Be a Yes Woman or Man

The Hopper family Christmas night tradition we adopted years ago (once we started staying in Charlotte instead of going to GA where both of our families live) is to go to a movie as a family. Last night, we went to see "Yes Man". You may not like Jim Carey, and I will certainly admit that some of the language and scenes were not to my liking. However, the overall message of the movie was a good one: embrace life by saying yes more often than not. I won't share anymore details in case you want to go see it.

I headed to bed not too long after arriving back home once I finished up the dishes from Christmas dinner....since there wasn't enough time to fully clean up after the meal AND get to the movie on time. It had been a good but exhausting Christmas day for me filled with alot of cooking. We were blessed to have 12 around our dining table this year, 6 of which were outside of our family.....more on that in a separate blog.

As is often the case when I sleep hard, I dreamed...this dream is, I believe, somehow "significant". For those who know me, I know you are probably laughing right now because "significant" is a word that is.....well "significant"! The significance is found in how the Spirit seemed to take the message of the movie and apply it to my life spiritually. The summary of the dream is that I along with some other believers were seeking to say "yes" to living in the presence & power of the Spirit constantly. What a concept! It was amazing, so real and believeable...in other words, it seemed like it could really happen.

In the "Yes Man" movie, Jim Carey is stuck in what I'd call "No-Land"....he says no to everything and is therefore in a big-time rut, and it affects everything in his life, from his dead-end job, to his failed marriage, to friendships, and the list goes on.

Hmmm....how many times (aka: weeks, months, years, even seasons!) have I been stuck in "No-Land" regarding living life in the Spirit and much because of my preconceived notion that it's just not do-able?! I think to myself, "it's just too hard" or "there's too much opposition."....both of which are so true, but that doesn't mean it's not do-able!...which is what my dream depicted: the reality that there is going to be difficulty (saying yes seems to inevitably bring what is at first hard but eventually turns out good....that sounds alot like Romans 8:28 to me) & opposition (from others who don't know Jesus as well as some who do but are choosing to live what I call an "in the box" believer's life). It was astounding to me to "see" myself in the dream living in a way that was saying "yes" to everything the Spirit was saying to me and prompting me about. And, it was so cool to see the COMMUNITY of believers that were around me seeking to support one another in living this way. At times, we would "lose" someone to one of the other groups, but then after observing our "yes lives", some would return. Each victory, great or small, was genuinely celebrated together.

Generally-speaking, the dream depicted this life as a battle....not surprising since that's how Scripture also describes it...see Ephesians 6:10-18. Often times in the dream, the in-the-box believers and/or not saved group would try to "mimic" the Spirit-filled life...in other words, it was a counterfeit version. And for those who were "lukewarm" (see Rev. 3:15), this imitation was very enticing. Those of us who had been convinced to live life saying yes to the Spirit would have to work hard at not working hard to do the work that ONLY the Spirit can do in the lives of those who were lukewarm.

The final detail of the dream is really important.....because at the start of the dream was a conversation I was having with my husband who was sharing with me that the Spirit had basically impressed him with a message that said, "Sherri's about to have to go through something hard, and although you are her husband, she will have to go through this on her own." Don't misinterpret me here....not alone in that Neal couldn't support me in prayer and other ways, but my understanding at this point is that it was going to be MY battle, not his and that it was going to get harder before it got easier.....something the Spirit made evident again and again throughout the dream. I think this is important for me AND you to remember....we don't live our believing lives joined at the hip with someone....we EACH have our OWN personal life with Jesus.

I awoke with a sense of renewed hope as well as a realistic understanding about living my life saying YES to Him. How incredible that my BIG God can take something as INsignificant as a secular movie and use it in a profound way?!