Out of the Whirlwind

In June of 2010, about two months before we gave up our house and set out on the road, God gave me a dream telling us how we were to go about our ministry.

In my dream, I was standing in our living room and, from the ceiling came a swirling wind that enveloped me. It continued to moved in a circular motion around me, resembling the funnel of a small tornado.

I was mesmerized by the movement of air around me, yet on the inside, it was peaceful and still. Then, out of the wind, I heard a voice speak:

“Your job is to tell those that already know.”

In the last three years, we have done exactly as were told. We have been sent to numerous people, all of which claim Christianity, but don’t live it. God has sent us to remind people of their commitment to Him. Some people pledge their lives to God at the time of salvation, or when God has brought them through some great trouble.

Just like the children of Israel in the Old Testament, when things were going good, they forgot their commitment to God, and He had to send a prophet to remind them that they were His people. Our mission, it turns out, has not been that different.

Since God spoke to me out of the whirlwind, I thought it would be interesting to see what else a *whirlwind was used for. (*In Hebrew, the word is translated as tempest.)

In 2 Kings, Elijah was taken up to heaven alive in a whirlwind.

In Job 37:9, we are told that the whirlwind comes out of the south. South, in Hebrew, is chamber. Does that mean that a whirlwind comes out of God’s chambers?

In Psalm 107:25, God commands a ‘stormy wind’ to come upon the people.

In Isaiah, there are three instance of ‘whirlwind’. In 5:28, Isaiah compares the turning of chariot wheels to that of a whirlwind. In 17:13, a mass of people running away from God are compared to a tumbleweed being blown by a wind storm. And 66:15 tells us that God uses a whirlwind ‘to render His anger in fury.’

In Jeremiah, there are two scriptures dealing with whirlwinds. In 23:19, God uses a whirlwind to show His fury against the wicked. 30:23 is a repeat of the same scripture.

Ezekiel uses some of the most symbolic imagery in Scripture to describe what the whirlwind was made of.

In Amos 1:14, God uses a whirlwind and fire to destroy palaces.

In Nahum 1:3, it says that ‘the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.’

It would seem that most of the Scripture about whirlwinds is about when God is about to pronounce a judgment upon someone. That has been our experience in our journey thus far. Everyone that has rejected what God had to offer very soon had many troubles enter their lives.

If God ever speaks to anyone from a whirlwind, take heed. If the Scriptures are anything to go by, God means business.

Attenborough Black

The above image was given to me in a dream on the morning of March 15, 2013. I drew this sketch as soon as I got up to try to capture the message it seemed to convey. It seemed that I was looking at a picture~a very old picture. The man in the picture seemed to have somewhat of a Johnny Depp in the character of Jack Sparrow look about him. His shirt seemed to be made out of burlap fabric, because the weave was very coarse and rough. Even though the clothing was very prominent, it was the eyes that seemed to stand out the most. As the image faded away, the words spoken into my ear was “Attenborough Black.”

All that morning, I struggled to figure out just what ‘Attenborough Black’ meant. The only ‘Attenborough’ I knew of was David, the English narrator of nature shows. So, I googled the name, to see what popped up. I ended reading all about David and his brothers, Richard and John, but nothing really jumped out at me, so I mulled it over for the next two days.

The one thing that I had watched that first day that kept coming into my mind was a video of David Attenborough narrating a segment about underwater thermal vents, and the role they play in the oceanic environment. I had watched several different videos, but nothing really ‘spoke’ to me. But, at that point, I knew I was on the right track, so I kept searching. After finding nothing in search after search, I typed ‘David Attenborough’ one last time and looked through the list of websites that came up. I realized there was one I had not previously clicked. Within the first few seconds of the less-than-3 minute video, I found what God was leading me to find. (follow link below)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/Hydrothermal_vent#p00fff1y



Mr. Attenborough explained how life was sustainable for certain oceanic animals, even at high temperatures, and with no light from the sun. Until these creatures were discovered, scientists thought that no life could sustain without sunlight. It was then that I knew what the dream meant.

My daughter had met, about four months prior, a young man named Johnny that was just checking himself into a drug rehabilitation center after 14 years of heroin use. He had tried several detox centers during those years, but this time he had a new attitude, because he had asked Jesus into his heart.

The Lord led us to minister to him, which we did for 3 months, and he has become a new person. While he still has ‘urges’, God is helping him overcome all the temptation thrown at him.

As David Attenborough pointed out, life can be found in even the deepest, darkest places, even if others never thought it was possible.

Stomping the Snake

Back in 1995, God gave me a peculiar dream; one that I won’t soon forget.

 

My dad was called to preach in the mid-’80’s, just before I graduated high school. About 18 months into pastoring a small church, some harsh words were spoken between him and his sister, and he resigned from the position.

