Good Morning Church! What is the American Dream?

I heard an old friend pose that question last week.

I once thought the American Dream meant: having a prestigious job, living in my dream home, having enough money to travel and to spoil my children.

The funny thing?

When I had those things — I was so busy trying to keep those things — that I didn’t appreciate those things.

I have always been spiritual so I Thanked God for the blessing of those things — those gifts in my life — But ultimately I thought I was in control.

I wasn’t.

It doesn’t take much for ‘The American Dream’ I described to come crashing down.

The loss of a job — an unexpected illness or loss of a loved one.

With the snap of a finger all that you’ve dreamed of is gone.

What then?

Do you stop dreaming?

Like so many across America my life has gone through some major changes over the last five to ten years.

None of the things I described from my original notion of the American Dream are possible for me at the moment.

So why do I feel more content in ‘The American Dream’ than at any other time in my life?

Because I believe I have unlocked a secret that was never hidden but is far too often ignored.

The key to finding the American dream is to first find the purpose of the Dream.

And let’s face it — what true purpose do the things we hold up as characteristics of The American Dream really offer?

They really hold no purpose other than our pleasure — which is not a bad thing — God gives us good gifts to enjoy — but the gifts and the blessings we experience should never be all we dream of.

To truly find and experience The American Dream — as I hope and pray we desire it — is to seek a dream of purpose. And I have come to believe you can’t truly find the purpose till you find the mission.

I write and speak a lot these days about mission because it is something I didn’t fully understand until this past year.

I never realized my mission was missing till I found it and it consumed me.

It changed my perspective from the inside out.

It gave me purpose like I have never felt before.

It made me realize the truth behind the dreams I dream and most importantly it gave me the hope to dream again.

The American Dream is alive — it’s the dream of tomorrow and the hope for today — wrapped in the certainty that all is well because Christ has overcome.

Find your mission — your purpose — and dare to dream again!

God Bless!

Laus Deo Soli Deo Gloria!

LaVern Vivio

June 26, 2016