Showing posts with label dreams and visions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dreams and visions. Show all posts

Monday, March 14, 2016

Dreamer of Dreams






 Let's talk about dreams. Back in the 80's I had a family member who was a Christian, sort of, but before that they had been into new age philosophies. They used to try to tell me about their prophetic dreams, and at the time I blew them off because I thought it was weird, and possibly even demonic. I attended a non-denomination Christian church at the time, and never heard the Pastor ever speak about dreams. Maybe once he mentioned that he had a dream that was from God, but he was the Pastor, not one of the regular sheep of the pasture, so if God was going to speak to someone in a dream, it would probably be him. As years went by, if I heard any preacher mention dreams, it seemed they would have one dream from God in their whole life, and they considered the others to be "Pizza dreams", meaning, their dinner didn't agree with them and gave them weird dreams.



    Well, I began to have an occasional dream that would stand out that I would remember. One night I dreamt of a particular red haired actress, (she didn't mean anything to me, I don't even know what her name was) and the next day I walked into the office at work and there was a magazine on the desk, and that particular actress was on the cover. It got my attention. A year or so later I was asked to go to an intercessor's conference in St. Louis, but had small children at the time, and had never been on an airplane before, so I had no intention of going...until I had a dream that I was on a plane on my way to St. Louis. It was stronger than other dreams, and I remembered the whole thing when I woke up, as opposed to other dreams that I called "mind ramblings" that I forgot as soon as I woke up. I went to that conference. 



    More recently I had a dream about someone that I saw at 5:00 pm. Then a couple days later (this is real now, not a dream) I had a 1:00 appointment that kept getting rescheduled all day long. Finally I was sitting in the waiting room of the office, and at 5:00 the back door opened, and that person from my dream walked out. When this stuff keeps happening, you begin to pay attention.



    Around the year 2000 I was pulling weeds from my garden, and I pulled on a dandelion with a long root that snapped off as I tried to pull it, and I heard the Holy Spirit say to me "You have a deep root of rejection." What? What was that? I had never heard of that before. A couple days later I got into a huge blowout fight with my husband and I asked God "Why does this happen? Why do we fight like this?" That night I had a dream that I was in my childhood home, and my father and my husband were sort of the same person. Then outside my son was laying in the street and had just been hit by a car. I woke up so shaken and rattled by this dream that I couldn't go back to sleep. I turned on Joyce Meyer and she began to talk about The Root of Rejection! It turned out she wrote a book on the subject and I read it. 



    Through a series of events I found out that my parents had gotten married because my mother got pregnant with me. I was an unwanted pregnancy, my parents found themselves trapped in a miserable marriage, and our home was nothing but turmoil. My father was mean and abusive, and I was afraid of him. So after having this dream, God taught me that first of all, I had deep seeded rejection in my soul from the time I was conceived and it affected the way I perceived the whole world around me and all of my relationships. 



    Secondly, he taught me that what I thought was anger toward my husband, was actually fear. If my husband had a bad day and came home and yelled at me, my defense mechanism kicked in, my adrenaline level shot up and I yelled back. Then it would escalate into a full blown war. It was essentially a "fight or flight response". This dream, and that revelation began a three year journey of inner healing. It's a great story, and maybe we'll talk about that more in another blog some day, but for now, I told you that story to demonstrate how God can use dreams to talk to us. 



    On my own I began to look into dreams and how many times the bible actually talks about dreams, the people who had them, and who could interpret them. People like Joseph (As in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) and Daniel (As in Daniel and the Lion's Den) who not only had dreams but interpreted them. In the story of Christmas, God told Joseph that Mary was pregnant, and in another dream he warned him about Herod. I realized the bible talks about dreams constantly! Most of these people were prophets or "seers". It definitely became clear to me that God definitely talked to people through dreams. 
                                  Here is an article that lists bible dreamers:




   In 2005 I began to visit a church that embraced the prophetic movement, and taught about dreams and dream interpretation. If this had been 10 years earlier, I would have written them off as teaching some kind of weird new-age teachings. But because of the experiences I was already having, I was more open. Through them I heard of a man named John Paul Jackson who was considered a leader in this area. He has since passed away but his ministry is still active and you can get his books and watch his videos. He taught people how to interpret their dreams, broke them down into different categories, and encouraged journaling your dreams. He said if you begin to pay attention to the dreams, and write them down, God will honor that, and you'll begin to dream more. I began to journal my dreams and before I went to sleep at night I would pray "God, talk to me tonight. Show me something you want me to know." And he did. 

