Reality check

My character, Zach, imagines himself hurtling through space past stars and planets, headed for whatever exciting destiny lays before him. He is rudely awakened from his daydream when his sister yells from the kitchen. Reality check.

I dream of getting published, having a best-seller, and encouraging children in their own journey with God. The truth is, the agent and publisher voices out there bring me back to the real world. It's tough to break into the book market.

I attend workshops, and conferences. My indispensable writer's group friends help me dump adverbs, dialogue tags, unnecessary back story, passive tenses, etc. But good writing isn't enough.(Sigh) You have to be dedicated to your craft. You have to write about a subject people find interesting or entertaining.You have to know how to market your book. And you have to make connections. Relationships in publishing are important. Someone in the business needs to see your talent and recommend you.

In my book, Zach finds Someone who is necessary for him to find his destiny. We all need that essential relationship to find our way. God planned that from the beginning. Our relationshhip with Jesus is key to our final destiny.

At the end of the book, Zach still doesn't know where he's going, but he knows Who is taking him there. Even though I don't know who will publish me, I know Who guides my journey.

Going Where No Man Has Gone Before

When I go on a trip, I always know where I'm going, whether it is to the grocery store, or to a vacation at the beach. But in my journey with God, I often don't know where I'm headed. I think most people feel this way.In the Star Trek adventures, the starship wandered the galaxy with a search and do good mentality. But they never seemed to know what would come next. Why does God only give us the step right in front of us? Maybe it's because we need to trust Him. Could be that we don't know his voice clearly. Also, I wonder if it is difficult for us to see his path because his world and his path are so foreign to our world view. Heaven is beyond our imagination. We have inklings of it, but not a complete picture. How can we clearly see our destiny in Him, if we can't clearly see Him? Zach had the same problem. He has enough problems trying to figure out life, when along comes a dimension beyond his imagination. Zach could daydream about flying through space, but when he encountered heavenly spaces, it was beyond what he could ask, think, or imagine. We must remember that. God's plans for us are light years beyond our mundane thoughts. But you know what? I want to try to go there in my imagination. It's okay to dream about God, his plans, and his goodness.

Dream Big

Albert Einstien said,"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you anywhere.

That quote came from a collection of quotes in a little book called Dream Big, Starring Olivia.This is a book of inspirational sayings by the author of the Olivia books, Ian Falconer. Of course it made me think of the power of imagination. In my book, Beyond the Red Door, Zach sits in front of the starfield screensaver on his computer and pretends he is flying through space past planets, asteroids and stars. When he sees into God's world, it is beyond what he ever imagined.

When we let the God of the universe empower our thoughts, true imagination is born. God is limitless, and he wants us to push past our finite boundaries into his creative realm. God-inspired fiction can awaken our minds, bring hope, and steer our imaginations to dream big.