A dream is a wish your heart makes.

We all dream as little kids. When I was little, I dreamed that I wanted to be the man in the orange jumpsuit on the side of the road picking up trash. I thought it was really cool the way they grabbed the trash with that little suction cup thingy. I told my parents that is what I wanted to do with my life and naturally, they laughed. How dare they laugh at my dream? =) hehehe....Well, as I got older, more dreams started to develop. I wanted to be an actress. I wanted to get married. I wanted lots of children. I wanted to travel. I wanted to fly. There were so many dreams I had as a child and I still hold some to this day, not the garbage man, of course. The point that I'm trying to make is that I've met a lot of people who settle. They give up on their dreams at some point in their lives. I think it happens when they reach adulthood. I'm 20 years old and I refuse to give up on my dreams. I finished reading a book today called God has a Dream for your life. I have to say that it was one of the most incredible books I have ever read. It put my dreams back on fire again and has encouraged me to live them out. Having Christ at the center of my life has put my dreams back into perspective. I've heard a lot of people answer the question, "What do you want?" with this answer.."Whatever God wants." I was one of those people. It was whatever the Lord wants, but then I started thinking. What if God was REALLY asking you the question, "Lauren, what do you want?" Well, Lord, I want to live in New York. I want to be on Broadway. I want to marry a wonderful guy and have children. I want to travel the world. There...those are better answers to the questions. Matthew 6:33 states, " Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." God wants us to dream and he wants us to dream big. A lot of the time, especially with me, I find myself dreaming things that would not benefit me and I'm not seeking God's Will first. I take matters into my own hands. And that is why life can be very difficult and depressing to deal with. Wanting to be an actress in this day and age is stupid to a lot of people I've met. The countless blank stares and questions that precede, "I'm a theater major" make me laugh. But you know what? That is my dream. I want to be the best artist I can be and the Lord has put this passion inside of me. And it has not gone away. If I'm lucky, I have 70-80 years of life....If I'm lucky. There's no second chances to follow my heart and follow my dream. No matter how many people have said you can't do it or no matter how much you think that YOU can't do it, STOP! Dust yourself off and go after for your dream. I really believe this: God has bigger plans for my life than I have for myself. What I understand with myself is that in the face of life's disappointment's, there is no "right" thing to do. We give what we have, and that is ourselves. It is the gift of our presence. Hold onto that dream and go get it.

What's your story?

I had the opportunity last week to read a book entitled A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, one of my favorite authors. It's a book about story and what "story" actually means. This book has changed me. I wouldn't say it has changed my life, but it has definetely made me think differently about it. Hmmmm....maybe it has changed my life then. =) Ever read something that feels that it was written just for you? And almost every chapter is like....BAM!!!! It hits you in your face and then the next chapter.....BAM!!! Well, that's what this book did to me. It hit me square in the face. Donald Miller writes and talks about his story, which in essence, is his life, and tells how it is boring, and how each day was nothing to remember, because well, there was nothing exciting going on in it. He was "living life" but he wasn't "loving it." And wow, how I could relate to that. Sure, I have had wonderful moments in my life, but it just never seems to be enough. Ever feel that way?? I know I do. Almost every day. God doesn't want us to have a "boring, dull story" a.k.a. life. Can you imagine having Christ as the center of your life and from there, being able to experience things in life that are beautiful? Ahhh, that makes my heart tingle. But unfortunately, a little emotion takes over in a lot of lives called fear.....Donald Miller states, "Fear is a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life." And I am preaching to the choir. We humans are always saying..I just can't...I just can't'.....I just can't......but, HE IS ABLE. Did you hear that? HE IS ABLE...We limit ourselves to live a mediocre life because fear is prevelant in our everyday lives. But, the beauty of it is, we can change it!!! I want to encourage who ever reads this to make your story beautiful. Take that step, that leap of faith, and make your story one that you want to live. God wants us to live beautiful stories and we've taken advantage of that fact, myself included. Go look at a sunset tonight. Go for a bike ride tomorrow. Meet up with a friend for coffee. Write a letter to someone you love. Donate one day to a homeless shelter. Dance around in your room in your underwear. =) And lastly, go make a beautiful story.