Dream Catchers

DREAM CATCHERS
A GUIDE TO FULFILLING YOUR DESTINY

Richard Lutwama
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the people who contributed to the success of this work. The Editorial Team for the long nights, the Creative Team for the inspiration and the Administrative Team for running with the dream Shalom
FORWARD Having gone through this book, I find it so challenging, so real and such a source of blessing in my life. Considering the present age when the majority of people want quick success, I find this work sobering, so enlightening and so fresh. One of the insights brought forth in this book preparing for your dreams has proved to be very informative and valuable to me. I wish that every Christian and non- Christian reads this book and applies the lessons leant therein to their day-to-day lives. Whoever reads this book will find it a master-piece and will never regret why he or she was born. Pastor Charles Okee Redemption City Church Kampala, Uganda March 2013
Table of Contents Chapter One: Ideas, Visions, Dreams1 Chapter Two: Signs point to Direction.10 Chapter Three: Desire to Dream15 Chapter Four: Preparing for your Dream...19 Chapter Five: Strategize...........................................36 Chapter Six: Time.....................................................41 Chapter Seven: Seize the moment...........................49 Chapter Eight: Atmosphere for success...................56 Chapter Nine: God the great dream catcher ............75 Conclusion................................................................78
Chapter one IDEAS, VISIONS, DREAMS Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18 Dreams; the seed for great accomplishments Every achievement in the universe is a result of a dream in the mind of an individual at one point in time. From the atomic bomb to the computer, the automobile, the airplane, bridges, and skyscrapers, you name it and surely it was birthed out of one common workshop called Dreams. Everything seen with the natural eye living or non-living came into existence as a result of a dream. Henry Ford dreamt of a moving machine that would replace horses so he made the automobile. He gave himself to experiment until these experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle-the Quadricycle.
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Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny
The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had only two forward speeds1 with no reverse. In 1888 Emile Berliner dreamt of recording and storing sound on a flat surface and he invented the gramophone, which has now evolved into the modern CDs. The Wright brothers dreamt of a flying machine that would not only defy gravity but also cut the time spent in travel so they invented the airplane. God dreamt of having relationship with His creation so he created Adam. He also created all visible and invisible creatures and substances as part of the beautiful world for His priced dream, mankind. Every accomplishment that we see is a result of a dream. God the Great Dreamer Throughout the entire universe, nobody, nothing can out dream God because the greatest dreamer ever, is God. Before He created a thing of all that we see, He had a dream, a vision if you may of what he wanted to create.
He knew what He wanted to make so he started out at the beginning and by the time He was done, it was beautiful. He dreamt of the highest mountain and the lowest valley. He dreamt the summer and the winter. He dreamt up all the fishes in the ocean with their numerous colors and the creatures that roam the wild. He dreamt the amazing Amazon forest with all its vegetation and decorated it with waterfalls here and there. He even dreamt up all human beings including you. Each individual is different and we all vary in looks, gifts, talents and abilities but no doubt, he dreamt us up. (Gen. 1:1-28) God had a dream, which He set out to accomplish and yes we are glad that He dreamed us up. If God had no vision or dream of what He wanted to create, am sure that He would have created nothing. At the best, the world as we know it would have been nothing but chaos and confusion. Imagine a world without light, without the sun without water or our abundant sources of food. When you look at creation, how each element has a purpose that compliments other elements, the most logical conclusion would be, that the world is not a result of a big bang
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somewhere but a product of a very intelligent mind that took time to create a vision, dream a dream and work out a plan to bring that dream to pass. Dreamers are Achievers Every man or woman is remembered for what they achieved, what they did in life. Whether good or evil, we remember each individual for what they contributed to the human legacy. Adolph Hitler is remember for massacring the Jews and fighting the world, mother Teresa is remembered for helping the poor people of India, Billy Graham is remembered for evangelizing the world and Oral Roberts for Healing the sick. Michael Jackson is remembered for his music, Michael Jordan for Playing basketball and Mayor Rudi Guliani for being a strong man in the difficult days that followed the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in New York. The people who achieved good, we remember for their good and those who achieved evil for the evil they achieved and those who achieved nothing are absolutely forgotten. Your memory will only last as long as your achievements do not a day longer.
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Every achiever in life must start out with a dream. Without a dream, achievement is a distant fantasy that can never be realized. From Abraham to Moses, king Solomon, the Pharaohs of Egypt, Julius Caesar, Alexander the great, Columbus the explorer, the Wright brothers, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, any great achiever starts out with a dream. Failures mistakenly think that they will wake up one day and all around them will read like a page out of a fair tale book, unfortunately they simple live and die and nothing is recorded in-between because they had no dream hence they achieved nothing. I have a dream I have a dream, Dr. Martin Luther King jr. boldly proclaimed to the status quo of racial segregation in his day. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. These are the words of a man who was so consumed by his purpose in life that it was so real to him to the extent that he could see it though it had not yet been fulfilled. He was convinced that this was the reason he was created and that he had found his purpose in life.
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This great man was driven by a dream against all odds equipped with words and a nonviolent approach, he gathered an army of men, women and children who were battered, imprisoned and ridiculed but at the end of that era the purpose of that movement was fulfilled as the civil rights bill was passed in America. He had a dream. Joseph the beloved son of Isaac was a man with a dream. As the Bible tells us in Genesis, he was a man given to wild dreams. He dreamed to be a man of great influence and power, a man of leadership and respect, a man who would be reverenced by those around him. He dreamed of ruling the world including his own family. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and,
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behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made. Genesis 37:5-11 obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. Joseph had this dream as a child and everywhere he went, he was consumed by being a leader little wonder that after 15 years of slavery, betrayal and imprisonment, Joseph found himself the prime minister of the greatest nation in his day. He was not born a king, but he had a dream. He was not the oldest in his family but he had a dream. He was not the most likable guy on the block but he had a dream. Joseph had more downs than ups but through it all, he had a dream. From the Pit of betrayal by his brothers to Potiphars house, to the Pharaohs dungeon, Joseph held on to his dream. Do you have a dream? Do not let go of you dream cause its the only thing that can change your future.
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Failures concentrate on where they are but successes concentrate on where they want to be, where they are going. Failures look at yesterday and today but those who make it look at tomorrow. You must have a dream to become somebody, a preacher, a politician, an athlete, an inventor, a doctor or a teacher. Without a vision, a dream, the Bible says people perish. (Proverbs 29: 18) Suicide is a direct result of having no dream, no vision, and no purpose in life. Your Dream is the reason you live, your assignment in life, and the purpose for living. If you find it, your story shall be one of great success through lifes long journey. If you do not find your purpose, your vision, your dream, your life shall be a story of wasted energies and would have been. Finding your Purpose your Dream Two children born on the same day in the same hospital to the same mother can never turn out the same in life. Why? Purpose, Dream, Destiny. Who we turn out to be is a result of purpose, if we find it or not. From the time a child is born they begin to move towards their destiny. Through infancy, early childhood, adolescence right into adulthood, an individual is exposed to their
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destiny and what matters is if they find it or not. God created the sun, the moon and the stars for a purpose. Their success is in living out the reason they were created. The same God also created every human being on the earth. Whether you parents say you were a mistake, a result of an unplanned teen pregnancy, God who gives life says He created you for a purpose. On a bad day when Jeremiah the prophet was feeling lonely and blue, his life looked like a mistake but God thought otherwise. Jeremiah 1:5-8 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Each individual just like Jeremiah was created for a purpose. God created each of the 5 billion people on the face of the earth for a purpose. Whether born in a slum or a palace, born in India, Africa or Europe, every human soul has a purpose. Your purpose is your destiny.
