Sorting the Pieces
Are you a puzzler? If you are, I bet you have a method for doing it. I like to sort the pieces first. I start with finding and grouping the edge pieces, then I begin combining like colors that hopefully go together in different areas of the overall picture. Once the pieces are sorted, I start putting together the edges, complete the outside, and then work in different sections, moving from one area to another when I get stumped where I’ve been working. As I’ve spent time in God’s presence these last several days, it’s felt like this is the process I’ve been in. 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
Recently, Brian has been reading 2 Corinthians 4 & 5 over and over again. I finally listened to his prompting to read it and began to see it like never before, feeling as if I was reading new chapters of the Bible. (I love it when God does that!)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
2025: A Year of Structure
This has been a year of alignment. Now, it's time to move into it being a year of structure being built.
A year ago, when God told me 2024 would be a year of alignment, I was so excited and had such huge expectations for all the amazing things that I “knew” were going to take place.
There was a moment this morning when a thought popped into my head – “This year hasn’t been what I expected” and I was surprised by suddenly finding myself in tears.
Just as quickly as the thought came and the tears flowed, I heard, “What did you expect from a year of alignment?”
That gave me pause. As I allowed myself to engage in this holy invitation to conversation, I began to list off a few things.
- I didn’t expect certain friendships to shift and change and no longer be what they’ve been.
- I didn’t expect to strip away some things that have been a hugely important part of my world in favor of shifting time to other things I sensed God leading me to devote my time to instead.
- I didn’t expect Brian to walk out dreams fulfilled only to have that chapter close far sooner than we expected but still know God’s hand was on it all.
- I didn’t expect the sacrifices to be as great as they’ve been or for things to be so hard.
- I didn’t expect to not easily succeed at the things I felt God leading me into and to struggle with feelings of failure, shame, and internal shaking in a totally different way than I’ve ever experienced.
Yet . . . as I listed those things off in His presence and laid them all down before Him, I began to sense gratitude rising within me and my list changed.
- I’m so grateful for the depth of community that’s grown for me this year, even if it’s mainly across the world, and that it includes being part of a church family that is iron sharpening iron in ways I’ve never experienced before and I’ve grown exponentially in Him.
- I’m so grateful to be able to spend so much time with our grandchildren and support our “kids” as they’ve parented. I’m thankful to have devoted time to writing and seeing the fruits of that. I’m thankful to have had time to listen to others, pray for them, and pray for our nation and the nations of the earth.
- I’m grateful to have had more daily time with Brian, have a front-row seat to watching him grow and transform as he walked more fully in his calling, and to get to partner with him in a ton of new ways.
- I’m grateful that this year of “hard” has revealed my growth in Him, deepened my faith and trust even more, and shown me I really can be at peace and have joy, even during times of letting go of things dear to me and walking through challenges.
- I’m grateful that things not coming as easily to me has been an invitation to lean into even more conversations with God, seeking to know His blueprints (not my plans), learning to be okay in the tension of not understanding but still trusting, and allowing His truths to continue to sink in deeply to those places where fear of failure, shame, and self-image being shaken continue to be grappled with as I question Him about so many things . . .
- I’m grateful to have taken more risks this year than ever before and to be even more certain that He has my resounding “yes” however He may lead me.
Why am I sharing all of these personal things with you? It’s because while the particulars won’t be the same, I know the struggles have been similar for so many who can write their own lists of “I didn’t expect . . . ” sentences.
And, I’m here to encourage you to let your list shift to gratitude. Look at each of the “I didn’t expect” statements and allow God to speak His truths into what really happened. You may not have expected things to transpire as they have, but nothing ever takes God by surprise, and He can bring such beauty out of it all.
True confession – I haven’t ever been a lover of the book of Ecclesiastes, but in June of this year, God prompted me to reread it (even grudgingly), and it was as if a new book had been added to the Bible as the Lord helped me to see it through an entirely different lens. While I won’t delve into it now, chapter three’s wisdom of “to everything there is a season” has spoken deeply to my spirit and heart, especially as I’ve dug into the meanings of the words in verses 1-8 and allowed Him to give me a greater understanding of His ways.
Times, seasons, and cycles – they all change, and there’s change coming in the New Year.
As this year comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on what’s past, and asking the Lord about what’s next.
I’ve seen alignments happen over and over this year, both in our lives and others’ – so many transitions, repositioning, and shifting taking place!
The alignments have been needed to position us for what’s ahead – the STRUCTURE that will be built. They were necessary to create a firm foundation to build on in the coming year.
There’s also been a digging deep – SO deep that it’s been painful, but the digging had to happen this year in order for the structural beams to have enough depth to be positioned in, creating stability for the structure to be erected on and remain firm.
This year has been so worth it. I’m thanking God for every single alignment and realignment and am looking forward to 2025 being a year of STRUCTURE being built in so many ways - more on that to come!
Remember . . . as a structure is built, it takes time to build it well. Trust Him in the process and celebrate each milestone. That will help keep you focused and moving forward in partnership with God and all He’s building!
Brian and I are cheering you on! We always say this, but we truly mean it – if you need prayer, please reach out to us. We’d love to hold you close to the Father’s heart and encourage you in any way we can.
I’m sending you so much love, my friend, now and always!
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. This is a worship list I created on YouTube and have had on repeat lately. I hope it blesses you!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
