If a struggle with comparison has kept you from fully living in your God-given purpose, today’s episode is for you! Guest Heather Creekmore shares her battle with body image and comparison and how God has used this struggle in her dream to help women stop comparing and start living. After listening, you’ll identify the motivation behind your comparison temptation (it may not be what you think!) and glean truth that will help you find freedom from comparison in your daily life.
230 || [Solo] How Messy Action Gives You Permission to Get Started on Your Dream || Merritt Onsa
When you’re first getting started on a dream, it is hard to imagine achieving the success you’ve see in others. How do you get past the novice stage full of mixed-up ideas spinning around in your head? How do you get over fear-induced procrastination? How do you get to the finish line? It’s by taking the next step, which is often messy and imperfect. And yet, when you begin to walk in your purpose, you will be amazed with what God does through your small steps of faithfulness.
229 || [Solo] Two Practical Steps to Help You Let Go of What Other People Might Think || Merritt Onsa
Do you ever worry what someone else might think of your dream? Whether it’s your sister who doesn’t get you, a parent who’s never understood your passions, or a spouse who already feels deprived of time with you running after a dream can spark big feelings (and fears) about what others will think. This episode will help you re-think your preoccupation with other people’s opinions with encouraging guidance from Scripture to shape what you can do instead.
228 || [Solo] 3 Questions to Help You Decide if Your Dream is Worth Pursuing || Merritt Onsa
Do you ever wonder if the time you’ve spent on your dream is going to be worth it? Maybe you haven’t seen the fruit you expected at this point, or your progress has been slower than you imagined, especially given what you’ve invested. Wouldn’t it be terrible to look back and realize it was all a waste of time? This episode will help you determine if your dream is a worthwhile pursuit and give you some intentional questions to ask yourself right now to make sure that you’re walking in His purpose.
227 || [Solo] How to Know if This is the Dream God Has for You || Merritt Onsa
Do you tend to question your dream or wonder if you heard God right the first time? Nearly every day I encounter someone talking about the fear of missing out on the purpose God has planned for her life. Some describe it as a deep worry that everyone else has beaten her to the finish line, and she’s somehow gotten it wrong but doesn’t know how to find her way back into God’s ordained path that was chosen for her before the beginning of time. But you weren’t meant to live under that pressure!
226 || [Solo] How to Be Certain It Is the Right Time for Your Dream || Merritt Onsa
Is the timing right for my dream? I hear this question often in my conversations with women who have a dream on their hearts but also a long list of other responsibilities and interests that take up most of their waking hours. How do you determine the “right” timing to pursue a passion project? If your life is already full, how do you decide when to adjust your commitments so you can shift into what’s possible for the future? I’m helping you answer these questions and more in this week’s episode.
225 || [Solo] The Reassuring Truth about How to Grow Confidence Right Now || Merritt Onsa
How’s your confidence? When I asked this question on Instagram, 100% of those who responded answered, “I’m working on it.” But what does it look like to “work on” your confidence? Maybe it’s a little bit like saying, “I’m trying.” But “trying what?” is the next question. In this episode I’m teaching you how to avoid the common mistakes when it comes to confidence building and why it’s so important to set your mind on the truth as you do that.
How to Go After a Dream Even When You Don’t Feel Confident
Which of these confidence myths are keeping you from stepping into your God-shaped dream?
“I have to know what I’m doing; I need to FEEL confident; I need to BE really good at {fill in the blank}.” Each of these may seem true on the surface, but they are all big, fat lies! Your dream is given to you by God for your good and for the good of His kingdom, and it’s an invitation to be part of God’s redemptive work in the world. How can you make sure this is the year you finally say no to self-sabotage?
[BONUS] How to Get Free Dream Coaching with Merritt—In Season 10!
People say my solo episodes are among their favorites! That’s why I’m kicking off Season 10 with a series of solo episodes focused on providing you with additional support for getting off the sidelines instead of waiting around for the right timing to pursue your dream. The time is now! It’s not a mistake. If there’s a dream on your heart, God means for you to pursue it!
223 || The Best Way to Get Started When You Don’t Know Where to Begin || Rachel Baker
Which do you struggle with most: starting on a dream or staying faithful through the messy middle? Along her journey Rachel Baker has questioned her lack of training, doubted her calling, and has been tempted to give up before reaching the finish line. Like many dreamers, she also went through a season of not knowing where to begin. In a beautiful turn of events (and a conversation with her husband), she realized that the starting line was just outside her own door. Maybe yours is there too!