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Chapter Two SIGNS POINT TO DIRECTION Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days, and years In the journey of life, there are many signs that point us to the right direction. If we pay careful attention to these signs, they will show us the way our lives are to follow. There are signs that point you to your destiny. What comes naturally? The sun does not have to strive shining. Even on a cloudy day all that the sun has to do is show up and the gray clouds will give way to the life-giving rays of the sun. The sun doesnt need much effort to shine. Every musician has a natural feel for music. They can
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hear the voices, discern the instruments and move their body to the flow of the music without much effort. It just comes naturally. You should hear someone who doesnt have a natural gift of music try to sing. A choking chicken could do a better job. What comes naturally is a key to finding your purpose. A teacher should find it natural and easy to explain ideas and concepts, a preacher should find it natural to proclaim the Word of God. Wake up a preacher at 3:00am and give him a microphone. You can bet he will preach the hell out of any believer and the non-believer out of hell. It comes naturally. Some people find numbers and figures interesting and they understand them easily and naturally. Joseph was born a leader. He was the eleventh of twelve sons but he found it natural to lead his brothers. He told them what to do and what not to do. His father saw in him leadership qualities that none of his brothers possessed. At an early age, he was a go between for His brothers and father. (Gen. 37:2-4, 13) Joseph had leadership qualities that just flowed out of him naturally. What do you do with ease? Look closely and you will be looking at your destiny your dream.
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Observe the design, the Gift, the Talent When you look at the specific design of an object, you can get a glimpse into what it was designed to do. Observe yourself. Your ears have a design that makes it easy to pick up sounds. Your nose is probably protruding so it can smell and has two holes necessary for breathing. The design of your vocal cords is such that when you push air from you abdomen through those vocal cords, a sound is produced. Even in the wild, a lion has powerful jaws and claws which come in handy when hunting to grab and choke its pray. The antelope is graced with swift strong feet so it can run when the occasion calls for it. Observing design is key to understanding purpose. When manufacturing a drum set, you need all kinds of drums. The design of the drum agrees with the purpose for the drum. Small drums will give a sharp sound and large oval drums will give you a bass sound. If you take time to observe your gifts and talents, you will note a design that can facilitate a purpose. Politicians like preachers are gifted orators, quick thinkers and wonderful public figures.
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I know people who would rather die than stand before a crowd of twenty and I also know people who come alive when they stand before an audience of some sort. The later are gifted or rather designed to address and lead multitudes. You find individuals who can work very successfully behind the scenes but put them on the front line and its all over. At the same time, those who can stand the frontline and the headlines cannot have success behind the scenes. Its a matter of design based on purpose. Joseph demonstrated the gift of leadership in his fathers house, in Potiphars house and in Pharaohs house another indicator that he was destined for leadership at some point in his life. (Gen. 39:1-6) What are the gifts you posses? They are a key to understanding your purpose, your destiny, and your dream. Solving Problems Your destiny is connected to solving a problem. Doctors solve medical problems, entertainers solve entertainment problems, the army solves security problems, educators solve educational problems and faith healers solve the problem of sickness.
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Each human being was created to solve a problem. Adam was created to provide fellowship to God and to tend the Garden of Eden. Eve was created to compliment Adam in fulfilling his purpose cause it was too much for him. The problems they solved represented their purpose in life. What problems move you? What problems do you seem to have solutions to? History books are filled with people who solved problems and those who created problems. There are three kinds of people, those who create problems, those who are part of the problem, and those who solve problems. Which category do you fall in? You shall be remembered for the problems you solved or the problems you created. People will look for you because you can solve certain problems for them. If you can solve the problem of sickness, the sick will look for you. If you can solve the ignorance problem, students will seek you out. If you can cook good food, the hungry will look for you. Not the sick, the broke or the discouraged, but the hungry will look for you. People are interested in you as long as you solve a specific problem for them. You shall be reward because you solved a problem.
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Adversity is the mother of innovation. Failures see problems but Dream Catchers see opportunities. What are you seeing? Understand the problems you can solve, its another key to finding your purpose, your destiny, and your dream. Heartfelt Desires Columbus the great explorer had a desire to discover new lands. He left his home as an explorer and in1492 discovered the new world. This guy just had a heartfelt desire to discover and that is what he did. In the heart of each human being, there is a desire to become someone, to do something. This is another key to understanding your purpose. Every successful athlete desires to be the best in their field, to do something that no other man has ever done. What do you sincerely desire to do with your life above all? Is it helping the sick, preaching the gospel, working with handicapped children working with computers, automobiles or books? What is the greatest desire in your heart? I believe Joseph could not stop daydreaming about leadership. The guy just desired to be a leader. In his
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fathers house, in Potiphars house, in jail and in Pharaohs house, he just played leader. That was his greatest desire and he always looked for it to be fulfilled. What moves you, is a key to your purpose. There are social problems that touch you so much that its like you are the only one seeing the problem and if you do nothing about it, no one else will. If you get to the place where your heart just feels overwhelmed by the desire to do something, take a good careful look cause that could be your purpose.
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Chapter three DESIRE TO DREAM Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them From a Desire to a Dream Any desire in its self is not enough. One has to move from just having a nice desire to a ravaging dream. Achievers are people who go beyond a desire to a dream. Everyone desires to be wealthy but the gap between those who desire and those who really are is the unwavering focus on that desire that it transforms from just being a desire to a dream. A dream is being so convinced about an issue that you begin to walk toward it, you begin to see it, feel it, and smell it even if it is miles away. Failures have desires but successful people turn their desires into dreams
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and then realities. When you put lots of passion into a desire you have yourself a dream and if you hold onto your dream chances are you shall see it fulfilled. The lack of passion has robbed the power out of many a church, out of a would be marriage, out of a budding business and yes! out of many spiritual destinies. You should nature your passions cause they will move you out of the failures league into the heroes league. When your back is against the wall and discouragement sets in, the devil will try to steal all he can but dont let him touch your passion because its your resurrection seed. Moses was so passionate about justice and human rights that he killed an Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next morning, he saw an Israelite treat his neighbor unfairly and he protested. Moses just couldnt stand people treat other people like animals, without dignity and respect. That passion got him in trouble but its the same passion that God used to set His people free. When your desire grows into a passion and your passion is transformed into an obsession, you can be sure that your obsession will move you to fulfillment.
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Archimedes was so obsessed with his discoveries that while having a bath he discovered that the water displaced in the bath tab was equal to his weight. The man just ran out of his bathroom naked, completely obsessed with the new discovery later known as Archimedes Principle. When an individual believes their destiny to the extent of being overly obsessed with it, they align their life energies to the realization of that dream. Write the Vision, the Dream Imaginations are like fleeting pictures that are here today and gone tomorrow. The human mind has the ability to retain all that is processed through the five senses but that information is stored away at the back of the mind and is usually not easily accessed. There are so many things that go through any human brain but they stored in the subconscious meaning that they are not easily and readily accessed. This means that if that information is going to be kept at the front of your thinking brain, you need to have it continually before your eyes and eye.
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Habakkuk 2:2-3 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. If a vision, a dream is not written down, chances are it will evaporate like the morning mist. Achievers have a habit of writing down every dream they have. Many people have good ideas but if they are never recorded they are simply forgotten.We shall look at this in more detail later.
