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I slipped out the door while the moon was still bright, full and glowing. Then I sat there in silence, while my family slept and my phone was tucked away. Sat like that for an hour, a blanket wrapped around me, a cup of coffee slowly growing cold in my hand. I watched...
People say you lose yourself in motherhood. I don’t agree. Sure. Sometimes you won’t be able to see. Not very well or clearly. There will be times you won’t recognize yourself. Years you won’t look in the mirror, or at least...
My mom “taught” me how to walk as a young kid. She took me along on walks after work and school. As a single mom this was her exercise, and there weren’t many options. We’d circle the town, I’d hold my breath by the funeral homes, and we’d try to get home by dark. One...
In normal, everyday life we need some directions. In current life, lately, we seem to need even more. More choices, more situations. The stakes are higher, the possible repercussions seem even more dastardly, especially if we look at the news. Needing direction, we...
I know you’re tired and you’re weary. You can’t see a way quite through.You long for a new day, another way.A kingdom to come, my will to be done,And more Love for along the way. Yes, I am on my way, child,But remember, too.I’m already right here, today, too. Right...
The world’s gone crazy outside your door. Their spirits enraged. What’s the latest craze. Worse than kids, think it’s all okay. Push away any real problems, just to think you’ll be okay You can only swallow lies for so long before you’re full of...
While I walked a couple of nights ago, the sun was just going down, or had, and a group of dear neighbor gathered. They sat together on one of the porches on a beautiful evening and as I heard their voices, happily telling stories, I...
Moms sometimes keep the strangest things. Locks of hair, pacifiers, baby teeth. It makes for funny discoveries and family jokes. But if you pause to think about it, is it any wonder? Is it any wonder? I recently pulled open the freezer and saw the last 2 batches of...
Do you ever feel like no one sees or notices the good that you’re trying to do? The positive change you’re trying to accomplish? Me too. All of us do at some time or another. CEO to struggling artist, pastor, mother, parent, and friend. Humanitarian, policemen, poets...
Prayer can sometimes feel like a golden ticket that people like to talk about but never quite seems to pan out for you. It is meant to be a lifeline but it can feel like you’re still drowning. Why keep trying, and what can you do? Well as someone who spends some good...
I see a momma running around the house, one project to the next, all of them interconnected. She feels overwhelmed, and behind in every single one. Some days she does better than this. But not today. After three complete circles around the house of unfinished...
I think it’s safe to say that there’s no shortage of disagreements these days. It’s especially easy with something like an election to think, “Well, clearly, about half of us are getting it wrong.”We’re pretty sure that we are right. It’s enough to make us want to...
The national discussion about fear the past few days has been enlightening, to say the least. But not really in a good way. More than any one issue or politician or side, this has me so saddened and, frankly, a bit worried about the state and the soul of our country....
Hey there, working mom. Are you looking longing at the stay at home moms, with all of that quality time and entire days at home with their kiddos? I know. You wish you had all of those precious moments-to kiss their heads and love them well. It's so hard to be gone...
I woke around 4:30am, and started my usual morning routine. Pouring the coffee. Splashing my face with cold water, washing and waking up. Then it’s on to my prayer spot, a chair where I sit to read, listen, pray, write. This morning I decided to get a few of the...
One thing that happened over my break/fast from social media was something glorious. It didn’t stem from those forty days, it was a lot longer of a journey than that, but its culmination happened towards the tail end of it. It’s something some of...
We sat at a big farmhouse style table, each of us taking up exactly the space that we needed- no more, no less. We had picked out treats that we each would want (mine was a power bowl from my rarely missed, but missed today lunch, a chocolatey cake of some kind for my...
“I’m not ready yet,” he said, looking at me with tears in his eyes still, a sad expression on his face. The tears had subsided and his eyes were getting less sad with each passing hour. I knew he was still sad and unsure, but he was getting there. Unsure at the...
We went to church on a Sunday.We drove all day to get there and part of the one before. It was afternoon when we got their evening when we left. But the lights turned on while we sat there. The warm glow of Christmas that had already begun, started burning brighter....
The other day my kids were looking through some old videos on my phone. “That’s you mommy? You sound so different!!” The words were innocent and simple enough, but they cut to the heart. See they don’t remember. My voice was sweet and...
We were planting daffodils this afternoon, my kids and I were. A mere fifteen years after I first intended. We also found out while we were out that the little girl that lived across the street has now given birth to her first baby. Life is wild and Mr....
“If hope is real, then I want to see it. If hope is thing, then I want to deal it. If hope is a seed, then I want to plant it. If hope is a way, I want to walk it. If Hope is person, I want to embrace him. Then I pause to think. Perhaps because I think about it,...
“What a privilege to carry.”💖 I said it out loud this morning as I carried my son in my arms and down the stairs. He’s getting bigger, but he still fits, and for now I can still carry him So I noted the privilege that it is. To carry him And the next words came out of...
Am I the only one?I’m rather sure I’m not.I couldn’t be. Tell me that I’m not the only one. Who doesn’t exhale when I drop off my kids. But inhales, a rather sharp intake of breath Like something is piercing me inside, no matter how much I expect it. A reflex of...
Hey, I'm Courtney, a pretty ordinary girl who thinks we've all been called to an extraordinary life and love story with God. I'm passionate about family, faith, motherhood, and the adventure of every day. I write lots of words, mostly because I can’t help it- and I think it's one of the things I was born to do. I hope that something I write encourages you, to walk in your own unique purpose and calling, set free to love and give it away, starting wherever you are today. That's what Courting the Extraordinary is all about. Finding the good all around you, and giving it away. Finding, too, the God of all goodness who wants to walk with you.
I love quiet mornings, coffee, prayer and “work” before sunrise. Quality time with my family is my jam. I can be found grinning ear to ear when we're out on an adventure. Whether that's in our own backyard or exploring someplace new all-together, I’ll for sure note something beautiful about nature aloud-and maybe repeatedly, ha!. Life is a beautiful, precious gift, and an adventurous path to travel! We might as well learn how to love. 