Dreams, of the sleepingly visual kind.

I believe in prophecy because the Bible says it's real. I believe some people are given the gift of prophecy. I don't believe that God has a word for every person at every moment through every prophet, but that God does use them when He wants to hit us over the head with something. I've only been prophesied over three times, but each time was absolutely incredible and I thank God for giving me His Word through them. The last time probably hit home the hardest and is something I still very much struggle with. That was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced and it left me completely stunned. But that's a different story for a different time.

I know I am not a prophet and that God has not given me that gift. However, at times He does give me dreams that turn out to be prophetic. Here are some examples:

- Last spring, I had a dream that my friend Seth came up to me and told me that he was going to marry the girl in the purple dress. I look over and there is my friend Reese. I had no clue there was anything other than friendship between them. Little did I know that at that time they were praying over marriage. They will be married April 23rd.

- In summer of 2009, God gave me the dream of a prayer and worship conference at the college I attended. In November of 2009, that dream became a reality.

- Yesterday, I had two dreams about my friend Greg. My friend Pamela asked for these dreams in detail, so here's the whole thing, in detail. Sorry if I bore you.

Both dreams happen in the same type of room. Some hotels are structured so that when you walk out of your room, you can look down to the main rotunda. In this dream, we were in a hospital that did this. The walls were red, and Greg's room was in the top corner of this place. In the first dream, I went into his room and yelled at him, with authority. "Greg, WAKE UP!" I said. And he did. Smiling, he rose out of his bed and told me he had to go to the bathroom. I tried to stop him, telling him to go back to the bed and getting in the way of the bathroom door. I yelled for Jennie while being scared, excited, happy... everything at the same time.

The second dream happened in the same place. Greg woke up and suddenly we were all being told to take a picture together. Someone from a level below was going to take it, so we all stood on the bottom rail near our feet and bent over the top rail. As we kept moving down the rail to get the place right, I was placed right in between Greg and James. I was nervous and excited all at the same time and reached for James's hand, knowing that it would be some kind of comfort. He grudgingly gave it to me, but as soon as I could see he didn't want to, I dropped his hand and instead focused on Greg. He was so smiley and so excited, it was easy to forget about the guy on the other side of me.

That's it. Both of them held a healed but still in the hospital Greg Jager.

Today, Greg woke up. Although he's not able to walk, talk, or really smile as big as he did in my dreams, I know that God is healing him. I can't wait to listen to his voice again and hear his stories about this time! God has given this man an amazing story that is just waiting to be heard. Soon, Greg, soon. And it will be on paper.

I think we all have amazing stories that need to be heard. Every experience in our lives shapes us into who we are. If we want people to truly understand us, perhaps our story is a good place to start. Who are you? What is your story?