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Chapter Four PREPARING FOR YOUR DREAM Proverbs 24:3-6 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety. Preparation is not the most popular word at any forum. Whenever someone mentions that word, morale seems to decrease as enthusiasm gives way to some kind of lethargy. However, every dream catcher knows that without preparation dreams are nothing but fantasies. What separates a wishful thinker and a dream catcher is preparation. Dream catchers take time to prepare themselves for their dreams while failures just
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imagine greatness and cant position themselves for success. Preparation is positioning yourself for success and greatness. If you are not prepared, then you are not positioned for the fruition of your purpose, your dream, and your destiny. Anyone serious about fulfilling a dream will make sure that they are prepared for that dream. Acquire Knowledge and Seek Wisdom Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. Wisdom is having a good sense of judgment through clear sightedness and intelligence. Knowledge can be acquired but wisdom is God given. (Pro 2:6, 1Kings 4:27) Through Knowledge, one can seek wisdom. Wisdom is learning through another persons experience what would have taken you a lifetime to know. Proverbs 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. God displayed unspeakable wisdom when he created
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the universe. He had a dream to create but the only way that dream was fulfilled was through wisdom. Wisdom is what any War general needs to conquer his adversary. Wisdom and understanding is what it takes to make a machine that can defy the laws of gravity and fly. Without wisdom, your dream will go to the grave with you while Dream Catchers leave their dreams here on earth as their contributions to the human legacy. Proverbs 12:8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised. Wisdom is what separates champions from failures. Wisdom is the technical knowhow of fulfilling you purpose in life your dream and your destiny. Proverbs 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: The word Knowledge is derived from knowing or rather to know which means to have awareness, which is a result of careful observation and recognition resulting into a discovery that leaves the individual with a sense of understanding. Knowledge is getting to know facts first hand.
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Knowledge will usher you into your destiny. Without knowledge, any attempt to accomplish anything will be a miserable failure. Multitudes are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. Your lifestyle, your success or failure is dependant on your knowledge. That is why the Bible encourages us to get knowledge and understanding (Pro.4: 5-7). Knowledge is a forerunner to breakthrough. The first step in preparing for your destiny is to acquire knowledge. Whatever field you decide to go into, you must as a necessity acquire as much knowledge as is available in that specific field. One distinctive mark of Dream Catchers is that they go through an excruciating process of gleaning and gathering as much knowledge as possible about their field of expertise. Golf is a beautiful game that requires a lot of knowledge. Many times, champions walk through the golf course to observe and understand the grounds on which they would play the next day and they could tell you the distances between two holes, the elevation of the ground and the smoothness of the grass all which affect their ability to play and win the game.
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Winners have one thing in common, that is knowledge. They make a deliberate effort to gather as much knowledge as is available. When one ignores knowledge, they make a choice to fail. If you are ignorant you shall be ignored. Study One of the quickest and most convenient ways of acquiring knowledge is through study. Each man and woman of success must take a liking to study. When one sees your library they can have a glimpse into your mind. The habit of reading is one of the most paying. When you stop studying you have taken the path of failure. Studying does not begin or end with school. Successful people make it a habit to keep studying in order to stay up to date. You should find books that have something to say about your destiny and purpose and consume them like a starved man. Prepare yourself for your dream by studying all that is available on your subject of interest. This generation is so blessed with information that if one stays ignorant its largely a personal choice. When you study about any given subject, you acquaint yourself with the facts making it easy for you to understand the diverse issues on the matter.
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What books are you currently studying that will prepare you for your destiny? 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show yourself a workman approved of God, Correctly dividing the Word of truth. Observation The world around us has so much to show us if only we would take the time to really see.Observation is the ability to see and learn from your surroundings. A child learns so much during the early years of life by simply observing the adults. They hear you talk, see you cook, walk, play, dance, fight, kiss or whatever you do in their presence. By simply observing, children learn how to live in our societies. If you have a dream, you must take time to observe those that are fulfilling a similar dream and just learn from them. Kind Solomon was a man filled with wisdom and understanding. Much of his wisdom was acquired by observing animals and the ants were among his favorites. He observed these creatures and there by learnt so much (Proverbs 30:25)
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By observation even a fool would be able to learn a thing or two. If someone cant teach you how to do it, just observe him or her closely and you might learn how to do it. Use your eyes and ears to the uttermost. The way of success and greatness is not hidden from you. Its all before you but you must develop a keen sense of observation so you can enrich yourself. You will not always be told how to it. Be observant and you will learn. Experience Experience they say is the best teacher. If you told a toddler how to walk, they could never understand you. The best way for them to walk is to get up and try to do what they see you do. People who are too afraid to try out something new will never learn. There are things you can never learn until you actually experience them. All drivers can bear me witness that you can never really know how to drive until you sit in that sit and get your hands onto that steering wheel. In preparation there are moments when you need to put your hands onto it then learn how to do it.
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Joseph was destined to be the Prime Minister of Egypt but he had to be prepared through experience. So the experience he gathered at his father house, Potiphars house and in jail facilitated his preparation to rule Egypt. (Genesis 37:213, 39:1-6, 39: 21-22) There are many experiences that God will allow your way as a means of preparing you for your destiny. Even before you get to the palace you must learn how to behave like a queen because God is preparing you for greatness. Mentorship Moses was mentored by Jethro his father in-law, Elisha was mentored by Elijah, Samuel by Eli, David by Saul Peter by Jesus and Timothy by Paul. Your success story must have a chapter dedicated to your mentor because without a mentor success will only be sniffed at from afar. In the process of preparation, you will get to a place where God will use another human being to mold you into the person you are destined to become. Many failures are a result of the lack of mentorship. A mentor is someone who has gone before you in life, someone you love and trust enough to open your life to
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so they can push you in the right direction. Successful individuals will tell you of someone who inspired them to be the best, someone who pointed them to the door and helped them walk through it. For every Robert Schambach there is a Rev. Allen, for every Benny Hinn there is a Catherine Khulman and for every Thabo Mbeki, there is a Nelson Mandela. Great minds are inspired by other great minds. Great musicians find and follow the examples of other great musicians who have gone before them. You must have someone who you admire and believe in so much so that you mold your life after his or her words and counsel. Mentorship can be in person, through a book or a tape. What matters is that the apprentice will receive eternal seeds of greatness and success that they can follow through to fulfilling their destiny. A mentor has been down the road you are going and therefore they know exactly what you are going to encounter and how you can overcome the challenges you will face. If you have never cooked an Indian dish, I think it is only good wisdom to find an individual or a book to guide you on how to achieve your desire. Family businesses are usually very strong and suc25
cessful because the parents take time to teach their children how to run the business. Some of the best restaurants around the world are owned and run by families. The reason for the success is that the children are taught from childhood how to make good pizza, how to keep records and how to keep the customers happy. So from generation to generation, mentorship is going on no wonder the business never fails. The quickest way to fail in achieving your dream is to refuse the words of wisdom from a mentor. Assembling a Dream Team Every man and woman who has enjoyed the thrills of success to a level of attaining celebrity status knows a secret that all failures have failed to master. That simple secret is the fact that you need other people to facilitate you as you reach toward your dream. Television shows us stars that are great entertainers, awesome orators and most beautiful people. What they do not show you are the numerous men and women that enabled that celebrity to be what you see them as.
