Transcript
Speaker: We were designed to hunger for the deep things of God, to thrive on faith and wonder, to seek out divine wisdom that defies human logic.
Speaker: We were designed to unlock the mysteries of God.
Speaker: This is Breathing Underwater.
Speaker: First, I was like walking out of our house, and then I walked over to these guys.
Speaker: They're like kind of homeless, I guess.
Speaker: And then I don't know why, but I was like, do you want to meet Jesus in his presence and like his love?
Speaker: And then they all said yes, and then I taught them.
Speaker: about it, about him.
Speaker: And then I got them new clothes.
Speaker: And then there was this bus that could fly.
Speaker: And it was like futuristic, basically.
Speaker: And it was like
Speaker: a bus that could fly anywhere.
Speaker: And then I was like, this is a bus to heaven.
Speaker: And they were like, wait, no, I don't want to die.
Speaker: And I was like, no, it's just to meet Jesus.
Speaker: And then they got sent off.
Speaker: I was happy.
Speaker: And then I met this other guy.
Speaker: He kind of like lost his memory, so he didn't know where he was.
Speaker: And then I just like, I don't know, it was weird.
Speaker: I like touched him.
Speaker: And I just like,
Speaker: prayed through my mind, and then he got his memory back.
Speaker: And then he was like, thank you so much, and then he was crying and hugging me.
Speaker: And then I started crying because I missed my friends that were in heaven right now, like, talking to Jesus.
Speaker: And then they all came back, and I was, like, happily crying, I guess.
Speaker: And then we all hugged, and then that was it.
Speaker: That's awesome.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Wait, hold on.
Speaker: What would you title the dream?
Speaker: Um, Walking with Jesus.
Speaker: Walking with Jesus?
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: I like it.
Speaker: Or, like, or Inspired by Jesus.
Speaker: Oh, Inspired by Jesus.
Speaker: Yeah, that's going to be the name of it.
Speaker: Welcome, everyone.
Speaker: This is episode 63.
Speaker: And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Speaker: This is a classic verse from Acts 2, and it's referencing a prophecy that came from Joel that was fulfilled in that moment of Pentecost.
Speaker: The Pentecost was when the Holy Spirit descended upon the believers who were waiting for him, who were praying in the upper room, all in one accord, and he descended upon them and they started to speak in tongues and to prophesy.
Speaker: This scripture is not saying that only young men will have only visions and only old men will dream dreams and women are out of luck and young women are out of luck.
Speaker: No, no.
Speaker: This is emphasizing that the Spirit will be poured out on all flesh, regardless of age, regardless of gender, and that there will be an impartation of the Spirit to prophesy and see vision and dream dreams.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: This is what we are seeing.
Speaker: In the illustration that I opened with, which was Sawyer and his lovely dream that he shared with us, inspired by Jesus, this is one of my favorites that I've been holding for such a time as this.
Speaker: Sawyer is my dear friend's son, and this is one of his powerful dreams where God is clearly speaking to his heart about his call to evangelize or his call to show people who Jesus is, to walk in healing and signs and wonders the same way that Jesus is.
Speaker: Just like a couple episodes back, we were referencing Isaiah 61 where it said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach good news to the poor, to bring out of bondage the captives, to open the eyes of the blind, right?
Speaker: We are seeing that very thing happen in Sawyer's dream.
Speaker: Our children are hearing from God, regardless of their age, the spirit of God is speaking to them.
Speaker: This is the second episode in our series on kids and dreams.
Speaker: Last week, I was giving some keys and some reasons of why we want to start creating a dream culture within our home, within our family.
Speaker: Once our kids start to recognize that we value dreams, they're going to start to value their dreams as well.
Speaker: And one of the most important reasons that we want to value our dreams is because God is speaking to us in our dreams.
Speaker: God is speaking to us.
Speaker: Our soul is speaking to us.
