The Devoted Dreamers Podcast

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What do you want to be true about your dream in a year?

When I ask other dreamers about what’s keeping them from acting on their dream, there are a few themes I hear repeatedly.

One of the biggest struggles Christian women share with me is not having clarity on their dream. Others feel uncertain about what is the next right step to take. Some say they feel like they are taking shots in the dark, not sure if they’ll hit anything, and worrying about putting in a lot of time and effort that will be worthless in the end. They say things like, “What if I try this and it doesn’t work out? That will feel like such a waste.” So the dream stays on the shelf waiting for a day when it might feel easier or less risky to give it a try.

It's no wonder we feel this way. There is a reason it’s called a dream; it hasn’t become reality yet, and without a clear road map to your destination of accomplishing the dream you’ll never actually arrive anywhere.

In this solo episode, you’ll learn:

• How having a lot of ideas can keep you from starting and how to narrow them down to one or two,
• The most common mistake people make when seeking clarity about a dream (and what you can do instead), and
• One thing you can start today that’ll help shift the current trajectory of your dream.

Have you been praying and asking God for clarity about your dream? Do you want to begin making meaningful progress on an idea in the next year? If that’s you, I have a small group coaching experience starting the first week of January that will help you take the right steps so you can tell a different story about your dream by next year at this time.

Join the waitlist for my Q1 accountability group starting in January and be the first to know when I open the doors for enrollment.

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NEXT STEPS:
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MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

Find show notes here.

Have you been keeping your dream to yourself?

Putting your work out into the world is an act of vulnerability. Writers know this. Artists know this. Dreamers, too, know what it feels like to share something beyond your small, trusted circle and afterwards experience a vulnerability hangover.  

My guest Ainsley Britain is an author, podcast host, and Enneagram coach, who helps young adults embrace their confidence, date healthy, and discover their identity in Christ. In this episode she shares what it was like to take her private writings and expose them to the publishing industry, editors, and to the audience she seeks to serve. We actually talk very little about the details of publishing a book (although some of my other episodes discuss it here, here, and here). Instead, Ainsley shares about the mental and spiritual battle of learning to receive praise and criticism with an eye toward Christ.

We also discuss:

• One painful but necessary part of making your dream more public
• Working from overflow rather than exhaustion and the value of being interruptible
• Practical tips on how she plans out her writing milestones and related tasks, even with a baby at home

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MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

Find show notes & links here.

Have you ever wondered about bringing on extra help but didn’t think you could afford it?

Our dreams are often so big that it’s not long before you realize that you can’t do it all on your own. But you’re not even paying yourself and you can’t imagine hiring someone else to help. However, that doesn’t change the fact that your hours are limited and you’ve been spending more time on tasks that drain you rather than light you up.  

Eventually the thought will occur: “What if I had help?” But the next question immediately follows:

“Do I even have time to train and mentor someone else?” Or maybe you wonder how you’d ever hand off the busywork and trust someone else to do it right. Or you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing so how could you teach someone else to do it for you?

If you’ve had any of those thoughts, today’s episode is for you. I’m talking with two special return guests about how to bring on an intern or two (or more down the line). They’re sharing everything they’ve learned along the way and some unanticipated benefits of working with interns even when it felt uncomfortable.  

NEXT STEPS:

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Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android

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NEXT STEPS:
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Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android
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MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

Find show notes here.

What if your dream is already in the hearts of others?

Have you ever considered that just because God gave you a dream that it doesn’t mean you were intended to fulfill it alone? Could there be others out there who have gifts and talents and experiences that you lack and who could be fantastic assets to your team and the fulfillment of your dream?

Lindsay May returns to the podcast as part of my Building Your Team Series to share more details about how she built a dream team around what has become The Truly Co, Truly Co magazine and The Truly Co Podcast. She explains why it was so important to build a team from the beginning and how she started with people who were right in front of her and a need she saw in her local church.

In this episode, be listening for these key points:

• How starting with what you have will help you’ll realize what you need
• Why your dream can’t really blossom if you keep it to yourself
• A biblical example of delegation & why it’s so important to invite others to your team

You might also give some time to pray and listen to the Lord, asking if He has a team for you, what your next step is to find the first team member, and how to release control over a dream that’s so dear to your heart.

If you want to check out my original conversation with Lindsay May, it's episode 240.

