Welcome to the forums, hawk. These questions have already been anwsered but I'm going to anwser them again anyway.

Originally posted by hawk+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hawk)</div>
First off I think the idea of controlling your dreams is awesome. I just want to know, however, if it's a safe thing to do. If I become lucid could I fall into the dream so much that I won't wake up?
[/b]
Impossible. However, you can fall into a dream for a long period of time. Some girl whacked her head on ice and fell asleep for 60 years, despite all efforts to wake her up. Don't let that scare you though, because the chances of it happening again are so slim you're more likely to have an airplane drop out of the sky and hit you on the head.

<!--QuoteBegin-hawk

Also if I have control, does that mean I could stop a scary situation if I encountered one or would I have to endure it? I know that if I have nightmares I always wake up, so I don't want to become lucid and be forced to live through what I usually don't have to.
Yes. When you're lucid, there's no need to run away from things, because it's all just in your mind and is can be dispelled with a thought.