IS GOD SPEAKING TO YOU?

Just as He did with the prophets of old, God speaks to people through dreams and visions. In this present day our need to hear from God who is the source of all life is greater than ever. Our dreams when interpreted often provide answers to what is happening today. Our dreams can give wisdom for a personal problem. Sincerely ask for "eyes to see and ears to hear" and understanding will come.
For example:
A couple of mornings ago I woke up with a distinct sensation that I was rising up out of a deep pool of crystal clear water.  I knew I had been dreaming.  There were pictures and sounds of that dream all around me.  Once I broke through the water's surface, still half dreaming, half awake. I heard the word: "Recall and Write" "Recall and Write". I wasn't sure I could recall the dream as it was fading quickly. I grabbed a pen and tablet and began to write.
The dream:
I was in a large airport. People were wheeling baggage by or were waiting impatiently in ticket lines. Carts piled high with luggage were weaving through the travelers on foot. Escalators loaded with people were going up and down in constant waves. Fear, frustration, confusion were felt. Obviously something had happened that created an anxious, harassed environment.
I stood in a group of people, right in the middle of the flow of traffic. About 15 of us had stopped rushing about and gathered together. The object was to try and figure out what had happened and what we needed to do.  Each one shared information even as constant announcements kept coming over a loudspeaker.  It was difficult to understand what officially was said.  Outside of our group there was obvious confusion. Inside was tangible peace. Children were reassured "You will be OK."  A couple of old people sitting close together in their wheelchairs were holding blue veined hands. Someone leaned over them and said, "Don't worry. We will help you."  Both relaxed and smiled. I myself had become a kind of spokes person, leading the group discussions and encouraging calmness and peace despite our situation. I made some light-hearted comments, repeatedly using humor to release tensions. A baby in his daddy's arms stopped crying. A grey haired man in an overcoat pointed his finger and said, "Madame this is no joking matter!" Then he burst out laughing. His laughter became contagious.  People applauded, nodded heads, laughed. Two little girls danced a jig as the group made room for them and clapped hands. I shouted, "THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!" and many in the group repeated the words. A fearful situation took on the character of a REVIVAL. We began singing familiar hymns and a few patriotic songs. People hurrying by on either side of our group stopped to listen in amazement. Some laughed and smiled with us. Some clapped their hands. Others hurried by, ignoring what was happening.
That was the end of my dream and it came as I was moving up through that crystal clear water mentioned at the beginning of this dream. As I neared the surface, all pictures and sounds quickly faded. I found myself back in my own bed, with the clock showing it was now 4:00 am.  I cried out to the Maker of Dreams, "Father, help me remember all I heard and saw." And as you read this account, you can see He did. 

This is Evelyn’s true testimony

How I Met Jesus

            My 11^th birthday was in the middle of July, 1937.  It was summer, before school reopened, when Jesus appeared and spoke to me “face to face”.  Although I am now 88 years old, I have never forgotten this meeting. I have reexamined it many times throughout my life.  I believe something supernatural occurred when Jesus entered my personal space and touched me both physically and spiritually.

            Strangely, I didn’t recognize who He was at that time.  It wouldn’t be until many years later, when I was 48, that I would understand the Son of God had visited me and claimed me for his own.  Whether I realized it or not, He would watch over me, direct my paths and protect me all the rest of my life on earth.

            It happened this way.  I was propped up on my bed, watching huge white clouds drifting across a very blue sky.  The book I’d been reading had fallen on the bed beside me as I looked delightedly at the golden light and rich, pure colors of sky above the darker forms of trees, lawns, streets and houses that were framed like a picture outside my bedside window.

            Quite suddenly, in less than a millisecond, I found myself standing on the wooden deck of a large sailing vessel in the middle of a great, peaceful ocean.  Amazingly I was NOT frightened, but amazed and curious. What is going on?  Why am I here?  I didn’t move, but stood wondering on the deck about what might happen next.  I felt very alone as I could see no other person on the ship, not even a seabird flying across the blue sky and white clouds.

