Friday Five: Dreams

Sophia says: "With the beginning of my college teaching semester I have been having some unusually intense and memorable dreams lately--especially related to my Women and Religion class. With the beginning of a new calendar year many of us are engaging with dreams of another kind: planning, brainstorming, setting intentions or resolutions, etc. And many churches will celebrate the baptism of Jesus this Sunday, reading the Gospel account of his vision of the Holy Spirit as a dove and the "beloved child" words of Godde that set him off on his mission sharing Godde's dream for the world. So let's take a few minutes on this (where I am at least) lovely snow-blanketed Friday morning and share about the many different dreams and visions in our lives."
1. Do you tend to daydream? In the long past I did. Then I stopped. Now I do again. It's a good thing.

2. Do you usually remember your night dreams? Do you find them symbolic and meaningful or just quirky? Sometimes I do remember them, and wonder "what was that about?" I had a strange one last night about a train and a coffee barrista who suddenly had me off the train and was driving me through a strange town. There were details in the dream which were oddly clear. I remember that had to go back for a second cup of coffee in the train's coffee shop because the first one leaked away. I can remember the sensation of train's movement as I walked (a long way it seemed) back to my seat with the coffee and clearly telling myself how well I was doing with the balance. When we were in the car "Chris" the barrista turned driver was driving on the right hand side (British car apparently). But why we were out of the train and driving, I have no clue, nor do I know who the other three people in the back seat were. I simply remember telling him I had to be back on that train because I needed to get to Columbus! And of course I woke up without ever knowing if I made it back!

3. Have you ever had a life changing dream which you'll never forget? Yes, my Jesus dream. He showed up one night shortly after I was ordained. Or at least there was this dream about some guy who looked like a shepherd, was very insistent that he had come to bring me abundant life, made me cry, and has never really left my head. I have posted about this in the past, but of course this morning I cannot find that post to link to it. It was amazing, it was powerful, and yes, it was life changing in ways that still unfold.

4. Share a long term dream for one or more aspects of your life and work. R and I have a dream to leave winter behind. It started out as the "five year plan." In the midst of our recent smack down of frigid temps and snow....it's getting shorter. We are looking at places in the South to move, somewhere not too far from water. I am thinking I might like to have a variation on my day job career, same but different somehow. It's all still unfolding. But we are dreaming together.

5. Share a dream for 2010....How can we support you in prayer on both the short and long term dreams? Well, 2010 is already full of dreams coming true for me. I'm pretty excited about the future right now. May 15, 2010 as a day of celebration of our love and commitment is shaping up nicely. For the larger world, I wish there could be more peace, more focus on what really matters. Please continue to pray for L. My dream for him is that he can move away with his girl D and find a fresh start when his jail time is finally up.

Bonus: a poem, song, artwork, etc. that deals with dreams in general or one of your dreams. This has always been a favorite.....http://s0.ilike.com/play#John+Lennon:Imagine:13390:m6021797