As we were driving home from vacation this summer I noticed that everyone was asleep except for my 14 year old daughter Brianna.  So I took this as an opportunity to ask some fun exploratory questions and get a look into her heart a little bit.  For nearly two hours I asked her questions like: If you could go to lunch with anyone in the world who would it be and why?  If you could make a movie what would it be about?  If you could be anything when you grew up what would you be?  If you could have any super-power what would it be and why?  (Really deep stuff huh?  But it’s amazing what those questions can tell you about your teenager)

One of the questions I asked was: If you could go any where in the world where would you like to go?  Her answer- “I’ve always dreamed about going to New York City.”  So I tucked that tidbit of information in the back of my mind and once we got home I started shopping for low cost flights to New York.  It took a few weeks but finally landed round trip tickets for $40 each.

Last weekend the two of us traveled to NYC and spent three days walking, shopping, eating NY cuisine and having a blast.  Her favorite part was riding the subway and getting a make over in one of the department stores…my favorite part…watching her experience her dream.  While it wasn’t a “spiritual” trip, I saw it expand her thinking about who God wants her to be and the God sized possiblities in her life. 

As a child my parents taught me to dream, they encouraged me to think big, they challenged me to be fully surrendered to God’s desires for my life.  They would ask me questions, they would make sure I had the right experiences and they kept me growing with a continual supply of books.  They taught me that the ultimate dream for my life is found in discovering God’s will for my life.   Their investment in my dreams has allowed me to discover God’s path and plan for my life.

Last weekends trip reminded me that I need to get into the heart of my children more often.  I need to ask those types of exploratory questions, stir their thinking, fuel their dreams and then sit back and watch God do His work in their hearts and minds.

Here is a short clip from our trip.

Sometimes my ambitions outpace God’s assignments.  I have dedicated my life to honoring and serving God, but as vision grows in my heart so grows the temptation to build what God is not asking me to build.  A spiritual leader must guard his ambitions and daily keep his ear tuned to God’s directives. 

There’s a little known character in the Bible named Hiel who made this mistake and he paid dearly for it.  His story is recorded in one verse, 1 Kings 16:34, “In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.”

Years earlier in Joshua 6:26 God had warned the people of Israel not to rebuild the city of Jericho.  But evidently Hiel driven by his ambition ignored God’s instruction.  He had a vision and completed the job, but notice his family paid the price.   He lost his oldest son as he built the foundation.  But that didn’t stop him; he continued building and eventually lost his youngest son as he set up the gates.

Don’t let your ambitions outpace God’s assignments. When we build what God doesn’t want us to build it’s usually our family that pays the price.  It breaks my heart when I see a man (or woman) who truly loves God get caught up in selfish ambition, going way beyond what God is asking and watch the family pay the price.

Are you keeping your family a priority as you fulfill God’s assignment for your life?  What can you do for or with them this week to show them they are a priority in your schedule?