Yep, I made up a name for myself. A dream realist. I was trying to figure out what to call this blog, and came up with a few ideas, but none of them really described where I'm headed in life. I thought of a lot of injury-related titles, like "A Warm Sensation" or "Oh, to Pee Again."
So, what on earth is a dream realist? In my own words, a dream realist is someone that not only dreams of what life could be on earth, but will do whatever they can to make it a reality.
You may have a passion for art, children, cars, movies, or whatever. I bet you dream about making your passion better. Doctors dream of a cure, newspaper writers dream of the perfect story, and bowlers of the perfect game. But here's the deal: My dream and your dream are worthless if we don't do our very best to make it a reality. I'm glad you dream of going to Italy, but if you don't go there and see it, what's the point? Dream it. Then do it.
I'm not trying to say that any and every dream should become a reality. In fact, the first question that comes to mind is....is the dream healthy? What's my (or your) motivation for the dream? If my dream is self-centered, motivated by greed or selfishness and doesn't benefit others, then forget it. We must be honest with ourselves before we even determine if a dream should be chased.
Then, if it passes the "healthy" test, we go for it. This is where I think far too many people limit themselves. Each of us has a world of ability and strength inside to impact, empower, and help those around us. If we step out in faith (talk to me about this one sometime), incredible things can happen.....even miracles.
I dream of a world that looks like heaven came down to earth. Everyone has a purpose and knows God, the ultimate father and creator, personally. Nobody is dying from disease or other heartbreaking reasons. Nobody is lonely. Nobody lives in fear. Nobody is homeless. People are free and live freely. Businesses give back to their communities. Orphans are cared for and loved deeply. Widows and the elderly are loved and respected. There's no need for war. Peace reigns.
Most importantly and simply, we all love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
That's my dream.
My mission in life is to work as hard as I can and as long as I can to bring this dream into reality. I certainly can't make it happen on my own, and it doesn't happen without God's hand being in the middle of it.
I get to work for an organization, Praying Pelican Missions (www.prayingpelicanmissions.org), that allows me to literally be a Dream Realist for my job. We're involved in missions and ministry partnership, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. We build relationships and get involved in outreach on an international level. We aid and build ministry and business with people from all over the world in the name of Jesus Christ. I'll get more into that and specific projects I'm working on in future posts.....I'm so excited to share more about it.
I can't write about all this dreaming without mentioning my family. My wife, Gina, is a Physical Therapist. We've been married since 2001, but have dated since high school. Not only is she the love of my life, but I think she may be the only person that can support all the travel and effort that goes into my job, keep our house running, teach pilates, volunteer at church and the Humane Society, and raise three kids and three dogs, all at the same time. Our human children (Isaiah, Jada, and Elijah) and canine children (Max, Mocha, and George) are also loved immeasurably, and they'll make it into this blog from time to time as well.
That's all I have to say. Now you know my background.
I'm a Dream Realist.
are still there. They still don't work normally yet, but indeed are there and available for function if/when my recovery gets to that point. I have seen some improvement the last few weeks. It just hasn't been in the department of bowel/bladder function. My head has continued clearing to the point that I feel "with it" most of the time. My back soreness has also decreased in the past week. Most days since my injury, back pain would pull me out of my sleep. Five out out of the last six mornings I've woken up noticing that my pain isn't preventing me from sleeping! It's funny how much we learn to appreciate the little steps forward after a major injury. Anyway, I continue to ask for loads of prayer to get complete bowel and bladder function back. I also ask for prayer for energy and managing my days. I have a tendency to overdo it, and my body just shuts down on me when I've done too much (fever, soreness, bowel/bladder issues, can't hardly get off the couch). My mind is ready to be normal, but my body just isn't there yet. That being said, we're still less than 3 months out from the injury, and doctors give patients like me an 18 month time frame to make our recovery.
Thanks for hopping over from Caring Bridge. A number of people in the past few years have mentioned to me that I should start a blog, and like many things in life, I had just never gotten around to it. Sometimes it takes a real jolt to make a change in life, and my accident in October (see Matt Pfingsten on Caring Bridge for more info) seems to be the starter for actually doing the blog. It's been nice to have the chance to update folks about my physical condition over the past couple of months, but I've also realized that in no way, shape, or form does this injury define me....yet for some reason, that's all I'm writing about!
Friends (and strangers), the time has come to let you in on my life. As many of you who already know me are aware, I have a tendency to talk a little too much and be a little too transparent. Somehow, that seems like the right recipe for a blog. I've made a personal commitment to update my blog at least once per week for its entire existence....if I can't keep it updated, then there's no reason to keep it out there.
Going forward, I'll be updating this blog site much more frequently than Caring Bridge (if you are looking for medical-only updates). Granted, you may wind up with more information than you care to know about me. Oh well. Join the club. If the only person that reads this blog is me, and it just turns into a life journal, then that's just fine as well. By the way, the humor in this blog is for me, the writer. If you think something I'm writing may be a joke or might not be true, feel free to ask someone who knows me. And if it's still not funny to you, then once again, join the club. My wife has been dealing with me for over 20 years, and I'm only 34 (insert joke here).
Thus, as The Joker said in Batman: The Dark Knight:
and here.....we......GO!