            Here is the link to John Paul Jackson's ministry page, Streams Ministries.



    At first a lot of dreams just seemed like those "mind ramblings", but I would write them down anyway. And as I wrote, certain words that I wrote down would suddenly make sense in a new way. Then I would open my bible and begin to read, and things would begin to pop off the page and I would realize that it related to the dream that I just had. Sometimes I would forget my dream altogether until I read my bible and suddenly I would remember the dream. Or something would happen during the day, like I would see a bus, and suddenly I would remember I had a dream about a bus. I dream almost every night now, and write them all down. Sometimes I have no idea what they mean. There are dreams that I had years ago that I didn't understand at the time, but now suddenly they are making sense and coming together like pieces to a puzzle. It's quite amazing and I'm going to be sharing them as I continue blogging. 



    Every morning, if I have a dream I will write it down, and then circle all the key parts. Who was in it? What were they doing? Was it bright and sunny? Or dark out? My dreams are very detailed and I write down what people were wearing, any colors, numbers, where it took place, what people said. Everything means something. I highlight words and draw pictures.Then I refer to my book on Christian dream interpretation. (Beware of dream websites and books written by New Age people and Psychics. Many dream websites are run by psychics. The bible says clearly to have nothing to do with mediums, spiritists, or those who practice magical arts. That includes psychics.) 



     After I journal my dreams I spend a good two hours in the Word, spending time with God as he guides me and teaches me. Sometimes the meanings in the dream interpretation book are not necessarily the correct interpretation because the meaning is more personal. For instance, when I study my bible, I highlight my bible and each color means something. One time I had a dream of a bright green horse, and I realized he was highlighter green, so green didn't mean what the book said it meant, but it had to do with what green means when I highlight things. So if you begin to journal your dreams, listen to John Paul Jackson, get the book above by Gary Fishman, and begin learning to hear from God!



  Now let's talk about some specific dreams.  Let's begin with recurring dreams of Tsunamis. For years I had had dreams about an approaching tsunami. At first I would dream that I packed up my car, closed up the shutters on my house, essentially battening down the hatches, and got ready to leave suddenly, because I knew a storm was on it's way.



Then, I had several dreams where I was standing looking at people on the beach, knowing a tsunami was coming, and I wanted to tell them to get off the beach! 




In another, I looked out at the ocean knowing a storm would be coming, but lifeguards were back at the horizon line holding back the waves. (Lifeguards represent angels, so the angels were holding back the storm.) Then I was out in the ocean and a female lifeguard gave me a ride on her surfboard.  This dream was saying "It's not time yet", but it's coming, and I'm safe. 




Then I began to have dreams that I was staying at a shore house, and the storm waves were coming up to the house, and water was seeping in under the door. Again, I ran to pack everything up from inside the house, put it in the car, and we needed to leave immediately. With each of these dreams it seemed the water come closer each time. 



In another, I was on a cruise ship, and as I looked out into the distance I saw 9 tornado funnels drop into the ocean (called water spouts) and then a huge wave lifted up and began to move toward us. I ran and packed up. 




Then the dreams progressed. In a couple dreams I was in a house a couple blocks from the beach and a huge wave came and washed over the house, right over the roof. I prepared a shelter in a room in the basement afterward, and then when another wave came, we ran to the basement to be safe.



 A couple of months ago I had a dream that my husband and I went to Florida, and were inside a house with a lot of windows, (windows represent prophetic vision) and a huge wave came and lifted the house up like a house boat, and carried us out to sea. We turned the motor on and sailed toward shore, and rode past motels where a lot of senior citizens lived. Some had been washed away by the storm and others were coming out onto the balcony to look at the water. The town was flooded up to the second story of the motel. This was only a mild storm and in my dream I said to my husband "Can you imagine if this had been a tsunami?"



 In my most recent tsunami dream, I was standing on the shore with my son and a young woman. I saw the ocean suck back and I knew what was coming next. I yelled "run!" and we ran up a steep mountain. We got all the way up to the top and ran into a shed to hide. But the young woman looked back (a reference to Lot's wife when escaping from Sodom and Gommorah) and the wave, which was so big it reached up to the top of the mountain, knocked her down. 


   Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

   So what's with all the tsunami dreams? Well, let's look at the progression. As you can see, the storm is getting closer and closer each time. In my dreams I see it coming, I get prepared ahead of time, and then I warn people. In my first blog I told you I am a "seer" and a "watchman". So it seems that I'm seeing a storm of epic proportions coming soon, and I need to warn people. But I was not quite sure what this tsunami was yet. So I began to google "Tsunami" and here are two videos that I found from prophetic people that stood out to me. I don't know who these people are, and I'm not saying they are correct. I'm just bringing you along on my journey of discovery. 

    First, Dr. Patricia Green prophecies that a tsunami will hit the east coast of America. She says she doesn't know what will cause it, but it will come while Obama is in the whitehouse. 




That video led me to this video, where a Pastor from Puerto Rico prophecies that a meteor will hit Puerto Rico causing a tsunami to hit Florida. (This is the short version. There are longer versions on YouTube)



But the interesting part is when he says "The government knows" and that they have set up FEMA camps on the island, and plastic graves for all the dead bodies. 



    I have a Christian friend who lives on the east coast of Florida. Around June 2015 she bought a new house. But in December  2015, only 6 months later, I noticed on Facebook that she was talking about moving again. I inboxed her privately and told her about these prophecies, and my dreams, and that I'm concerned for her safety. I asked why she was moving, and she said all she knows is that for the past nine months she has sensed VERY STRONGLY that she needs to move to the west coast. I said "That's God. You need to go."
      Now it's March 2016, and the presidential race has gone mad. Coincidentally, or maybe no so much, my friend works at Maralago Resort, owned by Donald Trump. She is quitting her job and moving to the west coast, but is not really sure why. She just knows she needs to go. Hmmmmmm.



So do I have your attention yet? I'm only warming up folks. Hold on to your hats, there is much more to come!


Sunday, March 13, 2016

In the beginning...

   Well, welcome to my blog. Before I begin, I'll tell you a little about myself. My pseudonym is Debra. I have decided to use my pen name for my blog to protect the identity of others in my life because as time goes on, my blog will touch on some very heavy subject matter. But before we get to all of that, let me tell you some things about me and who I am. 




    My Grandfather was a minister and I grew up in church. But I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus until I was 12 years old. I became Born-Again and gave my heart to the Lord in 7th Grade when we had a "Faith Alive Weekend" at the Anglican church.




    A group of people who were Born Again Episcopalians came to visit for the weekend, and after a potluck dinner that Friday night they told stories, or "testimonies" about their lives. They spoke about Jesus like they knew him, like he was their best friend. They talked about how they prayed and God answered their prayers. I wanted that. I wanted to know Jesus like that. They said that Jesus said you need to be Born Again. Huh? "What were they talking about?" I wondered. 



They explained that first you were born as a baby, but then your spirit needs a new birth, to become connected to God. And you can only get connected through the blood of Jesus. Your parents can't do it for you, you need to make the decision for yourself. You need to ask Jesus to forgive your sins, cover you with his blood, and ask him to come into your heart. Then they said that Jesus said you can't get into heaven unless you're born again. Wait, WHAT?! I was the granddaughter of a minister, but it didn't matter. I had to make the decision for myself. I can't be "grandfathered in", literally! Well, I wanted to know Jesus. I wanted to be able to talk to him and have him talk to me like he talked to these people. Where I did I sign up?




    They told us what to pray, so that night in my bed I prayed and asked Jesus to forgive my sins and to come into my heart. I had my eyes closed and "saw" myself at the bottom of a deep, dark pit. Jesus was at the top, with light shining all around him, and he reached down and pulled me up out of the pit. For days after that I felt as though I was floating on air. It was amazing. I felt like a new person.

    On Sunday these people spoke at the church service. The Anglicans are big on pomp and circumstance and hold a procession down the aisle to begin the service. During this procession the altar boys carried the cross, candles and incense into the sanctuary, much like the Catholic church.




 That morning, this group of charismatic, born-again Episcopalians marched down the aisle in between the robed altar boys and ministers ahead of my grandfather. They were singing loudly with all their heart, almost dancing, with their hands raised in the air! Boy oh boy, it was a sight! Those stuffy religious people in their suits and ties didn't know what was going on! A couple of "Faith Alive people" gave their testimonies, and then they asked if anyone would like to give their hearts to Jesus. Then they invited them to come to the altar. Half the church went up including me, my mother, my father and my sister. 





