I’m Andrea Dailey, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, a homemaker, and a child of the Eternal, Most High God. I live with my husband and four of our eight children in the foothills of Northeast Georgia. I have home schooled my children for the past 18 years.
I have seen God do amazing things in, for, and through me and other followers of Jesus. I have seen God mend broken relationships and bring healing to areas of my life I never knew were so broken.
The most defining thing in my life has been liberation from my sinful past by the perfect atonement of Jesus Christ. God has worked healing in my life in so many areas–even for sexual abuse. I am freer now than I ever was as a child, and it is all because Jesus took my sins to the cross and offered me healing in their place. I am no-one extraordinary. I am simply a sinner saved by grace. God’s grace has made all the difference. I spent many years, even as a Christian, thinking I had to be “good enough”–if my homeschooling was good enough, if my house was clean enough, if I served enough with a cheerful attitude, if I were thin enough, if I were a good enough daughter or friend, if I were just….enough….somehow God would be pleased with me. The truth is that my sins deserve hell. The other glorious truth is that I never have to be “enough” because Jesus is more than enough! That freedom of resting completely on the perfection of Jesus has liberated me from years of self-condemnation and poor self-esteem. I no longer need to have God “owe” me a good life because I have tried to perform for Him. He loves me and accepts me as I am–warts and all. He accepted me as I was, but thankfully He did not leave me there! He has shaped me, molded me, cut useless and harmful habits out of me, and is making me into a perfect mirror, the likeness of Jesus, in fact, to reflect His Glory. Am I perfect yet? Ah, that would be a huge fat NO. I cling to Romans 8:28-29 and Romans 8:1. I have far to go, but I know I will never go alone!
About my family: I met my husband on a local mission trip 18 years ago this July 7th. He was a single dad with sole custody of his two children, a boy and a girl, age four and five at that time. We were married the following June, and a year later our little family grew to five. A year later (362 days to be exact) we added another child, and 23 months later yet another child. All girls except the oldest. Then we were done. My wonderful husband, under pressure from me, got a vasectomy because I couldn’t handle all those children! A year later we began homeschooling and the Lord showed me my sin. As the Lord worked in my heart to show me the problems in my thinking and attitude, He also grew in my heart a desire for more children. My wonderful husband was not on board with that idea, though. It took five more years, but the Lord changed my husband’s heart. Once I got out of the way and started concentrating on fixing ME, God began working on my husband.
We got the vasectomy reversed by a wonderful doctor in Arkansas. It was a complete reversal of situation, too….he was mutilated alone, but when he got fixed, I was able to be there. God has granted us three more babies, a girl and two little boys, and one angel lost to miscarriage, since then. We are trusting in our Sovereign God for the size of our family. The World calls that foolish. We don’t mind looking foolish to the World. We wouldn’t trade our children for anything in this world.
I hope that gives you snapshot of who I am: A sinner, saved by grace, healed from many wounds, learning how to walk humbly with my God. Thank you for reading this far. I hope you will join me on this journey!
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