The Tomato (marriage) Story – True Love Is Who Gets To Pick the First Garden Tomato…

By Annamarie Strawhand | April 22, 2023

The Tomato (marriage) Story – True Love Is Who Gets To Pick the First Garden Tomato…

My husband Michael loves a good fresh home grown tomato sandwich. It brings him back to the days of his childhood. Those balmy summer days in the early 1960’s in the back country of southern Virginia, helping his Granny and Papaw at the old Murphy’s Store at Creeds Corners. In the summers while helping his grandparents at the old store, Little Mikey would run out to the garden between the store and his granny’s house to pick a fresh ripe garden tomato, walking through the garden with just a salt shaker. His bare feet running through the warm freshly raked up soil, shading his eyes with one hand, scanning for red popping through green leaves. Then reaching in to pick a ripe tomato right off the vine. He could barely wait to bite into its warm juicy goodness. Once and a while he would find an over-ripe ‘mater’ (that’s southern for tomato) that fell to the ground and starting to rot – and he would pick those up and throw them in the barn paddock out back because Granny could not sell those. The goats and Billy Boy the pony would eat them right up. He would bring a few other ripe for slicing tomatoes into the store and Granny would make him a sandwich with fresh bologna cut from the store’s little meat counter. He would pair that with a cold coca cola in the glass bottle with a pack of salted peanuts poured in. These were some of the best memories a boy could ever have!

Murphy’s Store at Creeds Virginia – Michael’s Granny and Papaw, Helen and Floyd Murphy ran the store for 50 years.

When we were first dating in the 1990’s, Michael took me out to Creeds to meet his Granny and Papaw. They had retired from the running the old country store and Granny was still making him fresh garden tomato sandwiches. She made me one too. I loved those times of visiting them there at their house in Creeds, Virginia, (which is now our home today). To say that these first fresh home grown tomatoes on a sandwich are Mikey’s favorite in the whole wide world is an understatement. Mikey LOVES home grown ‘maters, especially that FIRST ONE of the season.

Michael and I on our wedding day, we were married on April 22, 2000 in Iron Station, NC

When Michael and I were married in the year 2000, we lived in North Carolina, in a small town north of Charlotte called Iron Station. We had a little rental house on a three acre lot. Now all grown up Big Mikey wanted to plant his very own first garden and grow fresh tomatoes like his Granny. The soil in North Carolina is a hard red clay, but Big Mikey was strong and determined to get tomato plants to grow. That spring Michael worked and worked a plot of red clay for days. He was like an Ox to the plow – breaking up the hard soil, digging, hoeing, raking, adding lime and fertilizer until he felt it was ready to plant. Then he carefully picked out his tomato plants and a few cucumber and peppers, and also some squash and zucchini plants for me at a local home improvement store. As newlyweds we proceeded to plant this beautifully prepared garden in hopeful expectation of our first harvest.

At that time early in our marriage, Michael was working in his own plumbing business and I was working at home doing some marketing consulting for NASCAR and helping Michael with his business office work. We were also trying to have our first baby. I had gotten off the road of traveling the NASCAR circuit to stay home and work by phone and email and in those days ‘Faximile’ ….. while Michael was building his plumbing business. I would be in the house busy with my work when Michael would pull in the driveway every evening. I would hear our two Chesapeake Bay Retriever dogs bark when he came home and sometimes he would throw the ball around for them for a while, so I did not realize he was actually walking over to the garden to deeply inspect it before he came in the house. What he was inspecting each and every day when he came home from work, was a teeny tiny first tomato that was beginning to grow on one of his plants.

Now as newlyweds everything is so peachy you know, huggy-kissy lovey-dovey when your husband comes home from work and you want to be a good wife. I was not much of a cook back then but I did the best I could. We were trying to pay the bills and a part of me was distracted as we both were working hard to keep money coming in – because my job was at home my phone was always ringing and many times I would make a meal at lunch time and have some ready to have for Big Mikey when he came in hungry that evening. This was our early marriage life. We were starting out life together and we thought we could finish each other’s sentences, read each other’s minds or we assumed so! Michael never mentioned to me about the tomato growing in the garden that he was so intently watching. I never even thought to ask about it.

As the summer weeks went by, every evening as soon as he pulled in the driveway Michael would get out of his pickup truck and immediately repeat his inspection of the garden, and every day that tomato would get a little bigger. He was intently waiting for it to come to full fruition, how long before it would be ready to pick, he wanted to make sure it was picked at the perfect time – and he was expectant to be the one to do it. Big Mikey could not wait for that moment, that he could come home from work and that would be the day he could pick his very first home-grown tomato, that he grew himself, and proudly bring it in the house and make his very first sandwich with it. That night the tomato was now big and turning red, looking perfect, almost ready to pick. It would just be a matter of days Mikey thought to himself and he could do the honors of picking, slicing and eating his first tomato. Oh the excitement, oh the expectation!

Again, lil ‘ol wifey (me) in the house was still completely oblivious to my beloved husband’s intentions for this very special first tomato…

That next afternoon while Michael was at work, I was busy at home with my own work and very hungry at lunchtime. I glanced out the window and wondered if there was anything in the garden I could pick for a quick lunch. I walked out back and looked around. Zucchinis were still too small, squash was small too and the peppers and cucumbers were still in the flowering stage. I walked around the garden and something caught my eye, one red, ripe tomato.

“Yes!” I said to myself. “This is perfect. I can have a tomato sandwich and save the rest for Big Mikey when he gets home.”

I quickly plucked the tomato, yes THE TOMATO, the one Mikey was intently checking and waiting on each and every day. It was nice, ripe and warm in my hand and I trotted happily back into the house with my two chessie dogs in tow. It was a very hot day and they needed to come in and get cool. However, the day was about to get hotter, and I don’t mean degrees, LOL.

