Last night I dreamed a woman I know, who is a caring, but no-nonsense kind of person, was working in my garden. She was clearing out weeds, and cleaning up the dormant beds. She told me I had more work to do. She pointed to a green plant growing beside the house. She said I needed to get rid of it. I asked her, since the garden was mostly dormant and brown with large patches of empty soil, if I could just keep it for a while because it was the only green thing growing this time of year and my soul yearns for something green and alive. She said I could if I really wanted to, but pointed out that it was a weed and that if I left it, its roots would become established. It would be harder to get rid of later.
She said, "Look, we have just given you $500 dollars worth of free labour to weed and clean up your garden. Don't waste it. The rest is up to you."
I woke up hearing a song I haven't heard before. The lyrics were simply the word grace repeated over and over and over. Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace.......
I don't know what the plant represents, just that I need to get rid of it.
gardener's gift -$500 worth of labour
gardener's gift -$500 worth of labour
...that I might know Him...
What a great dream! Yes grace multiplied hundredfold...Sounds like the preparations at the end of a winter season to make ready for a healthy flourishing in the growing period into greater fruitfulness.
I wondered on the significance of a green plant near the house... obviously a weed...and maybe something very close to home...when we lived in latin America there was a type of grass which developed such ferociously strong roots systems it was feared as a foundation destroyer and it was kept as far from the buildings as possible...however because of its deep root system it was also able to survive very dry and hostile conditions.
I wonder if there is something which produces life even in hostile conditions which Abba is suggesting that you can/need to let go of now because He is readying your garden for a time of flourishing and life in abundance?
As ever weigh and toss the weeds.
(warmly)
grace
charlie:
I wondered on the significance of a green plant near the house... obviously a weed...and maybe something very close to home...when we lived in latin America there was a type of grass which developed such ferociously strong roots systems it was feared as a foundation destroyer and it was kept as far from the buildings as possible...however because of its deep root system it was also able to survive very dry and hostile conditions.
I wonder if there is something which produces life even in hostile conditions which Abba is suggesting that you can/need to let go of now because He is readying your garden for a time of flourishing and life in abundance?
As ever weigh and toss the weeds.
(warmly)
grace
charlie:
Charlie
Jesus said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3
Jesus said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3
Hi Charys,
I had a dream yesterday morning, that I am posting here on your thread.
I do not feel it should stand alone on its own.
I was walking out of a wooded area on a forest trail.
It was spring, like now, the blooming trees are beginning.
I could see a clearing, green grass, far and wide.
As I walked, I knew I had a confirmation for Charys with charlie.
It was like a mini conversation in my mind, or with God.
The scriptures in the book of 1 John were the confirmation.
(Not sure what chapter/verse)
Note:
Im not sure what this has to do with your dream Charys, but I believe this is where my dream belongs.
When I think of your dream, it seems you are in the place of authority that decides whether the weed goes or stays, it is the decision making process that is difficult.
Peace,
Piano
I had a dream yesterday morning, that I am posting here on your thread.
I do not feel it should stand alone on its own.
I was walking out of a wooded area on a forest trail.
It was spring, like now, the blooming trees are beginning.
I could see a clearing, green grass, far and wide.
As I walked, I knew I had a confirmation for Charys with charlie.
It was like a mini conversation in my mind, or with God.
The scriptures in the book of 1 John were the confirmation.
(Not sure what chapter/verse)
Note:
Im not sure what this has to do with your dream Charys, but I believe this is where my dream belongs.
When I think of your dream, it seems you are in the place of authority that decides whether the weed goes or stays, it is the decision making process that is difficult.
Peace,
Piano
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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wantingmore
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 269
- Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 11:51 pm
- Location: Canada
So here is a thought for you Charys, what in your life needs the most grace applied by you? What is the thing that you feel you can't let go off but is sucking the life out of you like a weed takes up the nourishment of the soil that productive plants need? Something to pray about, I think.
Isaiah 50:4
The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
Hi Charys
This is just my thoughts but I pray that it helps you.
The woman is you. You are kind and caring....but no-nonsense. You've been working on your inner self. Getting rid of things that are of no use. No good. There is one thing that the Lord has asked you to get rid of but you really would like to keep it. Something that you really like. You don't have to get rid of it. You can hang onto it for as long as you want but the longer you keep it the harder it will be to get rid of later.
The Lord has given you His grace to weed your garden. Please don't waste it by keeping this one weed. The rest is up to you.
May the Holy One be blessed.
This is just my thoughts but I pray that it helps you.
