Month: April 2010

Dreams: Bridge

In this one Arielle and I were flying back and forth between what we called in the dream Columbia Florida it was like an island off the coast. Ari recommended that I try the bridge next time. So I rented a car and started driving. The bridge was normal at first but after a few mins it got crazy I was doing loops and going upside down and crazy fast. It got to the point where I was going so fast that it felt as if I had left the car behind and was just flying along. About half way across there was a big chunk of the bridge missing and so I ended up in the water. In the water I started swimming intending to finish my journey. Along the way I found a big floating box that I was able to climb on top of and then hop from box to box till I was able to get back up on to the bridge and from there I was able to get to the other side. I got there around the time the sun was setting and my rental car was waiting for me right next to my hotel. Which was a nice spanish style place.

Book Review: Fathered By God

Books seem to have the most profound impact on my life. Especially when it comes to changing my mindset or the way I view the world around me. In recent years books like Driven by Eternity by John Bevere and Wild at Heart by John Eldredge have taken me from the brink of despair to a land full of hope and life. It’s hard not to understate how big of an impact these two books in particular have impacted me. Driven By Eternity helped me through a difficult time after my father’s death. And Wild at Heart helped me navigate the tricky time when a new love was blossoming by helping me to grow as a man, secure that I had what it takes to be a lover and a good husband. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not the books themselves or even the authors that change my life, but the Holy Spirit working through the book to reveal the truth.

I say all that so that when I say that this book rates right up there with these other life changing books, you’ll have a real sense of what that statement means to me. But it wasn’t just the book that had such a big impact it was the mighty men of God that took this journey with me. Every week we would gather to watch the DVD session for that week, and then sit around for a few hours discussing it. It was from these discussions that what we had just learned about became real. It wasn’t just theory anymore it was actively being applied to our daily lives, and that made it powerful.

The book is broken up into 3 parts, the first two chapters establish a foundation for why this type of book is so neeeded today in this mordern world. The next 8 chapters take us through the various stages of masculinity starting with boyhood to the cowboy to the warrior and lover next the king and finally the sage. Along the way each stage gets broken down in how God is trying to father us and then how the masculine heart can be wound. The last chapter is really a challenge, calling men out and given them the driver through which they will take this journey and that is by being intentional.

The book starts off describing itself as a map. A map of the masculine journey and in a world where what it means to be a man and where good fathers are so rare this book couldn’t be more important.

To read more about this book and others by John check out Ransomed Heart ministries.

Dream: Party in the Backyard

The church was having some sort of summertime party in TM’s backyard. We weren’t necessarily expecting her to be there, but she showed up while it was going on, but in her pajamas. We passed out this awesome looking chocolate and bright colored cake. TM took a piece, but instead of eating it then, she put it in a clear to-go box.

Backyard = In the past; behind you; memory
Pajamas = not prepared?
Cake = divine food

Dream: Check and Wading Pool

I was wheeled into a hospital on a stretcher and pulled my head up to look at medical staff wondering if they were actually going to be able to treat me because of my insurance or money or something. Later I was with my mom and she handed me a check from the P’s who she was friends with in the dream (who are actually people Andy and I know) to cover the medical bill. I looked down at the check and it was written out for something in the thousands starting with three ones ($111x). I just don’t remember the last number.

From there it went to another scene where we went to some type of water park with my parents. We were in like a wading pool and when I looked over to my parents, my mom was hugging my dad. He was kind of sitting in the water and my mom was standing over him a little wearing a bathing suit that was silky black with a short skirt and open in the back.

Prophetic Word: Business

Andy received a prophetic word from Pastor David on 4/18 about his business he wants to start. God said He knows the business on Andy’s heart and what he wants to do. If Andy will spend time with God in the secret places, God will direct him on what steps to take to establish the business. God promised that we will be financially blessed so that we can bless the kingdom.

Dream: Restaurant

4/21/10 – I had a shorter dream that I was being trained to work in a fast food type of restaurant and was going through all of my duties with the lady training me. I didn’t notice any colors or other details, so this doesn’t seem like one with any significance, but it just happened very closely to 2 other strange dreams I just had, so maybe they are connected somehow.

Dream: Hotel Panthers

4/19/10 – Andy and I were staying at a hotel for the night for some reason. We had this big glass globe in the car with 4 types of exotic cats on it. The only one I know of for sure was a panther. I think we had to pick it up from the hotel we were going to stay at for the night in order to get into the hotel. So I think we checked in and then went over to this other hotel for whatever reason. While we walked around a little I started recognizing people there and realized there was some type of Messianic conference going on. When we left and went to our hotel, I was getting out of Andy’s car and went to pick up the globe when the panther leaped off of it and started coming towards me. I heard Pastor Michelle in the background like I was replaying a message she preached or something and then I started cursing or rebuking the panther.

Hotel = Temporary
Panther = High level witchcraft

Dream: Parents’ House

4/18/10 – The first of 3 consecutive dreams took place in my parents’ house. It started off with me and Lauren sitting on the floor in the dining/living room area. A guy walked by us who I didn’t know (he looked like a Hispanic guy we used to know in an old ministry) and I was confused why he was at my parents’ house. As he passed us, he acted as if he was getting slain in the Spirit. I asked my mom what was up with him and she explained to me what his issue was. I had Hadassah laying on a blanket on the floor in front of me when suddenly her head fell off. (It was attached to her body by just a big blood vessel or artery, no neck or bones or anything.) I freaked out and got really upset, but being a mom, Lauren knew what to do and just picked up her head and pressed it back onto her body and everything was fine. Then I went upstairs to my old room which I was living in in the dream. I expected it to be pretty messy with clothes lying on the floor, but I looked in the closet and everything was hung up, but kind of in a weird way. I noticed a very short, ruffly skirt that’s not something I would wear in real life, but it was mine in the dream and it was hung up on a shirt hanger. It took me a minute and then I realized the guy who was at my parents’ house was the one who hung my clothes up. That’s all I remember.