I have been thinking about puns in dreams and they are very clear once you write them out and read them to yourself.  A recent dream I had was about 4 cows I had forgot about. I hadn't given them food or water for several days. My husband had felt sorry for them and decided to stay with them for the night. When I went outside to check on them, they were standing on the grill which was turned on. I remember thinking, "burning the sacred cows." Sacred cows refers to things we hold dear to and are unwilling to change. We need to be willing to let God show us the areas of our lives that we think are so important and sacred and let Him burn away everything that is not of Him. He actually showed me the cows standing on the grill to make a picture in my mind of what He was trying to do in my life. 

updated How to Determine the Source of a Dream

All dreams come from one of three sources.  The trick is being able to tell which one of the sources it is from.  The first source is your soul. Your soul is usually the culprit of an accumulation of feelings that have been deeply suppressed and therefore show up in your subconscious when your body is asleep. The dreams from your soul may not have a resolve therefore, there is no ending.  For example, when you dream you are looking for something and never find it or, when you are running from something and keep running because something or someone is chasing you. Those dreams are very frustrating, as a result these dreams may indicate that someone or something is frustrating you and you have not figured out how to deal with it properly. If you have a soulish dream, ask yourself what area of your life this could be coming from. For example your business or work, family, friends, or spiritual life. More than likely you will figure it out. 

   Another source that dreams can be from is God. Have you ever wondered why He created us to dream at night when we are asleep?  He could have created us not to dream but, He didn't. That is one of the ways He speaks to us. How awesome our God is that He uses dreams to communicate with us.  The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words hold true because when we are awake we possibly might miss something, but when we see it show up in a dream, we listen.  God uses dreams to encourage us many times by sending us a message while we are asleep.  Another reason God gives us a dream is to warn us of an impending danger. While awake we may think something is no big deal but to God it is very serious and we need to be warned that if we keep going in the direction we are going there could be serious consequences.  Many times God gives us directions that we are to take through our dreams. I remember one time I was asking God about a job opportunity I was given and had this dream: I was climbing up this mountain literally sweating as I grabbed pieces of the ground and pulling myself up. (representing doing it in my own strength) When I got to the top I saw this beautiful lake on the other side. I said that I was going to drop a rock in and if it splashed up cold I would know that it was not good to go into. At that very moment someone jumped over me and dove into the water.  It all seemed good at first but the guy that had jumped in was yelling for help because there was a shark in the water attacking him. I got the message that although this opportunity looked good, I was not to take this position. the final reason that God might give us a dream is to chastise us. I would rather be chastised by God than by man. I have had many a dream about my mouth where I saw something I had said that had wounded someone and upon waking I repented and apologized to the person I had hurt. 

 The final source is the enemy of our soul, Satan.  These type of dreams are referred to as nightmares. I don't try to interpret these because I know they are not from my heavenly Father. I rebuke the enemy in the name of Jesus and I plead the blood of Jesus over my mind.  I very rarely have one of these kind of dreams but I recognize them right away. If you have repeated nightmares it could be a sign that you need to go through some inner healing because deep wounds can open you up to unforgiveness which can result in demonic torture of the mind. So, the three sources of dreams are your soul, God, or the devil. It's that simple.  By figuring out the source you will know what to do with the dream.
  
 

last night's dream

Last night I dreamed my granddaughter picked up a huge spider and it bit her. Thankfully it was not poisonous.  I was outraged that it had bitten my granddaughter so I killed it.  Interpretation: My granddaughter represents my daughter who is going through a huge trial right now.  It has no power to leave lasting harm (Not poisonous) however, it mad me mad and I killed it.  Prayer stamps out the plans of the enemy.  You see how easy it is to interpret when you understand how God speaks through dreams. Look at the overall message in the actions that are happening in the dream.  Spiders represent deception or lies. We know who the father of lies is.  Satan uses slander to accuse us Christians, but it ultimately can't harm us if we understand the authority that our father (God) has given us. 

feelings in dreams

Pay attention to how you feel when you are dreaming. These feelings could be an indicator to the true meaning of the dream.  Does a dream leave you feeling sad or confused? Or, maybe a dream causes you to feel carefree and happy. Many times our true feelings come out in a dream even though in real life we are suppressing them. Many dreams that are from our soul work this way. If you are frustrated over a situation that could cause you to have a dream where that same feeling is present.  If you have a dream with an intense feeling as the theme, ask yourself what in the natural could be happening where that feeling may be coming from.  The details of the dream may not mean a thing only the feelings. If it is a negative feeling try to analyze what could be done to change the situation so that it no longer causes you anxiety.  Prayer always is something you can do to change things.  Hope this helps.

Numbers in Dreams

The primary way that numbers get their meaning is the bible.  The numbers one through seven get their meaning from Genesis and the account of creation. One means beginning or first, because in Genesis it says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Two means to divide and separate.  You could say to judge and separate (discern) a situation.  Three means to conform, copy, and imitate. Four means to reign or rule because on the fourth day of creation, God made the sun to govern (reign over the day) and the moon to govern the night. Five means serve or works. Six means image or man which God made on the sixth day. Finally seven which means complete or rest. All of these numbers and their meanings can be found in Ira Milligan's book Understanding the Dreams you Dream.  I have found that numbers also can represent periods of time.  When Pharaoh dreamed of seven fat cows coming up out of the water followed by seven lean, gaunt cows eating the seven fat cows. Genesis 41:1-27 This dream represented 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine.  Numbers can also represent scripture chapters and verse. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if one of these ways could be used in interpreting the meaning.   

Encouraging Dream # 3

This is the final dream that I am going to share for the time being.  I will go back to more informative material.
Dream:  My husband and I was walking in this tall grass.  I was aware that we should be on the watch for snakes. Sure enough, a tall skinny snake wound itself around my left leg and was trying to bite me.  I reached down with my right hand and grabbed a hold of the snake's head.  With my right thumbnail I cut through its head, dividing it in two pieces with blood rushing out.  I knew that I had killed the snake.                                                                                                                                       
Interpretation:  My left leg represents my spiritual walk which was trying to be attacked.  Snakes represent curses or demons.  The right hand means natural or authority.  I reached with my authority in Christ and crushed the snakes head before he bit me.

Encouraging Dream #2

I was with a group of people and this older gentleman was prophesying how God was going to do something BIG with a little old lady. I got my phone out to video what he was prophesying. The next thing I know, these three large, dark demon looking apparitions began descending down the grand staircase behind the man I was videoing.  The crowd scattered. I crouched down and kept saying, "I love you Jesus."  This large demon was sitting on my back.  I then began to quote 1 John 4:4 which says, Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.  The demon got off my back.  When the demonic attack had ended, I looked around, and it looked like a tornado had gone through the place.  All the people that had scattered began coming back around.  This one lady said she didn't think it had been that bad of an attack.  She obviously had not had the same experience that I had gone through.  Then I had the thought that my attack was more severe because I was the "little old lady' the prophet had been prophesying about. I am not that old in the natural but possible am old in the spirit. (Mature)
Interpretaton:  I have been through a horrendous demonic attack that has now lifted. PTL  God is going to use me for Kingdom purposes that will have a great impact.  I am by nature small in stature, but mature in the things of the spirit.
This dream greatly encouraged me that what i have gone through these past four years is going to be used for God's greater glory.  "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according th his purpose for them."  Romans 8:28
NTL It has also given me a strategy to use against any future attacks, to quote 1 John 4:4.

Side note: Anytime someone is prophesying or saying something to someone else, remember that it is most likely for you because you are the one having the dream.