The woman is you. You are kind and caring....but no-nonsense. You've been working on your inner self. Getting rid of things that are of no use. No good. There is one thing that the Lord has asked you to get rid of but you really would like to keep it. Something that you really like. You don't have to get rid of it. You can hang onto it for as long as you want but the longer you keep it the harder it will be to get rid of later.
The Lord has given you His grace to weed your garden. Please don't waste it by keeping this one weed. The rest is up to you.
May the Holy One be blessed.
Thank you, Charlie, Piano, Wantingmore and cbutler.
Charlie, I'm so glad you helped me make the connection to 5 (grace) multiplied by 100. I certainly am aware that it's grace that has brought me safe thus far.
Piano, your confirmation is so valuable. I envy you, wherever you are, for seeing signs of spring. It is definitely still winter here. Not a bud in sight. The forecast is for minus 14 tomorrow night. I am so tired of winter. Bless you for caring -and noticing. You have a remarkable memory for other's dreams. Quite a gift, really.
WM, do you have more insight into more of the stuff that is sucking up the nourishment of the soil?
Cbutler, you are so precious to say I am a kind, caring, no-nonsense person. I think my husband would disagree -especially about the no-nonsense bit. He would say there are many times when I make no sense, no sense at all. Cb, you have no idea how close you are to the heart of the matter.
This dream really upset me. How can I pull up a weed if I don't know what it is? It's not that there aren't a lot of candidates. I've been feeling rather discouraged lately about how far I am from being pure in heart (and I DO so want to see God like Mt. 5 says) My heart is like the Hoarders TV show. It's like excavating layers and layers of stuff I don't even remember putting there and still feeling like I'm drowning in too much accumulated history. I prayed about this dream and went to bed the next night asking for insight into what exactly it was I was supposed to get rid of this time.
It's been one foot in front of the other for a while now. I haven't had a God-dream in weeks, really, (the cathedral dream was actually about 5 weeks ago) but He answered. There is no doubt more than just this thing, but... (confession time) I had a dream about seeing online comments about the same topic over and over. In the dream I asked what kind of person would keep seeking feed-back/compliments for the same thing. When I woke up I realized it was me, of course. I joined an online photography group a few months ago. I had some lovely encouraging compliments from this group, so I joined another and posted the same photos. More compliments and some nice awards. So I joined more. I used a pseudonym and kept it private. But the Lord knew.
Hi, my name is Charys and I'm an approval junkie. (OK, Charys is not my real name, but you know what I mean.) I began to post the kind of photos that I knew would appeal to certain audiences. The Lord nudged me about this a few weeks ago, warning that this had the potential to be a time-sucker, but I didn't take him seriously enough. It's not the photography. It's not the awards. It's that I'm still looking to people-kind for approval and not Abba alone. With my history of being performance-driven, and addicted to applause that's a no no.
So I got up early, early this morning and deleted the groups and comments and awards from my computer. Yanking weeds up isn't as painful as it used to be. I actually had a sense of wanting to do it because I am learning to love the one who asked me to do it. Something good always comes out tossing one more box from the hoarded stash of stuff I think I need to have to survive. The something good is grace. I am learning that tossing stuff out gives the Holy Spirit a little more elbow room in my heart.
Thank you for your patience with me, my friends. Thank you for the grace offered on this board.
Charlie, I'm so glad you helped me make the connection to 5 (grace) multiplied by 100. I certainly am aware that it's grace that has brought me safe thus far.
Piano, your confirmation is so valuable. I envy you, wherever you are, for seeing signs of spring. It is definitely still winter here. Not a bud in sight. The forecast is for minus 14 tomorrow night. I am so tired of winter. Bless you for caring -and noticing. You have a remarkable memory for other's dreams. Quite a gift, really.
WM, do you have more insight into more of the stuff that is sucking up the nourishment of the soil?
Cbutler, you are so precious to say I am a kind, caring, no-nonsense person. I think my husband would disagree -especially about the no-nonsense bit. He would say there are many times when I make no sense, no sense at all. Cb, you have no idea how close you are to the heart of the matter.
This dream really upset me. How can I pull up a weed if I don't know what it is? It's not that there aren't a lot of candidates. I've been feeling rather discouraged lately about how far I am from being pure in heart (and I DO so want to see God like Mt. 5 says) My heart is like the Hoarders TV show. It's like excavating layers and layers of stuff I don't even remember putting there and still feeling like I'm drowning in too much accumulated history. I prayed about this dream and went to bed the next night asking for insight into what exactly it was I was supposed to get rid of this time.