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They do not show you the cameraman, the producer, the janitor, the tailor and the makeup specialist. All these unseen faces are a vital component in the success of the celebrity. No man is an island by them self. Your success will be affected by your ability to identify and accept people who are destined to work with you. There are people who will come into your life to stand with you and strengthen your arms. Every Moses has an Aaron, every David has an Abishai and every Paul has a Barnabas. There are people that will come into your life who will share your life and dreams with you. They will laugh with you, cry with you, labor with you, fail with you and succeed with you. You must have your eyes open to see and receive these people who will make up your Dream Team. Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. God in His wisdom knew that the apostle Paul needed a Barnabas to fulfill his ministry. These two men worked together so wonderfully that they turned the
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world upside down. (Acts 17:6) At some point in their ministry they had a disagreement about another coworker called Mark and they parted ways. Paul was of the view that he did not need the services of Mark but some years down the road, he realized the importance of Mark and sent for him. (2Timothy 4:11) You Need a Dream Team to attain your dreams. God Sent People When the Lord gives you a vision, He will also take personal interest in assembling a Dream Team around that dream. God knows the end from the beginning and He can no doubt facilitate a collection of dreamers around that dream. Acts 13:2-3 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. God gave the apostle Paul herein called Saul a vision to take the gospel to the gentiles and He also gave him one man called Barnabas who was a great blessing to him. Barnabas stood with him everywhere they went
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and he was the one who introduced him to much of the church including the twelve apostle. Every pastor, evangelist and minister must have the wisdom to realize and accept God sent individuals who are a vital component in fulfilling the dream they have. There are God sent people who will be an important piece of the puzzle you are trying to build. You should note those people who have been sent into your life by God. They are the core of your Dream Team. Identify and Acknowledge Potential Every leader must have a keen eye to identify potential. A good leader will see the potential in someone when no one else can see it. When assembling a dream team, you must recognize the ability that people posses and encourage it. You should be able to identify the people who can fit into the puzzle you are putting together. Every Dream Catcher must see the different aspects of their dreams and identify an individual who was cut out to fit into that mold. Dream Catchers take time to find raw potential then transform it into an accomplished achiever. Many
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people can see potential but very few have the spirit to acknowledge and encourage that potential. Dream Catchers are not afraid to accept the fact that someone else has the potential and that they need that individual. If you take time to acknowledge your spouse, may be you will begin working as a team instead of pursuing different conflicting dreams. There are people who are vital to the fulfillment of your dream. Have you identified them? Have you acknowledge them? Are you encouraging them to take their place in that dream? Barnabas saw the potential that Paul possessed and he encouraged him so much at a time when even the church did not believe that Paul was a true convert of Jesus Christ. (Acts 11: 25-26) Total Agreement - Those who see what you see When putting a Dream Team together, one has to be careful to team up with people that see what they see. When an individual does not see what their spiritual leader is seeing, they take different directions, which could lead to disaster.
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Find people who see your Dreams, people who share your ambitions, love what you love and hate what you hate. If people share your passion chances are they can easily work with you. Avoid working with people who are perpetually opposed to your dreams and visions. People who cant dream with you cant run with you. How can two walk together unless they agree? (Amos 3:3) The only teams that make it are those that are in agreement about their purpose, their strategy and their execution. Genesis 11:1-8 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and
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now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one anothers speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. The Bible here tells us how man was in agreement about building a tower that would reach the heavens. These people were united in one purpose and one dream. When they got their project going, God was moved to go see what this team was trying to accomplish. When God saw their oneness of purpose He knew they could not fail. Unity is a very important component in working with a team. A united team has the potential to attain any goal before them. Dream Teams must constitute people who will walk in total agreement about their purpose and how to realize it. People who are ready to lay aside their ambitions and desires, for the common good of the corporate vision. Build a Team spirit For any team, be it a football team, a basketball team, a business team or a ministry team to be successful, it
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must function with a team spirit. It is one thing to be on a team and another thing to act as a team. The ability for any team to function well is in their willingness to act together as a team. Take a good look at your body. Every member of your body does their role as part of the body and not independently. Can you imagine what would happen if your heart decided to become selfish and concentrate on its self? What if your legs refused to carry the rest of your body? The success of the human body lies in the ability to function as one unit. There are so many teams that work without a team spirit, which usually ends in failure and frustration. There are always people on a team who feel they are the most important part of the team and that no one else is anything close to them.Such people are interested in doing a one man show instead of working with a team. No one individual can ever claim that they fulfilled their dream all by themselves. You need to encourage a team spirit if your team is going to function well. You should know that each member of the team is as important as the other and what he or she does is just as important.
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Team members must respect and encourage each other to be what they ought to be. Each team must take time to bond and just fit into each other well. Everyone one talks about Michael Jordan and how he won three NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. However people are quick to forget individuals like Scottie Pipen and Horace Grant who were members of the same team and no doubt played their part in order for Michael Jordan to do his thing. Champions always emphasis a team spirit, which is the only way any team can really win. Commitment and faithfulness Commitment must be at the core of every successful team. Without commitment you might as well give up working as a team. Wonderful organizations are destroyed when their leadership teams lose commitment. In this microwave generation, people want to get their food now, get their job now, their pay rise now, and even get their miracle now. We live in a time when people want everything quickly and little emphasis is given to virtues like commitment, sacrifice and faithfulness. Without commitment and faithfulness, no team can realize their potential.
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Commitment is being there for your team at all times especially during the bad and difficult times. It is very easy to work for a flourishing organization but the real test of character comes when your organization goes through some rough waters. We live in a society, which pats its leaders on the back when all is well but kills them as soon as they seem to make one mistake. Your dream team should consist of people who exercise the virtues of commitment and faithfulness. Do not be overly impressed with charisma and charm. Does the man have commitment and will he be faithful through the years. Many young women in looking for a spouse with whom to build a dream marriage are impressed by the flashy cloths and fancy hairstyles and dont consider character. After trying the knot, they sadly realize that the marriage cant work because their spouse has no commitment and faithfulness. Someone said, keep the guy who is filled with charisma, the guy who can preach a storm down and see Jesus every night but has no commitment. Just give me someone who is committed and can be faithful through lifes ups and downs. Dream Catchers should be committed to their teams at all cost.
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Chapter five STRATEGIZE Habakkuk 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Every person who has a dream lives through each day like a daydreamer waiting for that day to come when his or her dream will be fulfilled. The greatest fear of each dreamer is the possibility of his or her dream not being fulfilled. I have found that living out your dream is a close reality to you as long as you are alive. Step by step There are times when a dreamer fells like a man caught between two worlds. You see yourself here but you know that you really dont belong here but yet at the same time you are not where you want to be yet.
