Dreams from God: A Glimpse of the Future by God’S Grace

By Susan C. McDermott

Dreams from God: A Glimpse of the Future by Gods Grace weaves together words and photographs to recount the spiritual journey of Susan C. McDermott as she recounts the dreams she received from God. These dreams moved her to embark on a path that brought her to encounter unusual and fantastic adventures, to endure devastating heartaches, and to enjoy miraculous moments.
In the course of her personal narrative, the author reveals the details of her simple lifestyle, the impressions of her dreams from God, and her visions of the future and Gods plan for her. While the specifics of this journey arise from one particular life, Dreams from God illustrates how God touches individuals and changes them to suit His purposes. The author notes this in her Preface, writing, There is something mysterious about the way God works. Through His means of grace, He enters your life at a moments notice through a thought, a dream, or an audible voice.
Dreams from God: A Glimpse of the Future by Gods Grace promises to immerse you in the details of one womans life. At the same time, it makes and keeps a second promise. When you read Dreams from God, you will hear a witness to His grace that reminds you that He can and will pour out that grace in your life as well. This is the source of this memoirs spiritual power to inspire and motivate others to catch the glimpses God offers of the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504964289

Susan C. McDermott

I have studied and photographed all of the species of native Wisconsin prairie plants.  Using  these photographs, I have given many educational slide shows to a variety of groups around Wisconsin.  The Men's Garden Clubs of America have used my photographs for a slide show about a Wisconsin prairie.  I also owned and operated Stoney Brook Prairie Nursery which cultivated many popular species of prairie plants.

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© 2015 Susan C. McDermott. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/10/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5049-6429-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-6428-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015919673

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part 1 A Simple Lifestyle

Chapter 1 My Inspirations

Chapter 2 My Beginning

Chapter 3 Marriage and Divorce

Chapter 4 Self-Sufficiency: The Garden

Chapter 5 Self-Sufficiency: The Animals

Chapter 6 Self-Sufficiency: The Honeybees

Chapter 7 Self-Sufficiency: The Great Pumpkin

Chapter 8 Self-Sufficiency: Other Fun Stuff

Chapter 9 The Prairie

Chapter 10 The Big Mistake

Part 2 Dreams from God

Chapter 11 The Unexpected Dream

Chapter 12 The Promise

Chapter 13 Dream Becomes Reality

Chapter 14 Meeting Takes Place

Chapter 15 Constant Prayer

Chapter 16 God’s Voice

Chapter 17 Unexpected Second Dream

Chapter 18 The Talk

Chapter 19 My Hope

Chapter 20 The Command

Chapter 21 Excitement to Read

Chapter 22 The Fire

Chapter 23 The Gift

Chapter 24 Pure Evil

Chapter 25 Unexpected Third Dream

Chapter 26 Dream Fulfilled

Chapter 27 The Old Farmhouse

Part 3 The Future and God’s Plan

Chapter 28 The Future

Chapter 29 God’s Protection

Chapter 30 The Marriage

Chapter 31 The Lesson

Chapter 32 My Mother

Chapter 33 The Darkness

Chapter 34 Faith and More Surgeries

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

NKJV

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Back Cover Photo

The photo is of Grossglockner at sunrise. Grossglockner is the highest peak in the Austrian Alps. This photo was taken over sixty years ago by a relative of my father.

To my sons, David and Michael Cummings, for being the most important part of my life. I am so proud of you both. You have grown into wonderful men and loving fathers.

To my loving husband, John, my best friend and helpmate who loves me for who I am.

To David’s wife, Jamie, for being a wonderful daughter-in-law and for raising two great boys.

To Michael’s girlfriend, Jessica, for being sweet and for loving my son and granddaughters.

To our daughter, Shannon, a wonderful and loving daughter.

To my wonderful grandmother, Frieda Caroline Lemke, my second mother who taught me useful skills.

To my father, Helmuth A. Sporbeck, my inspiration in tough times, for his unwavering fatherly love.

To my mother, Ilse E. L. Sporbeck, who taught me and molded me into who I am.

To Michael’s and David’s children, Karis, Kaia, Kyle and Ian. G-McD loves you.

PREFACE

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8–9 NKJV)

There is something mysterious about the way God works. Through His means of grace, He enters your life at a moment’s notice through a thought, a dream, or an audible voice. Peace, joy, and love are the outpourings of the Holy Spirit that give you the very limited knowledge that something spiritual and holy has occurred. Surprise, amazement, and wonder seem to follow. I know it did for me.

We know God only so far as He enters into relationship with us to accomplish His will for us. R. A. Torrey said it best in his book The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is not a power that we get hold of and use according to our will but a Person of sovereign majesty, who uses us according to His will. The Holy Spirit reveals Himself to us in the Holy Scriptures. In Acts 2:16–21 Peter addresses the crowd saying,

No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel

In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and

glorious day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls on the

name of the Lord will be saved.

What to do with the knowledge imparted to you is the question. You were given no instruction manual to follow or to help you. You ponder in utter amazement upon the gift given you, searching first why you were picked to be blessed. Now you must choose how to handle the gift.

I don’t remember praying for God to enter my life in such a dramatic way, yet He did. I have been enormously blessed through my encounter with the living God.

Where do you begin an amazing and wonderful story? Maybe briefly at the beginning. But the unfolding of this story takes a lifetime.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A very special thank you to my friend Joan K. Hyer, Waterloo, Wisconsin, for all her help with editing and her encouragement. Joan and her husband, Jim, were wonderful friends and neighbors. They lived next to our farm in the old school house.

Thank you to Pastor James Adomeit, St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church (WELS), Waterloo, Wisconsin, for reviewing the manuscript and his helpful suggestions.

Thank you to Alida Rompelman and Elsbeth Fuchs for their joy and support. They both live on farms near Waterloo, Wisconsin.

Thank you to David and Naomi Plocher for their encouragement.

PART 1

A Simple Lifestyle

CHAPTER 1

My Inspirations

__________________________

Let me give you a brief background of my family. I lived with my maternal grandmother, who emigrated from Germany before World War II with my grandfather and mother and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My grandmother was a quiet but strong woman. Imagine bringing your family to a new land, not speaking the language, having to find a place to live and get a job, and then going through the Great Depression.

My grandparents had one daughter, my mother. My mother never really talked about her childhood, except to say that her father never hugged her or told her he loved her. But my grandmother was loving even in the midst of trying to cope with all the challenges of a new country. My grandfather eventually divorced my grandmother and left for parts unknown, leaving my grandmother to care for my mother and try to make a living. My grandfather was an uncaring, very selfish person. I don’t ever remember meeting him.

My grandmother found work stripping tobacco, which was a