Why I Love Disney - September 2, 2015

I love Disney! I used to be ashamed to admit that as an adult. But, I'm over it!! And I love Disney!! There is just something about walking into a park that has done everything possible to set a perfect atmosphere to lead you into an enchanted memory. The lights, the people, the characters, the cleanliness, even the smells they pipe through their systems ... it all sets the mood for encounter. 

Now I'm not naive so I know that many of the encounters at Disney are less than perfect. Many are frustrated with crowds and screaming kids. But, when you step back and just take it in, it is wonderful. 

In my childhood, I enjoyed the parks, but nothing like I have as an adult. Maybe it's because I appreciate all of the little things that they do to make a trip special. Maybe it's because I enjoy watching my kids faces light up when they see their favorite characters. Or maybe it's because every time I've gone to Disney World, I have also had a deep and profound encounter with Jesus.

Disclaimer: I am not saying that Jesus is being elevated at the theme parks, but I am saying that when I have been there, I have had life-altering revelation.

We decided when our kids turned 5, we wanted to take them to Disney. When my oldest daughter turned 5, we went in February. February is a great time because the weather was perfect and the crowds were low. But the thing that I remember the most was how Jesus began to talk to me about wonder and about dreaming.

Disney does an incredible job of creating wonder. They are purposefully trying to inspire awe. I had been in the thows of parenting for 5 years. In 3 of those years, had 3 kids, and I was tuckered out. While we were there, Jesus began to talk to my heart about how He wanted me to live with wonder and awe again. He wanted me to look for His movements in my life, in others, and in the world in bigger ways, and to maintain the awe factor when I saw them. He encouraged me not to get normalized by the supernatural but to remain awe-filled at who He was ... even when He was working regularly in my life.

There was a moment where we were watching a show in front of the castle, and the characters were having us chant "Dreams Do Come True" with them. It was a harmless little show, or so I thought. But as the crowds joined, the tears poured down my face. Jesus began to speak to me about how I had stopped dreaming. I had shut out hoping for my personal achievements. I had shut out dreaming with my family, and worst of all, the things that I did secretly hope for, I had stopped believing could happen. In that moment, I had a supernatural download of hope. Hope that the things that were in my heart could happen. Hope that dreaming didn't have to mean disappointment. Hope.

When we took my son for his trip, it was directly in the middle of a season where we were learning to drop our poverty mindsets and to think and act like a king. See, in the kingdom, there is no lack. We have more than enough. Our cup runeth over. My mindset was jaded with the experiences of the world, and I was not thinking without limits. Kingship is an important topic to me, because we are all called to live in the order of Melchizedek, just like Jesus. Melchizedek was a prophet, a priest, and a king. God had been encouraging my husband and I to walk and live like kings.

There are few places that you can visit and get immersed into a royal culture. Granted, Disney's is based out of fantasy, but everywhere we went, I was reminded of how a king/queen carries themselves. How a king/queen behaves. It did something to my mindset to shake off the lack, and to truly engage the kingship that heaven offers me. It encouraged me to take authority over the domain that Jesus had placed before me, to be intentional about changing the cultures and atmospheres I encounter to look like the kind that the King of Kings inhabits.

Our youngest is now turning 5, and we are headed out today. I have great anticipation that there will be another revelation dropped into my spirit. But if there is only a renewing of the awe and wonder and the hope and dreaming and kingship, I will be more than pleased. Because I love Disney and I love encounter. And when you mesh the two, it is a vacation of a lifetime.

Bless

_____________, I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. I bless your spirit to be full of awe and wonder. I bless you to have hope that your dreams are anchored in Christ and that they can come true. I bless you with mindsets that engage the 'more than enough' of heaven. I bless you with a kingly anointing.

Declare

I declare that I will look for you Jesus. I declare that I will keep my heart hoping. I will put myself in place and cultures that remind me that you are on my team. I will tear down the false beliefs I have about myself and about the way you operate. I will walk in freedom. I will embrace the authority you give me, and I will change cultures and atmospheres for your glory.