Follow Your Dream

11-25-06

1. Pro. 23:7 – We follow the direction of our dominant thought.

A. Pro. 4:23 – Our dreams determine the outcome of life.

· Gen. 6:5 – The wicked dream of evil.

· Dan. 1:8 – The dream of the Pilgrims on 1620.

· Pro. 13:12 & 19 – A dream fulfilled is sweet.

· The dream of the Pilgrims in 1620.

B. Phil. 4:8 – Daydreaming is not the same as life dreams.

· Isa. 8:19-20—Keep your dreams in harmony with the word of God.

· Ex. 20 – Good dreams will never violate the Ten Commandments.

· Psalm 84:11 – No good thing will be withheld.

· Abraham Lincoln – The Gettysburg Address – November 19, 1863.

· Martin Luther King – August 28, 1963 – “I have a dream.”

· Napoleon Hill – “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

C. Hev. 11 – The dreams of our spiritual forefathers.

· Vs. 10 – Abraham dreamed of God’s city & country.

· Vx. 22 – Joseph dreamed of home.

· Vs. 24 – Moses dreamed of deliverance.

· Heb. 12:1-2 – Our ultimate dream – to be like Jesus and be saved when He comes.

· Phil. 3:12-14 – Paul’s personal dream.

· A boy saved in Rochester, N.Y. in the Genesee River.

See other side for an inspiring story.

72-YEAR-OLD RECEIVES DOCTORATE AT HOSPICE IN SURSEE, SWITZERLAND

At 72 years old, she lies in a hospice wasting away from the debilitating effects of cancer that daily ravages her brain, breast and lungs. For most people the last thing on their minds would be school. But not for Wilma Gramkow. Despite her fading health, she successfully defended her doctoral thesis in a hospice a few weeks ago.

Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1924, she experienced the Second World War and the extensive bombardments of Hamburg in 1943. As a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, she did mission work with her family in Africa and the Middle East. She has also written extensively and has worked at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and served as dean for international women students at Marienhohe College in Darmstadt, Germany. She received her Masters in education in 1987 and was accepted as a doctoral student at the renowned Hamberg University.

Wilma’s doctoral dissertation was on the Herder Institute, and German enterprise to teach the German language in connection with German embassies until the reunification of Germany in 1989.

In the beginning of 2000, doctors discovered in Wilma the first sign of cancer. The disease spread through her body as time passed. But even during chemotherapy, she never gave up the wish to receive her doctorate. Under the care of her daughter, Wilma continued her search and writing.

On Friday, November 10, four designated professors met Wilma in a room at the hospice and went through the final extensive procedures required for the acceptance of her doctoral dissertation. Following the procedures, the four German professors left the room for their evaluation. They returned to Wilma, shook her hand and simply said: “Herzilichen Gluckwunsch Frau Dr. Wilma Gramkow” (Mrs. Dr. Wilma Gramkow: Congratulations).

Her daughter, Anja, says, “She is very weak and I do not think she has a lot of time left, but she is very happy to have made it. Her goal after she received her doctorate was to work on short projects in foreign countries. This is not possible, but we are all very proud of her.”