NEXT STEPS:

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Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android

Sign up for Dream Believers. Just $49/month or $490 for the year (get 2 months free!) 

NEXT STEPS:
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Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes
Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android
Join the Dream Believers community

MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

How can you launch a dream when you don’t feel ready? 

It can be difficult to know when and how to launch a dream because there may be limitations that seem impossible to overcome. As Junia Judson began researching what it would take to bring her dream to life, she met someone who believed it was not only feasible but also could become a reality sooner than Junia ever imagined.

In this episode you’ll hear Junia Judson and I discuss: 

• Unique ways of identifying partners and team members to help carry out your dream
• How inviting people into your dream can be a win for everyone
• Growing your team to create space for you to dream bigger

This episode was originally published in October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you or someone you know needs resources or a person to talk to about a possible abuse situation in the home, please reach out to Called To Peace Ministries.

NEXT STEPS: 

Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Discovery Call

Get Connected with the Facebook Community

Support the Podcast 

Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android 

Sign up for Dream Believers. Just $49/month or $490 for the year (get 2 months free!) 

NEXT STEPS:
Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Call
Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes
Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android
Join the Dream Believers community

MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

Find the show notes here.

Join the Accountability Accelerator waitlist here: https://merrittonsa.com/accelerator

Have you discovered the power of building community around your dream?

This is a different kind of solo episode; I recorded a third of it in the car because I felt so inspired after meeting with a group of dreamers this month to work through a problem area that we’ve all struggled with: defining with specificity who our dream serves.

It is so motivating to sit with other women and hear them process through the difficult aspects of figuring out who they serve and how to talk about the work they do in a meaningful way.

In this solo episode, you’re going to hear about:

• Why to intentionally surround yourself with people who think differently
• Reasons to get comfortable with the unpredictability of a group
• Who my Accountability Accelerator is for (and who it’s not for)

When you choose to walk out your dream with others alongside you who are doing the same, you’ll uncover a power and wisdom that you cannot access on your own (and what’s tricky about it is that if you DON’T choose this, you won’t even know what you’re missing!)

Join the Accountability Accelerator waitlist here: https://merrittonsa.com/accelerator

NEXT STEPS:

Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Discovery Call

Get Connected with the Facebook Community

Support the Podcast

Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android

Sign up for Dream Believers. Just $49/month or $490 for the year (get 2 months free!) 

NEXT STEPS:
Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Call
Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes
Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android
Join the Dream Believers community

MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

Find show notes here.

How do you faithfully pursue a dream despite your limitations? 

Mother of five little girls, Joy Wendling relishes the dream God has given her to help other moms enjoy their motherhood and incorporate playful moments with conversations about faith. But there are days when her own sin and brokenness make her feel disqualified from pursuing this dream. That’s when she reminds herself to trust that God’s faithfulness is bigger than her brokenness.

Maybe you have felt unqualified and inadequate to convey the message God has given you to share with others. Maybe the enemy has told you that you’re too broken, imperfect, or messed up to carry any goodness, hope, or encouragement to others. 

Let this conversation with Joy encourage you through practical steps to integrate playfulness into your life and allow the Lord to meet you with His grace, mercy and faithfulness to do the work in and through you, despite you. 

In this episode you’ll also hear Joy and I discuss: 

• A definition of play, how Jesus played, and how that informs playfulness for us
• How we are meant to enjoy the abundant life
• Nurturing an awareness of God’s presence with you in your dream

Joy is a mama of five fun and fabulous girls, a podcaster, a parent coach, and a speaker with 20+ years of ministry experience and a Master’s in Youth, Family, and Culture from Fuller Theological Seminary. She loves to equip and encourage Christian families to grow closer to Christ through play and to help parents disciple their kids through discipline. Joy does her best to enjoy the abundant life Christ offers through daily play and adventures in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

You can listen to Joy on her podcast Playfully Faithful Parenting where she shares playful discipleship tips each Monday and parenting devotions each Thursday.

How to support Joy's Bible study: The Family Communion Experience

Grab your seat for one of my September workshops here. 

NEXT STEPS: 

Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Discovery Call

Get Connected with the Facebook Community

Support the Podcast 

Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts *

Sign up for Dream Believers. Just $49/month or $490 for the year (get 2 months free!) 

NEXT STEPS:
Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Call
Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes
Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android
Join the Dream Believers community

MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

Find show notes here. 

How do you adapt when your dream isn’t quite what you planned?

