On Dreaming Big Dreams

Back in 2001, I was at the beach with one of my friends, having a rare girl trip.  We had been joking around and cutting up most of the week, and one of the inside jokes we'd had had for years had to do with being rock stars.  We were in a shop, and I happened across a bumper sticker that said, “Rock Star.”  So... I bought two.  One went directly on the back of my car.  The other has hung on my office bulletin board ever since.   Yep, right next to Calvin and a quote by Jon Acuff.  (Whom you should read, by the way.  He manages to make you laugh while he steps all over your toes.)

At that time, I wasn’t writing.  At least not for real.  I wrote all of the time, mostly for myself. It was my outlet, and I loved wandering around in stories. I'd done it since I was a kid.  But, you see, I had never considered writing as a career.  I mean, publishing a real book?  Really?  I might as well say, “I want to be a rock star.”  Seriously. Who gets to do that? The odds of it happening, were, uhm…  zero?

Of course, God had other timing and other plans.  That’s another story.  But His plans led to this…

Ten years after that beach trip, my first novel released.  Twenty-three years after that beach trip, there are over half a million copies of books God and I wrote floating around out there. Honestly, I never saw that coming.  When He told me it was time to start writing “for real,” it took me months to truly listen and believe.  It took me even longer to tell anyone else.  Honestly, it made me feel like I was saying, “I want to be a rock star.”  Again, who does that? I could just imagine people patting me on the head, all the while thinking I was slightly imbalanced.

God had bigger plans than I ever dreamed, and if we ever sat down and talked about how He made them all come true, you simply wouldn’t believe me. When I was teaching, I would tell my students... Don’t be afraid to dream.  Don’t be afraid to dream BIG dreams.  God’s a big God, and if it’s His will, even the biggest of big dreams can come true.  Somebody has to be the rock star, or there would be no music. Somebody has to be the NBA basketball player, the Major League Baseball player, the choreographer, and the filmmaker. (Cool thing? I've had students do all of the above.) Some of us have big dreams of being parents, nurses, teachers, IT geeks, graphic designers, farmers, or electricians. (Other cool thing? I've had students do all of those, too.) 

It might take a day, a year, a decade… But if He’s given you the dream, then He means for you to pursue it to His end, whatever that might be.  I often think of author Cec Murphy and something I once heard him say at a conference, “Sometimes you write for an audience of millions.  And sometimes you write for an audience of one.”  Whether God's called you to millions or to one, obeying Him is success... and it's a dream come true. It's truly becoming a "rock star."

Oh, I have other dreams. A house in the mountains. Grandchildren... someday in the future. A novel based on one of my favorite songs. (I'm constantly thinking on that one.) Here's the thing, when it comes to what God can do, I’m not afraid to dream.

What is your “I’m a Rock Star” dream? Comment below, and you could win a copy of Montana Abduction Rescue, coming out next month.  I'll choose a random comment on Monday, July 1, 2024 and post the winner here. US winners may choose either a print copy or an ebook. Overseas winners will receive an ebook.