November Prophetic Word
It’s a Season of Acceleration: Prepare, Strategize, Plan
God has been speaking really clearly to me about preparing, strategizing, and planning – not just for this month, but especially for next year. He’s accelerated the timing for its preparation. I sense a strong mandate to hear from God and plan now. I thought it was a word just for us, but over and over again, I’m hearing and seeing it’s a corporate word. Let me break this down and illustrate it by sharing how it’s been unfolding for us.
This has hands down been one of the most challenging years we’ve walked through. We’ve faced a lot in our 33 years of marriage, but this year has been one of the hardest. At the beginning of this year, the Lord told me it was a year of alignment. It’s been one alignment and realignment after the next, but each has had to happen to bring us to where we are now. One cog being aligned has enabled the cog next to it to get into alignment, then the next one, and the next one.
It’s felt like an endless process, but God is in process – ours and yours. It’s all about who we become through it. He refines us and creates in us the capacity we need to walk in what’s ahead. We couldn’t be who we were and effectively walk in all He’s planned for us now and in the coming months. We’ve had to embrace the hard, stand on God’s truths, allow His refining fire, be willing to take a long look into the mirror’s reflection, and do something about what we’ve seen.
Can you relate? Have you had a similar year?
Earlier this year, I had a dream. In it, I was faced with needing to jump onto a fast-moving waterslide through a very narrow opening (Matt. 7:13-14). It was scary, but someone stood next to me telling me I could do it. That person gave me the courage to leap.
What does this dream mean? It’s all about acceleration, being willing to do what seems scary, and having someone alongside you who encourages and tells you that you can do it. I couldn’t see where the waterslide was going to take me or what waited at the bottom, but I knew I needed to jump in and go after the person I was chasing in the dream (who was different than the person who encouraged me to jump into it).
The last two months have seen a massive amount of acceleration in our lives. We haven’t traveled this year at all until September. Since then, we’ve gone on four trips between us. I also wrote and published a new book, we launched a new business, Brian hosted a men’s retreat weekend, and over the last two weeks, I’ve hosted a daily prayer group for our nation, which will become a weekly prayer group through 2025.
Sounds like a swiftly moving waterslide, doesn’t it? At times, it’s felt scary and completely daunting, but we knew it was the leap we were to take. It’s also been a “narrow gate” of entry – “'For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.’” (Matt. 7:14)
During the last two weeks, we’ve sensed the Lord nudging us to begin to prepare, strategize, and plan for 2025. While many prepare into the following year well before now, we don’t usually start to put dates on the next year’s calendar until December. This spoke to us again of the acceleration of time.
God was also very specific about the planner I was to get for next year – it was to include daily time blocking so I would be more intentional about how I invested my time each day. The planner has arrived and dates are being added as we’ve sat in His presence and leaned in to hear His plans for the coming year.
I believe God is urging each of us to get in His presence, listen for His direction, strategize with Him, plan, and prepare for next year. He wants us to intentionally plan for specific actions we’re to take and the timing for each. In some ways, it feels militant in that we’re being shown the battle plans and our marching orders are being revealed. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for us facing upcoming battles, but it speaks to effective preparation, strategy, planning, and implementation.
Prioritize planning with the Lord today and throughout this month. Write down what He shows you – put the dates on your 2025 calendar and flesh out the plans for what next year holds for you in partnership with Him. Have someone next to you who will help direct you on the path before you and encourage you, especially when your next step seems scary or daunting.
God is accelerating the planning and timing for what’s ahead. It’s important we’re prepared for it, know the plan, and are in sync with His timing.
Living for Him,
Andrea
Here's a link to the planner I purchased. I don't receive anything for sharing it. I simply wanted to share a great resource. I got the weekly planner - it includes time blocking.
God has really been ramping up the ministry side of our lives and much is in the planning for 2025, including men's retreats, women's retreats, and another retreat designed for a very special group of people (more details soon), as well as a weekly intercessory prayer group and a third book being published early next year.
If you would like to partner with Brian and me by sowing into The Renovated Life, you can do that via Venmo (@Andrea-Johanson-2), PayPal (therenovatedlife@gmail.com), or Zelle (770-870-9041).
Thank you for partnering with us in building God's kingdom as lives are transformed in His presence!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
September 2024: Preparing for Lift Off!
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve sensed a weightiness on this last quarter of the year. That sounds very normal with an upcoming presidential election and it being the biggest quarter of the year for many businesses; however, this has been a bit different in its focus.
I shared this picture with a friend, then felt it was actually a corporate word. I saw a rocket on a launch pad. The engines had been ignited and energy was being gathered for lift off. I could hear the rumbling and feel the ground shaking. Everything had been prepared for this moment, yet there were still minutes ticking by as the rocket’s propulsion system began to burn fuel and momentum built to create the thrust needed to launch.
These minutes represent the days of the last quarter of the year as we prepare for lift off in 2025.
