Last night I had a dream about an old friend I have known for over 20 years. He was one of those people who began to reveal the grace of God to me. My friend nearly 20 years later continues to have an influence on me. While he was in my early life he began to show me the value of being a father and how we had the potential to move mountains through our lives.

In the dream I was the only one who had appeared at a meeting he was doing. I quickly realized that there had been no pre-meeting publicity. But the meeting went on. He never missed a beat. I met him at a church fellowship the next day. He said to me that the same thing had occurred. He had been invited in but no one told anyone. It was me, a young minister, his wife and his children.

I began to be upset but he asked me not to be. It was dark when we went to leave. I was asked to meet him at the car. I went out to the street to see what was a most fabulous vehicle. A Cadillac in nature, it soon left my mind of all of that. It was wider and more like a limo. When I climbed into the front seat, I quickly knew this was no normal vehicle. In the back, was the young minister and his family. I knew in a moment this was going to convert to some type of flying machine. I could not get over it. We were off!

A second dream just added more to the first.

A while later we met in the second floor of a store in what appeared to be California. We walked in and little children began to flock to him with no encouragement. His ministry began to change the room.

When I began to awake from this stretch of dreams, there was a part of me that was disappointed. Embarrassed even. I began to evaluate.

Since my day of meeting my friend of 20 years, I have watched him overcome with dignity, grace and vitality. He has modeled to me and so many others the value “of grace in a trial”. Well up in age he is productive, writing and preaching.

But as much as I think he is a treasure in the kingdom, the dream is bigger.

Yesterday my son and I went for a walk. We were talking about education, college and the need for it in so many lives. (We probably disagree with the method to get there!)And one of the things I mentioned was the need for a “renewal” in the hands on sector. Trades and such. (I realize the average person can not change a flat tire. Does not know how to plunge a toilet. Oh, way more!)

My friend has been talking about creativity and kingdom for all the years I have known him. Here he was with a flying car! (And this made “Back To The Future” seem tame!)He has experienced revival, renewal and awakening. He has “something”.

What was really happening in this dream was this. It is about a generation that has “assumed” that they are invalid. That they have no place. Only this morning I read an article about a “movie director” who declared himself obsolete “in the current state of affairs”.

Have you looked around? Have you looked around at the current “state of affairs” and declared yourself invalid? I get the feeling. I work in the tech realm. I am a dinosaur by ANY standard. But what I have is Him. Jesus. And Jesus is the game changer. (Well, apparently not for a team or two last weekend!)I know and get the feeling of loss. Of not being needed. But no one had that cool flying vehicle but my friend!

America is going to turn over. Turn around. Be revived. Someone better have some insight. As my friend Darryl used to preach “someone needs to get a clue”. (A clue being something that leads to solution.)Who is going to farm? Sew? Cook? True revival will bring about the need for generations to be connected. Attached.

Last weekend I sat with my grandchildren and helped them begin a small business to put money in their bank accounts and give them a sense of family, pride and a touch of entrepreneurship! As they painted I thought this is how I was as a child. My father taught me to use a saw. A hammer. To paint.

America is coming back. Technology is going to continue to rise, but it is going to diversify and produce on levels we have left behind. A resurgence of manufacturing is in the works. Clothing, hardware, home products. Do not be deceived by the flash of box store ads. There is a revitalization in the making. Not a one off kind of thing but where whole cities are transformed. In the midst of it you will see the elderly supplying encouragement and instruction.

For years I have seen the healthcare debacle cause me to see the best of our healthcare workers ditch the practice or head to a small Central American community. I realized this morning that America is better than that. I realized we have the raw resource and the talent stored away in communities. Age is not a factor.

I read of a man who was 12 years in a “vegetative state” this morning. And he suddenly awoke. He describes his being “written off”. I am here to say that many have felt written off, but this is your time, your season. You may not live in the darkness in anymore. It is time to reach for the light and let His wonderful light begin to touch you. To change you.

You may have read the above and said “but you don’t know”. The God who rewrote the history of Sarah, of turning water into wine and changing nations is more than able. More than capable of taking your life and letting it shine.

I speak to generations today and say “you are a chosen generation”, the greatest generation here on earth. You are here to change the world. In the words of the Goonies, this is our day, this is our hour. May darkness across our great country evaporate in His marvelous light. I speak to my age group and say retirement or refirement. The choice will be yours. Perhaps you have felt lonely, not needed, uncared for. Today the Lord is doing a mighty work of restoration. It is truly the day that He has made!