222 || How Resistance Can be a Clue That You Should Keep Pursuing Your Dream || Devin Clevenger
Do you ever want to quit when it feels too hard to keep running after a dream? First, you are not alone. You also need to know that feeling resistance about some aspect of your God-shaped dream is not a reason to give up. Resistance may, in fact, be a nudge to keep going and keep trusting that God is with you, and He will carry you through it.
221 || Is It Possible to Find Meaningful Work in Our Changing World? || Michaela O’Donnell
The world of work has changed in the last decade. Yet the question remains: Is it possible to align work with a sense of calling while also navigating equally demanding personal roles and responsibilities? Michaela O’Donnell is no stranger to questions like these. Through starting her own company and listening to others, she has come to believe that we are all called to be part of God’s big redemptive work in this world.
220 || You Are Stronger Than You Think & God Can Use Your Pain for Good || Monica Kelsey
Monica Kelsey’s story of abandonment as a newborn powerfully illustrates how God can take our deepest pain and transform it into purpose. Today she is founder of the nonprofit Safe Haven Baby Boxes. She has made it her personal mission to do whatever it takes to save the lives of innocent babies. Her organization offers mothers in crisis an option to safely surrender their unharmed newborn to a hospital or fire station while remaining completely anonymous.
219 || Finding Space to Dream as a Mom of Young Children || Merritt Onsa
Although I wrote this talk for moms of young children, this episode is a reminder that God’s plans and timing have purpose no matter your life stage. If you feel disconnected from your dream, you’re not alone. Just because it’s not today doesn’t mean it’s not EVER. Instead, think of motherhood as an opportunity to use your strengths to keep those muscles strong. Finally, ask the Father to help you stay open to cultivating wonder, curiosity, and creativity through the power of the Holy Spirit!
218 || What if God Writes an Unexpected Dream on Your Heart? || Cindy DeBoer
Do you ever wonder if your God-shaped dream might be something He hasn’t yet revealed to you, or questioned why you feel blocked from God’s purpose for your life? Cindy DeBoer and her husband were 12 years into marriage when God put it on their hearts to examine if they were living out the faith they professed. What followed was a season of confession, questions, and a re-making of the life they thought they were called to.
217 || How You Can Walk Boldly in the Purpose God Has Given You || Carla Arges
God has given you a purpose that is uniquely yours, but the temptation to control the results can disrupt any meaningful progress because the dream belongs to God first and the outcomes rest on Him alone. If you are anxious, stressed out, or worried about the future, this episode is filled with the truth of Scripture and Carla’s calming presence to remind you of the value and importance of surrendering our God-shaped dreams to Him daily.
216 || [Solo] Do You Feel Like You’re Not Making Progress on Your Dream? || Merritt Onsa
Your dream feels so significant and all-consuming at times, but when you start to take steps, your progress feels more like a snail’s pace—or not at all. You encounter obstacles you didn’t anticipate. Certain tasks take longer than you imagined. Your capacity or availability to move the dream forward isn’t what you expected. Life has taken over, and it feels like you’re at a standstill with your dream. If this sound familiar, this is the episode for you.
215 || How to Fine Tune Your Finances So You Can Dream Without Hesitation || Katie Jones
Is your dream financially viable? What difference would it make if you weren’t worried about the expense involved? My guest today, Katie Jones, is a money coach with a passion to teach biblical financial principles so you can embrace the gifts God has given you, feel confident managing your money, and pursue your God-shaped dream without any hesitation.
214 || Your Imposter Syndrome Breakthrough May be Just Around the Corner || Kelsey Joy Rinker
Is fear of failure standing in the way of your freedom to pursue a dream? Does it feel like everyone else has a bigger following and is further along than you? If you’ve struggled with doubt, fear, comparison, or imposter syndrome and those bullies are keeping you from your God-shaped dream, I want you to hear in this episode that it IS possible to find freedom. In fact, your struggles may be an indicator that breakthrough is just around the corner.
213 || How to Pursue Your Dream Even If You Feel Like an Imposter || Jamie Kirschner
Do your dreams feel bigger than you? Has God revealed something that wasn’t what you expected? Jamie Kirschner’s God-shaped dream is one she never expected. She was planning for a future in missions work, but God had a different plan: serving teen girls as they navigate their faith and find their identity in Jesus. God took Jamie’s experience growing up without a support system and He’s using it so other teens don’t have to navigate that journey alone.