The Lord speaks in mysterious ways, and for me, it can be in one-word riddles.
Last Sunday afternoon such a riddle came interrupting my thoughts. The word was—emerald. I began scouring my Bible as if searching for hidden treasure and found a gem speaking directly to me. In the Book of Revelation where John is taken into heaven and, in the Spirit, is allowed to see a glimpse of the throne of God, he wrote: And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. -Revelation 4:3
Two days before ‘emerald’ was spoken in my thoughts, I had a dream about rainbows. And here was a verse mentioning both an emerald and a rainbow.
In my dream, I saw what appeared to be a canopy of rainbows arched in like a tunnel style. I could see mature trees, leafed in green, too.
Ezekiel was shown heaven’s throne describing it, as like the appearance of a rainbow and that it was the appearance of the glory of the LORD (Ezekiel 1:28-29).
The following morning, during my prayer time, I asked the Lord for another clue. This time the Spirit said, “Emerald Sea”.
EMERALD SEA
As it turns out, just a few verses down from Revelation 4:3 the word sea is mentioned. In verse six it says: In front of the throne, there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. The sea of glass represents the presence of God!
Of the verse, Elliott’s Bible Commentary led off by saying: There is a sea before the throne of God. The woman appareled in purple. It was a sign for me that I was on the right track for finding the next clue. I wear purple nearly every time I am invited to speak on the Immanuel Quilt.
Unpacking the dream and discovering the meaning behind the clues, Emerald Sea, led to finding a treasury of hope and promise. A rainbow is always a reminder of God’s covenant promise (Genesis 9:13-17) and an emerald denotes the shining glory of the LORD.
CORRECTING OUR TUNNEL VISION
The phrase Light at the end of the tunnel means a hardship or struggle is nearing its end. If you are like me, you may be thinking the journey of late while waiting for promises not yet received to come has been long and dark. In my dream, the tunnel was an open canopy of rainbows. I sense God saying, “Look Up! The tunnel of darkness does not surround you—it’s My glory that does!”
It’s interesting that in the Christian faith, an emerald denotes resurrection and rebirth. What hopes and dreams have you had fallen away? I think God wants to resurrect them.
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” -John 11:40
During a trip to speak to a women’s group, Tom and I incorporated into it a mini vacation to Branson Sight and Sound Theatre to see Jesus. The opening scene started at the Sea of Galilee and looked very much like what Tom and I saw when we ourselves stood on the Sea of Galilee.
Before leaving home, I began praying that the words I speak be words given me by the Holy Spirit. The night before we were to leave I was given a vision while I slept. I believe it was a vision was from God showing that He would honor my request. As I explain the events that unfolded over the course of the week, I’ll let you determine if He did.
In my vision, I saw a burger cooking on a griddle over an old cast-iron cook stove. While it was still cooking the griddle was pulled out from under the burger, as if by some invisible hand, and the burger flipped up and over onto the open flame. End of vision.
The event for which I was going to speak, the theme was Jesus, the Thread of Time. Jesus is the Ancient of Days. The antique cast-iron stove represented God, the Ancient of Days!
Scripture refers to the Word of God as solid food good for the soul. I was going to deliver the Word of God. The burger represented the Word of God, solid meat.
My words would not fall flat (flat griddle), but that He (the arm of the Invisible God) would flip them so that they would be char-broiled (open flame) Words from the Spirit.
To fifty people at the Concordia Lutheran Church Women’s Ministry League dinner, I told His Story in a unique quilt. The comments I received was thanks for speaking of the Holy Spirit.
The next morning at our hotel, one of the workers was outside on his break while we were loading our luggage back into the truck. The young man, who looked to still be in his twenties asked where we were from, and where we were heading. When I told him I am a speaker and was in town for an engagement the previous night, he asked what I speak about. I told him about this traveling ministry of which he said, “Oh, man! God just keeps doing this to me!”
I learned Ryan is a believer. He and his friends get together every week to pray. He said he would be praying for the Immanuel Quilt Ministry. What Ryan meant by his comment is that God keeps putting people in his path who have ministries. God placed me there in his presence for the Spirit to iniate a conversation and affirm for Ryan that he is being called into ministry!
At the Sight and Sound theatre, an unexpected opportunity arose for me to talk about Jesus with my elbow neighbor seated next to me. The tall Texan and his wife while waiting on the show to begin, passed the time by looking at one of the postcards of the Immanuel Quilt and trying to figure out which Names of Jesus the blocks represent. Jesus was playing before the show began.
