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 here, with you.
Come my child, and rest. Lay your weary head upon my chest. Don’t need to fear, Your papa is right here. If you’re waking or you’re sleeping, You’re tired, or you’re still dreaming. Come along, and lay your weary head upon My chest. Open your sleepy eyes, My child. You’re going to make it with through, Right here with Me.
Look around and see, who you’re made to be.
Lay in my arms for a while. Let me be the one who holds you. Love, you’ve never been defined, by what you do or see. You’re worth more than all of that to Me
My hearts longs to hold, and soothe you. To give your soul a rest, from all of these trials and tests. They were never meant to be, pass or fail to me. Only come to me, and let me give you rest.
Come crawl into my embrace. Lay your head down as I smile upon your face. Let me love you, Still.
Like a boat that’s rocking gentle on quiet waters, whatever storms have passed, Or are maybe still yet to be. I’m right here with you, beside you. Can’t you see?
Come My child and rest, Lay your weary head upon my chest. There’s no need to fear, Your papa is right here. You’re waking and you’re sleeping, You’re tired, and still dreaming. Come lay your heavy head upon My chest. You can open your eyes, my sleepy child. Look and remember Who I AM And who you are in Me.
Lay in my arms a while. Let me be the one to hold you. Love you’ve never been defined by what you do or what you see. Your worth is more than all of that to Me
I want to hear your warrior breathing slow, And quiet next to me. Feeling your lungs rise and fall, In rest, knowing I’m right here with you.
Hear the sound of My steady breath, Hear My heartbeat, full of love, inside my chest, for you.
I’m not just coming, Love. I’m already here and I’m Ready to love you through.
Your prayers are not wishes. Your weapons not metal or swords They’re the word of the Lord They’re true Jesus lives in you Cmon church, rise up Come out of your slumber Get down on your knees. Your weapons are not just words It’s my spirit living in you
Your time is now Raise your voice Lift a shout They battle’s begun, We call alive, every one
You’re a valley of bones Come alive in your skin Be no longer troubled With the weight of your sin I have made you free Walk no more in chains
Come alive, come alive Come alive again
The world needs that light. I gave it to you You can no longer hide it, No more, that is true
without malice or strife. “Do I look like I hold a grudge?”
Your words are so light and do true,
not a worry or care. no drip of shame.
My mind instantly sees the cross,
where you bore it all,
said it was done.
That says it all,
then I turn to you now. In the water,
so true,
Deep and blue.
Now the fun has begun,
there’s no sacrilege
You’re adventure and Love
Yes you don’t hold a grudge.
You came so I could really live.
Free as a bird, swimming deep in an ocean,
more good than I know.
But I’m diving right in.
“Tell your kids about me. Teach them to swim. Generations have been wading. It’s time to go deeper. Now won’t you come right in. Come deep in my ocean.
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 instantly smiled. Then I heard the voice of one special neighbor, who had recently returned from a long stint at the hospital. I hadn’t heard his deep voice in too long, and I smiled too. I turned to see the figures gathered under the glow of light on the small front porch, spilling out onto the walkway. His back was to me and he was telling a story. In the next sentence or two, he got to the punchline, and everyone laughed and smiled. I smiled again, too.
The second neighbor had been in the hospital too, though not nearly as long, and here they were, laughing and spending time together on a beautiful summer evening.
“What a miracle,” I thought to myself. One of the everyday kind of miracles it’s kind of harder to notice until it’s almost not so anymore.
The next night I was walking, again. This time when I passed my deep voiced neighbor’s house, I saw he was sitting with his wife on the front porch.
I tossed a greeting out, loud enough to be heard from a distance. “It’s so good to see you!” I practically shouted. I smiled big enough for him to see.
He smiled too, and said something to the affect of “It sure is good to be seen.”
His wife joined in, and a conversation started, one that ended up lasting a rather long time, by casual walking-by-in-the-evening standards, especially.
They told me about his hospital stay, and following nursing home stint. He has cancer in the spine, and things got really bad for a while. Then they told me about his return to the hospital, for a second surprise issue.
At one point early in our conversation, he looked me in the eye, pointed his finger at me, and with clearer eyes and a brighter countenance than I’ve seen in so long, he said, “Those prayers you prayed for me worked, Courtney. I heard you were. They worked.”
I got chills. In fact, I do again, just remembering.