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Its like you are in no mans land and the wait to get where you are going looks like eternity. Accomplishments dont take place over night but over time. You must be ready to enter your dream step by step. Look at your dream as a series of stages that must be taken one at a time. You cant get it all done in a day and you should look at your dream in phases and stages. If you fulfill one of those stages, you are closer to getting to your destiny than before. Set Goals and Targets Before you can fulfill your dream, you should condense it into specific attainable goals and targets. Every big dream consists of small reachable targets. When you fail to plan, you have planned to fail. All great dream catchers have the ability to break down their great dreams into measurable, attainable goals. You should transform your purpose and dream in life into five or ten year programs. Each five-year program should then be broken down into a one-year program with specific goals and targets. What are your goals for this year? Your yearly program should then be simplified into three month, monthly and weekly targets. As a young man, my father asked me why I took time
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before coming out of my bedroom and getting on with my life. I gave him what I thought was the best answer possible. I said, I always take time to plan out my day before I leave my bedroom. To my surprise he sternly rebuked me and said, when successful people wake up in the morning, they already know what they must attain that day but on the contrary failures begin today to think about today. Each day of your life should have goals and targets that are in line with your purpose and dream. A great successful life is made up of small monuments of attained goals every single day. If you aim for something, chances are you will hit it but even if you dont hit it, you will not be too far from it. If you aim for nothing, you shall hit it, a big nothing. The difference between failures and Dream Catchers is the ability to plan ahead. How far do you plan? What are you doing today that will get you to where you want to be tomorrow? Let your dream be defined in terms of goals and targets that you can attain each day. One major difference between man and animals is the ability to plan ahead. Of course by nature some animals plan and prepare ahead but that is not of their free will. Human beings are the only creatures that are
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blessed with the ability to freely plan ahead. Use that ability. Written targets Many people have good plans but because they are not written down, they are soon forgotten and cast aside. You know the numerous good things that you have wanted to do in life but you just forgot them. Goals that are not written down will eventually evaporate away like the morning dew. The human mind has the ability to think things through. Am sure that poor people have thought on how to get out of poverty but have not done so because they just plainly forgot what they thought. All major companies, organizations and governments have plans for years ahead. Some nations actually have fifty-year plans that they are going by. Preplanning is a prerequisite for success. Habakkuk 2:2-3 And the LORD answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
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Goals, plans and dreams must be written down as plainly as possible that a simple reader can do what is written and succeed. King David wanted to build the Lord a temple but the Lord chose his son Solomon to do it. David had all the plans and the preparations clearly written down that King Solomon just had to follow the script to get the job done. Write your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly plans. Spell out a strategy Strategizing is the ability to plan and prepare how to accomplish a certain goal. When making a strategy, one asks the how, what, where, when and who of a given goal. Dont just have goals without the technical knowhow of bringing those goals to pass. Create a strategy. Every Dream must be condensed into attainable targets and goals, which in turn must be drawn into realistic strategies. Failure to strategize makes any sensible man a boy and the ability to strategize promotes any boy from boyhood into manhood. Boys take but men strategize.
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Chapter Six TIME Job 14: 13-14 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Time your primary raw material Each fulfilled dream is a manifestation of time well utilized. Time is the only commodity that each of us has been given in equal proportions. A beggar and a prince each have 24 hours in each day. Success is a result of what you do with your time. Failure is what you do with your time. If you do not use your time wisely today, you will suffer tomorrow. If you use your time wisely today, you shall enjoy your life tomorrow.
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When successes are educating themselves, failures are amusing themselves. When our entertainment equals our education, we are destined to fail. Ancient civilizations like the Romans always crumbled when their people preferred entertainment to education. Time is the only commodity that cannot be saved. Time must be spent one way or another. I wish there was a bank where we could save our time and use it later when we are more mature and ready. Sadly, you cant save time but you must spend it one way or another. The biggest dream without time is just a fantasy. Many people talk about the things they would have done if they had time. No wonder it is just talk. You must apply time to your dreams in order for them to come to pass. If you cant invest time into your dreams, they will never be fulfilled. Your legacy will be spelt out to the world through what you spent your time doing. Your success will show the world what you have been doing with you time. A brilliant mind that cant find the time to sit down and write can never be a writer. An able bodied man who cant find time to practice as an athlete can never break any sports record.
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A slender quick-footed girl who cant find the time to train as a dancer cant impress anyone on the dance floor. The difference between a pianist and all humans with ten fingers is time. Are you using your time to fulfill your dreams or are you using time to do nothing. You must invest time in your dream so it can be fulfilled. Todays people spend their time watching TV, listening to music and sleeping. Some people sleep up to ten hours each day. If you sleep for ten hours out of every twenty-four, by the time you are twenty-four years old you would have slept for ten years. By the time you are fortyeight years you would have slept for twenty years. This explains why a man at forty-eight shows fruit equivalent to one at twenty-eight. How long do you sleep? Each time you spend hours in bed remember the simple fact that successful people are awake through most of those same hours doing what it takes to fulfill their dreams. Then you wonder why those same people always seem to have a head start on you. When awake what do you do with your time? I know people who sleep ten hours, watch TV for five, eat for two and chat with family and friends for three. Does
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this sound like your day? Apply your time to your dream and you shall have unbelievable results. The hours of your day should be spent on things that are investments into your dream. When your time is given to your dream, you shall see it unfold before your eyes. Never forget you are a result of how you spent your time yesterday and your tomorrow is being molded by how you are spending your time today. Sleep is a luxury that the successful cant always afford because they have to stay awake in order to live out their dreams. Sleep and time wasting is the opium of the poor so it can dull their senses to what they would be enjoying if only they spent their time and energies in a dream worthwhile. Dont just dull your senses to the good life that is waiting for you to attain. Stay awake and invest your time in your dream. Dream catchers must stay awake. Timing In 2002 when there was a black out on the US eastern sea board that affected cities as far away as Detroit, the single item that was purchased most in the following twelve hours was stand by generators.
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Some stores sold as many as seven thousand in those first hours. There had never been such a high demand for generators so not many had been kept in stock. Naturally the prices when up right away and the dealers made the money. This was the perfect timing to sell generators. Timing has as much to do with your success as your potential does. If you have the potential but are denied the chance, the time, your potential will never be realized. Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; Dream Catchers have the ability to know and utilize the timing. You must note the season when your dream is going to bud and then sprout forth. It is like you keep an eye open for that moment to come. Ask Joseph about timing. He had been in jail for about two years and nothing had changed. He tried every possible way out but nothing seemed to work. He explained himself, prayed, waited and nothing was coming through.
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Then one day Pharaoh had a dream and that was Josephs time. When approached to interpret the dream, Joseph was at his best because this was the moment he had been waiting for, for 16 long years. He knew it was his time for his dream and purpose to come to pass. He just knew it was now or never and thats what he treated it like. He gave pharaoh the interpretation and told him what to do. Genesis 41:33-40 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, For as much as God
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hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. Joseph knew that the timing and season was right for him and he positioned himself where he was destined to be. I mean, the guy gave himself five jobs. He became the minister of lands, the minister of Agriculture, the minister of labor, the minister of commerce and the executive prime minister of Egypt all in one day. If Joseph had not known his time, he would have spent the rest of his life rotting away in jail, his family would have been wiped out together with much of the civilized world in his day because of the famine. Job 14: 13-14 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job knew that though he was down, he was not out. He cried and waited for that time, that opportunity when things would change and he was not disappointed.
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The Hebrew word used here is Choq which means an appointment, a convenient time, a custom made season. God always sets appointments for His people to achieve what He created them to achieve. There is a custom made season just for you and if you realize it, your life shall never be the same again. When Josephs season and timing was right, no one else could fit into what Pharaoh wanted because it was custom made for Joseph. Never miss that time, that season in which your dream can be fulfilled. Prepare yourself and be ready so when the day comes, you will seize the moment and maximize the outcome. You must know your timing.
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Chapter seven SEIZE THE MOMENT Genesis 41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself , and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh Opportunity Dream catchers have the ability to see opportunities where everyone else sees nothing. Its like they have eyes that look beyond the surface of situations and matters to the core and see hidden opportunities. Where a failure sees nothing, a dream catcher sees an opportunity. Where a failure sees a hindrance a dream catcher sees a possibility. Where a failure sees luck a dream catcher sees destiny. Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is
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not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. King Solomon the wise man realized that under the sun the conditions are more or less the same. But the factor that makes a difference between two lives is how they respond to the chances and the opportunities that befall them. Every person is what they are today because of what they did with the opportunities they got yesterday. What you do with the opportunities you have today will determine what you will become tomorrow. If you looked around intently you would see the numerous opportunities that surround and present themselves to you every day. Each dawn of a new day presents unspeakable opportunities to those who have their eyes open. Dream catchers see opportunities in the midst of every challenge that life presents them. They dont go through life looking for opportunities that have an opportunity tag on them because they know that these dont exist.