I sense the importance of “getting our ducks in a row” during these last months of the year with the start of September being a time to quickly identify goals, direction, and steps to take - both this month and over the next three months after that. Many of us have had a sense of what’s next, but we haven’t acted on our inner knowing due to any number of reasons, including fear and uncertainty. It’s time to stop procrastinating and wasting time. It’s crucial we become laser focused on what we know God has been speaking to us, determine the action plan, write it down, and implement it. God is waiting on us - it’s not the other way around!
Proverbs 29:18a says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” (KJV) The Passion Translation of the same verse reads, “When there is no clear prophetic vision, people quickly wander astray. But when you follow the revelation of the Word, heaven’s bliss fills your soul.”
The restlessness we’re feeling within is due to our vision having become blurred or even obscured because we’re afraid of failure. We’re unsure if we’re hearing from God. We’re fighting taking risks or we’re wavering in our belief and faith in ourselves and God.
Happiness and joy will be restored to our souls as we clear our vision by defining and walking in what the Lord has spoken to us.
Personally, God has been speaking to me about very practical things to implement or re-implement in my life. I’ve begun time blocking because I recognized I wasn’t investing my time as well as I could be. I was spending time instead. If I were stewarding time better and investing it well, I would be seeing a greater return on my investment. It’s also meant taking a serious look at how I’m spending my time and letting go of some things I’ve held dear to my heart that fill time now needing to be invested elsewhere.
Our high callings come at a cost. Are we willing to die to ourselves and what we want for the sake of our best “yes” in this season trusting God has far better in store for us?
I also knew I needed to return to setting goals in every area of my life, both monthly and quarterly. Once those goals were set, I knew I could reverse engineer those goals into my daily tasks and time block for them. I’m no longer letting each day roll by with a loose plan, but I’m being extremely intentional with each day, have begun stewarding my time better, and am determined to live each day to the fullest with goals, purpose, and intent in my heart.
These are the keys God has revealed to me that were necessary for the gathering of thrust for my lift off in 2025. What is it for you? What do you need to put into place for your engine to be ignited, your propulsion system to begin to burn fuel, and for you to build the momentum you need to launch you into what’s ahead?
Want to go to the new heights in Him? Ask God what your keys are for turning on the ignition, then implement them to fuel your rocket’s engines. Write down what He’s shown you and let that prophetic vision be the map that guides you to where you’re going. Don’t be surprised when you feel the ground beneath you begin to shake. It’s just the engines coming to life and gathering the energy needed for lift off!
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. Need help with a quick strategy session? Reach out to schedule a chat!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
Let Go of What Used to Be
Recently, I began watching the series, “The Lost Kitchen.” I’m only on the second episode of season one, but God has been speaking so much to me through Erin French’s story of her life and restaurant.As her 2020 story unfolds in the second episode, she says, “I have to let go of what it used to be.” The Lord spoke to my heart in that moment, telling me to pay attention to those words.
I believe many of us have been looking backward at what things used to be like. Maybe without even realizing it, our hearts seem to long for what once was – the familiar, the secure, the known – even if it wasn’t the best.
We’ve been in transition, and it’s taking longer than we’d expected. We knew what to leave and had a sense of what we were moving into, yet we’ve been in this messy middle of it coming to pass and it leaves us looking back, longing for some of the things of the old season.
God has called you out into a new season and He’s asked you to leave the old behind.
Erin French was forced to rethink the way she’d done things. The Lost Kitchen had become an incredibly successful, well-oiled machine; then she had to reinvent everything. She was willing to innovate, think outside the box, and be creative. Because of her unwillingness to not give up and her willingness to transition into what she’d never done before, not only did she “make it,” but so did her family and closest friends (who work beside her), as well as her entire community.
It’s never just about us. Our perseverance in pressing into this new season has a far-reaching impact, but we can’t move into the new still holding onto the old.
Whether what we’re holding onto is “the good old days,” or instead, disillusionment, regret, disappointment, or even the determination to never have things be like they once were, if we’re holding onto it, we’re weighed down by it.
Forget what lies behind. Reach forward to what’s ahead. Press on toward all God is calling you to in this new season. Don’t turn back! (Philippians 3:13-14, paraphrased)
We can learn from the past, but it can’t become an idol we long after. Be willing to let go of what used to be – for your sake and others. Be flexible, think differently, focus forward, and keep taking the next step. All of heaven is cheering you on!
Living for Him,
Andrea
*Photo by Greta Rybus
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
This is NOT the Fool's Month!
A thought came to me this morning about how odd it is to start a month with practical jokes and fooling people. I was brought up short when I heard in my spirit, “This is NOT the fool’s month!”Sensing the Lord’s unhappy heart in His statement, I immediately stopped and asked Him why He responded as He did. I heard two things:
- I give wisdom - “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6, NASB 1995)
- Look up the history of April Fool’s Day.
