Livin’ the Dream is such a cliché.  In general, I despise clichés.  I remember a children’s literature class I took in college and the professor was so opposed to clichés that she told us upfront if we used them in our papers she would automatically give us a zero on the assignment.  Ouch!  That’s harsh.  Maybe my dislike of clichés goes back to that experience. 

        So how in the world did we choose what is perhaps the biggest cliché of all time as the title for my new book?  It’s a funny story actually, and the title came out of a completely unrelated conversation between my husband and me. 

        This message of dreaming with God has been burning in my heart for several years!  After we adopted and brought home our dream of a daughter that God had been showing me for over a decade in dreams in the night, my husband said, “You need to write a book.”  I think in the beginning I just thought he was tired of me sharing all the insights I was getting from God on dreaming.  As time went on, however, and I started the writing process there was so much to share.  When I sat down that first day to write I really wasn’t convinced there would be enough for a full book.  I thought maybe I can just write a blog post or an article.  This is only going to be enough to fill a small pamphlet, not a book!  Amazingly to even me, as I set my heart before God and asked, “What do you want to share with Your bride?”  The words flowed and before I knew it, I had written nearly 40,000 words. 

        The writing came easy because this message had been building in my heart for so long it wasn’t difficult to get the words on paper.  The title, however, was a struggle!  For about 2 years I had a “working title”.  I didn’t love it, but it was all I had.  I actually shelved the book for almost a year because I didn’t have a title I felt adequately expressed the message of the book.  During this time I began asking God to give me a title.  If this truly was a message He wanted me to share with the church, I wanted the title to be a good representation of that.  So for almost a year, I asked God, show me what the title should be.  Give me a dream, scripture, anything!  I was beginning to feel a tad desperate while at the same time wondering why I ever bothered to start writing in the first place.  A book without a title isn’t going anywhere. 

        Then one day my husband and I were driving home from a wedding.  We were just talking about life in general, the kids, what commitments and activities we had that week.  When out of nowhere he said, “You are living your dreams.”  I kind of laughed and said, “yeah literally!”.  It only took a moment for me to realize that’s the title of my book. 

        When I say I’m “Livin’ the Dream”, I don’t mean it in the same way as most people.  For most people, it is nothing more than a cliché.  They will sarcastically joke about a hard job that they don’t enjoy and say, “I’m livin the dream.”  It’s cliché and sarcasm.  When I say it, it’s not cliché.  I mean it literally.  I have had dreams in the night where God showed me glimpses of His plan for our family years before those plans came into being.  Today, I am living in the reality of those dreams.  My greatest hope and prayer through this project is that those who read the book will be encouraged to pay attention to the dreams in the night.  That they too will experience what it is to live your dreams.  Not just your dreams of things you desire, but that thing you were created for.  The plans and purposes of God for you.  He formed you in your mother’s womb and set a purpose for you before you took your first breath.  Grab hold of those dreams, and experience the joy and fullness of living in purpose.