I happily brought the tomato into my kitchen, washed it up and put it on a plate to slice it. I sliced half and made myself a sandwich and set the other half aside for Michael to have when he got home.

I thought to myself: “Michael will be so excited to see there is a tomato ready for him to eat from our garden and make a sandwich with tonight.”

I ate my sandwich and went back to work. As the sun began to set, I knew Mikey would be home soon and I let our chessie dogs, Ginny and Herschel back outside to wait for their dad to come home.

I went back to my work of faxes and calls in my little home office and heard the dogs barking – announcing Michael was home from work and in the driveway. “Still some daylight,” I thought. “He will throw the ball for the dogs for a bit before he came in for a sandwich.”

Well, that was not the case. Mikey did exactly like he had been doing for the last two months when he came home from work. Jumping out of his pickup truck and immediately walking over to the garden to inspect his harvest, particularly his tomato.

He began to walk closer to the garden, he did not see the red peeking through the green to greet him as he had the last two days before. Something was not right. He walked closer, went directly to the plant were the ripening tomato had been. There were other green tomatoes, but his first red and ripening tomato, the one he had been watching every single day…. IT WAS GONE.

Michael stopped in his tracks, looked all around the garden, then around the property. “Could a racoon or somethin’ come sneakin’ in here and stole his tomato?” He pondered.

He stopped and knelt down to look under the plants, maybe it had fell off and rolled. Nope.

Now, what could have happened to his precious first tomato?

He marched into the house, I was working in my office and jumped up to greet him with a hug and a kiss. No hug, no kiss…. I looked at his face – it was red and he was looking at me with his furrowed brow.

“What’s wrong Honey?” I asked.

“What happened to my tomato?” He announced shortly.

I looked at him blankly. “Your tomato?”

“Yes! My tomato! Did you pick my tomato? Did you?” His 6’5″ frame glared over my 5’3″ as I looked up at him wide eyed. I had a feeling I was in a pickle here.

“Ummm, well I did go out to the garden today at lunch to see if anything had ripened and I found a ripe tomato so I picked it and sliced it up for us, I made a sandwich and there is half of the tomato all sliced up and ready for you.” I explained sweetly.

Flashes of the “I Love Lucy” show came into my mind of how Lucy felt when her husband Ricky Riccardo would come home and she had some “splainin’ to do!

Big Mikey did not find this humorous or nostaligic and Ethel was not going to come in the door and help me in taking part of the blame here. I looked at our two Chessie dogs wagging their tails waiting for dad to pet them and they were not much help in this situation, Big Mikey was looking at me for what seemed like an hour just glaring, ignoring the dogs vyying for his attention. (Remind me next time I get two dogs to name them Fred and Ethel, or maybe Betty and Barney, or maybe Perry Mason and Della Reese I might have needed a good lawyer here. Ha.)

Then he threw up his hands. “You ruined it!”

I ruined it? I could not understand all the fuss over a tomato.

“Yep!” He exclaimed. “You ruined the whole thing. I don’t want no dang sliced up tomato!”

I was perplexed. I could not say a word. I just stood there. I had never seen my husband so upset.

He paced the room in front of the door, I wanted to go into the kitchen and take the plate of the sliced tomato and try to state my case that my intentions were good for him, but he was not having it.

“You don’t understand….” He had a sadness in his voice. “I waited all these years to plant my first garden. I wanted to have that first tomato because it reminded me of when I was a kid, happy times in my granny’s garden. I worked so hard and wanted to make that first tomato special. I was so proud of growing that tomato. I wanted to make that very moment of picking my first home grown tomato, and taking it into the house myself and making that first slice and sandwich – now it’s all ruined.”

My lip started to tremble and tears welled up in my eyes. My heart sank. I felt horrible. How could I have not known this? My big sweet Hubby with his big sweet heart! This was not about the tomato. This was about ‘who’ he was as a person. It was his nostalgia. Memories of his childhood were connected to that one tomato. It was more than a tomato, it was a legacy he was trying to continue and wanted that moment of victory. He looked at it as his ‘Victory Garden” and that first tomato was the prize!

“Oh Honey, I am so sorry! Please forgive me!” I reached out to hug him.

He leaned up against the door jam, shaking his head at the ceiling and with a groan, he hugged me back, I could smell the sweat and dirt on him from working at his plumbing on the construction sites all day. I loved that smell of my hard working man. He deserved to be blessed by his first tomato. I realized in that moment, I needed to be a better wife, and more than that a better friend. I needed to really ‘get to know’ the true heart of my husband. “I forgive ya.” He said with a slight huff. “But don’t ever do that again, ask me about these things, first allright?” “Allright.” I replied, and hugged him tighter.

Maybe I could have got angry back at him, maybe I could have got defensive and said to him; “Well you should have told me how you felt about the garden and the tomato when you planted it! You should have communicated better! I did not know, don’t get mad at me for picking the tomato when you should have explained all this to me before.”

But I did not say all that in that moment.

Shoulda coulda woulda….. God was teaching us something about marriage.

I would realize later it was one of the most important lessons we ever had.

Who is your husband? Who is your wife? What shaped them into who they are today. What is precious to them? Do you understand why certain things are important to them. These were questions I had to research and get understanding about the man I married. I did not realize how important this was until this very moment.

Marriage is not about working jobs, saving money and making sure food is on the table and hoping you will have a good retirement some day then you can talk and rest on the front porch or in a condo in Florida.

Marriage is a Victory Garden to be lovingly tended to daily. Jesus said that God looks at Marriage as His Masterpiece. God wanted to walk in the Garden with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day and talk with them. It was their set aside time that God, Adam and Eve and God looked forward to every day. We enter God’s rest in His presence. We should be at rest in our marriage, because it’s our happy place to be in each other’s presence, fellowshipping.

