In the old testament, a man named Gideon was called by God to lead his people in victory over the Midianites.  (Lots of battles, don't you know... God was always calling them to kick someone's ass)  So God chose Gideon to lead the battle, but Gideon questioned whether or not he was interpreting what God was telling him correctly.  To clarify, he put the wool of a sheep (a fleece) on the ground outside his home and asked God to let dew fall only on the fleece and not on the ground around it if he was seeing his path clearly. 

What happened was:  “And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; if the dew be on the fleece only, and dry upon all the earth, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.  And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.  And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground."  (Judges 6:36-40)

A lot of Christians [I only mention the Christians because it's a quote from the Bible]  I've talked to and read about take exception to this, feeling that Gideon is unjustly challenging God.  I think he was pretty sharp, especially in a situation where very human delusions of grandeur could be at stake.  It's often hard to decipher what The Universe/God/Goddess/Creator wants us to do from what we want to do and so each year at Winter Solstice, I write out the things I want to accomplish in the coming year, to be solidified by Harvest (August 1 - October 31).  Then I pay attention, because from Solstice through February 2nd, I will be given confirmation or redirection, meaning if I pay attention, I'll find hoards of hints as to which of the things on my list I should pursue, which I should dismiss for the time being and anything I should add to the list.  That way, by Spring Equinox, I'm ready to plant the goals that have been solidified.