Rene’s Story
Dream Launcher Connections graduate
Created Woman is not only a place of faith and fashion, it is a community of women learning to chase their dreams and support each other along the way. In the spring of 2020, Created Woman launched its Dream Launcher Connections series, which strives to connect big dreams with the women who have them. In this series, women were able to share openly, hold each other accountable, and be encouraged with God’s love. Rene is one of those dreamers that successfully finished the Dream Launcher Connections program. Today we are sharing HER story.
Rene is a Nashville native that made Austin her home twenty years ago. She has been married to the love of her life for nearly thirty years, and her daughter, step-daughter, and new grandbaby keep her on her toes 24/7. Rene has built a successful career that doubles as a source of ministry. Through her company All Things Faithful, she is able to share, promote and curate people of faith, blogs, Bible studies, podcasts and resources of all things faith. She also works for ABBA (Austin Bridge Builders Alliance) as their Sponsor/Partner Relations Manager. ABBA is a work and faith non-profit that connects Christians from all sectors to purpose and faith.
Just like all of us, Rene had dreams deep inside of her heart, ready to burst. With excitement and ideas welling inside of her, she turned to Dream Launchers to share these aspirations with other dreamers. When I asked Rene what goals she had as she entered she shared, “I wanted to work to build God's kingdom through helping others see their potential and purpose.” What an incredible dream. When she heard about Dream Launcher Connections, she knew it would be a fun and meaningful way to share her hopes. “To meet someone close to my age and share a journey together of evaluating and discovering our goals at this stage in our life and being able to share that discussion sounded exciting and new.”
As Rene started the Dream Launchers Connections program, she was paired with a fellow dreamer that would be her “partner” throughout the process. As they began to share, Rene was able to take a good, hard look at where she was and shared that with others. “My favorite part was connecting and getting to know my dream launcher partner and also having group time with the other dream launchers and hearing their discussions on their dreams and challenges. That was really inspiring and reassuring.” Rene has been fortunate enough to build her professional and personal life around a ministry that she loves, so she is able to move closer toward her dreams every day. Dream Launchers helped her focus on her goals and encouraged her to stop and work through questions in a way that she had not in a very long time. She says this was a “great exercise in this stage of life.”
After graduating from the program, Rene was able to offer her advice to other women with big dreams. She wants you to know that God has big plans for us and shared three steps that have helped her reach her goals.
1) Start with daily Prayer: Everyday you have an opportunity to affect your future with the words you pray to God. Each prayer sets something in motion and invests in your future. Prayer is a direct line of communication and dialog with God--there is no substitute.
2) Surrender your Dreams to God: God wants us to surrender our dreams because we can't be led by God if we are chasing after a dream of our own. We want confidence that our hopes, dreams, and expectations are based on God’s will and He is behind them. When we completely surrender all of our dreams, He will walk you through the process step-by-step.
3) Trust God’s timing: In this culture today, we want everything now. We don’t like waiting. Know that going through a time of waiting doesn't mean nothing is happening, because when you are waiting in the Lord, He is always moving in your life. Trust Him always. All the closed doors we encounter can be disappointing while you're going through them, but say, “THANK YOU,” even though it’s hard and keep moving forward until you find the open doors! They will lead you toHis perfect plan for your future. Know that God’s timing is perfect and ours is not. Most of all, stay focused on Him and He will keep you in peace while he guides you through.