Dream Works

One of my favorite Bible stories is about the dreamer Joseph. And Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is also one of my favorite Broadway shows.

"Go, go, go Joseph you know what they say
Hang on now Joseph you'll make it some day
Sha la la Joseph you're doing fine
You and your dreamcoat ahead of your time."

I'm an insomniac. Have been for about 12 years. How do you become one too? You quit sleeping, but not because you want to. I went to a sleeping disorders clinic and they had a computer simulation test as part of the analysis. They said I was way out of the "normal" range and hit too many cows in the simulation! At that time, a good night's sleep was 4 hours and a bad night's sleep was anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 hours. That qualifies for insomniac status.

Mitch told me he thought I had the gift of prophecy to which I said, "No, I don't think so." Prophets I thought have long beards, carry a staff, wear a robe, and make proclamations from mountain tops. No, don't want a beard and as far as acquiring a staff, ebay might be a source. That same week in the School of Listening Prayer, Pastor Richard talked about prophecy and it mirrored what Mitch said. I talked with Deb after class and also met with Pastor Richard and after those conversations I thought, "Hmmm, it's possible." So I talked to another source: God. "God, I would like to have this gift and if you want me to have this gift then I need my dreams back." Since I don't get deep REM sleep, I don't dream. Shortly after that, I began getting deeper sleep. My dreams are back.

I see words in my dreams. Go figure that God would speak to a journaler, reader, and writer in words. Sometimes words appear like a slide show. They'll wave or flash across my vision. Sometimes I'm reading a book and I can actually read the words in the book in my dream.

Last night I dreamed the words were inscribed at the top of a building. The building was a large, square, sandstone, temple-like structure. There were no windows on the outside. I stood in front of it and at the top of the building the inscribed words were: Honor Patience Obey. In that order. Patience loomed larger in the middle.

Patience is a word that kept coming up during my fast last week. Honor and Obey. Could be honor my parents, obey God...but all 3 of them in relation to each other? In order? I'm still unpacking this one. If you have a prophecy or an idea about these 3 words, post here or e-mail me at seizethej@gmail.com. Yikes!

Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph's character. Psalm 105:19

Until then...
Seize the J

"May I return to the beginning
The light is dimming, and the dream is too
The world and I, we are still waiting
Still hesitating...
Any dream will do."

*Lyrics by Tim Rice

Were You There?

Random: Without definite aim, direction, rule, or method. Lacking a definite plan, purpose or pattern.

Sometimes life feels like I'm doing it at random. But by going back through the archives of my journals, I have discovered that nothing is random at all.

6 years ago I walked into a church I'd never been to before (Lutheran Church of Hope.) I was there for a singles game night. I knew no one. At the church's welcome center was a brochure for a job-related seminar to take place in January 2002. The seminar was about achieving our dreams.

Were you there at that game night? It wasn't random.

At the seminar I sat towards the back of the sanctuary. And in the front of the sanctuary was a man in a black turtleneck talking about our dreams in life. This guy was filled with fire! I remember thinking, "I want to be like that." No I didn't at all want to be up front speaking but I wanted that fire, that spirit, that purpose.

Were you there at that seminar? It wasn't random.

Here is my journal entry shortly after attending: Jan. 26, 2002: "Thinking about dream seminar. Thinking have I been looking in the wrong direction? Is it not writing but is it reading, proofreading, or reading manuscripts or submissions? Or journaling workshop? All I can do is pray for Him that it be revealed and that I see the steps and signs. I will listen to what I read in the Bible and hear in sermons. I am a little afraid. But maybe it's nothing to do with reading or writing but making friends and having meaningful relationships in my life. Dream Big."

See that not so random phrase about journaling workshop? I was in the darkness of anxiety and depression. I had no friends or meaningful relationships. For me to even have a small desire was a Big Dream. Too big for me to comprehend.

In August 2003 I received an e-mail from someone in that singles group about attending Alpha.

Did you send the e-mail? It wasn't random.

I went to Alpha and at the retreat (wait a holy minute!) the "black turtleneck man" from the dream seminar, and his wife, were in the row in front of me.

Were you there at the Alpha retreat in the fall of 2003? It wasn't random.

I attended the Dream Giver series at Lutheran Church of Hope. I had no dream. But God does.

Were you there? It wasn't random.

This past spring I read Dream Giver again. The next week I received a "random" e-mail from Mitch and Melissa, yep that would be black turtleneck man and his wife from Alpha. The e-mail was about a Big Dream Gathering taking place in Des Moines.

I went. I grabbed 3 orange Big Dream Gathering sheets of paper and wrote down 2 dreams, 1 related to my job and 1 related to traveling to NY. There was 1 remaining blank orange sheet in my hand...unfulfilled. Later this dream was posted on the wall with the hundreds of other dreams:

Were you at the Big Dream Gathering? It wasn't random.

A journaling workshop? Connecting people to God through journaling? Dreaming Big? That is not random.

Seize the J

J quote
That you are here -- that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass