Welcome to the Determined to Dance podcast with your host, Jennifer Hallmark.

Today’s episode, “Awaken: Dreams and Dancing” looks at the night dreams and daytime dreams that shape our lives and often show us more about the dance and our place there.

Are you ready? The world would have us march to its chaotic beat but God invites us to dance in His will and His way. Let’s take a moment to be energized, refreshed, and motivated to face the day, one spin and twirl at a time.
 

Show Notes: Awaken: Dreams and Dancing

There are two types of dreams. First, are Night dreams. Most people have them, some more than others. I’ve always dreamed while sleeping, often and many times with vivid details. Some good, others confusing, and those nightmares. Is there anything more frightening than being held underwater, falling from an airplane, or being chased by the Yeti on a snow-covered mountain? You don't have Yeti dreams? I’ll tell you about mine in a moment.

Then we have Daydreams or visions of what can be, might be, could be. Our goals and our hopes. God plants dreams in our hearts as lights to the path of his will. We’ll talk more about these dreams next week.

I love reading books about any kind of dream or dreams; my favorite book being “Dream,” by Mark Rutland. The tagline is “Awake or asleep, unlock the power of God’s vision.

Rutland says, “Dreams are where space and time are pushed away, where God allows our inner selves to see beyond and behind the conscious plane and where possibilities and hopes, as well as all our hidden monsters, come out, come out wherever they are.”

What do dreams have to do with the dance? When we move into God’s will and purpose, we learn more about ourselves. Like Adam and Eve, we tend to hide in bushes and with fig leaves. God slowly unwraps us from our fears and insecurities, often using both kinds of dreams.

Night dreams. Many times, our subconscious speaks to us in the night while sleeping. I often wonder if I dream so much because I have a tendency to be reserved and I don’t allow what’s deep inside of me a chance to surface and awaken. So, I dream and release the good and bad in life. Dreams have helped me in three ways:

Dreams give me hope. One dream I often had over the years was me standing in front of a group of women, bringing hope and encouragement. I was always casually dressed and confident. My introverted self does not enjoy speaking to crowds so I was puzzled by the dream. I speak to women now through this podcast, usually wearing comfy clothes and with no fear of messing up since I can edit each episode. My dream came true in a way I could never imagine.
Dreams warn me. Once I had a dream where an evil man tried to break into my house. He wasn't having any trouble because the glass in all the doors was missing. When I woke and prayed about it, God showed me the glass represented hope. Because of circumstances around me, I had lost hope and that opened the door to discouragement, depression, and other evil things. I repented and began to study hope in the Bible.
Dreams teach me. I used to dream every so often that a Yeti, a white furry monster was smothering me. I’d wake up out of breath and anxious each time I dreamed it. I prayed but didn’t know what to do so I mentioned it to someone at church. He said, “Did you ask God what it means? What the Yeti represents?” I hadn’t. And I was afraid to. Finally, one day, I closed my eyes and asked God what the Yeti was. Instantly, I saw the word rejection. I prayed about rejection and asked God to help me with past feelings that it brought on, those smothering feelings. When the dream came again one night, I was able to stand to my feet and say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The Yeti vanished. I’ve never had the dream again. God taught me something about myself and healed some old wounds from the past.

Through a dream.  And if I have hope, I'm warned, and I'm taught,