Then I saw someone in a luminous white robe that covered him from his shoulders down to the sandals on his feet.  He wore a gold belt, and a narrow gold sash was across his chest.  He walked toward me and I felt great expectation, joy, curiosity, and no fear.  When he reached me he stood quietly, arms extended toward me, and a smile on his face.  Such a smile it was!  It reflected the love of my mother, the grin of my best friend, the approval of a favorite teacher, and much more than I can describe.  Without hesitation I threw myself into his arms.  He hugged me and it was as though I became part of him and he was part of me.  I knew that I would never want to leave, not ever. 

            Then He spoke to me.  But I don’t think it was with audible words like you and I speak to each other.  With firm hands He gently moved me out from his all-encompassing hug, looked down at me with such love in His eyes, and said these words that I have never forgotten: “You have a long voyage to take.  You don’t know who I am now, but you will know later on.  You will not be alone for I will never leave you or forsake you.  When you are much older you will know me in a Big Way and I will be with you forever.”

            Again He hugged me and I clung to Him.  Yet somehow I knew I must let go.  “Please, please don’t leave me.  I want to stay with you. Let me stay with you.  Please?”  I was crying as I realized He was really going away and I couldn’t go with him.  My tears kept coming even as I watched him move to the rail at the side of the deck.  Facing me, now many feet away, He was looking intently at me.  Even at this distance I was aware of his tremendous love for me.  I stood still knowing I couldn’t run to him even though I wanted to do so.  Then the white clouds like the ones I’d admired outside my bedroom window moved down to the ship and surrounded Him.  The man in the white robe was carried up from the ship’s deck by those clouds as he quickly disappeared from my sight.  I stood crying even thought I remembered He had told me I would see Him again.  A deep grief and longing was lodged in my eleven year old heart.

            In a moment of time I was back, sitting on my bed, my story book by my side, tears running down my cheeks.  Feeling a great loss, I ran to find Mama.  She was across the hall in her bedroom, taking a nap.  When I sat on her bed, she woke up, alarmed when she saw I was crying. “What is it, Evelyn?  What’s happened?”

            I told her about how I had been on the ship.  How I was hugged by a man in a beautiful white robe.  I told her, as best as I could, about Him and how much he loved me.  I told her how I wanted to stay with Him forever and how awful it was when I knew he had to leave.  But he promised me “he’d come back when I was a whole lot older and be with me forever!”  Even so, I told Mama “I wish I could be with him right now.  I wish he could come live with us NOW!”

            My mother hugged me, kissed me, handed me a handkerchief, and said, “Evelyn, you just had a beautiful dream.  A wonderful dream, but that’s all it was, a dream.  Don’t keep crying for someone who isn’t real.  He’s like the character in a book you’ve read.  Maybe you’ll write about him someday.  You love to write.  Now dry your eyes and help me plan what we’ll have for dinner tonight.”

            So I did what my mother said but I didn’t forget about the dream and the man in the white robe who talked to me and loved me beyond anything I ever imagined. 

            Three years later mother and I were back in Philadelphia at the big three story brick home on Broad Street where my Grandmother and Grandfather, Pop Pop had spent most of their married life.  My beloved Pop Pop was dying.  He was sitting in his big Morris Chair in the little sitting room off his and grannie’s bedroom.  He was quietly talking, asking me a few questions about school, about my friends and my beloved dog, Shep.  Suddenly he looked straight into my eyes and asked, “Ev, Pop Pop’s little sweetheart, do you know Jesus?”

            “What do you mean, Pop Pop, “Do I know Jesus?”  I guess I know that he was one of the smartest men who ever lived.  Some say he was a very good man.  He did some miracles like magicians do.  Sometimes I go to Sunday School with my girlfriends.  The teacher talks about Jesus and how it was to live in those days.”  I watched two big tears roll down my grandpa’s cheeks.  I felt terrible, but didn’t know what to say.  I knew I had hurt him deeply because somehow I hadn’t given the right answer to his question.  He turned away from me as I sat miserable on the foot stool beside him, not knowing what else to do.  He looked out the window and was very quiet.  What can I do to make him happy again?  We all knew he was dying and this might be the last time we were together.

            Pop Pop turned back to me.  I saw that the sunlight outside was gathered all around his head in a luminous circle.  He smiled.  He patted my hand several times and said these words:  “Evelyn, you don’t know Jesus now.  But you will.  You have a long voyage to take, but when you are much older, Jesus will come back to you.  You will know Him then and he will be with you always!”

