Monday, May 22, 2006

Dreams

I have found that dreams often influence my writing. Dragons in our Midst was conceived by a dream I had about a boy who could breathe fire. At first, I wondered if I just had too much pepperoni on my pizza the night before, but when I shared the dream with my eldest son, he suggested that I turn the dream into a fantasy story.

I nurtured that spark by searching the Scriptures to see if writing in the fantasy genre might be acceptable in God's sight. In fact, I decided that fantasy is likely one of the best ways to teach truth, that even Jesus used fantasy-style stories to great effect.

Please comment. Has a dream ever sparked a significant change or project?

6 comments:

30seconds.blogs.com said...

My two kids have so loved all 4 dragon books, so I am glad you listened to the dream God gave you!

God sent my husband a dream about moving from California to France (which we were hoping to do), and we asked God for more details, and the next night He sent another dream explaining more!

That was a year and a half ago - we have now been living in France for a year. And now God is moving us on to England (but no dreams about it!).

Brandy Brow said...

Absolutely. God speaks to me through dreams about many parts of my life, particularly writing.

Last year He used a series of dreams in which I was supposed to perform on the American Idol finals but never made it because the show didn't provide transportation. It was so strong that in the middle of the night I awoke and insisted on the interpretation. God gave it immediately and so strong it almost knocked me over. I was supposed to attend the writing conference I had been helping to facilitate for a year, and I was supposed to apply for a grant I'd been hemming and hawing about for months. I went back to bed committed to God that I'd do all I could to go.

I woke up in the morning with a new American Idol dream. For the first time in several dreams I had flown to California (for only $10) and made it to the show where I performed.

I ended up winning the grant and attended the Ohio Christian Writers' Conference last October. I helped behind the scences (I performed!). And the entire trip cost me only $10--the cost of a raffle where I won an AlphaSmart unit that I'd been praying for for three years.

Lesson? It's good to listen to dreams! God might be telling us something important.

Bryan Davis said...

30seconds, that's a great story about your move. It reminds me of Paul's dream about a Macedonian asking him to come to his country.

Thank you for sharing!

Bryan Davis said...

Jim & Brandy,

Now that's a detailed fulfillment! It's great to see how God intimately cares for us.

Keep listening and following. What a great testimony!

AJ said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bryan Davis said...

aj,

That's a cool testimony.

It's faith-building to see how God uses dreams. I think it's important, however, to make sure Scripture supports how we interpret the message, or at least make sure Scripture doesn't forbid how we apply it.