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Dream catchers are willing to shuffle through the challenges, trials and emotional debris that life offers till they uncover a golden opportunity that changes the course of their lives. Where failures see sickness, dream catchers see medicine. Where failures see famine, dream catchers see an opportunity for business. Where failures see obstacles dream catchers see needs which if met would ignite a cycle of finances. Where pessimists see a vacuum dream catchers see an opening. What you need is one opportunity well taken for your dream to explode before your very eyes and your destiny realized. When Pharaoh had a strange dream that vexed and trouble him, the magicians and sorcerers saw impossibility while Joseph saw an opportunity. Joseph was the only man in the whole kingdom that could interpret the dream so he knew that this was his custom made opportunity and he grabbed it by the throat. (Gen. 41:1-36) Joseph saw an opportunity and he made the best out of it. Joseph had been in jail for years patiently waiting for that opportunity to avail its self and he grabbed it by the horns. He was not going to wait for another opportunity because this was it. What the others saw as just another of Pharaohs dreams Joseph saw as an opportunity.
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Opportunity knocks once they say, so you better be awake and take that opportunity when it knocks at your door. If you live a life that is attentive to the gentle knock of opportunity your dreams shall be speedily realized. Take a careful look around you. Do you see opportunity? Many people dont see the opportunities around them because these opportunities come disguised in hard work and sacrifice which to the sluggard is too thick to look beyond. Some people are waiting for a phone call that will say hello, am your opportunity while dream catchers go out there and scuffle through lifes school of hard knocks till they find that opportunity to live out their dreams. Risk takers Failures often sneer at opportunity because it comes clothed in risk while dream catchers see beyond the risk and see the opportunity for what it really is. You cannot realize any dream unless you are ready to take some risks. The world has seen numerous people who want to play it safe, to make sure that all is fine and there are
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no risks involved before they can try something new. These are the kind of people who wont go out because its raining or snowing and they dont want any trouble. Dream catchers are risk takers In the book of Number chapter thirteen and verses twenty six to thirty three, the Bible tells us how Moses had taken the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt and brought them to the brink of the Promised Land and he sent spies to spy out the land and bring a report. Ten of these spies returned with a negative report. They spoke of the giants in the land and how they looked like grass hoper in their own eyes. These men were filled with fear and unbelief that they were not ready to take any risks on this subject. They wanted to play it safe all the way into the promise. But Caleb who had gone out with them had a positive attitude about the situation and was ready to risk his life to obey the word of God. He was so convinced about the vision of taking the land that he was willing to risk all he had and not forgetting his very life to see that dream come to pass.
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The risk was great but Caleb counted the dream greater than the risks before them. They had come too far and seen too much to give up at the brink. They just had to take the risk if all they had gone through was worth. Great dreams will require you taking great risks. Martin Luther King jr. said. There are some things that are so pure so eternally true that they are worth dying for and if a man has not found something that he would die for he isnt fit to live. Living your dream will demand that you take some risks that will threaten all that you have and your very life. But if you believe that you were created for such a dream then you would be willing to risk it all for the sake of your dream. Failures look on in fear while dream catchers take life by the horns and live out their potential. Failures wait for the right moment when there is nothing to risk, when the tide is right and when all the committee members see the dreamed horizon. Dream catchers make the right moment risking all because they believe that their lives are for a purpose that is bigger than themselves, grander than their challenges and sweeter than the deceiving passing contentment found in inactivity and complacency.
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Dream catchers are risk takers When David heard about the threats of Goliath, he was willing to risk his life in order to slay the giant while all the fighting men of Israel including their notable king Saul were hiding in fear and hoped that Goliath would just go away. (1 Samuel 27: 40-51) These men were not prepared to risk their lives for Israel against the giant but the young man David jumped at the opportunity and won a mighty victory. Dream catchers thrive on taking risks.
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Chapter eight ATMOSPHERE FOR SUCCESS Proverbs 11:14 Where no Counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety Create the necessary atmosphere for your dreams to flourish. Baking is an art that has been practiced by man for centuries gone and whenever archeological discoveries are made, one of the universal elements of all civilizations is the presence of a bakery. While excavating the ancient city of Jericho between 1929-36, John Garstang noticed that the city had been destroyed suddenly evidenced by the presence of abundant food supplies and in some instances, bread was in brick ovens ready to bake when all was destroyed.
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The baking process varies from culture to culture but it generally starts with collecting all necessary ingredients then mixing them thoroughly into dough and in some instances letting it sit for a while. After the preparation, the bread, or cake is then placed into an oven where the conditions are purposefully controlled to provide the necessary atmosphere for the bread to bake. If the temperature is too high, the bread is burnt and if its too low, it goes stall. The right atmosphere plays a very important role in this process and failure to provide that atmosphere is tantamount to a failed baking process. Without that atmosphere, no baker would try to bake. As you are living out your dreams you need to place paramount importance on the atmosphere around you because it is going to determine the outcome of your hard work. Regardless of how well prepared one is, if they dont have the right atmosphere for the fruition of their dream and destiny, their labor would be in vain. Creating the right atmosphere goes hand in hand with the realization of the desired destiny and every success story must have a clear presence of a success atmosphere. Without the right atmosphere, your endeavourers will be equaled to pushing a heavy one wheeled, cart up
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a steep hill on a rainy day with the crowd watching in disbelief. Successful people are very careful to create the success atmosphere around them and are very jealous in guarding that atmosphere to the extent that any employee who tampers with that atmosphere is immediately fired. If you work in a bakery, you have no business turning off the oven when the bread is baking. And if you run bakery any employee who always turns the oven off in the middle of the baking process would be saying to you that they are not interested in seeing you produce bread. Attitude The right attitude contributes enormously to the creation of the right atmosphere. There is no way you can successfully work with people who are negative, always complaining and are wallowing in depression self-pity and a no win attitude. I love to be around positive people who see a way where there is no way; people who are positive even without a clear reason for positivism. To have such people around is like having a cold drink during the midday heat. Such people are refreshment to any soul and
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any dream. Attitude is the way an individual thinks and comprehends issues, ideologies or the basic process of live. We may not have control of the things that happen around us but we certainly have control of what happens inside us, what happens inside our minds and our hearts. The Bible tells us how the apostles were arrested and brought to trial before the Sanhedrin for preaching Christ. At the end of their trial, the chief priest and elders of the Jews decided to let them go (compelled by Gamalaliel a great scholar) but not without some lashing and more threats. These men of God were not the least offended by the fact that they had been whipped and mistreated. Their conclusion was most amazing and unbelievable. Acts 5: 40-41 and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. These men had an attitude of success that nothing could dampen their spirits. They had made up their minds to have a positive attitude, a winning mentality
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that could not be quenched by a few lashes. I mean, they were so positive that they went home rejoicing over the fact that they had been whipped because of the name of Jesus. Your attitude contributes to the atmosphere around you to the extent that it literally controls it. What goes on in your mind will ultimately affect what goes on around you. If your mind is filled with negativity and impossibilities, everywhere you go you will create negative and impossible situations. You must make up your mind to have a positive attitude in every situation so you can create the correct and necessary atmosphere for the fruition of your dreams. Just imagine if the Apostles had been negative about that incident. They would have gone home complaining and bickering to their families and the church about being whipped for a just cause. They would have asked God why He had abandoned them and left them to suffer. They would have gone to church with a discouraged heart and talked about how they had suffered and filled the hearts of their followers with fear, anxiety and unbelief. You have definitely been around people who seem to have a blind eye to the negative around them and all
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they see is the good in the situation. Its not blindness to have a positive attitude in negative situations but a conscious decision to keep a positive attitude in a depressing world with the intention of creating the necessary atmosphere to overcome the challenges and attain the desired end. The positive attitude that the Apostles had was so overwhelming that it just created more faith in God as they went on teaching and preaching the word of God without reservations. The fruition of your dream is dependent on the atmosphere around you, which is affected by the attitudes, you have and those you encounter. I love to be around positive people who are pessimistic about life and what they are doing. I dont want a secretary who is always telling me what I cant do, what I dont have and how am not going to make it. When employing an individual, I am interested in their attitude as much as their potential and qualifications. The attitudes of the people around you will contribute to the atmosphere around you. If you have chickens around you all the time, you begin to think like a chicken, walk like a chicken and plan like a chicken. If eagles surround you, you will think like an eagle, plan like an eagle and soar on the wind like an eagle.
