The Year of Restoration

2008 was the "Year of New Beginnings." 

2009 is the "Year of Restoration."  I believe this refers to the restoration of apostles to the church. The restoration of the mothers and fathers of faith for this generation. Restoration of 5-fold ministry. Restoration of identities. Restoration of dreams. Restoration of relationships and hearts. Of purity and beauty. Of love and of what grace was intended to be (not just a ticket to heaven, but the keys that unlock realms of the impossible). 

One exercise we did in school several weeks ago was one regarding our identity and declaration. We all laid out on the floor and spent 1 1/2-2 hours asking God to tell us who we were. Soaking music played in the background as we started to see things in us that we always hoped would be there. Things that we never thought possible. Things that we'd been dreaming about since we were children. New things that seemed unfathomable, but were completely possible with a limitless God. The interns walked around and prophesied over us which helped confirm many of the things the Spirit was telling us. 

At the end of this time, many of us had written down page after page of all the things God had showed us. In a sense, God had cast a vision for us for our lives. 

One by one we lined up to make declarations to our class about who we were, and how God saw us. This was tough because God spoke to a lot of insecurities and lies that we believed about ourselves, and we had to stand in front of 70+ people and tell people the truth about who we were. The truth about what was deep inside of us. The truth that we had been concealing and hiding from others. The things we weren't ready for people to know. The things we didn't think we could steward once others knew about them. I wanted to share two different things here with you; who God told me that I am, and then my declarations and dreams that I have for the year 2009. 

I am a healer of hearts and relationships.

I will change the way people hear and think about God.

I make people feel at home.

I am a safe place for people. In me people can find rest. 

I carry radical grace and peace and I will continually walk into deeper and deeper levels of freedom.

I will see healing by touching without prayer.

I am marked for greatness.

I'm worth getting to know.

I carry an inner strength that can be imparted.

I am significant and loved.

I am beautiful. 

I am worth encouraging.

I am a treasure-hunter in heaven. 

I will have radical encounters with God and see visions and angels.

I carry a spirit of revelation.

I have the keys that unlock God's heart. 

I will carry the love of Jesus to hundreds of nations. 

I will see hospital numbers decrease and the need for hospitals decrease because sickness will no longer be able to hold a candle to the sons and daughters of God that are rising up and stepping into their identities.

For 2009:

I will see thousands healed. I will see nations being discipled. I will encounter God in new and radical ways. I will walk and grow in intimacy daily. I will see hearts healed. People will encounter God through my art. We will be blessed financially. Our dreams will increase 100-fold. Night-time sleep will be full of the sweetness of the presence of God. Revelation of Jesus and of heaven and of God's heart will happen daily. We will have angelic visitations. Patrick and I will go to places in the Spirit together. Our families will start to be transformed by the love that we carry and steward. Whenever we take territory, others will also get that territory (Deut. 11:24). Life will be abundant. We will see the dead raised and it will be normal. Patrick will get business ideas. I will find my place here and have clarity added to my passions and heart. 

The cool thing about dreams is that we can dream in two ways. One: we can dream dreams that are so big that they can't be completed in our lifetime. Two: we can dream dreams that would be impossible unless God showed up.  So....basically we need to dream BIG. bigger than we ever thought possible. Because God wants to show up in BIG ways. 

So start dreaming big dreams and let God show up. Dreams are being restored this year. :)