            When I was 48 years old, I knelt beside my bed, my Bible opened, my tears staining its pages.  Lord God I cried, “I want to believe in your Jesus.  Please, please, come into my life and take it over.  I’ve taught Sunday school to all ages, have had teenagers saved at Release Time teaching classes, spoken at Christian Women’s lunches, yet I don’t really know your Jesus. Please, Jesus come into my heart and live in me.  You promised long ago you’d never leave me or forsake me.  At last I know you are not just a dream and I need you desperately to be with me always.  My life is falling apart without you.

            He came.  He told me he had always been near, I just didn’t see him.  Sometimes now when I don’t recognize Him but I still know He’s here, - loving me, guiding me, whispering to me in my heart, shouting at me through His word, holding me in his arms whenever I need to be loved and lifted up – always here.  So no matter what is happening I remember the “dream” and feel His presence surround me.  He is SO REAL and if my prayers are answered he will be real to you too.

I believe we are in a "stepped up" time of hearing God through dreams and visions. Below is a dream that occurred in early March. As I reflected and asked for understanding, the message became clear to me.  As  you read on, each one may have a different revelation of what God is speaking to you via this dream.

The Double Portion

I dreamed I was in an auditorium filled with people.  We were there to listen to important speakers who were sitting up on a stage, holding microphones.

I was part of the audience and very unusually dressed.  Wrapped from head to toe in a long lacy white "Sari" I knew it had once been used as an elegant table cloth at a royal banquet.  Somehow I had acquired it and was wearing it over my street clothes.  My whole body was covered.  I knew it was beautiful, pure white, and intricately woven.  But I had no pin to fasten it around my shoulders. I had to use my hand to hold my Sari together so it would not fall off. This was a problem.

A young man with a microphone was up on the stage.  He announced the meeting was over and we were dismissed.  But there was one last thing left he would do for those who stayed a few minutes longer. At the beginning of the meeting, gifts had been passed out to everyone in the audience.  He announced that some gifts were left over. Anyone who wanted a "Double Portion" should stand up.  He would come down through the people and give out the gifts.

Not everyone stayed.  Many people were putting on coats, hats, taking their first gifts and leaving  I stood up, wondering if there were enough gifts left so I would receive one.  Dressed in my beautiful white Sari the young man saw me from far across the room.  He came quickly over.  Holding out a gold foil covered box he explained it contained the finest chocolates ever made.  "These confections were created for royalty.  They will taste better than anything you have ever eaten before.  They are "one of a kind".  Do you want this gift?"

I answered "No. No thank you.  I don't want anything that will be consumed and then gone." - Then I asked, "Do you have a jeweled pin in your box that will hold my "Sari" together? I'd like one that is round in shape and made with stones that are the colors of a rainbow.  This is all I really want."

The young man looked at me quizzically and then rummaged in the box of gifts.  He held up a small jewelry box and said, "I believe this is what you asked for.  Look and see." I took it, carefully opened the lid, and drew a breath with wonder and awe.  Inside was a round, gold clasped pin, made with precious rainbow colored stones. Excitedly I thanked him, and began pinning my "Sari" together.  When all was secured I woke up, filled with delight over receiving my "Double Portion" gift.

Do you have a puzzling dream that you would like to know what it means? Then here are some suggestions I found useful to help me decipher me dreams:

#1.  Look for Biblical references.  I checked out "Robes of white".
       (Rev. 3:18, 19:8, Psm. 51:7, Lk 9:29, 9:5, Isa. 1:18)

#2  Take note of obviously unusual words like "Double Portion".
      (II Kings 2:9 I found this is a Key reference for my dream.

#3  "Rainbows" are always significant.
      (If you've had a "Rainbow in a dream, read Rev. 4:3, 10:1, Gen. 9:13, 14.) I didn't desire candy.
       I wanted a pin set with rainbow gem stones.)

Above all else, the most important thing you can do to understand your dream is, ask the Holy Spirit to interpret. Expect to receive an answer.  Christ said (recorded in Matthew Chapter 7, verse 7) "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you." Those words never fail me.  All of a sudden my dreams are decoded and bring more meaning to life.