I had some surprise tears escape the corners of my eyes. My heart unexpectedly overflowed. He repeated his stance a few times. And at one point, with a decided, settled, and grateful look in his eye he said, “It really was a miracle.”
Just the night before I called it a simple miracle.
Tonight his kind, pointed finger connected some dots. And I realized that I got to be a very small part of it, through nothing of my own merit. For remembering, alone, that God is loving and listening and powerful, and for asking Him to help a friend.
I remember telling him I’d pray for him, before he landed in the hospital. And I meant it. I felt a bit shy in my delivery ( I mean he’s my neighbor and everything.) But in my spirit I felt so bold, and so convinced in my soul that God could heal him, touch him, and ease his pain, to whatever degree He saw fit. Regardless of what it would look like, I knew God could help him. And I was going to pray exactly for that. Whatever it could look like. That God would make it better.
At another point, when he was in the hospital, I saw his wife as she walked the dog, and another while she took out the trash. I checked in , asked her if she needed any help. She really didn’t need any, not in a practical way at least. She was surrounded by kids and more grown grandkids, who helped daily, and neighbors that mowed her lawn (the same neighbor who ended up in the hospital as well, actually.)
She didn’t need any practical help. But I told her I would pray. That I was praying already (in fact I was mid way through praying for him when I bumped into her.) I told her I would continue and please send my well wishes to her husband.
Some weeks went by and I didn’t know what was happening. But I still mentioned him in prayer anytime I thought of him.
Now here we were, reconnecting, sharing stories of healing and hospitals, pain and pills. And ultimately, of what the patient recognized as Gods mighty hand helping him through it all.
A miracle.
Some might scoff, credit the doctors and nurses, alone, say healing without them is some kind of fairytale. They do so deserve credit and special mention.
But truthfully, God deserves more. He gave them the special talents, He created the body to heal, and He allowed things to work together. they said some of the care they received was better than others, mistakes were made, and his wife had to be a pretty vocal advocate.
At the end of the ordeal, for them, God stood out. Gracious, listening, and helping.
I can agree with that assessment, for I have seen it in my life too. He uses any means necessary, but at the end of the day, every good gift comes from above, even if He has to use imperfect human messengers to get it there.
Why do I tell you this story?
To remind you, you might be one of those imperfect messengers too. You might be a nurse or a doctor, grandchild that calls and checks on their grandparents, someone who cuts a lawn. Or you might be just a walking and praying neighbor, like me.
You have a part to play in some miracle, somewhere.
Keep your eyes open as you go. Look for those miracles. See where you can help, maybe even be a part of one.
And always, pray. Pray more than you think you need to. Pray bigger than you feel capable of asking for. (It’s not about that anyway.) Pray bigger than you think can happen. Pray for miracles.
Because God has a part to play, too. He’s just waiting for an invitation. He’s waiting for someone to ask.
That someone might be you.
I left that day with new marching orders, new things, next miracles to pray for. And you better believe I will.
Because there He is, this Jesus. Just waiting to come to your everyday ordinary. To show up on porches and at hospital beds and on your evening walks. And He always brings with Him exactly what we need. Himself.
And the miracles, too. Peace. Healing. Love. Just like the wedding of Cana. He can’t help it. It’s the really true nature of Love- the ability to heal what ills us.
And Here we are. Ready and ripe for such miracles. What a perfect combination.
David, don’t let anyone talk you out of it. Don’t let anyone downplay or redefine Goliath for you.
If this is meant for you
(and surely it is, if you see it.)
You are not meant to ignore it. Don’t let them lure you into putting away your slingshot. Do not give up and go home. Don’t shrink your existence back to your tiny tent. Just because someone tells you. Even if that someone is you.
You know what the battle is, and what wars against you. It’s not a man, it’s a spirit of captivity. It comes in many forms. You known your own Goliaths.
And you were made to be free.– Body, soul and spirit.
Stand up to Goliath And you tell them about your God.
That He is GOOD and He has good things for you. Accept nothing less. Nothing less than His best for you.
What does it mean to be an ally? Do I need one in this world? Do I need to be one? I keep hearing the word echo like some holy grail.
Ally; to unite formally, as by treaty, league, marriage, or the like
To be noted, the word ‘ally’ forms the basis for the word allegiance. Interesting. And, well, when you put it that way….it sounds more serious and less like some passing fad to aspire to.
