Andrea’s Journal

God shared so much with us in the last five days while we were in California. I am still processing it all. The first day after we arrived, we spent some time in prayer with friends that evening. There was such a penetrating peace that fell over the room. In the early morning hours God began to speak to me in a dream. In the first dream He showed me a pair of white athletic shoes. I thought that was a little strange but He talked about a husband and wife being intertwined. The shoes had to have laces and the laces needed shoes. There was like a gold strand or a gold band placed on the shoes and He said that was their faith.

Right after that I was in a building with many people and God begins to reveal something to me. In the dream, I turn to two people from my church to reveal what the Lord has shown me. I said to them, “It’s like God saying throw this ball to that man and because of the simplicity of it, you don’t want to do it—it seems like a silly thing to do. But when you throw the ball to him you find that he is a great man of God, a relationship begins and so does your calling.” I could see a big plastic ball being thrown to a man I did not recognize with short dark hair. Then I woke up.

Throwing the ball into someone else’s court is a term that is frequently used here in the West. It means instead of having everything in your court or on your terms you are relinquishing control to someone else. Interesting. The dream also shows that just by doing something as childish as throwing a ball because the Lord said to, is what will move you towards your calling. In other words, the Lord has already orchestrated everything in between and the whole process is set in motion just by taking one simple action. It shows a childlike faith but also shows building a relationship with another believer. I heard a pastor say that a good friend will help you find your destiny in the Lord. The Lord is so wonderful!

This friday we are leaving for California. As I am worshipping the Lord this morning, my heart is so full of expectation. We have been asked what Troy and I will be doing there. I seem to be at a loss of words simply because there has been so much revelation regarding this over a course of year. There have been dreams, visions of places that I’ve never seen, confirming words and doors that have almost supernaturally opened. I am hesitant to say what God is doing, the truth is I’ve only seen a glimpse. When I’ve asked Him, He has only told me that if I knew everything I could not contain myself. He knows me so well. I thought, “If only I were like Gideon, who could say an angel spoke to him.” But then I realized that even though that happens today, most people, even christians would reject it. So this morning as I’ve pondered what to say, I’ve come to the place where there is only one thing I can say. And that is that we are CHASING God. For five years we’ve told Him that we would follow Him anywhere and so we are chasing Him with all our heart, soul and strength. We are chasing Him to the West Coast. We don’t know everything that will happen but we know our God and we are going after Him hard.

Last night around 7:30 p.m. we went sledding. Sledding at night? Well, Troy insisted that it was as much or evem more fun at night; and it truly was. We have had snow, then ice and then more snow. So this snow is very slippery, not the fluffy white stuff. I screamed as we hurled down the hill with amazing speed. I have scratches on my chin from plunging into a drift. It was so worth it! We laughed as our youngest daughter who is five sped down the hill, she is so tiny and light. My oldest who is up for any challenge, was actually more reserved for once and put her arms out to slow herself down. Troy relived his childhood as he went as fast as he could go. I guess we must have been enjoying ourselves a little too much because the neighbors started to look out to see what the commotion was. What a great way to spend an evening, here in the Midwest!

At 6:30 a.m. my mother called me and said that my father was ill. She said during the night he began to cough up blood and was bleeding rectally. However he refused to go to the hospital and so my mother faithfully stayed by his side to pray.

I love my dad very much, he was always my biggest fan. Most of his life he has been a farmer until more recently. I remember him always reading the Wall Street Journal and encouraging me to be all I could be. He is not very vocal about his relationship with Christ but I know he knows the Lord. My dad got saved when he was standing in one of his fields, pondering some scripture. He had a sore on his hand, but when he looked up and said,”I don’t want to perish,” the sore immediately vanished. My dad gave his heart to Jesus that day.

He’s such a quiet man most of the time. My mom said that when she met him that all he talked about was his cows, especially one he named Cha-cha because of the way she walked. Since she was a city girl, she was mesmerized. Even our conversations were limited, consisting only of cars, the stock market or farming. But today when he said, “I’ll be okay,” it seems like it’s coming from somewhere deep in his soul. It seems to come deep from a heart that has learned to trust in his heavenly Father. I believe the Lord is even saying to my dad today in this hour, “Beloved, you will not perish.”

You can find Andrea’s previous web log entries by clicking HERE