
February 2025: Implement & Obtain Permits

On the last day of January, I felt led to reflect on that month differently and more intentionally than ever before. What did it look like practically? I wrote a brief summary of what God did in January. I noted a dream about 2025 I’d had mid-December, writing it down as a prophetic anchor for the year. Then, I listed major prayers God had answered during the month and bulleted significant events that had taken place. I ended with things I could improve as I moved into the next month.
I then asked the Lord about February. My planner is set up with spaces to write down a verse and a prayer for the month, things I’m grateful for and things I’m praying for, goals for the month in the areas of faith, family, fitness, and finances, and three habits to focus on, as well as a circle to check off each day I’ve accomplished those habits. It was amazing to build on what God had revealed last month as I filled in the page for February with the structure of the consistent things He’s led me to participate in – like a prayer group and study groups covering several focuses.
God has continued to highlight to me the number of times He was specific in giving directions to people throughout the Old and New Testaments. That never stopped. While He didn’t always give precise details and at times asked individuals to walk in faith without knowing specifics, we should have an expectation of leading and guidance from Him even if the instruction is as simple as “go”)! Ask and you will receive (Matt. 7:7)!
When I asked God what His word focus was for February, I immediately heard, “Implement - it’s time to take action on the blueprints revealed so far.”
As I chatted with Brian about what we were each hearing from God for February, Brian said he’d also heard “implement,” (I loved that confirmation!) and then had immediately heard “building permits.”
That made total sense to me!
In construction, permits are required for building and renovations. They help ensure safety, make sure the construction is compliant with set codes, provide legal protection from fines, and prevent issues that could arise when selling the property if permits hadn’t been obtained.
As we begin to implement the blueprints God has shown us, we may need to obtain “permits.” What do I mean by that? Sometimes, there are things present in our lives that we need to address – things that could cause the building we’re starting to be shut down or delayed. This can look like the need to ask or offer forgiveness, pay a debt, examine (and change) our motives, or repent of things Holy Spirit reveals to us.
Just like in the natural, there may be a price to pay. For instance, forgiving someone or changing our motives can be hard. These things can come at a personal cost to us.
Repentance is a beautiful gift from the Lord, not a burden, and it’s never intended to cause us to feel shame. I love to pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). Our flesh can make it feel like we’re paying a price to repent, but the truth is the price has already been paid in full by Jesus. We’re simply grabbing hold of the redemption already ours as we ask for forgiveness.
Repentance brings freedom and joy and clears the path for us to move forward unburdened knowing God’s deep love for us. God is inviting us to take care of anything Holy Spirit shows us. When we do, “permits” are granted in the Spirit, paving the way to build according to His plans.
Now, it’s your turn to get practical and determine what this looks like for you in February. What structure has God shown you to implement? Need to get any “permits” first? Make that the top priority, then go from there and take action with the path cleared before you. Move forward with what you know, and trust He’ll show you the next steps from there.
I’d love to hear what the Lord is speaking to you! Send me a message about it! Need help hearing God’s voice? Grab some time on my calendar and let’s chat! I love helping people hear the voice of God for themselves!
Living for Him
Andrea
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same

