It's come to my attention that battle comes before victory. The outpouring of the Spirit in our area will come after a season of battle. What does the battle look like? What I'm beginning to see surprises me. I've been looking over my dream journal and noticed some changes in the things I dream about.

Jesus often spoke in parables - if you read about why he did that, it was because God wanted to do two things; He wanted to reveal the secrets of His kingdom, but He wanted them to be revealed only to those whose hearts would receive and believe them. The ones who wanted to know what God was saying had to unravel the mysteries in the parables and they came up with some radical things.

Those who didn't care about the kingdom of heaven, would hear his teaching (and be held accountable for it) but go on about their lives, as if it didn't matter.

Dreams are a lot like parables. To most people they're just a bunch of odd things we don't understand. It's hard for most people to accurately interpret dreams, because they don't understand the language of them. But to those who are interested in the secrets of heaven, dreams are like little treasure chests waiting to be opened.

Around Christmas, I began having dreams about warfare and weapons. I never had much of that before. Most of my dreams are about praying for people to be healed or things like that.

The dreams about weapons were training dreams. In one, I was learning about new weapons technology in archery and in another dream I with a team of people being trained for a military assignment. In another dream I traded in a bunch of junk for a high-tech handgun with a laser sight. I couldn't understand how the sight worked, how the gun loaded or fired, but when I pointed it across the street it fired off 2 rounds.

Looking further back in my dream journal to November, I saw the phrase "learning about..." coming up over and over.

In one dream I was 'learning about' playing guitar. In another dream I was 'learning about' singing. I was with a group of people taking voice lessons from a professional voice coach. And in a third dream I was taking dancing lessons with a group of people from a professional dance instructor.

Dreams are like a river. There is a flow and a direction to them and if you follow them, they take you to a destination. When I put all these dreams together, what God is telling me is:

1) I just entered a new season in my life.

2) The subject of my attention should be on weapons & warfare during this time.

3) I have little understanding of the warfare and weapons, so equipping and training are the first steps.

4) I know most dreams are symbolic or like parables, so the warfare isn't literally against people. We are called to be at peace with all men.

5) Jesus and the apostles had much to say about a kingdom of darkness and a kingdom of light. They insisted there is a spiritual battle going on, even though it's invisible to most people. Therefore I must conclude that I'm not being asked to do literal warfare against people, but spiritual warfare against the forces of the enemy. There are no other options.

4) The weapons I'm being trained to use are primarily dance, musical instruments, and singing. (I kinda like that)

If you look through the Old Testament you find the tribes of Israel doing things like singing and dancing in preparation for war. Sometimes that was all they actually did, and God gave them victory immediately afterward. He seems to be bringing back a play from a really old playbook.

Last thought - in light of other dreams and messages I've had, I also know God is going to bring a great spiritual awakening to Olympia. My guess is that will involve some serious warfare to destroy enemy strongholds and dethrone principalities first. That warfare might get loud with all the people singing, dancing and playing their weapons at full blast.

Weapons of a Different Kind

My old partner used to say, "necessity is the mother of invention, but laziness is the father of excuses." I'm trying to avoid laziness and excuses, but some days are more difficult than others. I went to the store for milk and coffee yesterday. The woman in front of me was limping noticeably....what to do?

Come on mister healer, you aren't gonna just walk past her, are you?

I did.

I walked right past her and headed for the milk.

Then I felt Mr. Holy Ghost speaking... "Chicken".

Oh, that's right! Denise wanted to take some chicken to work for lunch, I almost forgot. I stopped by the deli and picked up some chicken before I went to the dairy section. Thanks for reminding me, Mr. Holy Ghost.

"You ARE a chicken, aren't you?"

Me?

"Yes, YOU!"

Yeah, I guess I am. I'm a chicken with a shopping cart full of excuses. We had a brief discussion. The Spirit provoked me to find the limping woman. She was just around the corner. I introduced myself and told her I was on a mission from God to heal her. She told me about how she broke several bones in both feet and one of her legs in a car accident. The healing process didn't go perfectly. She said she was grateful to be able to walk. I said she might be completely healed and asked if I could pray with her. She said, yes, We prayed. I thanked her and headed for the milk again.

No regrets, no guilt. Did she get healed? I don't know. I did what I felt the Holy Spirit asked me to do. The rest is in His hands.

Going out for Dinner?

Try this next time:

Denise and I went out for dinner to the Herb & Onion, a restaurant in downtown Olympia last night. After we ordered a Beatles set came on, so my baby and I sang harmony till the waitress returned with the food. Our loud singing must have amused her; she was grinning ear to ear when she got to our table. After dinner as Denise and I talked, I closed my eyes and received a word of knowledge for the waitress about insomnia. Before we left, I asked her about her sleep patterns. She said she's never been able to sleep through the night and wakes up about every two hours for different reasons. She also shared with us a recurring dream about trying to reach her father, but she's always unable to find him.

Denise and I explained that the dream was from God and her search for her father was symbolic of her search for Father God. She gave us a look of surprise then agreed that it's something she's never had. We gave her a little more insight about the relationship with God and prayed that she'd be able to sleep better. She thanked us and gave us a warm hug as we left.

I wrote this story to encourage you to step out like we did and overcome whatever is holding you back. Don't let laziness or fear get in the way of what God wants to do through you. He'll show up anywhere if you ask Him to.

Dream Interpretation at The Urban Onion

Olympia: Summer’s Outreaches & Recent Testimonies

In the Spirit of Revelation 19:10, "...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” I suggest that we learn a lesson.

As you may know these ministry outreaches have changed the lives of many. Daniel 12:3 “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

I know of no other way to reach the amount of people that we are able to reach in a day than by joining with a community event where great numbers of people will be gathered. Isaiah 65 says the Lord is found by those who are not even looking for Him. We have found this to be true.

A good example is the family that came to Lakefair not knowing we would be there.

Seeing the sign for a Free Encouraging Word stopped. The first one after receiving her word left encouraged and tearful. She returned with a sister, then an aunt, then the mother, who brought grandma, then the niece and her daughter. As a result of the words given to this large family storms were survived over the next 3 years because of what the “Ladies in the Park” told them. Not only that but one of them was completely set free from irrational fears and her 3 year old daughter was healed from something the doctors did not know how to.

Then there is the young man who woke up with the thought that he was going to have a spiritual experience this day. He didn't know where to find it. So he headed to Lakefair thinking this is where he would find it. He comes to the Free Encouraging Words tent where the team not only gave him a Word from the Lord but led him to a saving knowledge of Jesus. He left a grateful man.

Thank you for your past support and looking forward to the many souls Jesus wants to save through us this summer outreach season.

From Paula Otano
D.I.S.I.RE Ministries

Olympia: Summer’s Outreaches & Testimonies