    Afterward, during coffee hour in the Parish Hall, they prayed for people. There was a woman at the church who had one leg much shorter than the other. She wore a special brace, and a shoe that had a sole that was about 5" thick. She hobbled up and down when she walked. They sat this woman down in a chair, laid hands on her and prayed for her to be healed. I watched her leg jerk. I thought someone had dropped her leg, but no! Her leg grew out right in front of my eyes! She was healed! I couldn't wait to go to school on Monday to tell everyone about this wild weekend and how I saw her leg grow. I didn't know yet that you weren't supposed to talk about these things in school, and that most people don't believe in these things. If I was an adult at the time I suppose that I probably would have rationalized it all, but I'm glad I was too young to be cynical.



   My mother had been a Christian Scientist and believed in a lot of New-Age thought, and reincarnation. My father was an abusive man, and our house had always been like a war zone. But that Sunday my whole family was saved and went up for the altar call. My father was changed that weekend. (Unfortunately however over time he slipped back into his old ways, and I left home.) Half the church got saved that weekend, but my Grandfather did not feel it was necessary to be born again. It didn't fit his theology. He believed you only needed to be baptized as a baby and be confirmed as a teen. This event split up the church. The half that had a life changing experience that weekend all left our church and went to the Presbyterian church down the street that was evangelical and believed that being born again was necessary for salvation.



     My parents began attending a bible study led by the man who had led the Faith Alive weekend, and my mother watched every gospel show on TV. I watched Pat Robertson on the 700 Club get "Words of Knowledge" about people who were being healed, and the stories of people's lives that were changed. I was becoming familiar with "Charismatic" things and I was learning about the gifts of the spirit. 
     I loved to sing and used to play the piano and organ at the church to amuse myself. When I was in High School my Grandfather invited a couple from an Assembly of God church to come and sing one Sunday morning. I sat with them at a potluck lunch afterward and I really connected with this couple. I knew they were born again, and I was drawn to the music they sang. They invited me to visit their church. So I did.



     I had been reading a book called "Susan Atkins, Child of Satan, Child of God" right about the time that I went to visit this little Assembly of God church on a Sunday night. Susan Atkins had been involved in the Charles Manson murders, and got saved in prison. She was baptized in an old oil tank filled with water in the prison yard. This was the first time I had ever heard of adults being baptized. In the Anglican church, you had water sprinkled on your head as an infant. I was fascinated with the thought of being completely immersed in water as a symbol of beginning your new life in Christ.



   The service started and when the music began, everyone was raising their hands and singing loudly, just like those Charismatic Episcopalians did. The music was nothing like the hymns and classical music that we sang as a choir accompanied by the organ at my Grandfather's church. It was old-time gospel songs and everyone clapped and some people played tambourines. The songs were very simple and repetitive, even corny, but the atmosphere was electric in that tiny chapel. Then the songs got slower, and as the song ended, they didn't stop singing. They kept singing on their own, making up their own melody and their own words. There was a melodic flow to their voices. They all sang something different, but yet it all blended together in some sort of odd way. It made me think of angels singing. Then, they began singing in strange words. Oh my. What was that? I came to learn later that they were singing in tongues. 

                       Here is a video of a church singing spontaneously in tongues:



The music went on for a long time, almost an hour. I was nervous and afraid, but yet I loved it. This was a whole new world I knew nothing about, but I wanted to. I closed my eyes and sang, and I had this sensation of my body floating all the way up to the ceiling. I didn't want it to end. I didn't want to open my eyes. When the worship was over, I opened my eyes and I was snapped back to reality and my feet were back on the floor. Darn! I wanted to float again!



   We all sat down and the Pastor said that night was a special service. They were going to have a water baptism service. They had removed the flooring from the altar, and there was a water tank underneath the altar that looked like a large jacuzzi. I was shocked and delighted. I couldn't believe the "coincidence" that I had just read about water baptism, and now here I was watching it happen right before my very eyes. I knew I wanted more of this place. More of this, and more of God. There was more, much more. And I wanted it all. After that night, every Sunday morning I would sing in the choir at my Grandfather's church, and every  Sunday night I attended the Assembly of God church. I had no idea that it may have been seen as "rebelling" against my family religion. I was going after God and that's all I knew. 