The history of April Fool’s Day is a bit muddied with historians not certain or in agreement on where or how it originated. It may have originated as far back as festivals celebrated in Roman times or tied to the vernal equinox and Mother Nature being unpredictable, or instead, in the late 1300's with Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. It could have been instituted as a result of a calendar change in the 1500's, or others have said it may have originated with Noah, coinciding with him sending the dove out of the ark too early. However it began, the day is marked by practical jokes, hoaxes, gullibility, mocking others, and no surprise – some explanations of its origins are rooted in the occult. The idea is to good-naturedly make a fool of others on that day.
The sense I was getting from the Lord for this April is He wants this month marked by wisdom, rather than foolishness. There are many needing wisdom and strategy RIGHT NOW for the plans of the Lord to be fulfilled in this season. There are outworkings of destiny and calling happening, including positioning in various realms of society (business, political, etc.), that are unfolding this month. We need His wisdom for the strategies for these alignments, as well as for walking in these new positions of leadership and authority.
I heard His words inside my spirit: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5, NASB1995)
If you need wisdom, ask Him for it – He’ll gladly give it to you, but there’s another part to this passage that’s incredibly important to keep in mind when asking. Reading on in verses 6-8 we find: “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
"Double-minded" is another way of saying doubting or hesitating. When we ask God for wisdom, we need to believe He’s given it and when it comes with strategy or next steps, we need to act on those, rather than hesitating.God doesn’t want to leave us as “fools.” According to Merriam-Webster, a fool is “a person lacking in judgment or prudence, one who is victimized or made to appear foolish, a person lacking in common powers of understanding or reason.”
Merriam-Webster defines prudence as “the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason, sagacity (foresight, discernment, or keen perception; ability to make good judgments) or shrewdness in the management of affairs, skill and good judgment in the use of resources.”
This is NOT the fool’s month! What areas in your life need self-governance and discipline? In what ways do you need to apply foresight, discernment, and keen perception as you lean in and listen to the Lord for wisdom and strategies? Do you need to make any adjustments in your stewardship of the resources God has given you? Act on what the Lord shows you!I also felt it important to declare you are NOT victimized, and neither do you appear foolish! You think clearly, have deep understanding, and possess sound reasoning. Any words to the contrary spoken over you by yourself or others are broken off NOW, in Jesus’ mighty name!
God always gives us invitations to grow in our faith, which includes our trust in Him. (The two words are synonymous and often interchanged depending on the Bible translation you read.) This is a year of alignment in every way and this month has a particular focus on implementing the wisdom and strategies needed to move forward in the things He’s called you to in partnership with Him.
Don’t doubt. Don’t hesitate. Wisely implement what God shows you and take action by faith! This is NOT the fool’s month!
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.” (Ephesians 5:15, NKJV)
“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:6-7 NIV)
“Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:6-7, NKJV)
I bless you with incredible wisdom! Please share any stories about how this word unfolds in your life this month - I would love to hear them! If Brian and I can pray for you in any way, reach out to us. We’d love to hold you close to the Father’s heart!
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. Brian and I are launching out more in the ministry realm, including me writing more and Brian working to end sex trafficking. If you'd like to sow a seed by "buying us a coffee," please click the link below (more information is included on the page), and thank you for partnering with us!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
March 2024 Prophetic Word
IN LIKE A LION, OUT LIKE A LAMB
As we approached the start of this new month, I kept hearing the old proverb about March - “In like a lion, out like a lamb,” rolling around in my spirit. As I asked the Lord about it, He began to speak to me about the lion and the lamb.
I pondered on the lion and Aslan came to mind. I thought of an excerpt from C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were answering Susan and Lucy’s questions about Aslan being a lion and whether or not he was safe.
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Following Him isn’t going to feel “safe.” It will be a time of risk-taking, stepping out in faith, and being uncomfortable in the unfamiliar and unknown. Much greater trust will be required of us, yet the yes on our lips will be founded on knowing He is GOOD, even in the tension of things being utterly beyond our natural abilities.
The lamb is representative of the sacrificial Lamb of God. Isn’t it interesting Easter falls on March 31st this year, bringing new meaning to “out like a Lamb”?
This lamb isn’t meek and mild. This Lamb represents being fully surrendered in a “not My will, but Yours, be done” manner (Luke 22:42). Strength and courage are required to surrender one’s will, especially when knowing what lies ahead is death. In our case, it’s death to self, agendas, plans, ways of doing things, and anything else asked of us by a Father who knows the new life that will come from our choice to die. Our surrender is our love and trust response to Him.
Expect to not feel “safe,” but at peace in knowing His goodness.
You’ll also be invited to surrender your will to His in very specific ways. There will be death to self and certain things hindering you from walking in the fullness of your destiny and calling. New life will be your reward, but don’t be surprised if there’s a time of waiting before it’s revealed.
Embrace the tension of this month. Lean into His presence. Worship the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. Keep expectancy in your heart!
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. As always, if Brian and I can pray for you, please reach out!
P.S.S. Photo credits are linked to the photos.
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