The Lord gave this to me in several mind pictures~

An often asked question that bothers me is, "If God is so good, why does he allow so much pain and suffering in our world?"  Today, writing about JOY, I found an answer.

As humans I think we couldn't experience JOY unless we had also experienced suffering, despair, losses or pain.  How can these four negatives be transformed by a sudden blaze of unexpected JOY?

"Suffering, despair, losses, pain" are bruises that occur in all human experience.  They may or may not dominate our lives, but they will sneak into our minds like "little foxes that come to spoil the grapes"* - BUT JOY! That's another thing!  It's a healing balm from heaven above.  It's hard to describe, being unquantifiable, unexpected, a gorgeous gift from GOD.  It is like a perfect diamond, resting in a box lined with black velvet.

When we experience JOY we forget the pressures that created it deep in the bowels of our lives.  We receive Joy like a beautiful woman receives a precious ring from her lover.  JOY becomes  a covenant promise of an impending wedding.  Suddenly we know in our hearts "THE BEST IS YET TO COME!" and JOY will nullify all our tears.

* Song of Solomon 2:15

A Christmas Dream

Nancy went outside for a brisk Christmas stroll,

When all unaware, she fell down a deep hole.

She kept right on falling 'till hands grabbed her heels,

Hands attached to no body! - Don't tell me they're real!

She cried, "Help God, though I don't usually call on your name.

I'm hanging here out of control. I'm not sure that I'm sane."

Nancy dangling alone in that dank, hopeless place,

Thought it useless to squeal or itch the nose on her face.

She gasped to get air into her lungs, intending to scream,

But "Common Sense" told her, "You're just having a dream."

"Its no time for tears, Nancy, futile struggles, or shouts,

Find out why you're dreaming and what to do to get out."

Strong hands held onto her, so whether dreaming or not,

She heard a voice: "Nancy get faith, give it all that you've got.

If you can believe what you hear, and then do what I say,

I'll take care of all of your fears, I'll whisk them away."

"First, leap, then give a flip, like you can do with such class!

Don't worry, I won't let you fall, I'm holding onto you fast."

"We're going to leave crowded stores and frantic consumers behind, 

Go and search for THE REAL CHRISTMAS where all the giving is mine!"

Nancy twisted and flipped just as told, did that and no more,

But she kept twirling and whirling 'till she stopped by a door.

On the door hung a sign, "Enter" - Was there a hand on her arm?

She stood in front of a cave that had been made into a barn!

It was then that she realized she was in the city of Bethlehem,

In a company of shepherds, woolly sheep, and some very wise men.

She knew it was Jesus in a manger when she heard angel choirs sing.

She smiled big at this little baby who one day would be a King!

"Mary, can I lift up your baby boy and hold him next to my heart?'

Mary nodded, so she lifted, but seeing his hands gave her a start,

There were deep holes in tiny wrists, sized to hold a cruel nail,

Yet he smiled, grasped her fingers, his squeeze was not frail. -

Even now he could lift her out of a dark hole if she fell in,

When needing love, there was love she could hold, centered in Him.

That's the end of this poem, dreamed for this Christmas Day.

If you want to know more, there's a very sure way.

Just go find a bible and read Luke, Chapter 2,

This Coming Soon Jesus will reach out and hold you!

Merry Christmas from Stephen and Evelyn Donnell 

Due to personal problems the BLOG was shelved temporarily but not permanently.  October 14, I asked Abba Father to send a dream appropriate for the BLOG.  Early October 15, I dreamed this:

I was sitting with a group of 8 or 10 ladies in a room with blank white walls, and a plain grey carpet.  There was a circle of straight backed chairs, arranged to seat guests. Two tables without lamps, pictures, or books were the only other furniture.  No dust anywhere.  As I looked about I thought, "How sterile."

Women were talking about the death of one of their friends.  "Poor Peggy", they intoned like a chorus in Greek tragedy.  "She was left, neglected and deserted by everyone before she passed away. " All of the women (expect me) nodded in agreement.  They thought she had been treated shamefully at the end of her life.

