forward with the message of God that awakens the dreams inside of His children. I, for one, am elated to fulfill my portion of this awakening.

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.”
Joel 2:28

As a young lad my dream was to be a horse rancher. I do not know where this idea came from. Maybe, it was the Bonanza reruns. To this day I’ve never ridden a horse. As a kid, anything is possible and we have altruistic ideas of our future life: nurse, doctor, firefighter, police officer, president, explorer … maybe even a horse rancher. We want to do something heroic and adventurous. No matter what path our life has led us on, we are still made to be heroes and adventurers. God has instilled in us all a desire to be like Him and save the world. Better yet, we get the astounding privilege of working with Him to make other people’s dreams come alive.

Making someone’s dream come alive can take on many different forms. It could be speaking encouragement to the brokenhearted or maybe it is providing a warm meal to a homeless person; sponsoring an orphan in Africa; succeeding in business to bless the Kingdom of God; serving selflessly at your church and the list goes on indefinitely. God has knitted inside of your heart a custom fit dream for you to pursue and achieve. The broken world needs whole heroes willing to say yes to the impossible and make an eternal difference with what has been given to us. Your dream is worth going after. We all need what God has put inside of you.

As a child, hide and seek was one of the more thrilling activities I participated in. The anticipation of finding someone or being found always heightened the excitement. With four children in the house, this classic game is still a favorite. Even at a very young age my kids, loved playing even if they needed my help every time to find a suitable hideout. There is something about discovering the unknown that is built into our DNA. God put that inside of us and is encouraging us to join in the greatest game of hide & seek ever – finding Him.

We will start our search by looking in the Bible. The original text of the Bible was not actually written in Old English. This sadly may a be a surprise to some people. No, Jesus did not drop one “thee” or “thou” while he was leading his disciples across Israel. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. Often times these languages use multiple words while English may only use one. Dream is one of those words.

Looking into the original meaning of the words used in the Bible can often bring deeper insight on what is being said. In the Old Testament there are four words used for dream: chalem, chalom, challam and paam. You may have picked up that the first three are related. You will get bonus points on your next quiz. Chalem is the root word and it means “to dream” or “to be healthy and/or strong.” Paam means “stroke, beat, step or occurrence” which gives the meaning of “oftentimes” or “to beat regularly.” Interestingly, paam  is always used in the context of someone being troubled after having a dream. They were not quite sure what was being said in the dream and needed someone to bring clarity.

In the New Testament there are two words used for dream: onar and enupnion. Those two words put together is where we get “onion.” Onions are a dream come true. And that last part was completely false. Onar simply means “a dream” while epnupnion is “something that occurs during sleep, to dream frequently.”

• Dreams that keep us from evil
• Dreams that reveal God’s will
• Dreams that encourage
• Dreams that reveal the future
• Dreams that instruct

God directly tells Job the nature of how He speaks in chapter 33 through dreams and visions. He is speaking but the catch is we may not fully understand what He is saying.

For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, 16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, 17 to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, 18 to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.
Job 33:14-18

You may be thinking, “What’s the point?” Stop thinking that way! While God is the greatest hide and seek player ever, He does fully expect you to find Him. Pursue God first and He will add all these things to you. Seems like I’ve heard that somewhere before. In the intimacy of searching the heart of God you will learn the vocabulary of heaven. Just as God is frequently reaching out to us, our reciprocation leads to deeper understanding of His thoughts and ways.

The game is on. God and His mysteries are waiting to be discovered. Ready or not here you come!

You heard it. That nagging little voice inside of you. Taunting you. Mocking the very idea that you even let the thought happen. Ridiculing your attempts at becoming more than what you currently are.

You know what that voice is? Fear. Fear doesn’t belong. It likes to think it does and it sometimes gets validated by our “what ifs” and “maybe some days.” That voice needs to shut up. It keeps telling you what can’t be done and why it isn’t possible and who will never believe in you and blah, blah, blah.

The fear that keeps our goals minimized should actually be the catalyst to go bigger. When the doubt starts to creep in let it be a reminder that there is so much more to be had. The moment we realize that fear is just a footnote of our former self we can begin to realize that what is inside our heart is a true picture of ourselves. This is the part of us that dreams unattainable goals and unrealistic, fairy-tale endings. When fear has been unceremoniously dismissed we see that these unattainable, unrealistic thoughts are the seeds of our destiny.

