No way...

Doing some quick research on the Celtic tree of life, as I am really rather entranced with the imagery of that which I posted earlier tonight.

http://mypage.direct.ca/a/ameehan/t/0008/index.html

The Tree of Life is one of the most popular and enduring motifs of Celtic art, found both on Celtic sculptured stone, metalwork and illuminated manuscripts.Portrayed variously variously as a golden bough, a vine, or mistletoe, the Celtic Tree of Life typically springs from a vessel representing Nature’s womb, branching from a series of Horns of Plenty.

I don’t know if you totally understand the importance… the impact… of this. I’ll spell it out for you.First of all, what I quoted from the web site is information I did not have until tonight.And so, here is all of the God-info you need in order to truly understand the amazing-ness of what that means.

My name
God’s Flourishing Graceful Warrior

Prophecy (September 2003)
And the Father says to you, Janna, that you’re in a time and a season when things are changing; when things are moving; when things are being reinterpreted around your life. There’s something new and fresh that the Father wants to give to you, Janna. There’s new experiences. Deepening. A broadening. There’s things the Father has for you that you haven’t received and haven’t fully unpacked. It’s almost like there’s containers and boxes and things around you that are still waiting to be unpacked. There’s things that the Father wants to give to you, that will give you life and truth and understanding and reference points that will be helpful for you. There’s this counsel and wisdom that the Father wants to speak into your life, that will help to interpret and reinterpret some things for you. The Lord says there’s things coming that will bring clarity and great reflective understanding back to you. You like reflection, Janna. You like reflective relationships. You like to do things that build clear communication. You like to be very honest and open; you like to be deep, and you like to be clear in understanding motivation, intentions, agendas, and things that are important in relationships. You’re a woman that’s got a lot of relationship skills, good people skills, good communication equipment in your life that the Father wants you to use to communicate His love, His truth, and His life to others. There’s many things that the Father wants to speak and communicate to your heart. And the Father says, “I am walking and waiting and nurturing you to come into a place when there’s a greater processing, a greater receiving, a greater ability for you to understand and to come into that which is yours in God.” There’s a lot of inheritance – a lot of spiritual inheritance and giftedness that the Father wants to put upon you. And, Janna, he wants to just – it’s almost like the misting rain, the mist that comes with a very green and fertile environment. The father says you do very well in very green and fertile environments when there’s a lot of support, a lot of strength, a lot of structure around you that gives to you a lot of momentum and helps to build and create out of your life the truth that can set many people free.

Anointing (August 2006)
**Chris was talking about people leaping onto altars that were burning, so that they could be melted down and turned into the new moulds for God’s new anointing for this generation. He said the words “life from death” and this image burst into being for me.**
As the flames die down, the altar is revealed to be a pile of ashes. But from the ashes comes new life - a tall tree grows up to maturity in an instant.
The tree is strong, and its trunk is solid & thick. Its leaves are green & full; no branch is bare!
And the ashes beneath it give it life.
The room is filled with a soft green light, as the light is filtered through the leaves of the tree.
Rooted in tradition, of which the foundation is Scripture - the Word of God. But something new… something new! And the tree is reaching to the heavens, praise be to God!

From August 8, 2006:
God only knows how many times I’ve prayed for this… thing, this… difference… to be gone. I never wanted to be alone, to feel alone.
I just wanted to be a part of things, to be included, to have friends.
But God had a different plan, and he gifted me with the ability to write, to communicate, to build relationships that are deep and personal.
Lathana, a creeping vine, gratitude, praise.
Janna Louise, God’s Flourishing Graceful Warrior.

I am a tree. I grow out of the ashes of a flaming altar – the altar of tradition. I am rooted in that tradition, nurtured and fed by the Word of God himself, and there is something new growing within me, bursting forth from the branches that give shade and shelter to those who need rest.
I am strong, a place for weary travellers to lean and regain their strength… a place for poets to sit and write… a place for dreamers to dream, and then step out from my shade, from my protective shelter, into the sun – into the world.

And I gather their stories, as they sit in my shade, as they confer with their Lord & Saviour. I gather their stories and digest them, record them, remember them, holding them within my mind.

Occasionally I speak. I tell these stories that I have collected, in new ways, to those who will benefit from them. I share the wisdom I have learned from these travellers, poets, dreamers, and I hope that my listeners come away with something of benefit.

The tree is where the flourishing part comes in. It is where the truth of the name my parents gave me comes to fruition. I have long known the warrior’s spirit, and my open acceptance is borne of the grace of God. It is the tree – life, knowledge, wisdom, rest, shelter – that is the final key to my earthly identity.
And it is the tree that joins the earthly to the spiritual, for the vine and the tree are both green, growing things. And my God-name is gratitude and praise, the crown of my life, the crown of my being. I praise and I am thankful, and God returns to me in kind – praise and gratitude for a job well done, a life well lived.

Do you see it now? Do you understand? The Celtic tree of life is often depicted as being a vine. My God-name (and also, I believe, Janna) can mean ‘creeping vine’, or at the very least, green growing things. (That is not exact, but I definitely learned that when I was researching my name a couple of years back.)

On top of that, the Celtic tree of life is typically depicted as coming out of a vessel of some kind, something that represents Nature’s womb. That picture that I had, of the burning altar that the tree grew out of, it correlates to this!

The imagery is all there. It all ties together. My name, my God-name, the prophecy that was given me, the picture I had last summer, my Scottish background, my fascination with Celtic artwork…I really am a tree. I truly am meant to bring life to others. What a startling realization to have right before bed.