Nightmare Before Christmas with Dave Stevens

Of all the tales of redemption one could tell at Christmastime, there is none for me quite like Charles Dickens’ novella written in 1843 entitled “A Christmas Carol”. Four spirits visit the classic character Ebenezer Scrooge in his fitful sleep, causing insight and discontent only to be resolved by a Higher Power working his magic in another human soul at the celebration of the birth of a baby.

Speaking of nightmares, how are yours doing these days? Isn’t it interesting how fascinated we can get with dreams, pondering their significance, wondering if they really do have meaning for us in real life, and even seeking advice from others who claim to have some expertise in the subject? Interestingly, there is no shortage of biblical references about dreams and even prophetic significance in some.

Consider for a moment the most significant component of dreams and nightmares. What is it? You know: we are sleeping. We wake up in a sweat or laughing or smiling. But we wake up, we hope. 

There are times we refer to something in real life as being dreamlike or nightmarish, and when those lines begin to blur, it gets scary. I must admit there has been a component of that in recent days during the pandemic. It all seems somewhat surreal, from the history books or a science fiction novel. We keep wondering when we will wake up, or at least, wish it was just a nightmare from which we could wake.

What is your worst nightmare? Are you trying to scream, and nothing comes out? Do you wake up covered in sweat? What if you discovered it wasn’t a dream and you weren’t waking up, and it just kept going?

Today we have the unique privilege of having an illustrious guest who knows a thing or two about nightmares, probably worse nightmares than you’ve ever had, and with good cause. His name is Dave Stevens; some just call him “Cowboy." and I want to jump into the middle of his nightmare. Welcome, Dave Stevens to Church Hurts And.