When Dreams Are Far From Reach, Trust God’s Vision: Matthew Barnett & Richard Cowdrey

Sometimes our dreams seem so far out of our reach, we don’t know if we’ll ever achieve them. And sometimes we’ve been chasing dreams for so long, we need to remember why we began the chase in the first place. Matthew Barnett, pastor of the Dream Center, shares how the organization is serving the people of Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic. He talks about how, over the course of the center’s twenty-five year legacy, he’s learned God has placed the Dream Center in LA as a steady force for change in the community, and how little things we do for others have a big impact. With a few strokes of his pencil, Richard Cowdrey can bring to life whimsical children’s book characters like Marley from “Marley & Me” and Fiona the Hippo. Richard shares how, during a troubled adolescence, two teachers helped unveil the artistic dreams he’d always held in his heart and even led Richard to faith. Today Richard is paying it forward by speaking to students and helping them reach for their own passions.

 

Links, Products and Resources Mentioned:

Sarah Young

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling books

Jesus Calling devotional

Jesus Calling for Easter

Jesus Calling: The Story of Easter on special at Books-A-Million.com

Jesus Calling episode, God’s Perfect Purpose for Our Imperfect Lives: Rita Wilson and Lisa Osteen Comes

Matthew Barnett

Los Angeles Dream Center
Coronavirus epidemic
Queen of Angels Hospital
One Small Step: The Life-Changing Adventure of Following God's Nudges book

 

Richard Cowdrey

Fiona, It's Bedtime children’s book
Fiona books
Gray's Anatomy books
Columbus College of Art and Design
Bad Dog, Marley children’s book

Melissa D’Arabian (Food Network)

 

Interview Quotes:

“Just staying in the neighborhood, not leaving, and being there for people is one of the best things you could do at a time of crisis. [Let them] know that you're not going to run, you're not going to leave. You're still going to be a steady force of change in the community.” - Matthew Barnett

“In the twenty-five years of feeding fifteen hundred hot meals every day, we really believe that we were born for this era that we're facing right now.” - Matthew Barnett

“Every program that we build at the Dream Center is one year, and the reason why it's one year is because we want to give people the luxury of time to change.” - Matthew Barnett

“You're doing the urgent, but you're not responding to the important.” - Matthew Barnett, on times we wander away from God

"I still cannot actually come up with the words to describe what happened. I knew the answers. I knew who I was, why I was." - Richard Cowdrey, on reading the Gospel of John in college

"I have a real love for nature . . . even at a young age, I was aware there must be a God who created the animals and the woods." - Richard Cowdrey

“I'm looking for the ones that look like me, who weren't the straight-A students, who weren't the quarterback, who weren't the star students. They're the ones on the edges, on the fringe. I try to encourage them that they have a gift.” Richard Cowdrey, on speaking in schools

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Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel:

Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0 

Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O 

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