iidare2dream! Where did it begin?

How did iidare2dream begin?

It actually took me some time to figure out where it all started. I had to pray and go back in my memory to recall the moment iidare2dream was planted in my heart.

I started college in the summer of 2011, fresh out of high school (literally, I had like a one to two-week break in-between this transition).

Immediately upon stepping my feet on campus, I knew college would be nothing like I expected and surely it has been everything I wasn’t prepared for. I quickly made friends and begin to connect with multiple organizations on campus, but my heart was being tugged to be a part of a church family.

So, I began to diligently seek out other believers through campus ministries. In my seeking, I met this girl (accidentally lol, I am sure it was the Holy Spirit who caused our paths to cross) who would always walk around campus smiling. One day, when we crossed paths she stopped in my path, introduced herself, and invited me to a bible study she was leading… (see the rest of our story below).

I was so excited to connect with other believers, but little did I know it wasn’t normal for a college to the student to actually WANT to be part of a religious group. I begin to see myself shift to this place of “being set apart” …. again (I was set apart in high school as well).

In my mind, I was sabotaging my social status and making myself a target for criticism. It seemed no one understood me.

It became hard to connect with these “friends” I made when I first came to campus and live for God at the same time. Something had to give, and honestly, I was going to let myself conform for the sake of friends. Sadly, these “friends” begin to slowly reveal they didn’t really like me or trust me that much.

I begin to feel really alone and isolated from them. As I grew in deeper isolation from them, I also begin to lose contact with my childhood best friend. At this point, I believed I had no one. I didn’t know what to do or who to talk to, so I turned to Facebook. YEP, bad idea lol. I begin to vent about how alone I felt, how depressed I was, and how I just wanted to be understood.

Venting on Facebook became a huge problem because those college friends felt attacked. Then, one day they confronted me about my posts. Ugh, I hate confrontation.

But in that moment of confrontation, we sat in my dorm and they went around the room telling me one-by-one why they didn’t like me or why they didn’t trust me.

As they spoke, I begin to feel a special grace to let them go as friends, in my heart. Although I was heartbroken by their words and the approach they decided to take I knew I had permission to walk away. After they finished speaking, I remembered that the girl with the smile had invited me to her bible study that was thankfully happening that night.

I rushed out of my dorm to the location she spoke of in her invitation. Once I got there, she smiled at me and told me they (her and the other women present) had just finished the study, but they were taking prayer requests. I begin to ask for prayer and tried my hardest to explain what had just happened. She and the other women prayed for me.

Honestly, I am not sure how, because I can’t remember, but the girl with the smile (her name is Dominique!) and I became super close and inseparable from that day forward.

Slowly, I begin to see that I made a mistake by trying to compromise who God called me to be for who I thought people wanted me to be.

I wanted to make a change...

Fast forward …. I begin to intentionally post on Facebook positive messages, so I can help others who may have felt alone. In this season of my life, I had a new roommate and new associates. One of my roommates had a loving mother who was very present and involved in her life. So, in turn, her mom became involved in our lives too. She began to take us all (my other roommates and me) under her wings. One day, my roommate’s mom commented on a post I made on Facebook (yes, I was friends with my roommate’s mom on Facebook) and she told me that she believed I should start a blog because my posts were so inspirational. I was humbled, but at that time Facebook was like a diary for me. I didn’t see the bigger picture that she saw so I didn’t follow through.

Fast Forward again…. Dominique, who at this point had become my spiritual mentor, invited me to attend a women’s conference with her. I’ve always wanted to attend a Christian conference, so I said yes, and I am so glad I did. The conference was held in Atlanta, GA and when we arrived to take our seats, I realized the conference was actually a creative worship conference and the topic was about Dreaming!

Until this day, this conference has blessed my heart. I am still in awe of all that was said and done. I left that conference knowing it was important to dream again. What stood out the most to me was a moment when this poet spoke about having a bag of shattered dreams that she left shattered and unattended, (out of fear) for so long.

Thankfully, one day she allowed God to put those dreams back together again. My heart leaped at her words.

I knew something had been planted in my heart concerning dreams, I just didn’t know what.

Then, sometime after this conference, I believe God laid it on my heart to start a blog. I wasn’t sure if I was hearing correctly but I had felt it was necessary. Then, I remembered the words of my roommate’s mom.

So, in the summer of 2016, I posted my first blog.

It’s interesting because prior to choosing a name for the blog, I played around with another name, look, and logo for a while (some of you may remember my old blog site Creative Expressions), but it wasn’t sticking, it wasn’t fit for what this blog needed to be about. After deleting Creative Expressions, I faintly recalled hearing “bag of shattered dreams” in my heart. Alas, I titled my site iidare2dream.

Some people ask why my site has two Is. If I can be honest it is because the domain with one ‘I’ was taken lol. But iidare2dream has become a slogan for me to live by. One where I challenge myself to take back my ability to dream, to believe, and to trust God to use me in spite of myself.

My question to you is, “will you take back your dreams?”

You never know who you can help by simply being obedient to God’s leading.

*Dreaming is a small fraction of the manifestation of God’s creativity living on the inside of you. Give your dreams back to God and he will blow your mind! *

iidare2dream is a safe haven for dreamers to be cultivated, inspired, empowered, and challenged to dream again.

In Love, Joy, and Peace

T’keyah Dennis

Founder and Creator of iidare2dream.