With the beginning of a New Year, we’re bombarded with the idea of setting goals, making resolutions, becoming more successful, eating healthier, losing weight … again. Some have come to the conclusion that writing down a set of items to resolve to be better at is a wasted exercise. Nay, it is not, my friend. Not only write down the seemingly repetitive and mundane lists but make sure you are aiming high. A goal to live healthy is amazing, but think about the impact of helping hundreds if not thousands of others live healthy. Insert your passion here. While your beginning may be small and uncelebrated never let that dampen the expanse of your dreams, goals and vision for your life.

If all your goals that you are setting are reachable without the help of anyone else, you’ve got to go bigger! If it’s entirely possible for you to make it happen in the next 30 minutes, then you have set the bar a wee bit too low. Step up your dream game. Stop listening to fear!

In the Mean Time is the Dream Time

What to do while your dream has yet to come true? Take a step in the right direction. No one leaps to the end of the dream at the onset. There is a natural process of working it out so that when you do begin to realize your dreams you are the most effective that you can be. Here are some things to think about when going big with your goals.

1. As mentioned already, shut the door to fear. Silence the voices in your life that keep you from moving forward. Whether that be a mindset, a person or a memory replace those with the potting soil of dreams … hope. Surround yourself with people, thoughts and actions full of hope and vision.
2. Do something practical. You see the end result in your mind. Figure out a real thing you can do to move in that direction. Maybe it’s reading a book to educate yourself further or rubbing elbows (Don’t really rub anyone’s elbows. It’s weird.) with those that are further along in the journey to a similar goal.
3. Don’t stop. There will be times on the journey toward your “unrealistic” dream that you are reminded that it is “unrealistic.” You’ll want to quit. Do not do that. It’s only unrealistic when you actually begin to believe that. You were created for more. Don’t let a temporary set back become a permanent deathbed for your dreams.

The God-given ability to have big goals and accomplish them is not only for yourself but for a whole pile of other people. No one else that ever lived can do exactly what you can do. You are a unique creation with a skill-set perfectly assembled to make that dream a reality. We’re all waiting for you to become what you were created to be!

Fear will try to interject itself throughout your goal-attaining journey. Fear says you cannot that means that you absolutely can. Don’t ever forget it.

First of all, never say this to a woman. Secondly, NEVER say this to a woman. Now on to the subject at hand. This post was inevitable as my beautiful bride, Jenny, is expecting our fourth child any day now. I am no expert on pregnancy as I’ve never been with child. (Yes, people still use the term “with child.” Awesome.) I have been around my wife for all four of her pregnancies. So I claim second hand revelation. Not as good as first, but it will have to do.

Pregnancy is a bear. Not an actual bear in the woods, but it is tough to bear. Thus the term childbearing. When people can’t handle something they say, “I can’t bear it.” All sorts of challenges come up during pregnancy: sleeplessness, discomfort, immobility not to mention pain. The last month is the most challenging. If you were to ask my wife if she would like to carry Adalyn (the next in the illustrious line of Rowan children) for another month, there is going to be a face punch in order. Not really … she prefers to kick.

Not everyone will physically carry a baby. I can say with certainty that roughly 50% of the world’s population will not. Although, everyone has conceived an idea or dream that is waiting to be birthed. With real pregnancy we know that in 9 months this thing is done. Figuratively speaking, the wait and travail may be shorter but many times it is much longer. Some of the same symptoms of sleeplessness, discomfort, immobility and pain will manifest when we are waiting to birth our dream into reality. The trick is not turning into a fat blob waiting for it to happen.

We may not know the exact date that our dreams will come to fruition, but we can always be actively pursing them. Not to do so will turn us into Chubs McGee. If we decide this idea pregnancy will happen when it will happen without any effort on our part, we will be greatly disappointed. We must bear the brunt of the dream. No one else is going to carry it for us. Others will come to our side and help, but they cannot be the dreambearer. New word. It falls on our shoulders to push through to the end.