It's been one foot in front of the other for a while now. I haven't had a God-dream in weeks, really, (the cathedral dream was actually about 5 weeks ago) but He answered. There is no doubt more than just this thing, but... (confession time) I had a dream about seeing online comments about the same topic over and over. In the dream I asked what kind of person would keep seeking feed-back/compliments for the same thing. When I woke up I realized it was me, of course. I joined an online photography group a few months ago. I had some lovely encouraging compliments from this group, so I joined another and posted the same photos. More compliments and some nice awards. So I joined more. I used a pseudonym and kept it private. But the Lord knew.
Hi, my name is Charys and I'm an approval junkie. (OK, Charys is not my real name, but you know what I mean.) I began to post the kind of photos that I knew would appeal to certain audiences. The Lord nudged me about this a few weeks ago, warning that this had the potential to be a time-sucker, but I didn't take him seriously enough. It's not the photography. It's not the awards. It's that I'm still looking to people-kind for approval and not Abba alone. With my history of being performance-driven, and addicted to applause that's a no no.
So I got up early, early this morning and deleted the groups and comments and awards from my computer. Yanking weeds up isn't as painful as it used to be. I actually had a sense of wanting to do it because I am learning to love the one who asked me to do it. Something good always comes out tossing one more box from the hoarded stash of stuff I think I need to have to survive. The something good is grace. I am learning that tossing stuff out gives the Holy Spirit a little more elbow room in my heart.
Thank you for your patience with me, my friends. Thank you for the grace offered on this board.
...that I might know Him...
...grace upon grace to you Charys...what you share further illuminates what I heard...for your weighing...charlie wrote: ferociously strong roots systems it was feared as a foundation destroyer
Foundational...came through as I shared the grass weed incident. The need for approval is a foundational human need which can become a problem in our lives if that need is met only or primarily through performance or keeping others smiling (or crying in your opera scenarios... ).
As an NF your emotional connections with people's reactions towards you are particularly and specifically rooted in core identity identity and as such, in my humble opinion this is a foundational area.
Although I am not NF I am NT I am not a strong T and I do have a strong affinity with NF's...my Dad and my husband are NF's and I see this battle in them...(you may laugh but one of the first corrections I offered to my then friend now husband was "you have an issue...you are a people pleaser"!!). Its truly amazing he married me really...but Abba new I continued to need NF's close by to help me negotiate the murky waters of human emotions;)).
As a child I actively trained myself to seek approval first from Abba as I sensed that this was an area where weeds could proliferate. They say little girls are susceptible especially...we are so fearfully and wonderfully made...such sensitive reflections of His Image...it breaks my heart to see how easily something so inherently meant for good and blessing can become distorted...
Charys, if this weed is what you have identified then I feel quite certain (for revelation releases faith) that Abba is going to if not already has, give you the grace to not only pull out this weed but also tend the garden for next season's fruitfulness.
But to get to the root you may require some skilled gardeners alongside...the master gardener has offered to pay...
...better is one day in His presence...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWh_mneN ... re=related
grace upon grace to my precious sister Abba...
charlie
Charlie
Jesus said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3
Jesus said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3
Charlie, you are amazing. You remembered I am NF? Amazing. I have been surrounded by NTs most of my life. I have sometimes been treated like the "designated feeler" by those who didn't want to have to deal with bothersome emotions and sometimes like a mediator between those who are accused of being overly-sensitive and those who are accused of being hard-hearted Spocks. Being a feeler is sometimes like being bare-footed in a room full of clumsy dancers in hob-nailed boots --and yes, that is probably the definition of the relationship between feelers and thinkers a lot of the time. (We're talking about Myers Briggs personality types here if anyone else is reading this. http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-pers ... -types.asp) It is difficult not to either shut down emotionally in a way that denies one's identity or to seek for an approved identity in such a situation.
I have been praying "Search me, oh God, and try my heart. See if there is any hurtful way in me." It's a pray and duck kind of prayer. I'm serious, but not always with an undivided heart. This approval thing has a long history. You're right. It's foundational. The roots go way down deep and I'm realizing there is a large buried pocket of woundedness that still needs healing. Thank you for the encouragement that Abba is going to give me the grace to pull this weed up. I need it.
Piano, I have been reading 1 John. A lot of pertinent stuff in that book. Rich, rich, rich. Bless you, dear one.
I have been praying "Search me, oh God, and try my heart. See if there is any hurtful way in me." It's a pray and duck kind of prayer. I'm serious, but not always with an undivided heart. This approval thing has a long history. You're right. It's foundational. The roots go way down deep and I'm realizing there is a large buried pocket of woundedness that still needs healing. Thank you for the encouragement that Abba is going to give me the grace to pull this weed up. I need it.