After I married in 1986, I was not in church much, but in 1995, I attended a revival in that church. During the 3 weeks that it ran, I developed a burden for my dad. I could see that he was truly called, and he was letting some trivial words be a stumbling block. The Lord gave me a dream to go along with the burden, as well as Rev. 22:10 as a way of explaining that it was to be done as soon as possible.

The dream began with me walking along a paved road, wearing cowboy boots. Just a few feet away, in front of me, was a huge black snake, about 10 ft long. The odd thing about it was that instead of a normal snake’s head, it was my dad’s head--bald with big, brown eyes.

I walked up to the snake and, although it looked harmless, I knew it was actually dangerous. I lifted my right leg, and stomped on the head of the snake as hard as I could. It made an impact, so I did it again. It was stunned, but not dead yet, so I lifted my leg higher and put more force into the crushing blow. That time, the snake rolled over, belly up, and died.

The morning after I had this dream, I was sitting on the side of my bed, reading in Revelations, wondering what to do. I knew I had to tell him of my burden; I had to be obedient. Suddenly the words in chapter 22, verse 10, jumped out at me: ‘for the time is hand.’ So, in my spirit, I asked the Lord, ‘The next time I see him?’ The answer came back: ‘The next time you see him.’

Just a few days later, I had the opportunity to speak to him in private. I told him my burden, that the Lord had told me that he should return to preaching. He gave me a sly ‘that’s none of your business’ look, and that was that. About three months later, when I saw him again, I repeated the first message. Same result.

The third ‘stomp’ came almost four months later. I and my two daughters had gone with them to a singing in Tennessee, and I had left my car at the Burger King in the town where I lived. Upon returning, we all went in for a burger, as none of us had eaten that evening.

I knew this was my last opportunity. It was February, and very cold. He went out to start the car, to warm up before continuing on to their house, another hour away. I did the same. As we walked out of the building, with tears in my eyes, I told him once more that the Lord had called him to preach, and that he should be obedient to that calling.

He started to cry, and told me he knew it, and had known it all along. He said he was waiting for the Lord to give him the opportunity, and he would begin again.

I walked away relieved; I had done my part. I was obedient, even though it was hard for me to tell my dad the words told me to tell him. But, I could not let his disobedience cause mine.

　

Calf > Rabbit > Turtle > Chicken

About a year ago, I was questioning a period in my life, where I was not sure about my relationship with the Lord. I knew I had went to an altar at 14, and had invited Jesus into my heart. I knew at age 28, I had dedicated my life to him. By that time, I had married, had two children, and divorced. But, my question was: Where was Jesus in my life during all of this? Had I really received Him when I knelt at 14? So I prayed for God to reveal the answer to me, so I could look back on my life and see where I stood with Him during that time. In reply, He gave me a dream to explain it all.

Part 1: The Calf and the Rabbit

The dream began with me as a young girl in my teens, riding in the backseat of a car driven by my father, down a country lane. My great grandfather, his grandfather, was sitting in the passenger seat, and the two of them were talking. We came to a stop sign at an intersection, and while sitting there, I looked out into a field to my left and saw a just-born, black and white calf. I quietly opened the car door, hurried through the fence, scooped up the tiny calf, and returned to the car. It lay in my lap, but as the car began to move again, it turned into a fluffy, black and white rabbit.

As we drove along, the two men in the front continued to talk, while I focused all my attention into petting the rabbit. While I cuddled it, and moved my hand across its soft fur, it looked up at me with eyes so full of love that I could feel it permeating my being.

Part 2: The Turtle

At this point, the dream changed to me walking along a small stream, only about two feet wide, carrying a bucket. My rabbit had turned into a small turtle~the kind that lives in water~and it was inside the bucket. As I walked along, I saw another turtle, just slightly bigger. I thought it would be nice if my turtle had a friend to play with, so I picked up the turtle and put it into the bucket. Immediately, the larger turtle began attacking my turtle, trying to kill it. I was horrified.



Part 3: The Chicken

At this point, the scenery changed, and I was standing in Jim Phillips’ store, a little country store in the community where I grew up. I was behind the counter, lining a wooden crate with plastic. I planned to fill it with water, put the turtle into it, to give it a better home. I questioned myself on whether it would be a comfortable home for my turtle, and went around from behind the counter to get it. Sitting across the room on a bench was my husband, James.

I made eye-contact with him, then looked down to where I had placed the turtle in the bucket. Instead of the bucket stood a blood-red colored chicken, a hen, that looked up at me with the same loving eyes that the rabbit had. I stood staring at it, feeling the love expressed in the chicken’s eyes pour over me like warm water. It was at this point that I woke up.

I pondered the meaning of the dream for days; nothing I thought of seemed to make sense. Then, I realized that each part of the dream corresponded with a timeline in my life, beginning at salvation at 14, and ending with the introduction of a Godly husband into my life. It was a span of 27 years.