                          Click here to watch a church do a water baptism service:

   A couple of months later I was water baptized myself in that tank at that little church and my parents came to watch. I gave my testimony about how I had read that book and came to this church, and confessed in front of all of them that I had given my life to Jesus. I had become friends with a group of people in their teens and early 20's. One of them had been teaching me about the bible and the 2nd chapter of Acts, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That night, after church, I went into a room with a group of them and they all laid hands on me and prayed for me to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I began to speak in tongues! Again, I had that same feeling I had the night I got saved. I felt like I was floating for days after that! I was baptized twice that night. Once in water, and once in the Holy Ghost! 
                                And thus began my journey in my Christian faith! 

   Back at my Grandfather's church, on Pentecost Sunday, they reenacted the story of Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit descended on everyone in the upper room and they began to speak in other tongues. They read from a script and someone spoke French, another Spanish, another Japanese. I hung my head because I couldn't believe their ignorance. They preferred to remain ignorant, and stay in their religious box. But wow, they were missing out on all the good stuff!

If you would like to begin your own journey getting to know Jesus, simply pray this prayer:


 Here are two videos that teach about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues:


 The Necesity of Speaking in Tongues




    It's been many years since then and I have learned much, much more. It's been a wild ride! Since then most of my family are not Christians anymore, but I have remained faithful. I like to say "My middle name is Perseverance". Ha ha! I have been married for 34 years. I have four children, one of whom has severe Special Needs, and work in the design field. I sing, write songs and lead worship at my church. I am one of those creative, right brained types, and I think in pictures, so the Lord speaks to me in pictures. I am a "Seer". He speaks to me almost every night in dreams. And this is what has prompted me to begin my blog. The dreams that I have had over the past few years that I didn't understand, are starting to make sense. I keep a dream journal, so I'll be going back and referring to them. Years ago I didn't believe that dreams were from God, but I do now. We will talk about that in my next blog. 




I'm learning that the dreams I have had are like puzzle pieces, (I'll talk about dreams in the next blog.) and suddenly the pieces are all starting to fit together. I had thought my dreams were only for myself, and my own life, but I am seeing now that there is a much bigger picture, and they are about the church and the world, and about the end times.



    I am not a preacher, or an evangelist. I don't have a book to sell, or a TV show to promote. I am a regular person just like you. I am one of those people that has been hiding behind the scenes, waiting for God to tell me what to do. He has told me I am a "Watchman" and my voice is a "Trumpet"A watchman was someone who stood on the wall and looked out for potential danger, and if he saw the enemy approaching, he blew the trumpet to alert the people. I usually like to sit in the back of the room because I like to quietly observe everyone and see what's going on. But God always pushes me to the forefront into leadership positions, to speak, teach and sing in front of people. I do it out of obedience to my Lord, not because I want a spotlight. But it's time for me to begin sounding the trumpet.



    I am going to begin sharing my dreams and the things I believe the Lord is teaching me. I am no expert on bible theology. I am just someone who asks God a lot of questions! I will share what I learn in case there are other out there like me who are having dreams, and experiencing things, and are wondering what in the world God is trying to say. 
    Let me make this very clear. I hate confrontation and I am not looking to debate with anyone. However, the things I'm going to be sharing are pretty heavy, so they may cause a reaction in your heart and mind. If so, talk to God about it, not me! I am going to speak what I believe God wants me to say. I'm not looking for comments, responses or emails.  I'm just sharing what I'm hearing and learning, so just read the blog and then I encourage you to go and seek out answers yourself. Maybe I'll spark something in you, and that will begin your own quest to find answers to your own questions. I am merely a conduit.



    Since I am very visual, an artist and a musician, I will use pictures, music and videos in my blogs. It's how I communicate the best. I'm very visual and God speaks to me through these things, so that's how I'll be communicating. I am a hands-on learner. I learn through life experience much better than sitting in a classroom. I have experienced a lot.The way God works with me is, I experience something first, and then he explains it to me later. I'm not one of those people that has to overthink and over-analyze everything first, and won't do things until all the numbers line up first. I am the type who jumps in and asks questions later. But that's probably because I have learned how to trust God completely. God created me, so he knows how to communicate with me in a way I will understand. My life is my classroom. I'm going to begin sharing it, because I believe there is a whole younger generation out there that doesn't know any of the things I have learned and experienced yet, and they need to know. I'm passing the torch I suppose. 
   So welcome, and fasten your seat belts, because you're in for a wild ride!