Dream Big!

This week "D" is for Dreams fulfilled...

I had the privilege of fulfilling one of my life-ling dreams -- to author a book! Finally after 8+ years, I have finished and published my first women's inspirational fiction novel. Finding Home is now available world-wide in over 30,000 book distribution sites including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This dream was planted in my heart at the tender age of 8-years-old. I remember my 3rd grade teacher pulling me close and asking me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I thought about it and answered, “An author.” What was ironic about my response was the fact that I wasn’t much of a reader. In fact, if you were to look at our classroom reading wall there would have been little to no gold stars next my name!  

It wasn’t until I was on the Highland Park Presbyterian Church Youth Staff that I really took to reading. And that was because I was forced to do so! You see, one of my Junior High youth (Kelly Nall) kept bringing me books and insisting I read them. I tried to explain that I had survived high school and college because of Cliff and his notes, but she persisted in pestering me to read!!  

The first book she gave me was Brother Andrew. It about a missionary who snuck Bibles into communist countries. The next book she gave me was The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. These two books became a spring board into my love for reading! The Lord used that one tenacious teen to open my eyes to my undiscovered passion. 

Note that I was already an avid journaler – an exercise that kept me sane in college. I had also spent a season writing for the University of Oklahoma's campus newspaper. But I had never considered the idea of writing, per se. Through Kelly’s stack of books, my eyes and heart began to open to the power of words and stories. And that 8-year-old’s dream began to faintly grow within my heart.  

Although writing was something I thought about often, those tiny sprouts remained hidden until the one night I had a dream...  Fast forward to 2008. 

I woke up and couldn’t stop thinking about what I had just dreamed. The mental picture I had was so vivid that I could still feel the emotion! And something in me wanted the story to continue. In fact, that movie-like memory became one of the first scenes in my book. Then, around this one scene, I began to prayerfully weave a story. 

Whenever I could, I would sit and write (which was hard with a toddler and a young child). Then in 2009 I felt the Lord call me to truly focus. So, I cut all TV, extra reading, and even my iPhone video games. Furthermore, I would ask the Lord to sit with me, to lead me, and to help me write. Every single time He faithfully showed up. There were even days when I’d sit down at my laptop having no idea where the scene/chapter was going. I’d pray for the Lord to join me, and I’d just start to type. By the end of the hour it would not only be finished, it would be (in my opinion) fantastic!  It was a true adventure and one of the dearest times I’ve ever had with the Lord.

Finding Forever is the story of one woman’s journey to find release from her past, hope for her future, and a love that will last forever. Woven throughout the story are little threads of God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love. And of course there's a love triangle to provide the necessary drama to make the story fun! Nevertheless, my ultimate hope and prayer is that readers will be reminded that the Lord will often use people, the church, and the ups and downs of life to bring us back to Himself.

Click here to order a copy of Finding Forever.

This is me at my first official Book Signing Party in Dallas, TX.