The first garden for Michael and I should have been our treasure together. We should have been going out to that garden together every day in expectation of the first tomato together. Not just Michael. This works both ways in a marriage, as Michael did the same for me with the things that were important to me.

I realized then that was a lesson also preparing us to be good parents to our child that we had been praying for our first year of marriage. We had to treasure our child together, dote on her together, share in the care, share in the expectation of growth and victories in her life. Both of us.

Marriage is loving each other’s legacy and making it your own. It’s not what is mine and what is his – it’s what is ours. Then your hope is to love the other person’s heart so much you never want to hurt it. That means getting your head out of your own stuff and taking the time to ‘walk in the garden’ with the ones you love. God made it that way. That’s how true relationships flourish, that’s how abundant harvests come for marriages and families. Great blessings come from great relationships.

Recently I was telling the “Tomato Story” at a family dinner with Me, Big Mikey and our now 18 year old daughter and her sweet boyfriend, Cory. We were all laughing at the story, even Big Mikey. I was glad we could laugh at it, now!

I was glad I had this lesson to teach our own daughter, for her own marriage. This is wisdom that must be passed on to the next generation.

Fixin a 'mater sandwich — Mike fixing his sandwich with the first tomato from his garden.

Now 20+ years into marriage, Big Mikey planted another garden. He planted tomatoes of course. Together we walk out to the garden and check the plants. We both get excited to watch the first tomato turn red. I cheer on Mikey and his tomato!

Out of tradition now, Michael picks the first tomato, brings it into the house, and I take a picture of him proudly slicing his first tomato. Our love is stronger than ever, but only strengthened by these important lessons along the way!

Big Mikey (my hubby) now living in Creeds, Virginia (we inherited Granny and Papaw’s house in 2008) Happily slicing his first home grown garden tomato. “Fixin’ to make that first tomato sandwich!” July 2020.

This story shared with love to all of you! I hope it blessed you! Here is a picture of Big Mikey, slicing his first garden tomato of the year 2020 – here in his granny’s old kitchen, now our kitchen. God is GOOD and so was this tomato – Mikey had him a big ‘ol tomato sandwich with Miracle whip of course – them I got the other half of the tomato with Dukes Mayo on mine (well you have to have some things that make you different from each other – that’s what brings the fun!)

Love you all and remember to LIVE LIFE LARGE,

– Annamarie Strawhand, Big Mikey’s Best Friend and Tomato Watcher (not picker) Watcher. Hee hee.

“Get yer paws off that first ‘mater!” – Michael Strawhand

Biblical Teaching & Prayer Strategy: Prayer for the Whistle of the Lord to Wake Up Loved Ones

By Annamarie Strawhand | April 17, 2023

This is a transcription of an excerpt of the biblical teaching and prayer strategy that Annamarie Strawhand delivered on her broadcast of Life in the Faith Lane on April 17, 2023.

Watch the video below. Then read the transcription, prayer strategy, notes, and scripture references that follow. Specific timestamps of the transcription are 2:36:40 – 2:43:37 and 2:56:00 – 2:56:21.

ANNAMARIE: [2:36:40] If you have anybody in your family that you know is riding the fence, right; they’re not sure; they don’t know if they should come across that bridge or come across those tracks or come across that road. They’re still waiting in line for the government to take care of them, waiting in line for something to happen with, with, you know, the earthly, uh, with man’s ways. They’re still hanging out with friends that are bad influences. No, God is saying [Whistle], “Whistle for them. I’m whistling for them.”

So we’re going to do a proclamation together. We’re going to say, right now together, just, we are asking Father God to whistle and whistle so loud for those that are on the fence, for those that are sleeping, for those that are not awake, that the whistle of our Father God will be so loud calling them to Him, calling them away from their slumber, calling them away from the wrong provider, calling them to breakfast with Jesus. Come on! Breakfast, breakfast with Jesus. [Whistle] Whistle as loud as you can. [Whistle]

I wish I had a really loud whistle. Lord, help strengthen my whistle. But it’s the whistle of God, the whistle and the Spirit. I just gave you three scriptures here. Come on.

Joanne Basil Salvia – “Lord, we stand ready and listen for your calling. Just whistle, and we will stand at attention and obedience.” Come on, I love it. I love it, Joanne.

Isaiah 7:18 – “On that day, the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.”

God is going to whistle everything to where he wants it to be. Come on. He’s going it right now. I believe this is where we are right now. Right? But we won’t be in the canals of Egypt. No! Where will we be? He’s, we’re His children. He’s whistling us what? Back to Him. Back into His bosom, into His, into His land, into His love, into His care, under His covering. Come on. It’s a whistle. Come on.

Zechariah 10:8 – “I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them, and they will be as numerous as they once were.”

What does that mean? He’s redeeming our households. He’s redeeming our, our blessings. He’s redeeming our land. He’s redeeming our children. He’s whistling us to breakfast, to dinner. Stop waiting in line for your fried chicken, your bread, and your circuses. It does nothing for you. Come to the living Bread of Life.

And I’m telling you, all those evil people that have been feeding lies to the people, they will be nothing but toast, burnt toast, burnt toast with a bunch of flies on them!

Now, we still pray for those who, who have been operating in evil and wickedness, that they will hear the whistle of the Lord, the warning whistle, and they won’t get run over by the train. Come on. And those who’ve been asleep that are just waiting for the fried chicken, waiting to get en, you know, entertained or whatever, that this whistle will be so loud of the Lord in their ears, in their spirit it will shake them awake. They will come running back to God, running back to God, running back to God. “I want to meet Jesus for Breakfast. I want to meet Jesus for breakfast.” Right? Coffee and Jesus!

