On Sunday morning, I had an open vision of a large, white rabbit. He was about 2 1/2 feet tall, looked a lot like the "Trix" cereal rabbit, and walked on his two back feet. Additionally, he reminded me of the "trick" rabbits that magicians use.

In the vision, I was sitting on the front pew of a church, and the rabbit walked up to the front row, as if he was a main speaker. All of a sudden, he seemed to look dizzy, one foot went up, he swayed, and he plopped backwards onto his back. Then someone excitedly said, "The rabbit is dead!" - And they seemed happy about it.

Shaken, I asked the Lord, "What does this mean?!" - As I prayed, I felt the Lord revealed to me the following.

With this "trick" rabbit's death, I felt the Lord was saying, the tricks in the church have lost their power and they, too, are dead. The Body of Christ is coming into a maturity where they will recognize what programs are God-given and real, and which are merely designed as political maneuvers to pull people in and manipulate and extract finances out of them.

Plain and simple, the tricks are over.

In the fertility tests of old, they would inject a rabbit with the fluids of a woman they suspected was pregnant, and if it died, a woman was declared as pregnant.

The rabbit died. The church has been declared pregnant with the plans and purposes of God!

While celebration is in order when a pregnancy is announced, it is indeed a time to prepare for the birth. It can also be a time where we may experience "morning sickness" - or "mourning sickness." - And I saw it spelled both ways.

When a woman is pregnant, there are a lot of changes going on within the Body, and she often has to learn to deal with dizziness, nausea and fear. But it isn't "fatal," as much as it may feel like that! There is an upset to the entire body when there is a pregnancy, while pregnant woman's body is changing.

As the Church walks through Her pregnancy, there will be many physical and "chemical" changes occur. We must realize that these aren't fatal, but just a part of the process, and must have learn to deal with it.

Additionally, when there is a "death" of something we've known - (i.e., in this case the "trick rabbit") - sometimes we have a "mourning sickness." We miss the old, and reminisce and wish we had it back. Now is not a time to look back, but to move forward into the newness of life ahead. A time to realize that the "tricks" of old will not work now. It's time for the real.

Part of getting ready means to "make room" for the baby. It is a time to rearrange and re-prioritize for it's arrival. This can mean anything from rearranging the layout of the house, to moving to a new one! It usually means something different for each family.

So it is in the Church. We need to rearrange and re-prioritize for the birthing of the promises of God. This stands true in both our thoughts and in the natural. As we pray, the Lord will show us each what our own instructions are.

This new baby will have new clothes! It can't fit in any of ours! It will be one that is birthed in and wrapped in the garments of praise!

One of the trademarks of this move will be the pure praise, like the pure, sweet sounds from a baby's lips!

This new baby may have some of it's parents' traits, but it will have a personality all it's own! We must not try to cause it to be conformed to our image!

We've waited a long time for this new baby! Her priorities will be totally different from what we've been used to! This new baby will cost a lot, but will be totally worth it! We will be busy, but it will be with being about the Father's business, and will bring great joy!

Don't mourn for the rabbit. The baby is coming!