Fear and perfectionism are two of the biggest enemies when it comes to pursuing a God-shaped dream. Maybe you’d prefer to have it all figured out before you begin. Or maybe you’ve stepped out in the past but then retreated when things didn't work like you thought they would. Friend, you are not alone! 

But what if it’s not about getting everything perfect the first time? What if it’s your progress that actually matters the most? 

My guest Christine Bailey knows all about stepping into a dream that is not fully figured out and the courage that comes from taking simple steps of obedience. From small beginnings, to the messy middle, and into seasons of fruitfulness, Christine and I talk about how to find beauty in every season of dreaming. So if you need a bit of encouragement or a little shift in perspective today when it comes to your dream, come join me for my conversation with farmer, writer, and fellow dreamer Christine Bailey.

In this episode Christine  and I talk about: 

• Navigating the messy parts of our dream and the good that God brings from it
• Having confidence in your calling and gaining courage through obedience
• Choosing progress over perfection in pursuing your dream

NEXT STEPS: 

Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Discovery Call

Get Connected with the Facebook Community

Support the Podcast 

Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android 

Sign up for Dream Believers. Just $49/month or $490 for the year (get 2 months free!) 

NEXT STEPS:
Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Call
Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes
Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android
Join the Dream Believers community

MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

Find the show notes here.

Have you resisted inviting others into the hardest parts of your dream?

We all want to be the one who helps when our friends are in need, but which of us actually wants to be the needy one? Few of us easily admit weakness; it’s our fallen nature as humans. But it’s also the lie that we see all around us: That everyone else has their stuff together. Instagram highlights rarely touch the hard stuff, not in a real, meaningful, or vulnerable way. So you end up feeling like you’re the only one who’s struggling to keep it all together.

But it’s not true. We are each fighting our own battles, and the enemy wants us to believe that we’re alone in them. It happens in your personal life, and it happens with your God-shaped dream.

In this solo episode, you’re going to hear:

• What results when we function mostly in isolation
• Why we find it so difficult to invite others in
• The difference it can make when you shift out of isolation mode and into community

And that’s not all!

In case you haven’t already heard, I’m offering four free workshops this month with practical opportunities to build up a habit of involving others in your dream. Sure, it might still be challenging to do so, but it’s going to be so good for you AND your dream!

Take my word for it and register for the workshops here: https://forms.gle/ro9jkCfcTM22mz9k7

NEXT STEPS:

Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Discovery Call

Get Connected with the Facebook Community

Support the Podcast

Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android

Sign up for Dream Believers. Just $49/month or $490 for the year (get 2 months free!) 

NEXT STEPS:
Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Call
Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes
Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android
Join the Dream Believers community

MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.

Send us Fan Mail

Find show notes here.

How is God calling you to use your gifts to make a Kingdom difference in the world?

As a college student, Simone Ispahani learned the devastating truth about human trafficking and how many millions of victims worldwide suffer from this crime. She went searching for opportunities to make a difference and learned all she could through reading, watching documentaries, speaking to nonprofits and federal agents about their work on the frontlines, interning with nonprofits, and eventually co-leading a trip to India her senior year to work with trafficking survivors.

When Simone got laid off from her job in 2020, it was the opportunity she needed to take everything she had learned and experienced to fight for the rescue and recovery of trafficking victims in a new way.

The following year she founded Social Brew, a global e-commerce coffee marketplace devoted to fighting human trafficking through profits shared with organizations committed to the cause. Her greatest hope for Social Brew is to cultivate community and provide a physical location where trafficking victims are seen, known, loved, and given practical tools that help them take back their lives.

In this episode, Simone and I are talking about:

• Responding to questions, doubts and adversity you face from others
• Finding direction and affirmation for your calling in Scripture
• How to go all-in with your dream from the start and trusting God’s faithful leading

NEXT STEPS:

Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Discovery Call

Join the Devoted Dreamers Facebook Community

Support the Podcast

Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android

Sign up for Dream Believers. Just $49/month or $490 for the year (get 2 months free!) 

NEXT STEPS:
Connect with Merritt: Website || Instagram || Book a Call
Leave a Review: Apple Podcasts/iTunes
Subscribe: on Apple Podcasts * on Android
Join the Dream Believers community

MORE ABOUT THE DEVOTED DREAMERS PODCAST:
Produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
Ad music by Komiku.