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You need to resign from the pity-me club and change your attitude from that of a failure and a victim to that of a success and a victor. Make up your mind to be positive in every situation you find yourself in and to make the best of what comes your way. Find yourself some people who have the right attitude and are always thinking positive in a negative world. This positive attitude will create an atmosphere of success where your dreams can grow and be fulfilled. What do you see? Your attitude, the condition of your mind is also affected by what you see. The major inlets into your mind are the eyes and the ears. Of course the other senses significantly contribute to the mental picture that one holds but the two major contributors are the eyes and the ears. What you see progressively affects what goes on in your mind. The story is told of a young man who lived in a village in Africa and on his first visit to town he saw a telephone operator. This young man left town with one ambition and that was to become a telephone operator.
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He walked hours to schools so that one day he could become a telephone operator. After going through school however, what he had progressively seen changed his dream and ambitions into being a politician. What you see affects your attitude. Dream catchers understand that what they see significantly contributes to the atmosphere around them hence the need to regulate and control what they see. During the creation of the world, God made sure that He created man last so that when man was created, he would see the world as God had made it for him. God made the world the way He wanted it so He expected man to keep it the way He created it. So Adam saw a perfect beautiful world created by a loving God. God then told Adam to tend the Garden of Eden and keep it groomed and productive. The atmosphere was perfect so Adam would easily keep the wheel spinning. You can imagine what it would have been like for Adam to be given a world that was void and empty. The guy couldnt work in a place like that.
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Successful corporations go through meticulous detail to provide the best furnishings for their offices so that they create the necessary atmosphere for their employees and customers to catch their dreams. They understand that what one sees determines the atmosphere around them. Dream catchers will spend money and time to make sure that all they see around them enhances their dreams instead of drowning them. They make sure their offices are carpeted right, painted right and that the furniture is of superior quality. You find their offices decorated with beautiful paintings, the corridors serenaded with lovely drapes and their compounds manicured to perfections. All this is to create the atmosphere of success through what they see. When you walk into your office what do you see? When one walks into your home what do they see? If I look around your habitation what I see is a physical picture of your mind. If I see confusion and disorder in your office; Garbage that is rotting in the can, un-swept floors, food all over the walls, stains in your bathroom and coffee spilled all over your papers.
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What I see tells me if you are able to live out your dream. I have been to offices where I could never work; some offices are in shambles that one could not think leave alone work and achieve dreams in such an environment. What you see will create an atmosphere that will affect your dreams and dream catchers have mastered the art of creating the right atmosphere through what they see. They painfully go to every detail just to make sure that what they see enhances their dream. What are you listening to? You can tell a good classy restaurant by the music you find playing in the place. People in the hotel and restaurant business have found out that if you play the right music to your customers, they enjoy their meals and are relaxed enough to pay the bill without objection. Have you noticed that exclusive restaurants, clubs and shopping centers always have nice soothing music in the background? What you listen to is going to affect the atmosphere around you. Some researchers have shown that hardcore rock music contributes to fighting and murder among the youth while soft soothing music can have
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healing virtues. What you listen to contributes to the mood and atmosphere around you whether you know it or not. If a child grows up in a home where all the people have three volume levels; loud, louder and loudest, that child is bound to be loud, louder or loudest. The temperaments of an individual are automatically affected by what they are listening to. Beware of what you listen to because its going to affect how you turn out in life and may well be the determining fact of the realization of your dreams. 1 Samuel 16:23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. Saul the first king of Israel had rebelled against God and when the presence of God left him an evil spirit occasionally tormented him. The solution to this problem was to have a skilled musician play some good music to him and he would recover. David was that man skilled with the harp who always played music for Saul when he was troubled. What David was doing was to create another atmosphere around Saul that would bring quietness and peace to his vexed soul. That music created an
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atmosphere where Saul would be sane and carry out his duties as king. Music plays an important role in creating the atmosphere necessary for any occasion whether its a party, a wedding, or a church service. The right music creates the right atmosphere, the wrong music creates the wrong atmosphere and the lack of music leaves a vacuum that can be swayed either way. Find the right music that helps bring out the best in you in every situation. That music will create an atmosphere where you can think big, plan big and live big. The words you listen to also contribute to the atmosphere around you. If you are always listening to the wrong words, you shall be discouraged and your dream shall be choked. If you listen to the right words your dream shall be encouraged to flourish.If you raise your children with words of love, they stand a great chance of feeling loved but if you pound them with words of abuse, condemnation and failure, they would probably feel rejected and failures in life. Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
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Your tongue has the power to give life or to give death. When you speak hope, love, faith and success you literally create them with your tongue but if you constantly speak failure you create that failure around you every day. You should surround yourself with people who speak positive, people who believe your dream, people who are not going to let their mouths go wild every time things dont seem to be working out. I know people who are so negative that when they come you see negativity coming and when they talk you hear nothing but negativity. These are people that should not be let close to your dream because they dont help in creating the right atmosphere around you. The Bible tells us how David went out to see his brothers at battle and found Goliath busy threatening the armies of Israel. Davids response was who is this uncircumcised philistine that defies the armies of the living God. David saw that God was able to deliver that giant into his hands hence he spoke what he saw. Those words propelled David to stand-alone against the giant and slay him. The words created faith in the heart of David, they created the necessary atmosphere to step out in
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faith and see the giant dead and Israel victorious. I dont allow negative talk of failure in my home or office. The only words that I can tolerate are those that are positive, words that give life and not death, words that create a positive atmosphere for success. People who are always talking positive always have a positive air around them that lifts burdens, and mends broken hearts. There are people who always talk positive even when failure is looking them in the eyes. These people have discovered the fact that their words are responsible for the creation of the positive atmosphere necessary for success. The atmosphere around you is so important for you to leave it to chance. You must go out of your way to carefully nurture the atmosphere necessary for the fruition of your dreams and God given destiny. Dont leave it to the devil; dont leave it to your buddies or to chance. You must go to all troubles to make a deliberate effort to create the necessary atmosphere for your success.