Speaker: And this is really valuable information that we can start tapping into to grow our spiritual wisdom, but also our connection to ourself and our connection to our kids and what's happening in their lives and in their heart.
Speaker: You may have noticed that my friend in that recording asked her son what he would title the dream if he were to give it a name.
Speaker: This is one of my favorite things to do.
Speaker: This is what I teach us to do as adults as we're learning to steward our dreams as well.
Speaker: But this is especially fun with kids because I love to hear what they come up with.
Speaker: The reason we give the dream a title is because it causes us to think about the content of the dream and really start to find language for what the overall meaning might be.
Speaker: This does not have to be perfect and it doesn't have to be right, right away.
Speaker: In the same way as we don't even have to get to the interpretation of the dream with our children, the most important thing we're doing is allowing the dreams to be a bridge to connect
Speaker: us to them so that the conversation is open, so that we're connected to what's going on with them, to give them a place to talk about what they're feeling if that comes up, but to also make space to talk to them about God's character and to start to connect them to the voice of God as well.
Speaker: whether through their dreams or in dialoguing about their dreams.
Speaker: This is the perfect opportunity to step in to bring spiritual wisdom and boundaries and to teach and really to learn from our kids and from the Holy Spirit.
Speaker: So no need to be an expert dream interpreter.
Speaker: The pressure is off.
Speaker: And I have found that kids usually know the interpretation of their own dreams quicker than I would.
Speaker: But especially when you're starting, we can give them some really simple guidelines and questions to keep them on track.
Speaker: First of all, we would ask them, this is what I just shared before that my friend asked is ask them what they would title the dream.
Speaker: And then ask them what the emotions were in the dream.
Speaker: Did you feel positive?
Speaker: Did you feel negative?
Speaker: What did that feel like when that happened in the dream?
Speaker: Give them space to talk about it and process it.
Speaker: We've all had dreams that might be scary or weird, right?
Speaker: And they just kind of stick with us.
Speaker: But usually as adults, we'll just kind of throw it to the side or push it to the back of our mind, even though the feeling sticks around.
Speaker: And we want to give space for our kids to talk it out with us on the way to school or at dinner that night so that it isn't just sitting around in the back of their heart or their mind and causing some heaviness.
Speaker: So even if it's just to ask the question what you felt in the dream and get them talking about it, that is going to be hugely beneficial.
Speaker: And if it was a God dream, and we're talking about the positive emotions in the dream, as we start to share about it, as they start to share about it, that experience comes out of just that hidden place and it starts to expand.
Speaker: Have you ever noticed this?
Speaker: When we focus on what God is doing, we start talking about his presence, that his presence with us or our awareness of it starts to grow.
Speaker: Even with a profound dream, it's easy to kind of shove it to the back and keep going because you got to get up and you got to get ready and you got to do all these things before school.
Speaker: But when we make space to talk about it, it gives it a place to grow into more and it becomes even more profound and deeply ingrained in our hearts and in the hearts of our children.
Speaker: I would then just start to say, what do you think this dream could mean?
Speaker: Where do you think that God is in this dream?
Speaker: Do you think that God is speaking to you in this?
Speaker: Your kids might say something like, oh, I don't know if God is speaking.
Speaker: Well, that's okay.
Speaker: You just broached the topic and now the question is out there.
Speaker: And most every time, oh, I don't know, and they start to think about it, they'll go, oh, yeah, I do think he was in this dream.
Speaker: And then we can ask them, where is God in the dream?
Speaker: And what we're doing is we're teaching our kids to look for God in their life, but also in their dream life.
Speaker: It's important to note that God showing up in kids' dreams could show up in so many ways.
Speaker: God is unfathomably big and present and diverse and could show up in so many different ways.
Speaker: He could show up in the form of a father in the dream.
Speaker: He could show up in the form of a mother in the dream or a friend.
Speaker: He could show up in the form of an animal in a dream.
Speaker: They might just have a feeling that God is there, but can't actually tell you visually where he was in the dream.