How to birth a dream…

1. Take your vitamins – Feed yourself with good things. Nothing will kill a dream quicker than negativity whether it be internal or external. Get surrounded by those that will spur you on to greatness. Have self belief. If you do not believe it will happen, it definitely will not happen.

2. Go see your specialist – Find the right expert mentor to help your dreambearing experience. A person that has the experience of making a dream reality is invaluable to have as you pursue your own dream. They can share things to do and not to do that will make your life much easier.

3. Get your rest – As important as it is to pursue, create, work hard and make things happen, there also has to be rest. Do not burn out before the baby is here. There are times to relax and let your mind go somewhere else for awhile. Take a dream vacay. Literally take a vacation from your dream or go on a dream vacation. Just don’t forget to come back. You get fat if you stay too long.

4. Push – The last part is the hardest. When it comes time for a dream to birth into reality, we have to push through all the difficulty to see the result we envisioned in the beginning. There may be serious pain that comes at this time, but it will be worth it once you are holding your baby. Do not let temporary discomfort keep you from experiencing long term satisfaction.

If you have been waiting for something to happen, get off your duff, fatty! Your dream is waiting to born. Do something about it.

This is pure conjecture on my part, but I think I’m right. LeBron James may have been the most hyped athlete in the history of mankind. Everybody knew what he was destined to do years before he did anything of significance. Physically gifted like no other basketball player, James was made to play. I’m curious, though, if he lays awake a night and wonders what if. What if he did what he wanted to do?

Last night James dropped a real stinker in game four of the NBA finals. By far, it was his worst performance in his 99 playoff games. There has been other no show moments for LeBron like game five of the Boston series last year. Earlier this week he was asked by a reporter if he was shrinking under the pressure. James understandably bristled at the question. But the question remains, why the bad performances on the big stage?

Maybe he is doing what he is passionate about it. There are telltale signs that he is not, though. Moving to Miami to take some of the “heat” off of winning by himself; (pun intended) talking about building an empire and the aforementioned lack of execution in the most important moments at times.

In our careers and in our life, if we spend the majority of time doing something we are not passionate about it will show at some point. You may be good at your job, but if it is not your passion something is going to suffer. Your company, your family, your friends, your dreams and most of all, you.

It may not be feasible for you to drop everything to pursue your passion at this moment, but there has got to be an outlet for it. Not only that, but a plan to implement how you can transition your life to reflect that passion. Take some real, actionable steps to make your dreams come true.

Passion cannot be counterfeit. It comes out of who we are and what we were created for. Manufacturing desire for something that is simply a job or a task will not last. This does not mean that we should not put our best effort into things that we do not love to do. Being able to exist at the passionate level includes a lot of tedious and even boring moments that are essential.

Take time to examine who you are and what you love to do. Are you able to participate in opportunities that not only fulfill your dreams but also fulfill other people? My Granny Rowan always used to tell me, “Whatever you do make sure it helps other people.” Words to live by. When we reach beyond ourselves to positively impact the world around us we will be fulfilled.

I’m not rooting for LeBron to win the NBA championship. (It’s personal. Da Bulls.) I am rooting for him to find his true passion. I’m rooting for you, too.

Plax is back. Or at least he is on his way. For those unfamiliar with the story of the Virginia Beach native here’s a recap. (FYI: Our own Service Tech Shalon Haith went to school with Burress and used to drive him around and let Plax borrow his track shoes.)

Firstly, if you’re are unfamiliar watch some football. Burress is a former Super Bowl champion NFL wide receiver. He was actually one of the top players at his position. At 6′ 5″ 230 lbs he was difficult for any defensive back to cover. Thus ends the Mel Kiper portion of the post.

Within a year of his victory in the Super Bowl, Burress accidentally shot himself at a New York City nightclub. Shooting yourself while it is dumb is not illegal. Also, being at a nightclub is not a illegal. But criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment are illegal … off to jail for Plax.

At the height of his career, he was sentenced to two years in prison. Not an ideal situation for someone that relies on the body to make their living. Everyone is subject to what time does to the body and doing time does not help. While in the Heartbreak Hotel, he’s been staying in shape, catching balls from his inmates and doing what he can to get back to his former glory.