Sorting the Pieces

I know the picture that’s coming together is the blueprint for the structure God is building in and through my life this year. I’ve been sorting the pieces of the puzzle He’s been unveiling – the things I know He’s been speaking, and then identifying the “groupings.” I’ve first needed to sit with Him and identify the things God is breathing on (highlighting) for this year, find like pieces, and then begin to put them together, watching as the picture unfolds before my eyes.
Something that continues to strike me is how detailed God has been throughout His Word when He’s given people instructions to follow – the ark, the temple, finding the gold in the mouth of the fish to pay their taxes, turning water to wine, and other countless examples. Why would He do any less with us?
To some, what I’m sorting through could look like goals and how to achieve them, but this is different. The process isn’t the same, and I believe that while the outcome will still be marked with success, it will be vastly different than achieving a goal. A structure will be erected. It will be built on the rock, it will be stable, it will have the capacity to expand, and it will last.
I have a lot of passions and things I love. I’ve lacked clarity of direction over the last year or so because it’s widespread and I haven’t been sure where to put my focus. Jesus, marriage, and family are never a question. Then there’s writing, farm life, healthy living, educating, speaking, business/entrepreneurship, pioneering new things...And those are just the headings without the subtopics like the prophetic, intercession, mentoring, coaching, podcasts, and more! These are all the darts I’ve been throwing at a distant, seemingly moving target, hoping some would hit the bullseye.
I’ve needed to sit and write down the details God has been speaking to me – dump them all out on paper like dumping the pieces of a puzzle on the table. Then, I’ve needed to sort them into like “piles” and figure out where those like pieces fit in the overall picture. This word, this instruction, or this idea He’s given me fit in this spot - this part of the plan for building out this particular “room” of the overall structure He’s building this year.
“Then the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision and engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets so that the one who reads it will run. “For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time it hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it, because it will certainly come; it will not delay.’” (Habakkuk 2:2-3)
Sit with the Lord. Do a brain dump on paper of all the things you’re passionate about. You might have a laundry list like I do. Ask Him what He’s breathing life into for this year. Some of it may be for a future time you need to wait for patiently (Hab. 2:3). What is He framing out for you in this part of the build – the structure being erected in 2025?
A word I have continued to hear, including in a personal word given to me by a friend, is to go back to the basics and make it simple.
Once you know what God wants to partner with you in building this year, ask Him for the simple, specific instructions to follow, and write them down. Do that for each area He’s speaking to you about.
Take your time – don’t rush this process. Continue to use this month to wait patiently in His presence. Sort the pieces of the puzzle. His blueprint will begin to emerge as you put those pieces together. With His detailed design before you, you’ll know the next steps to take.
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. Sometimes when I’m working on a puzzle, I need someone to have a fresh look at the pieces on the table because I’m stuck. They’re able to see what I can’t and help me get restarted after they’ve put a piece or two in place.
Need a fresh perspective on your pieces? Book some time on my calendar. I’d love to have a look with you and see if I can help!
P.S. Sometimes when I’m working on a puzzle, I need someone to have a fresh look at the pieces on the table because I’m stuck. They’re able to see what I can’t and help me get restarted after they’ve put a piece or two in place.
Need a fresh perspective on your pieces? Book some time on my calendar. I’d love to have a look with you and see if I can help!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same

I Have Awakened, & the Fog Has Cleared!
I’m having an epiphany morning. I have to chuckle over the ways God speaks. This morning, it was through “X” and the number of threads I “happened upon” coaching entrepreneurs about the need for specific goals, plans, etc., and how the brain responds when good routines, goals, and tracking personal data are in place.
This isn’t a new concept to me. I’m naturally a driven, type A, task-oriented person, with very specific goals and data I track, but through my reading this morning, I realized how “lost” I’ve felt for over a year and how during that time, my goals, direction, and plans have become incredibly ambiguous.
I told Brian it’s as if I’ve been throwing a handful of darts at the target hoping something would hit the mark, but I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THE TARGET WAS or where it was located. I’ve been throwing in a general direction, then trying another if that didn’t seem to work.
UGH!!! FACE PALM, AND ALL THE THINGS!
As I partner with God in structure being built this year, I’ve been reminded today this is where the blueprints begin to be revealed. I keep shaking my head because I KNOW the importance of specific goals and plans, but somehow over this last period of time, my vision became unclear, uncertain, and unknown, and I felt like I was lost in the woods without a compass or GPS.
How could I have specific goals if I wasn’t sure where God was leading me and what He was calling me to do in partnership with Him?
Can you relate?
I’ve had all these ideas, and even plans I believe were God-birthed, but I haven’t been effective in implementing them because I didn’t have a clear, concise plan of action – the blueprints needed for building it out. I had an idea of the general direction in which to go but got caught up in the weeds of uncertainty, confusion, and listening to the voices of others, rather than His voice.
This is why some of the things I’ve been trying to do have faltered, fizzled out, or just not taken off.
Knowing this, I can now sit with God and get to work capturing the detailed plans He’s been speaking, and I’ve been missing.
I feel like I’ve awakened this morning – the fog has cleared, and I actually know what to do.
If you’re reading this and my journey is resonating with you, know that I’m praying for you as you awaken!
Living for Him
Andrea
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same

