Distant Dreams But Closer Realities

Book excerpt: Dreams ... everyone has them. A man dreams of becoming a CEO of a big corporation, a famous athlete, a hero, or the president of the United States of America. Basically, men dream about all things rich and powerful. For women, dreams are more sentimental. Women dream of having a successful career, the perfect marriage, children, and financial freedom to live like a queen. But what if you're a Christian? Do you still have the same dreams? Is it okay to dream about wealth, power, and success? Is there any truth that as a Christian, you can still obtain your dream job, dream house, and dream mate (i.e., soul mate) without compromising your integrity? Can you have morals in a world where if you want to be successful, you're told you must be willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead? Do dreams really come true, or should you just leave your dreams buried in your childhood memories? Or is the reality of life, as a child's nursery rhyme concludes, that "life is but a dream"? Distant Dreams but Closer Realities is a story about Lisha Dillard, a successful African American career woman who decides, against her family's wishes, to move from Louisiana to Los Angeles on a journey of discovering God's will for her life. During her first year, she faces many challenges in her quest. She has her first dose of reality, after finding her dream home, with learning the difference between southerners and westerners. Her next task is finding a job that will provide an adequate salary as well as accommodate her aspiring acting career. She finds what she thinks is a dream job in corporate America. She believes she's working for a company that is not concerned with only making money but also with helping people ... is she wrong? Her next task is finding a church. She prays and then uses an uncommon practice for finding her dream church. The one type of church she doesn't want to join is a mega-church ... but why? Next on her to-do list is pursuing her acting career. Since she's naïve to the entertainment industry, she believes her manager's assurances that she's well connected in the business ... but is it the truth? Eventually, she finds her way to an acting coach who gives her a reality check—unless she has a Hollywood connection and is amoral and skinny, being talented just is not enough. She becomes painfully aware that unless she's willing to compromise her morals and integrity, she will never achieve her dream ... so does she? Since she believes another reason why God told her to move to Los Angeles is to meet her "God-ordained husband," she wonders if and when that'll happen. Then, one day she accidently runs into her neighbor, a handsome single man. They have a two-day whirlwind romance, but his mysterious job suddenly interrupts them, and now she must wait for his return. Is he her dream mate or just a dream? Lisha desperately needs to know God's will for her life. She begins questioning whether or not she actually heard from God regarding moving to Los Angeles, because of all the struggles and challenges she's had to face. After spending one weekend alone with God, she suddenly receives all the answers she been longing to know, but then she gets a phone call that could change everything. Distant Dreams but Closer Realities is entertaining but also will minister to women, as they will identify with this fictional character's struggles and challenges in living life as a godly woman. It addresses some important issues, such as faith, trust, dating, career choices, and family. It's through this one woman's life journey that many women also may learn how to discover their purpose and find their destiny.