On Saturday I had a booth at a craft fair where to several folks I spoke about Jesus sharing tidbits of the Immanuel Quilt story. To a veteran, the Faithful and True tugged at his heart. To another, the border of the quilt spoke Jesus’ Name, Banner. To another the Name, Dwelling Place resonated great reverance for the Lord. One after another, the Spirit was speaking to individuals through the Immanuel Quilt.
It seemed everywhere I went last week I was seeing the hand of God at work.
As uplifting as it was to witness all these encounters, what brought me the most joy was meeting two girls who separately came to the craft fair.
The first was a fourteen-year-old who showed maturity beyond her years in her walk with the Lord. She just kept coming back to the booth to hear more of the Immanuel Quilt story. In the end, she purchased a book for her brother telling me that she knew it would help him draw closer to Jesus. She already hears God speaking to her, and he is telling her she will have–a ministry!
The other girl was around five or six years old. I had Grandma Puppet with me and when I saw her approaching, I put the puppet on my arm. As she got closer to me Grandma Puppet spoke to her and said, “Hi! What’s your name?” The bright-eyed girl engaged in a conversation with the puppet. Grandma Puppet sang Jesus Loves Me for her. The girl shouted, “Sing it again!” I asked the girl to sing along with the puppet, but she said she didn’t know the song. So, using my raw ventriloquism talents I started another round of Jesus Loves Me, and to the girl’s surprise and mine, her mother and grandmother joined the puppet in singing the song! With much delight the girl one more time said, “Sing it again!”
Though I no longer blog the journey, I couldn’t wait to tell you << Test First Name >> about all these encounters of God at work. There is hope for the future! There are people hungry for the Lord and a young generation who is excited to sing His praises!
The addition of puppets to the ministry came about when my kindergarten grandson, Zane, asked me to guess what he wants to be when he grows up. He gave me a hint. He told me it was a four-letter word that begins with sh. I could have guessed all day long and not guessed, chef. It was in that moment I remember that at his age I wanted to grow up and be a puppet maker.
I needed to pursue making puppets to show him, and myself, that it is never to late to pursue your dreams.
I finished my second puppet build, a look-alike of Zane, the grandson who inspired me to pursue my childhood dream of being a puppet maker. He was so excited when he saw the finished work; he grabbed the puppet and gave it a big hug, then hugged me. I’m not sure which of us was the happiest.
Zane’s puppet has a notepad in one hand and a pencil in the other. This is because Zane is pictured on the front of the VBS curriculum as a Good News Reporter. There are ten skits included in the curriculum. The characters: a grandma who loves telling her grandchildren about Jesus; her grandson, Wolfie, who wants to someday be a news reporter—one that only reports good news; and Macy Girl, Wolfie’s little sister.
I’m still unsure where this puppet thing is going, but God is clearly showing me that he plans to do something good with them. The Lord is placing people in my path with puppeteering experience, providing confirming words through others, and still speaking in my dreams, ensuring He is with me.
Just the other night, I had a dream in which I was pregnant. I can hear you gasping. Anyway, I was at the doctor’s office for a routine check, and he gave me a surprise. He told me the baby could arrive in a week; the due date was not near. I looked at a calendar to count ahead seven days to see what date the baby might come, it was December 25th, a Sunday. Dream over.
Launching something new, whether it is a new book, new ministry, or new business, it is referred to as like giving birth to a baby. New ventures begin with a seed of an idea, it grows, and then it morphs into a labor of love. The end joy is seeing the “baby” come to life.
A week is a measure of time, seven days. The number seven is the number representing completeness and perfection. The Bible tells us:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11
The baby, the doctor said, “could arrive in a week.” Could indicates a possibility. My baby could arrive sooner than expected.
For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:37
December 25th marks the date in which we celebrate the birth of Jesus—Immanuel, God with us. This is an indicator the dream is not about the date; it’s about the person the date represents and the Immanuel Quilt Ministry.
Seven days out from the doctor’s visit was a Sunday. Sunday is the day Christians set aside for God to worship and sing praises, and to bring Him honor and glory due His Name.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Psalm 96:8
Another thing about Sundays is that they mark a beginning. Each new week on the calendar, begins with Sunday. The Lord says,
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19a
God speaks to me in dreams because He knows they spur my curiosity to go and search the Scriptures for hidden things. What draws you to the Word?
Wolfie, The Good News Reporter, has this to tell: Anytime we are in God’s Word, God is pleased.
(Check out Zane’s first puppet video by click here.)