Embrace Small Beginnings
Confession: I really struggle with not going full force right out of the gate.
But . . . God has been speaking to me about starting small and building from there.
He's been pointing out to me how often I've sidelined myself in the past by jumping in hardcore and how if I'd started a little more slowly, I would have been able to build from that place and not lost time because I've needed to regroup and restart.
An easy example of this in my world right now is that I REALLY want to be out doing my 5 mile, brisk walks and my weighted exercises; however, throughout the holiday season, I dealt with swelling in one of my knees and then had excruciating neck pain just in time for Christmas and New Year's, both of which impacted my mobility. Thankfully, I've now improved tremendously. My norm would be to jump right in - and likely end up back on the couch, icing.
I CLEARLY heard God tell me to focus my new exercise routine on stretching - THAT'S IT.
Seriously?! (Insert HUGE, frustrated sigh.)
But, He was right. (Imagine that . . . ) Stretching morning and night has actually challenged me and been REALLY needed. I'm giving it time and looking forward to adding shorter, slower, walks that don't include hills yet, and then building from there.
It's still frustrating, but it's become a spirit and soul exercise even more than a physical exercise, strengthening me internally in the process. 

"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin..." (Zech 4:10)
God has been speaking to me so much about building with wisdom - that includes embracing small beginnings knowing they'll lead to bigger things, and recognizing / counting the cost, especially the price I could pay if I start too big or too quickly.
Can I rest in and feel satisfaction with small beginnings, and take joy in the fact that I've simply begun the work??? This is refining me for sure!
Starting small and building from there can help prevent potential delays and paying a greater cost, but that can be hard to see when you want to get moving.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12)
"For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28)
Today is the first Monday of the New Year. It's the day when many start their New Year's resolutions in earnest.
Are your goals and plans the right size? Will they lead to bigger things or be so overwhelming you get off track?
What are your small beginnings this year?
I see you - and I'm cheering you on in concert with all of heaven!
Sometimes, it helps to bounce things off of someone and get a fresh perspective. Need an encouraging chat, a strategy session, or prayer? Grab some time on my calendar. I'd love to connect!
Living for Him,
Andrea
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same

Hard-Pressed, But Not Crushed

I got to verse 8 in chapter 4, which starts with, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed..." and a photo I recently saw came to mind.
Someone had posted about making stamped, clay ornaments, but they were unlike any I’d ever seen before. Lace had been pressed into white clay shapes, creating the most intricate and delicate designs on their surfaces.
I saw beauty in being pressed but not crushed – of having an imprint made on the surface that replicated what had been pressed into it.
God spoke to my heart and said, “The continued pressing and pressure you’re feeling is the imprint being made in you – who you’ve become in Me through facing the pressure of this year, plus My very being and fabric of who I AM imprinted even more deeply into you. It’s being pressed more deeply for My intricate design to be made clear.”
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)
When used on paper, a stamp only makes a mark on the surface by it first being pressed firmly into the ink, then pressed down firmly onto the surface it’s to make its mark upon. It’s as if we’ve been pressed into the ink that is Him and now the pressure is being applied for the mark to be made on the “paper” (i.e., earth) around us. It’s an imprint of Him within us that can only be imprinted elsewhere when pressure and pressing are applied.
The pressing many of us have continued to go through, even recently, has been for the purpose of making sure what we’ve gained this year - who we’ve become in the old passing away and all things becoming new, has gone down deeply, making a clear imprint on our spirits, souls, and lives.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18)
That pressing has been working His beautiful design in us and it’s reflecting His glory. You might not be able to see it, but those unseen things are those that are eternal.
Don’t lose heart, sweet friend! He’s been making His imprint in and through you, and it’s stunning!
Living for Him,
Andrea (& Brian)
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same