That’s right, Mary Swanson, “Whistling glory, glory, glory. Whistling breakfast with Jesus.”

That’s right, Jax, she hears your whistle. It’ll be so loud all flesh will hear and obey, in Jesus’ name.

That’s right. That’s right, Traci. That’s right, Traci. She feels ya. She believes all their families’ eyes are opening to Jesus’ truth.

Take this scripture, you see, the word of God … Listen to me, Traci. The word of God is the will of God. I’m giving you three scriptures to pray on today. Come on.

You say, “Father God, according to Your word, I ask You to whistle right now into the ears of my children. Whistle right now into the ears of my husband. Whistle right now into every person that is spiritually asleep. Whistle so loud and wake them up, Lord.”

I’m teaching you how to take the word of God, these scriptures that I gave you today, and ask God to do that. God will do anything according to His word when you pray it because the word of God is the will of God.

And this is what you do, you say, “Father God, in Your word right now, I believe Your word, Father God. I believe Your word, Father God, that You are whistling, and I ask You, Lord, to take Your whistle so loud and whistle right now into the ears of my children. Shake them awake, Lord. Whistle into their ears.”

They’re going to come to you and say, “Mom, I keep hearing this loud whistling.” You say, “Well, that’s God calling you back. He’s whistling for His children. He’s whistling for His sheep. He’s whistling for His flock.”

“And don’t let the whistles stop, Lord, until they come to You. Keep whistling, Lord, until they come to You, Lord. Never stop whistling for that lost child, that lost sheep, that lost, who is lost in the wilderness, who is lost in the lies of the, of the, of the wicked ones. Whistle them away from their video games. Whistle them away from the fake news. Whistle them away from the lies of the enemy. Come on, Lord. We believe in Your word. We believe in Your whistle, Lord.” [2:43:37]

[2:56:00] We’re going to take a hold of this prophetic word, and we’re going to be obedient, and we’re going to pray for God’s whistle, Father’s whistle to wake up the sleepers. He’s giving us a very powerful and important prayer strategy, according to His word. [2:56:21]

Added Note

We only want God to call in the flies and the bees against His enemies, and we want the whistle call for redemption for us.

Scripture References

Zechariah 10:8 (NLT)
“When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few who are left, they will grow as numerous as they were before.”

Isaiah 5:26 (NLT)
“He will send a signal to distant nations far away and whistle to those at the ends of the earth.”

Isaiah 7:18 (NASB)
“On that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.”

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT)
“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Prophetic Word: The Whistle of The Lord! High Speed Train!

By Annamarie Strawhand | April 17, 2023

Transcription of the word that the Holy Spirit gave to Annamarie Strawhand, which she delivered during her broadcast of Life in the Faith Lane on April 17, 2023.

Watch the video, and then read the transcript below.

ANNAMARIE: Okay, so the second dream was on April 16. Sixteen is the reckless love of God for us — the incredible, deep love of God for us. In this dream, I was in a train station. I was on one side of the tracks, and Kelly Marie Brady was on the other side of the tracks. It was a double-track train station. She looked over to me, and she seemed like her assignment was over, like a certain assignment that she had been doing, like one stage of her assignment was over. It was done. Okay?

So she was, she was just standing there at the train station trying to make a decision if she should follow this track, right, if she should jump over the tracks and come over to my side with me, right, with Jesus and with faith, and she was in a moment of decision. She was in, in this train station, Kelly Marie Brady, she was in a moment of decision. She kept looking over at me, and I was looking over at her, and while we were looking over at each other, okay, she said, uh, she wasn’t finding her way home, but she’s still staying with friends. Okay?

So she was trying to explain to me, like, “Okay, this part of my assignment’s over, but I’m trying to find my way home to just kind of rest for a while. And I’m still staying with friends.”

And we know from the first dream that there’s a second part of her assignment that’s coming, and it has to do with the Lord. Okay?

As I was starting to speak to her across from these tracks, I heard a rumbling coming, a rumbling coming in the distance and a train whistle in the distance, but it was far off. I thought, “Oh, this train, it’s going to come in a few minutes.” I was thinking we had time to talk.

And she wasn’t noticing the train. I was like, “Look, there’s a train coming. You hear the whistle? You hear the rumbling?” But she, she wasn’t noticing it, but I discerned it. But there was no time. Like, from the moment that I heard that rumbling, from the moment that whistle went off, that train was there. I mean, it was there, and it was so fast. It was so high speed you didn’t have a second to even think about it.

I mean, if your toe was on the track, you had a, I mean, you had just a second to pull your toe off. From the moment I heard the whistle to the moment that train was there, it was [Sound effect]. I mean, it was so fast, and the train was a light sky blue, like, like a, a, a, the only thing I can say is a lapis blue. You know, you know, that, that jewel that is called lapis — l a p i s? Uh, is that, that’s how you say it? Lapis?

Okay, and I know that’s a biblical color and that lapis blue was the color of one of the priestly jewels on the priestly garment. It’s got a very strong meaning. It means, uh, the presence of God. We know that biblically the color blue represents revelation of the Holy Spirit.

This train was a beautiful blue color. It was coming by so fast, and it was all chromed out. It was blue. It was shiny. It was chrome. It was a super speed, super high train, and the minute you heard that whistle, boy, it was there. It was, [Sound effect] I mean, it was there, okay? And it went by so fast, and she was like, “Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.” Like she was like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

And, uh, I, I heard in my spirit, “There’s another train coming.” I was like, “Okay, Lord, You’re bringing another train.” And, um, I said, you know, “I want ….” And I said, I said, “Lord, I want plenty of time with this one.” I said, “I’m trying … give me, give me some time to minister to these people. Give me some time ….” You know, I was asking, like, “Give me some time to give them understanding, to help them, help them come to this place to, to receive you and to receive your glory.”

Well, I said to the Lord in this dream, “Lord, let the whistle blow further down the tracks.” This is what I said. Like, “Lord, give us, give us, uh, uh, at least a few more minutes, okay?”

And, um, so all of a sudden as I was praying that and Kelly Marie’s just kind of standing there like, trying to figure out what she should do, that Jesse Watters from Fox News, Jesse Watters, name is Jesse Watters, he comes up beside me. And he goes, “Hey! I want to see the train too.” And I looked at Kelly Marie, and I’m like, “Do you want to see this train? Do you want to discern it?” And she’s like, “Yes, yes, I do.” I go, “Okay.” I’m like, “Who wants to see the train?” And Kelly Marie’s like, “Yes, I do.” And Jesse Waters is like, “Yes, I do.”

You know what it is, right? It’s that rushing in of the Holy Ghost into this nation, and it’s going to come in, and it’s going to come in suddenly, and it’s going to come in fast. And those of us who are ministering to people and praying for our loved ones, um, we’re like, “Oh, Lord …” you know, this is going to happen suddenly, but we want to make sure they’re ready, but I don’t … there’s going to be certain people that aren’t ready for this.

We might discern it. We might be ready for it. We might hear that whistle in the distance, right, and it’s not the rapture. It’s not the rapture. It’s the glory. It’s the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that’s coming upon this nation, and it’s coming in fast, and it’s coming in suddenly, and it’s going to be the revelation of the Holy Spirit. And it’s going to come in like a mighty glory train, super, super fast, and there’s going to be certain people that God has been calling up and they’ve already started having some curiosity about truth, right?

And it’s, it’s the outpouring of truth. It’s the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It’s the outpouring of, of, the, the presence of God! And it’s coming in so powerful, so fast, and I thought, “Lord, whistles, whistles. Lord, do you whistle?” And, yes, the Lord has a whistle. God whistles. Listen to this. I always get confirmation from the Word.

So Jesse Watters comes up beside me, and the name “Jesse” is a very powerful, biblical name. Right? The root of Jesse will spring up, right, will be a branch, and what is that? That’s the house of King David that’s going to come in, in, in, in, right, again, re, revival. The root of Jesse will have a branch. What is that? The King David. That revival. The, the springing up.

You know what’s going to be rebuilt? The, not, not the third temple. We’re the third temple. You know what’s going to be rebuilt right now in these days? Go to Amos 9:11 — the Tabernacle of David, worship tents, revival tents. Can you hear the sound? Can you hear the rumbling? Can you hear the outpouring of the glory of God? There’s going to be some people in the media, like good people that God is using — Kelly Marie Brady. And He’s showing me that Jesse Watters is, is starting to come over and go, “Wait a minute.” Right? And I believe He used his name — Jesse. Right? Biblical.

And I said to Jesse Watters, I said, “Well, this train is really fast, and you need to be ready.” So pray for Jesse Watters. Pray for him. Come on.

Now, the fact that they were double tracks, okay, double portion. This, right, for our trouble, we will have the double, right, the double glory, the double portion, the double blessing. Come on. Come on.

And we got to pray for Kelly Marie Brady to get away from any people or any influences in her life that are not there to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And the same thing for Jesse Watters and anybody that is, is around them that is not in expectation of the glory that’s coming.

Now, we know that, um, my team said, too, the high-speed train, praying for the conductors to blow their whistles in plenty of time for those who cannot discern and get a warning to prepare, right?

But the Lord kept saying to me, “Whistle. Whistle. Whistle.” And I said, “Lord, where is whistling in Your Word?” Okay. Uh, let me get these glasses on. All right, Jennifer, pull this word up — Isaiah 5:26.

Prophetic dreams and prophetic confirmation from a dream always will come from the Word of God, okay?

We were under a wood covering in that train station, right? The covering of God, the covering of my ministry. My ministry’s been called to pray for Kelly Marie Brady from two years ago from a prophetic word, and now it’s telling us to pray for Jesse Watters,

Watters, okay? There’s a high-speed train coming of the glory, and God is whistling. He’s whistling, and we have to discern it.

Thank you, Jennifer.

Now, here’s the Word of the Lord that He gave me. This is for all of us right now. Isaiah 5:26, “He will send a signal to distant nations far away, and whistle to those at the ends of the earth. They will come racing towards Jerusalem.”

Racing at a high speed — coming to the Lord God of Israel; God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a connection to the whistle of God calling us back to Him, not just the Jews, but us who are in Christ Jesus, and not just to Jerusalem. What does Jerusalem represent, right? The mountain of the Lord.

Kelly Marie Brady is in the media mountain. Jesse Watters is in the media mountain. Come on. He’s whistling for us. He’s calling us. Pay attention. He’s calling us to Him. He, Kelly Marie Brady was trying to find her way home. With who? God. Come on.

Isaiah 5:26 – This, this version says, “He will also lift up the standard to the dustin, to the distant nation. He will lift up His banner, His Jehova Nissi, His banner. Waving the banner of God to the peoples, He will whistle forth from the ends of the earth and, behold, it will come with speed swiftly.”

Now, I said, “Lord, okay, the blue of that train was the blue stone of the throne of God. Lapis — l a p i s — lapis is one of the precious stones mentioned numerous times in the Bible. It’s included in the description of God’s throne, and according to some scholars, it’s the stone on which God wrote the 10 Commandments.

What did God have me doing all day Saturday and all day Sunday? Watching Ron Wyatt’s videos about the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant and the 10 Commandments. And he was told by those angels to take the tablets out of the Ark of the Covenant and set them up to be ready because God wants everybody to see them. And it’s believed that the stone that the 10 Commandments is written on, by God’s own finger, burned into that stone is the blue lapis. Look at God.

