Dreams

I'm taking a spiritual direction class.  One of the books that we are reading is Sacred Companions by Benner.  In one of the sections he talks about Attending to God's revelation through dreams.  He recommends the following mnemonic for processing through dreams:
T Title - Give the dream a title
T Theme - Note its overall theme
A Affect - Note the dominant emotions in the dream
Q Question - Note the potential questions the dream poses for you

Interestingly enough, that evening after reading this, I had a dream.  In the dream, I was practicing Lectio Divina and I was trying to recall the scripture in Matthew 11:28-29 where Jesus was saying: Come to me, all you weary and burdened...

However, in the dream I could not recall that verse.  Instead, "Be still, and know that I am God" from Psalm 46:10 was coming to mind.

I woke up and thought about this dream.  Was God revealing something to me through this time.  Using Benner's process, I cam up with the following:

Title: Be Still
Theme: Being still so that I can know God
Affect: Longing, Call, Command
Questions:

1. Is being still a pre-requisite for knowing God more deeply?
2. How can I be more still?

A Zip Tie

I was getting anxious again, worried that I would be overwhelmed by my new job.  I was use to leading teams and delivering software as a team.  However, in a smaller company I would be responsible for delivering functionality by myself.

That evening in small group, God gave somebody a vision of a zip tie.  Typically you pull a zip tie tight to hold things like cables in place.  However, in this vision the zip tie was closing on the object, but it did not squeeze the object.  There was space.

I thought for a minute and thought this vision be for me.  I had been anxious that I would be squeezed by the job and that it would be more than I could handle.

It touched me that God would care about me enough to give somebody this vision and how God uses the body of Christ to minister to each other.  It gave me peace before I started the job and after starting the job, I saw that the vision was accurate.

This could cause resentment

We were going to counseling as we were struggling through whether I should take a job with an investment bank because it meant that Grace could not day trade.  One of the things that the counselor said that stood out was that we need to be careful with this decision because it could cause a lot of resentment if not handled well.

That really stood out to me as I had not considered resentment as a possible issue.  However, I could see the wisdom in make a decision carefully as to not cause resentment in our marriage.

Anxiety

During the summer, I was looking to change jobs.  I was desperate to get out of my previous job.  I had interviewed and was waiting to hear back from them.  During the waiting time, I had serious anxiety - not being able to sleep at night and being consumed by the job search.

That night in small group, God gave a person in small group a word.  He said somebody here is anxious.  I thought for a minute and thought that must be me.  I shared with the group and they prayed for me.  I was at peace for a few weeks until I lost my peace again.  :)

That night the scripture that was brought up was Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

New life was brought to this scripture as I realized how God views anxiety.  It also touched me that God cared about me enough to give somebody this word of knowledge.