Dreamer #3:
Jerod from Los Angeles, California
February 1st - 15th

Nobody can escape the times in our lives when tragedy comes our way. Where do we go with our troubles? Our fears? Our thirst for relational satisfaction? And what can unite people together in a such a common way so as to remedy our thirst for relationship (as well as for drink)? Community and coffee.

Recently I was graced with twenty-five dollars and the freedom to spend this money on whatever I could imagine. It definitely spent itself on the unimaginable.

Without expectation, sorrow swept over me and those around as well. Suffering is a rather interesting aspect of humanity. It's equally as delicate too. Often when we find a friend dealing with tragedy, our reaction is to "right the wrong" because usually we feel bad. Instead, an attitude of empathy is encouraged. And a common thing to relate to another person about is coffee. Taking a friend out for coffee has been one of the best ways for me personally to help someone in suffering, giving them space and room to share their thoughts and feelings or to even keep their mind off of their suffering for a time. And if not coffee, tea usually does the trick better than a real spoonful of medicine.

Recently in the last several weeks, I have been unable to avoid depression as a result of suffering, either in my own life or in the lives of those around me. And though I am not the type to avoid the reality of suffering, coffee and community helps where psychiatric and clinic help cannot (not to mention it's cheaper).

Starbucks is always a nice retreat, including the Barnes & Noble cafes, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is always a divine decision, and even an on-campus coffee excursion is wonderfully convenient at times, but for those of you local to Orange County have three excellent coffee hotspots in Downtown Fullerton. One particularly wonderful place I found myself at constantly (even to this day and future days) is a place called the Night Owl, located on the corner of Harbor Blvd. and Amerige St. in Fullerton, CA.

The Night Owl

$25 spent on great coffee, great people, and great talks. And nothing is more wonderful, more inspirational, more unique and transforming than those we love surrounding us in times of trial and hardship. And coffee is always a lovely treat as well.

Dreamer #2:
Adrian from Los Angeles, California
January 15th - 31st

"D-Street in Downtown Disney. This is where the Art will begin"

Here's a picture of Manny and I meeting up at The Outlets of Orange parking lot.

Opening the Vinylmation box to see what is.

Manny excited that he can customize the Vinylmation any way he wants. He always wanted to make his own. As you can tell he was very excited to find out that they sold them this size and to paint yourself.

First coat of paint.

Finished product: "Eye of the Beholder" by Manny Rodriguez (Front and Back)

If you would like to see more of Manny Rodriguez art work. Please visit https://www.facebook.com/RustyRobotz ON Facebook or www.jmrodriguezart.daportfolio.com/

Instagram: Piraterobot

Dreamer #1:
Elyse from Los Angeles, California
January 1st - 14th

Here is her experience:
"When Erin and Graydon proposed their idea to me, I was floored by their generous offer.  $25 dollars to a random person so that they could have a chance to pursue any dream they have been longing to do?  Incredible!

It took me ages to finally settle on an idea. Not for lack of ideas, but rather for an overwhelming amount of possibilities.  I struggled with personal (selfish) dreams, and with the idea that I ought to 'pay it forward'.  I finally came to the conclusion of a combination.  One evening, I decided to go to Chick-Fil-A and indulge in some great fast food.  As I pulled up to the drive-thru, my eye was caught by a homeless man holding a piece of cardboard with one simple word: "Hungry".  I ordered him the most popular item from the menu, and held a short conversation with him.  He was a honestly sweet man.  After walking away, I realized the cost of buying him dinner was not an outrageous amount yet allowed him a chance to spend the night with a warm meal in his stomach.

I still had a few dollars left over and spent a lot of time trying to figure it out before settling on something I've been dreaming of doing for years but have always been too chicken to do.

Blondie!

What did I do?!

Heyo! 

I learned so much in the process of allowing myself to follow some dreams that I've never allowed myself to pursue for a variety of reasons.  The most important lesson was to have courage to pursue a dream.  I've started a list of goals I want to achieve in 2012, all steaming from this project.  I've already started the list with joining a gym and having the courage to seek a new, awesome church.  I'm so excited to see whatelse I will acheive with my own $25 in the year to come."

Congratulations Elyse on being the first dreamer on the blog. May she inspire all of you to keep dreaming!

It all begins with a letter.

"To all who have ever dreamed big, hoped much, been spontaneous, supported an ideal, loved life or simply been inspired to try something new. Sometimes life gives you the opportunity to experience it in a new way, to throw caution to the wind and simply be. In this envelope is “25 For The Dreamer” – a gift card to do something inspirational, something creative or something you might not normally do. Here is an opportunity to ignite, create, start, continue, finish or live a dream. You have been given $25 and you can do whatever you want with it but then you have to take a picture or video of yourself however you spend it and write a short blurb of how you fed your inner creative genius.

Stuck on ideas:

Get your nails done crazy, Donate it to a Charity, Go eat at that restaurant you have always wanted to try, buy art supplies, buy flowers for that special someone, paint a wall, buy 50 bouncy balls and bounce them in the stairwell, put money towards a snowboard, buy that snack food that is never in the budget, buy that something blue for your wedding, just eat ice cream for three days, take a taxi somewhere, buy bread to feed the birds, buy a kite….. the sky’s the limit… or is it?

You have your mission and two weeks to spend $25 and create memories.

There are never too many pictures or videos of a fun memory."

And it ends with a story.

What will the dreamers do next?

Follow us on:

25forthedreamers.blogspot.com

See how others spent their $25 and be inspired.