Sometimes we have to go Plaxico Burress and get back in the game ourselves. Hopefully you haven’t shot yourself literally but we’ve all shot ourselves in the foot at one time or another. The point is to not let it take you down for good. Maybe you’ve let a dream or idea go to the wayside because circumstances have not been favorable. It’s time to catch some balls from your inmates.

What does that look like? It’s simply doing whatever is in front of you. One step at time on your bullet riddled foot. Burress obviously could not show up at the Giants practices to get ready for the next NFL season. He could ask his cellmate to throw him some quick hitches, though. What is in your hands right now that can help you get back in the game? It may be a small step, but it must be taken to revive your dream.

Burress is basically the same age as I am. Upon hearing about his desire to get back in the game I was somewhat cynical. Hey, I’m NFL old. The more I thought about it the more I realized that he should go for the glory. Don’t let people like me tear down your dream. Not everyone will have the same passion about your dreams as you. That is to be expected because they are yours. Own it and don’t let the naysayers or haters, in today’s hip vernacular, pull you down. Guard who you share your dreams with. Make sure they are individuals that are for your success.

Your dream is as unique as you are. While we can be inspired by the lives of others, there is no need to copy them verbatim. Mimicking someone else will only bring frustration because you cannot do them as well as they can. In turn they could never do you nearly as well as you. Being successful at who you are will bring you satisfaction.

A wise man in the Bible said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” It will kill you not to dream big dreams and have a great vision for your career, your family and your life. It may not be a physical death (at least not immediately) but it can mean a walking dead life. Don’t be a zombie. I heard zombies don’t dream. I think mostly because they’re too busy not sleeping and eating brains.

Just like Plax, we’ve all made mistakes we wished we had not, but let’s face it, we’re humans. Mistakes are a given. Getting back into the game is not a given, but it is a necessity.

The famous words of Reverend Martin Luther King easily spill off our lips … I have a dream… Everyone knows that the courageous civil rights crusader had a mission bigger than himself that he was working towards. Part of the power of his statement and speech is that not only was the idea inspirational, forward thinking and audacious but it was attainable. Why? Because he believed and so did those who marched with him.

We all dream. Whether its the sleeping kind or the day kind, dreams invade our conscious and unconscious thoughts all the time. The question is do they invade our reality? Do your dreams come true? Or maybe a better way to say it is … are you doing your part to make them come true?

Dreams are a gift from God just as the talents, abilities and people are that He gave to us to help fulfill those dreams. How do we get our dreams to materialize in front of us? It always starts with belief. We often hear the phrase “hopes and dreams” in relation to things that have yet to happen. The Bible talks about this:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Most of us have dreams that are not seen. It’s time to start believing. God has placed things in our hearts that we have only toyed with up to this point or blatantly ignored in some cases. These are the dreams that we are afraid to share with others because of incredulous looks we would surely get if we dared speak of them. The dreams that God gives are ones that make your head hurt when you try to figure out how it could ever happen. It’s our responsibility to believe in the unspeakable dreams.

In our belief there needs to be prayer. The apparent paradox in prayer is the idea that I need to pray to God for something that He gave to me in the first place. God is looking for our desire, our desperation and our dependence on him. No one wants to give a gift that is not wanted. Do your outrageous dreams regularly make it into your talks with your Father?

Belief in your dream is not blabbing the details to any passerby and hoping for a thumbs up. It is about taking a step toward the dream in faithful obedience. God is always looking at the seemingly insignificant details in the dream-to-reality journey. He wants your dream to come true more than you do. But even more than that He wants you ready for it when it comes. Stepping into your dream unprepared will quickly turn it into a nightmare. God knows that. So he waits. He waits for us to do the “little” things He told us to do.

Sometimes dreams die. The good news is Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is all about bringing dead things back to life. It’s time to resuscitate the dreams God once gave us. Other dreams are small. The only limits on God are the ones we put on Him. Let God be big in you and your dreams will grow in magnitude.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Ephesians 3:20

These are not just our hopes and dreams. These are God’s dreams he has chosen to put in us. He wants to use us to preach good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives. He’s looking for dreamers that take action and believers that bring hope. So those that once had no hope can begin to dream.

Its never too late to start dreaming. If you’ve been guilty of stifling your dreams, no worries. God is still waiting expectantly. He is on the edge of His seat. He is ready to make your dreams come true. Are you?