upside down, inside out Kingdom. LOVE it. well, learning to.

oh Father.
make us a people free to be ourselves in You.
wildly free to celebrate the celebrations of others.
students of your presence. your words.
cultivating friendships in the beautiful bonds of commitment, not for what we can get out of them.
declaring & loosing on earth that which belongs in your Kingdom.
tying up & throwing out the things that do not.
learning to worship in Spirit & Truth--i.e. with ALL our being, at ALL moments- body and soul. and according to Truth- to choose to "only live up to that which we've each already attained" of the Truth, the Light you've given each of us thus far in our journeys alongside you.
make us free to worship unselfishly & undistracted. free to make you the be-all end-all, never a means to an end.
you ARE the end. the substance. the beginning. the finality.
thank you that you are ALWAYS up to more planning & scheming than i'll ever give you credit for. you are always up to FAR more pursuing of mankind & of me than i'll ever be able to return to you.
but this thrusts me, moves me, compels me to look at this tiny vapor of a life as my jar of nard to pour out- if i may somehow at least attempt to give all of myself- mind soul body being- back to you. through my thoughts, my choices, my songs, my acts. my hopes. my words. the thousands of small choices to believe and act on truth & in love every single day.
where your cloud stops, we'll stop.
where your peace inside us rests, we'll rest.
every invitation of weird secrets you share with us about total strangers, we will accept, agree with and act on.
we are of those who are aware of times & seasons, and therefore are more able to live FULLY ALIVE in each moment set before us daily.
may we never compare our individual paths with so much as one other human- but we shall be utterly giddy over our own paths with you.
why?
because you have painstakingly created & dreamed up this specific path of intimacy & friendship with me, with us.
i refuse to spit on it, spit on you by saying its not good enough & comparing.
You know what You're doing. and you have a plan. always.
i long for you. this longing inside me tells me daily that i was fashioned for another place. a place that is always closer than we think. closer with each passing day.
i love tears, they are investments that always yield a return in your Kingdom.
i love laughter, it is always healing and strengthening.
i make my agreements with you daily God.
because i will always make them with somebody.
always.
i say no to hell, to lies, to accusations always knocking on my door.
hell may be obsessed with accusations, not You.
not me, i pray.
we are all in this thing together. no "us" vs. "them"
some of us aware of the utter glory we carry about inside us, some yet unaware.
some of us have found the Home & get the sheer joy of being that "welcome Home" mat to all those around us. ALL those around us.
we are all the prodigal.
we are all the older brother.
we all are called by a never-before-spoken name...may all of us get the chance to stand alone before Jesus & hear it escape His lips some sweet day.
the only way we ever lose in this temporary life is to stop risking; to tell our hearts 'you can only love this much & no more'; to cheat our God, ourselves & others by believing the lie that we can live our lives on our own, lone ranger style, for so much as a moment.
the whole Vine & Branches thing. God meant that.
we're all on a royal setup- a magnificent conspiracy of Love.
only the servant leads.
only the humble really love.
only the eternal really lasts.
only the child-like matures.
the fire & pain deepens.
the hope unseen, REAL hope.
this world appears to spin madly on, but we are never without a choice in how we spend our days.
its the secret history with God, forged in the closet that lasts & that can never be snatched away in the least.
if you're unsure about the path you're walking, but choosing to jump up & down with glee about Who's walking with you; if you are prone to look side to side & compare yet give God your weak, broken 'yes' to believe Truth & focus on His eyes instead; if you fail & fall & act selfishly & get distracted yet get back up again & lean into the Source of all strength & love, well, kudos.
you are a raging success.
a RAGING success my friend.