Interpretation: Part 1

At 14, I was still under my father’s authority, in his household, and that is why he was driving the car, with me in the backseat. He had just been called to preach around that time, and was greatly influenced by his grandfather, who was also a preacher, hence their conversation while driving.

The calf I took out of the field was my initial acceptance of Jesus when I went to the altar at 14. The rabbit represented my Christian walk as I grew and multiplied in the knowledge of Him. In reality, that was age 14 until I got married at age 20.

Interpretation: Part 2

My rabbit turned into a turtle when I got married.  After researching the type of turtle I saw in the dream, I realized what its symbolism meant. I learned that they dig themselves down to the muddy bottom of ponds, and hibernate there all winter.

My Christianity, as weak as it was, was never on the surface. It was always on the bottom, and only surfaced when everything was sunny in my life, which was seldom during that time.

After being married for over 8 years, I divorced my unfaithful husband, and soon after began a new relationaship with another man. He turned out to be very violent~even more violent than my ex had been.

He was the turtle that tried to kill my turtle. In 2004, after suffering at his hands for years, I attempted suicide. I spent 2 days in intensive care, and another week in a 'guest' in a psych hospital.


Interpretation: Part 3

Jim Phillip's little country store was a pillar in the small community in which I grew up. Even though it has long since been bulldozed, I still dream of it often. In every dream about it I have had in the last 4+ years, it has symbolized my present husband, James, who is also known as Jim to some.

The crate I was trying to put together for the turtle (as yet I didn't know it had turned into a chicken) represents the beginning of our relationship almost 5 years ago, when I was still in my 'old' frame of mind. The chicken reprsents Jesus, my Lord, Abba Father, and Healer, who is no longer hibernating unseen inside of me. Instead, He is shown on the outside, living and breathing through my testimony and obedience to Him.

I was satified that I had interpreted the dream well, except for the chicken. The loving eyes aside, why would Jesus choose to symbolize Himself in my life as a chicken, and a hen, at that?

The question perplexed me, and everything I researched about chickens made no sense to me. It was all associated with having no courage. I knew that wasn't right! Then, I began to think: What does a hen do?

It came to me clearly: a chicken, specifically a hen, can feed a person every day, through the natural process of laying an egg, without losing its own life in the  process.  The chicken then made perfect sense, especially it being the deep red color.  

He feeds me daily~the daily bread~keeping me alive spiritually, all the while, looking at me with love in His eyes.

God Has a Sense of Humor

We've all said it. "God has a sense of humor." And, most of us have probably had at least one  humorous event happen in our lives that we know only God could orchestrate. Take, for example, the following:

Back in the mid '90's, a cousin of mine was in her third trimester with her and her husband's second child. Janie's husband was an unbeliever, but everyone in the family could see that the Lord was dealing with him. But, Jamie had dug in his heels, saying he 'just wasn't ready'. But, the Lord had a plan to get his attention, and that He did when routine tests revealed that the unborn baby, which they knew was a boy, had Downs Syndrome.

Janie refused to entertain the doctors findings-she had gotten a word from the Lord that her baby was fine, and she stood on it. She knew that the Lord was working on her husband's heart. She had peace, but Jamie was  wreck. He was angry, confused, and just couldn't get the peace with it that his wife had. He spent his days at work, which was bulldozing a house site, in tears. As the delivery date approached, and every subsequent test revealed the same results, Jamie's heart was getting to the breaking point.

One night, just a few days before the anticipated delivery, the Lord gave me a dream, which made no sense to me at the time. But, it was soon revealed that, even in a serious matter, that God can bring out the humor in it.

In my dream, there were five doctors, all in white lab coats, encircling a dark substance in the middle of a  graveled road. As they walked around, they were chanting as they bowed to the substance. They would all raise up in unison, take a few steps, then bow again.

I was just an observer in the dream; I stepped forward to see  what they were worshiping, as it was apparent at that point that was what they were doing. As I peered between them, I saw a fresh pile of....what I will politely call 'road apples' just deposited by a horse. It was so fresh that there was still steam rising from it.

The dream had come early in the week, so I spent the rest of it contemplating what it could possibly mean. I got my answer on Sunday when another relative filled me in on what had happened on Friday's visit to the doctor. After the latest test came back positive, Jamie had stood up, expressed his anger, and walked out of the doctor's office. His last words to the doctor was 'it was all a bunch of horse sh**'.

Well, that certainly explained the dream! I was also told that the primary doctor had called in four specialists. They were all standing behind the tests results, even though Janie had told them that she had faith in God that they were wrong.

On that Monday, Jamie surrendered his heart to the Lord. Three days later, Stetson came into the world, completely healthy.