The Year of the Breakthrough

By: Kolleen Lucariello

I was driving home after attending an evening session of our church’s Holy Spirit Conference last February, with Tasha Layton’s song, Worship Through It, playing loud and on repeat from my playlist. The entire drive, I sang along: “I know my God can do it, so I’m gonna worship through it. Before I see my breakthrough, I’m gonna choose to praise You.”

From the moment I first heard that song, it resonated deeply within me. I'd been praying for healing in my body after a Lupus diagnosis, and I was also asking God to reveal the theme for our 2025 conference; something that would ultimately guide Activ8Her into the next year.

When I pulled into my driveway and disconnected my phone, I couldn’t help but laugh when the very same song was playing on the radio. After twenty-five minutes on repeat, God was still speaking. I hear You, Lord.

It wasn't many days later, after spending my quiet time with Jesus, that my thoughts turned to a game I played in childhood – Kerplunk. I hadn't thought of this game in years, and suddenly, I saw the tube with the marbles and the sticks. Instinctively, I knew the Lord was showing me something. Each marble represented a wound I had been holding space for. And the sticks? They were the ways I had learned to protect myself—coping mechanisms, beliefs, and strongholds that kept those wounds in place. And no matter how much I tried to ignore it, heal it, or move on from it, something about that wound kept me stuck.

Then, I had this knowing that the Lord was preparing me for what He was about to do: reach out and begin to pull away the sticks. And just like in the game, once a stick was removed, a shift would take place. The marbles would move. Some would fall. Kerplunk. And as they fell, a wound would be exposed. Each marble represented wounds I couldn't fully name or understand, but they had become obstacles in my life.

Kerplunk—the wound of feeling unseen.

Kerplunk—the wound of feeling unheard.

Kerplunk—the wound that convinced me I wasn’t worthy of protection.

And Kerplunk—the wound of rejection, quietly woven through them all.

One by one, with my mind's eye, I watched as the Lord began pulling the sticks, allowing the marbles to fall, exposing the strongholds that had taken root in my heart.

In that moment, it became clear to me that a breakthrough isn’t just something I’m believing for; it was something God was inviting me into. And if I accepted His invitation, I would need to allow Him to choose which sticks He would pull, and when.

Over the last ten months, God has indeed been pulling sticks. As I've been learning how to adjust to conditions—which is never easy when my plans are interrupted—I've also had to learn how to adjust my speed to them. And when He began to pull out the sticks, He also began to offer insight on ways I could adjust accordingly, by pointing me to 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. One morning, He simply personalized this verse to me: Kolleen, though you are human, you don’t wage war as humans do. You can use My mighty weapons to knock down strongholds, destroy false arguments, and capture rebellious thoughts—teaching them to obey Christ. These were His "How To" instructions for me. Adjust accordingly by learning how to fight like the daughter of the One, True God.

So, breakthrough is the theme of my life right now, and because God uses what He takes me through, it is also the theme for Activ8Her throughout this year. Not because the struggle is over, but because praise comes before the promise. If you are ready for your own Kerplunk moments that help you overcome the obstacles, we'd love for you to join the journey. This is what breakthrough has been looking like for me, and what we’ll be walking through together this year.

1. Recognize: identify sticks of self-protection. (Psalm 139:23–24)

2. Release: name wounds + surrender them. (Matthew 11:28)

3. Replace: swap lies with truth. (John 8:32)

4. Rebuild: live in identity in Christ. (Colossians 3:12)

5. Rejoice: celebrate freedom + testify. (Revelation 12:11)

So, how about it? Ready to capture those rebellious thoughts? I know I am. They've been wreaking havoc in some of the same areas for years. It's time to break through them.

Find a chapter here. Listen to Tasha Layton's song, Worship Through It.

Happy New Year!