Have you ever had a dream that was so vivid and real that when you woke up you thought it had really happened? I had one of those dreams this week. Recalling my vivid and real dreams reminds me of a time when I had a vision that was so real to me that it actually frightened me. I will never forget it as long as I live.

I was in the shower on this particular morning crying out to God. I needed His help, but I didn’t know how to obtain it. I had my eyes shut as I continued to lather the shampoo through my hair. As I began to rinse the suds off my face, I opened my eyes. When I opened my eyes I saw a lighthouse very vividly on my shower walls. You know how sometimes when you get too hot you start seeing dark spots appear, this is what I thought was happening to me. I closed my eyes quickly and reopened them thinking that the vision would be gone. It wasn’t…it was still there! What did this mean? 

I was so startled by the vivid image that it caused me to immediately begin to question what I saw. I began to doubt that it really happened, and I certainly didn’t want to tell anyone for fear of them thinking I was crazy. This left me and God alone together to work through it. Why a lighthouse? I lived in Central Texas with no body of water around me. I had to recall my conversation with Him so I could remember what I had said. I was crying asking Him what He wanted me to do to resolve this situation that we were surrounded in at the time. When I opened my eyes is when I saw the Lighthouse.

Weeks turned into months of me trying to wrestle out what God was trying to speak to me. I opened up to my husband and my bible study sisters about what I saw. They committed to pray with me and didn’t think I was crazy, well at least that’s what they told me. Ha! I began to think that I was supposed to build a Lighthouse bookstore in town. Ryan even entertained the thought with me and we visited with one of our builder friend’s about the cost. Lighthouse’s are CRAZY expensive by the way! We definitely didn’t have the funds for that. Then the idea transitioned to starting a non-profit to bring volunteers into the homes of the home-bound and elderly to help provide more care for them with the government set backs in the healthcare industry. One of my best friends even committed to being the Volunteer Coordinator, I had met with our Pastor and an attorney to get it off the ground and started. Our company was already in bad shape and the funds weren’t there to really get it started either.

I felt like I had failed Him in doing what He wanted me to do. I mean, it’s not everyday that you see a vision while praying. I was trying like the dickens to make something out of it. Not long ago I realized what He was speaking to me that day.

We are His LIGHTHOUSES! We are the LIGHT of the WORLD! He was telling me to KEEP SHINING! Don’t let your trials and circumstances dim your light! My favorite part of this passage is verse 16…“so that they may SEE your good works and give GLORY to your FATHER who is in Heaven.”    We don’t shine for us, we shine so others can see HIM! When we take the focus off of us and place it on to Him, things begin to make sense. I am grateful to understand what He was speaking and oh how sweet of Him to encourage me in that way. Does this encourage you? If you belong to Christ, you too are the light of the world and He wants you to KEEP SHINING!

The footnote of my bible even breaks down ways in which we are hiding our light:

1. Being quiet when we should speak
2. Going along with the crowd
3. Denying the light
4. Letting sin dim our light
5. Not explaining our light to others
6. Ignoring the needs of others

Wow, those are some good thoughts to evaluate and see how we can turn our hiding into bright SHINING! God does speak to us in a multitude of ways. He can even use our dreams and visions. Don’t be afraid to ask Him to speak to you. And when He does, don’t be afraid to listen and SEE! We don’t have to build Lighthouses for God, we are His LIGHTHOUSES! Be a beacon of truth — don’t shut your light off from the rest of the world.  SHINE BRIGHT!!!

God gave me a vivid dream on Monday night which inspired my writing this week to remember and share with you about the lighthouse. I work on these blogs each morning after my quiet time with Him. It usually takes me Monday through Thursday to complete each week’s blog. Amazing the timing of today’s Ifequip study. Check out what they speak about today. Coincidence…I don’t think so!  Aligned…YES!  Enjoy and I invite you to join me in participating in these studies that are going on nationwide as people around the world are studying together!  #gloryup #shineBRIGHT #GodisSPEAKING