I spoke with authority:  "That is not true!  Her friends came to see Peggy regularly.  Her husband and mine were friends.  We spent time together despite her illness.  Others came too; family members, neighbors.  Her daughter came every day.  At the end, Peggy refused to see anyone anymore.  Why, I'm not sure.  She said she didn't want to be seen looking like she looked.  She always was particular of appearance and kept her home in 'apple pie' order."

A large woman jumped up from her chair across from me.  She had begun the discussion about "Poor Peggy".  She confronted me:  "You don't know what you're talking about! You didn't see what really happened.  I did."  She faced others now sitting in embarrassed silence.  With exaggerated horror she exclaimed, "Why they even moved Peggy into drafty, unheated farm shed.  She was laid on an old army cot, all alone in the dark, not enough blankets to keep her warm.  She was left there until her death!"

I responded vehemently: "Don't believe gossip, ladies.  Don't repeat lies.  Peggy told people she wanted to be left alone.  That was her wish.  Anyone who came to comfort her was turned away.  Yes, in her mind she was in a cold, dark place, but that was her choice.  That was not the decision of all those who loved her and wanted to help.

I WOKE UP. . . . . . . . . . . . .Here is what the dream spoke to me:
1.  Recognize and challenge your enemies' lies.  Satan come to "steal, kill and destroy."  Jesus comes so "you may have life and have it abundantly."  We need to expose lies, not accept them.  Some people would capture and control the thoughts of others, so go on the offensive.  Risk telling the truth.
2.  If our lives are too clean outwardly, whitewashed, without a speak of dust showing, something is terribly wrong.  We are human.  We need a savior.  We need to love each other, regardless of circumstances put off pretense, even when your life is sick, cluttered and spotted with sin, let Jesus and His people in.  We need each other. - What did this dream say to you?
Love Evelyn

September 1, 2013 

Exodus 15:22-27

Pastor-Teacher David Eddy of Faith Center in Island City used the Exodus 15 passages to preach a robust, thoughtful sermon this Sunday morning.  Some of us, maybe many of us are struggling through a "wilderness walk" right now.  If not right now, we eventually will.  As a trustworthy friend said, "God don't give us no velvet road to travel."  This wisdom explains our need for direction and God's refreshing presence in our wilderness.

Surprisingly, as I listened to pastor's sermon a vivid picture, a "Vision" was playing concurrently on the screen of my mind.  I felt the desperation Moses expressed when he pleaded for God's intervention.  Moses needed a touch that would turn bitter water into sweet. Like Moses, I was looking for a miracle.

The Lord told Moses: "Pick up a stick and throw it into the poisonous water."  He told me the same thing.

I looked around and saw the ground I was standing on was strewn with sticks.  Some were gnarled and twisted.  Some were crooked and bent. Some had splintered ends.  Some were covered with prickly spikes.  Others had been stripped of their natural bark.  Some were too large for me to throw, others too small and weightless.  None of the sticks seemed appropriate.  As I looked at them I saw that they represented fear, jealousy, pain, pride, brokenness:  a disconnect from life itself.  I didn't want to pick up any of them.  I didn't want to touch even one of them.

"Where is my special stick, Lord? Surely none of these scattered here are for me?"  Then I glanced at my feet.  Touching the toe of one sandal was a different kind of stick; a green branch, broken off a living tree.  It still smelled fragrant, fresh, and new.  Some vibrant leaves were still attached.  Tiny buds pushed through the smooth bark.  A clear red sap oozed out from where the wood had been torn off the parent tree.  

God spoke: "This is the one for you.  This is my Righteous Branch.  Throw it into your pool of bitter water." I picked up the wood, whirled it around overhead, and threw it with all my might.  The water instantly changed color and become pure, fresh and clear.  It was water I could drink, water I could offer to others as they walked through their own deserts.

Examining my hands I saw no splinters, no wounds, no bruises.  My palms were streaked with red, glistening tree sap.  As I lifted them toward heaven in thanksgiving a sweet unexpected fragrance arose.  So now I knew.  This was my JESUS STICK and no matter what the situation it worked.  I cleared the putrid waters in my life.  No matter where I traveled this branch of God will go with me.  I will always get my needs met, my soul refreshed.  God's perfect miracles will be there waiting for me to grab hold of them.