Piano, I have been reading 1 John. A lot of pertinent stuff in that book. Rich, rich, rich. Bless you, dear one.
...that I might know Him...
Hi Charys,
I have been reading it too.
I also took the personality test again. (INFP this time)
I personally need a calendar, and think your photos would suite my tastes perfectly.
I laughed at the designated feeler comment also.
On approval...
I have been known to tone down my talents rather than make them stand out, this way, I hope to keep others from disliking me, or to just stay away.
If they think I have less ability than them, I can have a little seudo control..lol.
Hehe um this does not work so dont try it at home!
So its a weird thing, this need for approval.
I wish I still had a T-Shirt I had years ago with a picture of a young lady on it that said "Snap out of it"! It speaks to me in a real way.
The dream itself, I see a bit different, perhaps.
How does this need for approval affect your ability to lead others in the body?
It has already been established that God is calling you to lead.
The Body of Christ, each one of us is under His Authority first, human authority second.
Spiritually speaking we are free in Him. We have separate duties, works, abilities and talents.... as a whole we are united in service to Him.
I know this sounds elementary, just highlighting it because of the terms in your dream.
free labour-
1. (Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) the labour of workers who are not members of trade unions
2. (Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) such workers collectively
A trade Union is a bit different.
(Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) an association of employees formed to improve their incomes and working conditions by collective bargaining with the employer or employer organizations
We work in Him because of what He has allready done for us. Not to make demands when things are not to our liking for our employer to do things our way to gain more of what we want.
The workers available to you are free labour.
They have varied talents, strengths and weaknesses.
They follow an almighty God and trust He has them in this place in order to accomplish His ultimate plan, a future harvest.
This must be why I saw you as one with authority in this dream, a director, over seeing the progress of the removal of the weed, not the one personally removing it.
(Although I always respect a supervisor who doesn't mind getting dirty themselves, right alongside everyone else.)
So the approval thing...is important to get over in the area of leadership, no?
And His Grace is multiplied toward you.
Thinking of the most positive outcome.
Gideon was asked to be King after his victories in God.
He declined of course, because he was a leader who accomplished the goals God set before him for Gods glory, not his own.
Something ordained. Something directed by God.
Just some food for thought,
Piano
(And yes I remember dreams, I remember things that may be insignificant to others, maybe because I observe people for a living)
I have been reading it too.
I also took the personality test again. (INFP this time)
I personally need a calendar, and think your photos would suite my tastes perfectly.
I laughed at the designated feeler comment also.
On approval...
I have been known to tone down my talents rather than make them stand out, this way, I hope to keep others from disliking me, or to just stay away.
If they think I have less ability than them, I can have a little seudo control..lol.
Hehe um this does not work so dont try it at home!
So its a weird thing, this need for approval.
I wish I still had a T-Shirt I had years ago with a picture of a young lady on it that said "Snap out of it"! It speaks to me in a real way.
The dream itself, I see a bit different, perhaps.
How does this need for approval affect your ability to lead others in the body?
It has already been established that God is calling you to lead.
The Body of Christ, each one of us is under His Authority first, human authority second.
Spiritually speaking we are free in Him. We have separate duties, works, abilities and talents.... as a whole we are united in service to Him.
I know this sounds elementary, just highlighting it because of the terms in your dream.
free labour-
1. (Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) the labour of workers who are not members of trade unions
2. (Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) such workers collectively
A trade Union is a bit different.
(Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) an association of employees formed to improve their incomes and working conditions by collective bargaining with the employer or employer organizations
We work in Him because of what He has allready done for us. Not to make demands when things are not to our liking for our employer to do things our way to gain more of what we want.
The workers available to you are free labour.
They have varied talents, strengths and weaknesses.
They follow an almighty God and trust He has them in this place in order to accomplish His ultimate plan, a future harvest.
This must be why I saw you as one with authority in this dream, a director, over seeing the progress of the removal of the weed, not the one personally removing it.
(Although I always respect a supervisor who doesn't mind getting dirty themselves, right alongside everyone else.)
So the approval thing...is important to get over in the area of leadership, no?
And His Grace is multiplied toward you.
Thinking of the most positive outcome.
Gideon was asked to be King after his victories in God.
He declined of course, because he was a leader who accomplished the goals God set before him for Gods glory, not his own.
Something ordained. Something directed by God.
Just some food for thought,
Piano
(And yes I remember dreams, I remember things that may be insignificant to others, maybe because I observe people for a living)
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.