The stone on which God wrote the 10 Commandments — 10 is God bringing everything into His divine order. I was drawn to the videos last night on Ron Wyatt and the Ark of the Covenant. There’s so much more He wants to show us on that. I believe we’re going to have an event that opens the cave below to the crucifixion site, and the Ark is going to be seen and the 10 Commandments. And if it’s made of that blue lapis, oh, my gosh.

And that train was blue, like, I don’t know [Inaudible] can you, I think my team needs to get a picture of the blue lapis on the pr, pr, priestly breastplate so you guys can see what I’m talking about. That train was that color, and it was like a jewel. It was like a gem. It was sparkling, and, uh, with chrome and speed, speeding fast. Wow.

Ron said, archeologist, Ron Wyatt, said before he died, “God has a specific timing when this would happen. It will shock everyone how Jesus’s blood is on the Ark of the Covenant. They will say, ‘New discovery,’ but it’s not new. It has always been. We were always meant to keep it written on our hearts.” Right? God’s commandments. “I think many people will say, ‘We believe now because we see it for ourselves.’”

And, you know, Kelly Marie Brady, right, she’s out documenting. She wants to see for herself. Many people, truth seekers, right, and look, this is what God is going to do. “You want truth? Watch, I’ll give you truth, and it’s going to come in like a speeding train!” Come on. Come on.

Many people have lost confidence in preachers and in churches. They need a personal experience and an eyewitness experience to the glory of God. Yes, signs, miracles, and wonders; they will not be able to deny the power of God.

And then Jennifer says to me, “Annamarie,” her little granddaughter had three blue stones. Her little granddaughter was at her house this weekend, and she had three blue stones. And I said, “Oh, my goodness, the children!” Jennifer says, “My granddaughter had these three little blue stones” that she just had to show her yesterday. They were so special to her she brought them with her to her house, and she took them back home as she went. I said, “Oh, my goodness, signs, wonders, and miracles, and the children will also witness to this. The children will witness to this.” Yes.

Jennifer says, “I was so proud of her. She tells me in the car all the way back to her house the story of Jesus on the Cross. She said, ‘Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, and when they rolled the stone away, He wasn’t there because God raised Him from the dead. He was alive.’” A little child said this. Four years old. Four means door. This was on 4/16 — the new doors that Jesus is opening, right? Come on. Sixteen — the reckless love of God. The lapis stone, the blue stone representing the throne of God and the revelation of God.

On that same day, the Lord was showing me back again Ron Wyatt’s Ark of the Covenant discovery. Then I found out that the 10 Commandments could have been actually, and we’ll find out soon that they’re actually that blue lapis stone.

Then, I find out that we had a prayer warrior in Israel that did a land assignment at a bridge just outside of Jerusalem. God is bringing this all together. He’s connecting all the sides together.

What did we need on that road, Kelly Marie Brady coming across the road, Kelly Marie Brady coming across the tracks. This bridge that is coming between unbelievers and believers. God is building a bridge from the doubters and the ones that are lost, He’s building a bridge. Come on, come over to the other side. Come over to the side of the believers. The train is coming. It’s coming quickly — the glory train. Come over to the side of the believers. See and believe. But blessed are those who have not seen but yet believe, but there will be those who will see and believe, and the proof and the glory is going to come in so fast and so powerful. I mean, if, even the children, everybody is going to be amazed.

Now, when this is going to happen, I don’t know, but the Lord is saying, “Listen for My whistle. I’m whistling. I’m whistling in the distance. I’m calling My people.” Come on. Come on. And here’s more scripture. And the bridge in Jerusalem that we got the report this afternoon was the Chords Bridge — c h o r d s — a cord, a cord. And the Bible says a cord of three strands cannot be easily broken, right, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

We know the Jews have a cord, right, on their tallit they have a fringe or a cord on their prayer shawl, on a tallit, with what? It’s braided with what? Blue stones that represent the throne of God.

This is all connected, my friends. God is bringing this together perfectly. He’s building bridges. He’s aligning people. He’s aligning timing, and now, He’s whistling. He’s calling it all in. Come on.

He that has ears, let them hear. Now He gave me two more words that God has a whistle, and He is whistling right now. Do you hear it? You’re going to start seeing children and trains everywhere. You’re going to start seeing blue stones everywhere. You’re going to start seeing that lapis — l a p i s — everywhere. You’re going to start seeing blue stones. You’re going to start seeing 10:10 with the 10 Commandments. You’re going to start seeing the Ark of the Covenant everywhere. You’re going to start hearing children speaking, and they’re going to be picking up stones and talking about Jesus. It’s going to be everwhere, I’m telling you, because God is whistling. He’s calling us. He’s saying pay attention.

Now, here, here’s more scriptures on the 10:10. I’m sorry, on the whistle of the Lord. God whistles. Do you ever whistle? Do you whistle for your dog? Do you who, my husband has a really loud whistle. I mean, I can do it [Whistling], but not that loud. My husband, Mike, he has got a loud whistle. I mean, he whistles, and all the horses, donkeys, everybody comes a running, right, that fatherly whistle.

God has a whistle! Listen to this. This is so beautiful. We are in the time of the gathering. All right, here we go. I got three Bible verses on the whistling of God, whistling for us, for His children.

Zechariah 10:8 – “I will whistle for them to gather them together for I have redeemed them, and they will be numerous as they were before.”

So that is complete restitution, restoration for the people of God and for the Jewish people. It’s all connecting to everything that the Lord has shown me about these two dreams and the Ark of the Covenant.

Isaiah, again, Isaiah 5:26 – “He will lift up a standard to the distant nation and will whistle for it from the ends of the earth, and, behold, it will come with speed swiftly.”