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Excellence To be excellent is simply to be outstandingly good, exceptional in quality, complete in all respects, faultless, accurate, without reserve and superior in qualify. Excellence is the pursuit of perfection in any given situation so as to attain the highest and best possible result with what you have. Excellence is the reason you drive ten miles past numerous restaurants so you can get to your favorite restaurant where the food is perfect, the atmosphere is to your liking and the service is just right. Excellence is the reason you chose one airline over another, one Bus Company over another and one shopping store over all the rest. The door of success swings open on the hinges of excellence without which it stays tightly closed right in your face. The fruition of your dream is going to be affected by your excellence. People who dont take time to be the best they can be usually never live to see their potential realized. Excellence sets you apart from your childhood buddies and from the guy next door. You may live in the same city, work the same job for the same boss but excellence will be the mark of difference between you
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and your workmates. Excellence is what made Joseph, Daniel, David and even Paul different from all their contemporaries. Have you met people who have their cloths pressed right, their hair combed right, their nails manicured, and their shoes polished? These simple sighs show that inside that mind is a man or a woman who wants to be the best they can be and attain all they can become. I could never employ a shabby, unkempt, and disorganized lady for a secretary because she would never do her job right. Joseph had a spirit of excellence thats why he did his work with excellence everywhere he went. From his fathers house, (Gen. 37: 2) to Potiphars house, (Gen. 39:1-6) to prison, (Gen 39: 21-22) Joseph was a man of excellence. Little wonder he was able to run Egypt successfully as Prime minister. Excellence starts with your personal life right through to your work. Is your bedroom disorganized, is your office crammed with so much paper you can hardly find your way around? Does your car look like a garbage bin? You must cultivate a culture of perfection so that all you do comes out the best. Set your mind and efforts to be the best
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you can and nothing will be out of your reach. Dream Catchers are people of excellence who go all the way to make sure that they give their best. If what you do for a living is worth your life then give it the best. Martin Luther King jr. said, Lets do what we do so well that the living, the dead and the unborn couldnt do any better. If you cant be the sun be a star if you cant be a pine on the top of the hill, be a bush in the valley. If you cant be a highway, be a trial. Its not by size that we win or fail but in how good we are at what we do. Be the best. Persistence Persistence is the ability to keep going when things are not easy, convenient and admirable. Persistence is knowing where you are going and doing all that is possible to stay on course toward your goal. Without persistence, all your dreams will be aborted one after another. Persistence is what keeps a young wife in her family with hope that her drunken husband will see the light and change. Persistence is what keeps the young pastor in the ministry when all hell breaks loose and nothing seems to work for him. Persistence is what keeps
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the best athlete going even when he fails to break the world record every year round. Persistence is what makes a man leave his house everyday and go to work even though his job is not that good and the pay cant meet his needs. Persistence is what made Joseph stay alive in Jail because he hoped that one day his dream would come to pass and he would be a great ruler. Persistence is a word that every dream catcher has engraved in their mind and imprinted in their life style day in and day out. Many people do everything right but they just dont know how to persist and to endure until their breakthroughs come. They know how to start right, how to invest time and money but they are not patient and persistent enough to see their dream fulfilled. They start a restaurant business but before they realize any profits, they change to a boxing career and before that takes off they are back to teaching elementary school. You need patience that having started out doing the right thing you may inherit the promised blessings and the fruit of your labor. (Heb. 10:36) Dream Catchers are like a football coach who is willing to work with a team for five long years to win a championship.
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Through the good times, the bad times, the fights and the smiles, they persevere until they attain their dream. Quitters never win and winners never quit. Dream catchers never fail When faced with challenges, many people say they will try but Dreamers catchers dont just try to do things, they get out there and do what they have to do to realize their dream. Do you have a dream? You must endure to the end because your dream will be fulfilled as you apply yourself to discipline and allow time to work its work in you. The line between success and failure is called persistence and those who are able to endure and persist will live out their dreams to the end. You can then confidently say with boldness, I dreamed a dream and yes, my soul has seen all that I have desired in my life. Glory be to God.
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Chapter Nine GOD, THE GREAT DREAM CATCHER Through the pages of this book we have looked at numerous aspects in the fulfillment of your dream but I must emphasis that this last section is most probably the most important of them all. Without God, no dream is worth living and no battle is worth fighting. Without God human life is reduced to smoke that is here now but in the next few moments evaporates into oblivion. God is the fulfillment of any dream, any destiny and any life. Outside the will of God, any accomplishment would be a poor compensation for the real joy and fulfillment that man enjoys in pleasing God. Each man was made for a purpose and that purpose is encompassed in pleasing his maker. Weather a man is a shoe shiner, a politician, a farmer, a preacher or a medical doctor, their lives can only be fulfilled if they know beyond any doubts that what they do is their God-given destiny and that they are pleasing their maker.
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God created you for a purpose. Your dreams and destiny are part of your God-given purpose. When you are reaching out to fulfill your destiny, you should understand that you are just being obedient to your maker who fashioned you for that destiny. There are people who are determined to do whatever they want with their lives and they forget that God-given purpose thereby living short of their destiny. The world is filled with people who know what they were created for but instead have chosen to live for themselves instead of their maker. Such lives are punctuated with failure and regrets and are definitely lacking in fulfillment. Dont be deceived, an eagle can never be fulfilled with being a chicken. Every eagle was made to fly and to soar above the clouds, high above the chickens. Some species of eagles are known to wither down and finally die when kept in a cage. Eagles were made to soar the four winds and not for cages. Humans are sometimes known to become suicidal id they do find meaning and purpose in their lives. Dream catchers also understand that since God gave them life and the purpose for that life, their lives and dreams cannot be fulfilled outside God.
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The greatest mistake a dream catcher can make is to assume that they can fulfill their dream outside God. If the life is Gods and the dream is His, chances are He wants to be involved in every detail along the way to the fulfillment of that great dream. Psalms 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. If the Lord doesnt build, all the effort, the planning, the waiting and all the sweat is in vain. There are preachers who think they can build their church and reach the world f or Jesus without the help of heaven and that wrong too. Try it and you shall agree with me. Many pastors have tried to grow a church, they have tried to get souls saved and have failed only to acknowledge that is not by might nor by power but by the spirit of God. If its God dream then He must be involved all the way. As you reach out to live your destiny you must continually remind you self that this is Gods dream and He must be involved. Involve God in your dream through seeking His power and guidance through everything.
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CONCLUSION Greatness and achievements are not for the faint hearted but are strictly reserved for the few who are resolved to pay the price and subject themselves to the principles of success and the path of greatness. If you are determined to do whatever it takes as laid out in this book plus other blue prints to life and the painstaking process of subjecting yourself to the timeless virtues shared, your life will be a story of conquest and victory as you live the dream.
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WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AGAIN? If you would like to accept Christ into your life as Savior and Lord, pray the prayer below meaning it from the bottom fo your heart; Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God, I believe you died for me on the cross of Calvary and I believe you rose again. Today I repent of all my sins and ask you to come into my life. I acknowledge you as my Lord and personal Savior. Write my name in your book of life. I thank you for forgiving my sins and am now your child. In Jesus Name, Amen If you have prayed this prayer, you are now a born again child of God, the miracle of salvation has just happened in your life and you are now a brand new creature! Therefore in any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 You need to join a Bible believing Church to help you grow in the Lord. Please contact us so we can send you some more material to help you grow in Christ.
WHERE TO FIND HELP IN THE BIBLE FOR PROTECTION Psalm91:1-7 Psalm 92:11 Psalm 46:1 Psalm 56:13 Philippians 4:6-7 Psalm 71:1-4 Psalm 72:4 Isaiah 54:17 ENCOURAGEME Deuteronomy 31: 23, 6-7 Joshua 1:6-9 Romans 10:13
FOR HEALING AND HEALTH Exodus 15:26 2 Chronicles 7:14 Isaiah 53:5 John 9 Matthew 4:24 Matthew 8:3-13 Matthew 9:1 Acts 3:6-8 3 John 1:3 1 Peter 2:24
HELP Psalm 91:15 Psalm 92:10 Psalm 27:1 Psalm6:1 Psalm46:5 Psalm 56:13 Psalm59:1-2 Psalm60:5 Psalm28:7 Psalm116:6 Psalm54:4 Romans 59:1-2

Dream Catchers

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DREAM CATCHERS

A GUIDE TO FULFILLING YOUR DESTINY

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny

Dream Catchers- Fufilling Your Destiny