Speaker: That's awesome.
Speaker: Just start to ask the question so that they start to think about it or they start to feel around.
Speaker: And sooner than later, they are going to start to be able to recognize the presence of God in their dreams.
Speaker: Well, Margo, what if God isn't in their dream?
Speaker: Listen, scripture promises us, God says to us, young and old, that he will never leave us and that he will never forsake us.
Speaker: Scripture also says that we, in Him, we live and move and have our being.
Speaker: So we are actually in Christ already right now.
Speaker: That means there is nowhere that we can go that He is not.
Speaker: Just like it says in the Psalms, where could I flee from your presence?
Speaker: Even if I went to the highest heights, even if I went to the depths of Sheol, still you are there.
Speaker: So here's the truth.
Speaker: And we as adults may need to renew our minds on this too.
Speaker: God is always with us.
Speaker: Even if it was a bad dream, God is with us and he is somewhere in that dream.
Speaker: We're going to talk next week a little bit more about nightmares and a little bit more how to talk to your kids in that arena and teach them to find God.
Speaker: But let's just start in asking them where was God in that dream and let them find him.
Speaker: Don't feel pressure to try and control it or to try and make something happen.
Speaker: Just start opening the conversation so the wheels are turning, okay?
Speaker: I'm going to share with you another example of a kid's dream.
Speaker: And if you listened to last week's episode, this will be familiar.
Speaker: This is the continuation of James's dream.
Speaker: There was four people and like when one touches water, it turns into 89 people.
Speaker: And when two touch dirt, it turns into 89 people.
Speaker: Like when people throw dirt on them, they turn into elephants.
Speaker: That looks scary.
Speaker: And they were really sneaky because trolls put dirt on them.
Speaker: And then they turned into scary elephants.
Speaker: And then they started helping him.
Speaker: Like, they started helping the troll be, like, really sneaky.
Speaker: So they went into the town...
Speaker: And they were really sneaky, but the police's were more sneaky.
Speaker: So the police's went to the store and got a cage so they could put the elephants into the cage.
Speaker: And then they got...
Speaker: A giant string ball.
Speaker: And then the police officers put them in jail, but it wasn't actually a jail.
Speaker: It was a hole that had fire in it.
Speaker: Do you think that Jesus was trying to talk to you in that dream?
Speaker: Um, I don't know.
Speaker: That things...
Speaker: Aren't scary if you be brave?
Speaker: When I touch anything, I turn into a monster, and I can, like, rip the guts out of anything.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: Do you think that God was with you in that dream?
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: Yeah?
Speaker: The women have extra strong muscles.
Speaker: When that person touches water, it...
Speaker: turned into 100 people.
Speaker: I meant to say 100, not like 89, not 89.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Because God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are like really strong, like 100 strong, like that.
Speaker: That's maybe a good name for your dream.
Speaker: God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are 100 strong.
Speaker: Yeah, I want it to be the name of my dream.
Speaker: Okay, I double dog dare you to not be smiling right now.
Speaker: Just try and frown.
Speaker: I am so delighted in this dream.
Speaker: I sadly had to cut it down a little bit because it was pretty long and pretty detailed.
Speaker: There was a lot going on in that dream, but don't worry.
Speaker: I kept all the important stuff in there because he was really seeing some stuff and feeling some stuff.
Speaker: And as you could tell, he knew that some of those creatures and people were bad guys, right?
Speaker: But I love that the policeman put him into jail, which actually he said was a pit with fire.
Speaker: Hmm.
Speaker: What does that remind you of, huh?
Speaker: So our kids, their spiritual eyes and senses are being opened and they're seeing stuff in dreams that might seem different or weird to us or like, oh, this sounds like what they're talking about when they're just using their imagination during the day.
Speaker: But it's important that we're not negating it, that we're giving...
Speaker: space for them to talk about it and that we're also validating it.
Speaker: I love how his mom in that recording, she was just totally listening like, uh-huh, yep.