Now my entire ministry since day one has been about speed. I spent 35 years in NASCAR racing. He, the Lord had me write a book, Faith at Full Speed. I’m not hyping my book. I’m telling you, the Lord is talking about speed and acceleration at this time. He’s been having me teach on it, write on it, call it forth. It’s been all about speed, acceleration, that things are going to be happening suddenly. They’re coming at a rapid rate of speed. We are in a time of what? Acceleration.

He gave me a word last week, Amos 9:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, that we are in a time of acceleration. Right? The plow shall overtake the reaper, right? You know, it, it won’t be long now. It’ll make your head swim. Why? Because we’re in a moment of acceleration. It’s going to happen swiftly. It’s going to happen suddenly. It’s coming with acceleration, and we all have to come before the Lord and say, “Lord, I want to hear You whistle. Give me sharp discernment. Give me understanding of the times. I don’t want to miss it. I want to be ready. Help me get others ready.” Come on. We’re here! He’s whistling.

Then Isaiah 7:18 – “In that day, the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest parts of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.”

In other words, not only is God going to whistle for the good stuff, He’s going to whistle for stuff that He wants to use against the enemy. Like, you see these people that, that train police dogs and train military dogs or train their sheep, sheep dogs or whatever and, with different whistles, right, a different, a different tone on the whistle, a different whistling, right? And tho, that dog will do exactly what the, what the master has whistled them to do.

God can call in anything in nature. He will whistle it in and tell it what to do. And we know about, and we’ve learned here about the hornet angels of the Lord. He’s whistling them in to go ahead of us and drive the enemies out of the land, but He can also whistle in what? The honey bees, the honey bees, He’s whistling in the honey bees to come and what? Heal the land. It produces sweetness, right? We got many prophetic words about “we will have the sweet for the bitter. We will have the sweet for the bitter.” Right?

God is the Master. He’s the Commander and Chief. He’s, He’s, He’s whistling. He’s calling forth. He’s, He’s, He’s also sending a call out with His whistle to call in what He wants to call in, and He’s sending a whistle out to warn us and, and, and, and, uh, uh, tell us when these things are coming. He’s giving us what? Discernment, sharp discernment. And Jesus says, “You must have ears to hear, eyes to see, to discern.” He’s saying, “Stop being distracted!” This is what the Lord is speaking to us right now, “Stop standing in line for your fried chicken! Stop standing in line and saying, ‘How am I going to eat? How am I going to be clothed? Oh, the government has to take care of me.’ Stop,” right, “all that bread and circus that the Romans …,” right, “Stop getting distracted by entertainment!”

What is the Lord saying? “Get away from that bread and circus. Get away from just standing in line for fried chicken. I am whistling to you. I am calling to you. Come and have breakfast with Jesus! Come across the bridge. Come across the road. Come across the train tracks,” right, “and come to the side where the Lord is doing His work, where the Lord is doing His glory.”

Now, I noticed something on the double side of those tracks. Kelly Marie Brady was on that other side, right? Jesse Watters came up beside me. That was very interesting, but it was a double train track, and that high-speed train was only on one of the tracks, the one closes to me. The other track was empty.

Are we on the wrong track? Are we looking up the wrong track? Are we looking up and down the wrong track? Are we looking for something to come that God saying, “It’s not on that track? You have to listen for My whistle, and you need to get over to the side of the tracks where I am.” And you have to have a desire for that.

For some reason, He’s showing me Jesse Watters has that desire, and He said that Kelly Marie Brady is observing right now. She’s not sure. She’s trying to find her way, and there’s a lot that are there. A lot of them are ready. “I’m ready. Okay, I want to see. I’m ready. Show me.”

The root of Jesse that’s springing up, which is the House of David, which is what? Revival that’s coming. And there’s some that are hesitating. “Well, I’m curious. I, I think I know, but I’m still staying with the people that aren’t filled with the Holy Spirit. I’m still stuck in my own ways a little bit.” He’s saying, “Come on, jump those tracks. Let’s go. You need to come. Come across the road. Come across the bridge.”

Kelly Marie Brady, Jesus is calling you, darling. He’s calling you. Come on. Get away from those friends and influences that are not bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, that are not drawing you closer to Jesus. Come across those tracks. Come across that road. Come on. Come across that bridge. We’re your peeps now. We’re your peeps, over here, over here, over here, and God is what? Tweet, tweet, tweet [Whistling]. He’s whistling for you. He’s calling you. [Whistling] Come on, baby girl. Come on. [Whistling] Come on. Come with me. ‘Cause His trains coming. It’s coming swiftly, and it’s, it’s on a certain track, that’s the track of the Lord. And He’s going to use everything He trained you up for in that time for His glory. You’re going to, ch, Kelly Marie Brady, you’re going to be, going to be documenting the revival that’s happening. Come on.

And if you have anybody in your family that you know is riding the fence, right; they’re not sure. They’re not, know if they should come across that bridge or come across those tracks or come across that road, they’re still waiting in line for the government to take care of them, waiting in line for something to ha, happen wi, with, you know, the earthly, uh, wi, with man’s ways. They’re still hanging out with friends that are bad influences. No. God is saying, [Whistling] whistle for them, “I’m whistling for them.”

So we’re going to do a proclamation together. We’re going to say, right now together, we just, we, we’re asking Father God to whistle and whistle so loud for those that are on the fence, for those that are sleeping, for those that are not awake that the whistle of our Father God will be so loud, calling them to Him, calling them away from their slumber, calling them away from the wrong provider, calling them to breakfast with Jesus. Come on, breakfast, breakfast with Jesus!

[Whistling] Whistle as loud as you can. [Whistle] I wish I had a really loud whistle. Lord, help, strengthen my whistle. But it’s the whistle of God, the whistle in the Spirit. I just gave you three scriptures here. Come on.

