don't be afraid to dream
because dreams were made for you
and you were made to dream.
darling,
close your eyes,
and let your soul be surprised
by the fire kindled in your heart
and the spark that lights your eyes.
so darling,
close your eyes,
and let your soul be surprised
and let it marvel at the dreams
that were planted in your heart
and just like wildflowers,
let them bloom.
but darling,
don't be surprised
when the wildflowers blossom
and your dreams come true.

look up at the sky
and smile at it,
because as endless as the sky
is the hope you’ve been given
and the love inside your heart.
because as beautiful as the sky
are your dreams.
because you shine brighter
than the sun in the sky
and have more worth
than all the stars in heaven.
look up at the sky
and smile at it,
because heaven is your home.

joy shines through
the darkness and
the bitterness of the
season you’re walking through.
it shines through
your heart and your soul
and who you are because
you refuse to let your
joy be stolen.
instead, you give it away,
sprinkling and scattering
and showering everyone
you run into with streams
and beams and rays of
this pure and immaculate
bliss, this real joy
that doesn’t waver,
that doesn’t stumble,
that never ends,
that never fades,
that never goes away.
it’s a fountain, it’s a river
that comes from
living water,
a river that never
stops running,
a river that brings
life to everything
that surrounds it.

i didn’t want rain.
i wanted beauty.
i wanted to see the rising sun
touch the blooming flowers
and i wanted to fall in love
with the glow of the sunset.
but it rained.
maybe i needed the rain,
because i needed to remember
that rain makes
the blooming flowers grow
and rain brings rainbows
and it washes away the
ugliness and brings back beauty.
and maybe i needed the rain
to remind me that i won’t always
be broken, that the brokenness
will be made whole, that this
season one day will be a dim memory,
that You will wipe away my tears,
that You make it rain on my heart
so that flowers can bloom in it,
so rainbows can fill the
skies of my soul.
maybe i just needed it to rain.

open up and let Hope in.
let it dance around your heart.
open up and let Light in.
let your soul know the magic of sunrises.
open up and let Life in.
let it make you bloom.
open up and let Faith in.
let it make you believe again.
open up and let Love in.
let it change you,
let it play with your hair,
let it kiss you,
let it make you want to
fly and touch the clouds.
open your doors
and let Hope and Light
and Life and Faith and Love
stream in and chase away the darkness.
open the windows of your soul
and let boldness and bravery
drown fear out.
open up.

people won't remember
your pretty face
nor your pretty clothes
and the money you had.
they will remember
the melody in your laugh
and the way you loved
and the beauty of your heart
and the bravery of your spirit
and the kindness of your soul.
they won't remember what
you looked like
they won't remember what
you had.
they will remember you
and the words you told them
and the life you spoke to them
and the water you used
to bring to life the dead garden
in their souls
and they will remember the
sunshine in your smile
and the stars that
hid in your eyes.

i was tired,
i was chained,
i was hopeless
and You sang to me,
"you don't have
to carry the world
on your shoulders.
you don't have to
wear those chains.
you can be free.
I already forgave you.
you are blameless."
and as You sang your
song, i realized that i
was the one who
put on myself the
chains i wore.
i didn't have to
carry them, i didn't
have to be a slave
to my chains, to my sin.
i tattooed myself
in shame and i hid my
face from You, not knowing
that all You ever wanted
was to wrap me in your
love and clothe me in grace.