Speaker: And then when it came to the point which she asked, do you think Jesus is speaking to you in this dream?
Speaker: He honestly was like, I don't know.
Speaker: But as he thought about it, he came to something on his own.
Speaker: It was like, as soon as his mom asked the question, he said, I don't know.
Speaker: And then when he waited, God showed him about when he's being brave, he doesn't have to be afraid.
Speaker: And then it turned into him being this monster with all this strength to rip the guts out of these bad guys.
Speaker: And Jesus in the Holy Spirit and the Father being super strong and strengthening him to have big, huge muscles.
Speaker: And I just love that because that is the point of the dream.
Speaker: Whether that was the exact interpretation or not, which honestly I think it was, the point is that he connects to the character of God.
Speaker: And even in a dream where there could be some scary elephants, he knows that God and the Holy Spirit and Jesus are a hundred strong and that he is strong because of God, right?
Speaker: So the fruit of that was really so sweet and so beautiful.
Speaker: And even if he wouldn't have come to that, I think just making the space for him to share what was going on and listening and opening that dialogue would have just gotten his wheels turning, like I said before, right?
Speaker: Just getting those wheels turning.
Speaker: Oh, God was in that dream.
Speaker: And then he got so excited to name it.
Speaker: And that happens all the time.
Speaker: It's just so delightful.
Speaker: So I could give you endless examples, but I would say, why don't you start practicing tonight with your children?
Speaker: Why don't you, before they go to bed, spend a little time praying and asking Jesus to give them a dream and then check back in in the morning and ask them, did you have a dream?
Speaker: Tell me about it.
Speaker: What do you remember?
Speaker: Even if they only remember a little snippet, ask them what they remember.
Speaker: I have come to find that what we remember is what we're supposed to remember.
Speaker: And if we don't remember it, then that's totally okay.
Speaker: But even just starting to ask them will grow the muscle to remember dreams.
Speaker: And if they did remember the dream, ask them to share it with you.
Speaker: And then ask them, hey, if you were to give that a title, what do you think you'd title it?
Speaker: And wait for them.
Speaker: Let them give you a title and then ask them, what did you feel in the dream?
Speaker: What did it feel like?
Speaker: Did it feel good or did it feel bad?
Speaker: Or maybe there's a particular part of the dream.
Speaker: What did it feel like when that happened?
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: And then say, what do you think that dream means?
Speaker: Did you know that God speaks to us in dreams?
Speaker: Here's some examples in scripture.
Speaker: Here's an example of Joseph.
Speaker: And you can go to Genesis and read about how Joseph had that dream in
Speaker: And you could talk to them about how the pictures in their dreams are usually symbols.
Speaker: What do you think those pictures mean?
Speaker: What do you think God is speaking to you?
Speaker: And just let them think about it and let them listen.
Speaker: Now, if they're having a hard time finding God in the dream, that's okay.
Speaker: I think it's just important that we're giving them the opportunity to think about that.
Speaker: And if you see, oh gosh, that reminds me of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker: Maybe they had a dream about a river and you can say, what about the river?
Speaker: Scripture talks about a river of life flowing out of our tummies.
Speaker: That's like the Holy Spirit.
Speaker: Maybe God was the Holy Spirit in your dream in the river.
Speaker: And they might go, oh, yeah.
Speaker: And you're teaching them metaphorical language, or at least to think about it on their own.
Speaker: You don't have to get to an interpretation.
Speaker: This is really just practicing talking about it and getting them thinking about it.
Speaker: Okay?
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So I can't wait to hear how this goes for y'all.
Speaker: And next week, we are going to dig a little bit deeper into nightmares and how to talk to your kids in that arena and talking about the gift of seeing in the spirit because they often go hand in hand.
Speaker: So I hope to see you then.
Speaker: Don't hesitate to email me with questions.
Speaker: And until then, happy, happy dreaming to you and your kids.