Isaiah 7:18 – “On that day, the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.”

God is going to whistle everything to where He wants it to be. Come on. He’s doing it right now. I believe this is where we are right now. Right? But we won’t be in the canals of Egypt. No. Where will we be? He’s, we’re His children. He’s whistling us what? Back to Him, back into His bosom, into His, into His land, into His love, into His care, under His covering. Come on. It’s a whistle. Come on.

Zechariah 10:8 – “I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.”

What does that mean? He’s redeeming our households. He’s redeeming our, our blessings. He’s redeeming our land. He’s redeeming our children. He’s whistling us to breakfast, to dinner. Stop waiting in line for your fried chicken, your bread and your circuses. It does nothing for you. Come to the Living Bread of Life.

And I’m telling you, all those evil people that have been feeding lies to the people, they will be nothing but toast, burnt toast, burnt toast with a bunch of flies on them! Now, we still pray for those who, who have been operating in evil wickedness that they will hear the whistle of the Lord, the warning whistle, and they won’t get run over by the train. Come on.

And those who’ve been asleep that are just waiting for the fried chicken, waiting to get, uh, entertained or whatever, that this whistle will be so loud of the Lord in their ears, in their spirit, it will shaaaake them awake. They will come running back to God, running back to God, running back to God! “I wanna meet Jesus for breakfast. I wanna meet Jesus for breakfast!” Right? Coffee and Jesus.

Biblical Insight: Baptism and Our Sanctification Process

By Annamarie Strawhand | April 12, 2023

This is an excerpt of the Life in the Faith Lane broadcast on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, where Annamarie Strawhand answered a viewer’s question.

Question: “If baptism washes away our sin, why then do we have to go into the Courts of Heaven so that we can remove the legal rights the enemy has to be present in our lives? Asking for a friend that argues this.”

Annamarie’s Answer: “Because baptism doesn’t wash away your sins. The blood of Jesus does.”

Watch the video below for the complete answer and see the notes that follow.

Notes

Baptism alone does not cleanse your sin.
Paul led the people to repent of sins, receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, ask Jesus to wash their sins with His blood, and then get baptized in the water again in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Water baptism releases the old man, old self, into the water and you come up with your new self. It’s the beginning of the sanctification process.
Water baptism means you have committed to come into the covenant to have your sins forgiven as they’re revealed to you.
When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you come into covenant with God, into His kingdom realm. Jesus Christ comes to live inside of you, but your soul is still filled with soul wounds. It’s still filled with the legal rights of the demonic.
When you “get saved,” you get the blood of Jesus to begin the sanctification process. It’s the beginning. You get Jesus to come in and take over your spirit man.
Satan, the accuser, stands in the courts of Heaven day and night, night and day, accusing the brethren (of their sins).
Satan has the legal right to accuse “saved” people of their sins because they haven’t gone through the sanctification process.

Scripture References

“‘Then what baptism did you experience?’ he asked. And they replied, ‘The baptism of John.’ 4 Paul said, ‘John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.’ 5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:3-5)

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10)

Resources

WHY REPENT FOR GENERATIONAL SINS? IS THIS SCRIPTURAL? YES!

HOW TO APPEAR IN THE COURTS OF HEAVEN

Protect Yourself and The Flock and Territory Jesus Assigns To You!

By Annamarie Strawhand | April 10, 2023

This excerpt from Annamarie Strawhand’s broadcast of Life in the Faith Lane on April 10, 2023, is a timely biblical teaching about staying focused on the Lord and using discernment so you can protect yourself and the flock and territory that Jesus assigns to you.

Watch the video below, and then pray the prayer that follows as you commit to protecting yourself and the flock and territory that Jesus assigns to you.

Prayer To Commit To Protect The Flock and Territory Jesus Assigns To You

Heavenly Father, Almighty God, today I come before You in humble faith to express my commitment to be of the Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. This can be in leadership or coming beside Your leaders to support their divine calling.

I am reminded that the Lord Jesus told Peter to “feed My sheep.” I understand that means giving Your people, Your followers, Lord Jesus, guidance, encouragement, protection, and support. They must be fed with Your word, Lord, and most of all, guided to keep their focus on You, Lord Jesus, daily.

I am asking for the partnership of the Holy Spirit to assist me. I also am asking today, in Jesus’ name for angel armies to be assigned to me for protection over me and my family, my household, my ministry, and the territory You have assigned to me. I ask for sharp discernment to clearly and swiftly be able to know who the wolves are that I must remove and who the sheep are that I must keep and protect. I ask that I have this discernment to not chase after wolves after I have asked them to leave and that I only go after true sheep that wander, backslide, or lose their way — that I will discern who to go after and who to release back to You, Lord, to deal with.

I know that You are with me, King Jesus, and I am not afraid. I am honored to keep watch over Your flock and be a watchman over the territory You have assigned me to and also to support the leadership You have assigned to that flock and territory and show me how I must pray at certain times and when to move forward to grow the flock and expand the territory.

I am asking for grace and wisdom. Most of all, I seek Your heart, Father God, for Your desires for Your people, and I will do my best to love them as You do. Thank You, King Jesus, for making this possible — that I can call out for help when I need it, and I will not waiver in my commitment to Your ministry.

I thank You, Lord, for those You have called me to. I pray it is pleasing in Your sight! I am confident that as You were always with the shepherds, especially King David, you will be with me to train me up to be a good shepherd because You, Lord Jesus, are my Shepherd. I want to lead as You would lead, love as You would love, protect as You would protect, discern as You would discern, and grow the flock for our Father’s House — where we shall dwell forever, in Jesus’ name, amen!

Author: Annamarie Strawhand