It causes me to think. What side am I on? I may be asked all day long, am I team peanut butter or team jelly? Team stay or go, team yes or team no? Team left or team right?
In most areas of life you could probably take a stance one way or another. But seriously, whose team should I be on? Which if my neighbors is more right about the state of the world, or the state of more local affairs? My head starts to ache and my heart starts to pull, back and forth, or firmly one way. Either way, it takes its toll. I weigh the options, maybe count the cost. I decide with firm vigor, or by quiet default.
But what about this consideration? What if Jesus was my one and true ally? He’s the friend that sticks closer than a brother, but what if I actually chose Him, again and again. What would that look like? To choose him more than any man or idea. Truly, Jesus.
What would that look like? What would it look like if I really let myself be Christ’s ally in all ways and in all things?
Maybe it would look less like drawing my own lines in the sand, and more like falling in line with ones He already drew.
Maybe it would look less like taking sides, and making teams, and more like being decidedly and firmly on His.
Maybe it would mean consulting Jesus for His opinions more than consulting my neighbor for his.
Maybe it would look more like loving the orphans and widows, seeing the rejected, feeding the homeless and the spiritually hungry as well those who are physically, and less like loving the world or systems that break them.
More like telling the truth and less like telling lies or excuses.
It would look like unity with the Father and His Divine character, and less like unity with any one man. Not following a path or way of my own engineering, or sticking to my own ideas, or ideals or those structures are built by man.
I’m not talking about compromise. I’m talking about no compromise, and holding to the truth that is Jesus. That has always been Jesus.
Where I give Him my ashes and let Him make them something beautiful. Not where I cling to the ashes and ask Him call them beautiful, or somehow change the definitions.
Letting Jesus by my ally means finding His righteousness and seeking forgiveness for anything in me that doesn’t reflect it.
It would look like being married more to Him than anyone or anything else, including myself. Not just to the world or even the church as it looks now, but straight and directly to Him.
It would look like being connected deeply, daily, and personally to our precious Savior, and like being the bride that we are supposed to be- with many talents and different callings. But united in this one purpose: to see His name glorified on the earth.
You don’t need to know or ask or seek what anyone else thinks about your life, your decisions, or your thoughts more than Him. Don’t just ask others. Ask the Lord.
I mean we can talk about anything, if you want or need to. I’m here to listen and love the way Christ ask us to. And I’ll try to be an ally to the Jesus that loves you more than I do. I’ll listen to you and what you’re saying, but I’ll also really try to keep an ear to Heaven and see what it is that God is saying, too.
I’ll love you the ways He tells me, as best as I ever can. It’s not my job to point out your weaknesses or failures or anyone else’s, either. It’s my job to help carry you to Jesus, in spite of or because of, and certainly with all of those things. It is my job to help point you closer, or even sometimes to help carry you, ever closer to Jesus.
It’s my job to do that personally for myself, too. One that I fail at often. God help us, to remember and return.
For we tend to judge one another in order to distract from our own faults, anyway. I have plenty of my own shortcomings and failings. I need to keep asking Jesus to consult and help me all about my own. For these imperfections, these fault lines, they just keep showing up. So I’m going to keep crawling up on the altar myself.
Care to join me?
Why don’t we both go talk to Jesus. Ask Him what He really thinks. About us. About our situation. About our interactions . About all of it. Let Jesus be our ally. Ask Him for His opinion, for His Lordship, without clinging to whatever it is I’m holding. To just one thing or the other. But to cling more tightly to Him, in Love and commitment. And then to hold others loving in our other hand, in an attempt to lovingly help reunite them with their very loving savior, at every turn. Leading myself first and then others towards Christ.
We all might be surprised with what happens next. But in a very good kind of way.. Let’s ask Him to reveal Himself to us, His love, His truth. I don’t know His time schedule, and when it will happen that He shows us certain things. But I know He can do it, and when we ask Him, He will. Let’s let him. As much as I love you friend, let’s both let Jesus be our One, true and forever ally.
He knows what and how and where and when to do it, all.
If we’re both really trying to line up with Jesus, I think we’ll find that we’re already on the same team. I want to be with Him, wherever He’s going. I know that He’s Good enough to lead us and love us there, throughout all of this life. And on to the next.
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.
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. 