Andrea’s Journal

This has been an extraordinary week in the Lord—so full of His blessing. As Troy prepares to go to Michigan over the next few days, we both asked Jesus to multiply our finances. In praying that, we never could have imagined how deeply our hearts would be touched.

Last night Troy went to our church, so the body could pray for him before he left. A man who has suffered many financial hardships came up to him and put something into his hand. Then the man said, “Don’t say anything, just take it.” Troy assumed it was a note of some sort and told him he would read it when he got home.

However , when Troy got home he reached in his pocket to find it was a ten dollar bill. Not much money by today’s standards, but to this gentleman at church it is a lot of money. It reminds me of the widow who gave so little money and yet it was all she had. This is one of the kindest gestures that we have ever experienced! I’m still brought to tears just thinking about it how God moves upon our hearts. The hearts that give although there is great need and those that believe in His provision. He is a good God.

Father, we ask that you bless those who have the heart of a giver. Father, multiply this gift, that was so humbly given, for Your Kingdom. Let there be divine provision as Troy goes out into the harvest. My adonai, You’re such a loving Father. I love You.

I’m reading a book called Gentle Whisper of the Secret Place; Adventures of a Hearing Heart by Scott Holtz. He said, “doing things over and over again while expecting different results is a sign of mental illness.” Ouch!

We want our walk to go to a whole new level and yet many of us are doing the same old thing over and over. We get in a rut which is just an open ended grave. I always tell God, “It’s so hard to keep up with You, You’re always on the cutting edge!” That’s what I love about Him.

Father, this is my prayer today. Teach me, to be just like you. Help me to step outside of my comfort zone and not to view things through my past experiences. Put me in places and situations that I never would have envisioned on my own. I love the excitement of that! Let me be a vessel that love and compassion abundantly flows through. Father, You’re doing a new thing—let me go with You.

Last night I was reading a book that talked about the importance of getting up before sunrise and being quiet before the Lord.  Jesus would get up while it was still dark to pray.  I started to remember that almost everything that God has shared with me has been during that time of day.  Then I thought, “I would love to get up that early, but I don’t think I’m physically able.”  But before the sun rose this morning, I was tenderly awakened by the Lord.  I said nothing and just remained still in Him.  It was so glorious, that I said, “Yes, yes Father you can wake me up before dawn every morning!”

This Saturday, our family will be attending m:Y FEST here in Ohio—I am very excited. There are eleven bands and three different stages, the worship should be intense! Last summer we attended a similar festival and witnessed many come to Christ. Jesus we love you. You are so worthy of our worship. Father we pray that hearts are touched and lives are restored during this event.

The last four weeks have been interesting. In the natural, it would seem that not much has happened since Troy and I told the Lord we would go to California. And yet, so much has happened as we continue to walk out it out—not going by what we feel, not going by what we see, but by what we believe!

One thing lately is that I have not been on the computer as much, as I realized it had become a distraction. God is relational and most people are only going experience Him, through having a relationship with a child of God. I have been praying for months that people could experience the tangible presence of God without me saying anything.  So all glory would be for  Him.  Two weeks ago He showed me just a glimpse of what that looked like. We were invited to go swimming with a youth group we had met a year ago. Seemed like an unlikely place to minister, so I never anticipated what He was about to do. It was awesome. What is my point? My point is that by just being with my kids and being willing to go anywhere, that God honored a prayer when I least expected it. What a welcome surprise, He is so faithful!

This month has been full of surprises like that. What I have learned is that although God has given us revelation of what’s to come in our lives, there are places we need to go to prepare us for those roles.  I look at everything He puts in front of us as a divine opportunity.  One of my frequent prayers is, “Show me a door, then push me through it!”  Consider this: a baby doesn’t just stand up one day and began to walk. First he crawls, then he pulls himself up on the furniture, then he takes a few steps before falling and tries again. So when we pray for courage to go out into the harvest or to speak in public, does He simply give us courage or give us opportunities to be courageous? (Yes, I took part of that from Evan Almighty.) Right now God is opening some doors and every time I walk through one, I come out the other side changed. What a rush!  The other night I went to a friend’s church and he handed me the microphone, I practically lunged for it! I was so excited to walk through that door. (What a change from such a short time ago—has to be God.)

Makes me think of something speaker Patricia King used to say, “Scary is fun.” So go out into the world, your light shines the brightest in really dark places.  You’re gifts and callings are not for you.  You were equipped with them to go out into the harvest.  Adopt the mentality that it would be better to fail, than to never have tried.  C’mon let’s step through the door!