Playing Detective

This year for Christmas, two of my friends and I went in on a group gift – one year of Hunt a Killer fun. Each month, we receive a box with clues to help us figure out who committed murder. The boxes are serial in nature, so for six months the storyline is continued from month-to-month, and then the second six months we will have a new storyline. We have done the first two boxes and we LOVE it. It is so much fun, especially for those of us who like procedural TV dramas like Criminal Minds, Elementary, Bones, Law and Order SVU, and more.

In each of the first two boxes, our task was to eliminate a suspect based on timelines and corroborating evidence. Using our very own murder board (a $2 bulletin board we got at the thrift store), we were able to correctly identify the two suspects, out of the nine possible, who are NOT responsible for murder.

Playing detective is fun, especially when you get to spend time with friends who are also focused on solving the same mystery you are.

Lately, I feel as if I am also playing detective in other areas of my life. Not to identify a murderer, but rather to identify the next steps in my journey. This kind of detective work isn’t nearly as fun.

Last week, I was certified ready to receive a call, which, in the Presbyterian Church USA means that I can begin looking for a place where I will be ordained and installed as a Minister of Word and Sacrament (fancy title for pastor).

A preliminary search on the denominational website lists well over 200 churches across the country which meet the criteria of my search. My initial reaction was (and kind of still is) one of being completely overwhelmed. How in the world am I supposed to read about these churches and know whether or not they would be a good fit for me and I for them? How do I even begin to find the “clues” that point me in the right direction? What criteria will I use to help me make the decision? How does this affect my family and what do I do when it comes to making sure they are part of the decision-making process?

Yesterday, as I read a chapter in Enter by the Gate, by Flora Slosson Wuellner, the very first sentence hit me right in the heart: “When the true Shepherd guides us, a gate will open before us, leading to a wider place.”

In this chapter, Wuellner talks about praying about a problem, placing it in God’s hands, and then alertly waiting to see what happens. She acknowledges that there are most definitely other guidelines to consider as we are making choices, but that paying special attention to little or big changes that occur after praying about a situation is often how we hear from God.

She tells a story later in the chapter that grabbed my attention as well:

“I stepped into a gambling casino once to make a phone call. the flashing strobe lights and the harsh music didn’t horrify me nearly as much as the fixed, intense gaze on the faces of the people working the machines. Like sleepwalkers, most of the them were closed off, deaf to any other interest, any other person. The casino had no windows. Customers could not see the sky, the trees, the clouds, or any natural light. They were narrowed down to one thing, the money machine in front of them. I still carry this inner picture, symbolic of all our addictive prisons of the spirit, which are any fixations that close us off to God’s world around us.”

Flora Slosson Wuellner, Enter by the Gate

Sometimes in crime dramas you see a particular police officer that is sure that a certain person is guilty, so sure that they cannot see that the evidence points elsewhere. Their focus is way too narrow and actually impedes the process of the investigation.

The thing is, having a world of opportunities ahead of me isn’t a bad thing because it opens my eyes to a bigger picture of the many ways that God could lead and helps me to see beyond the safe, easy options that could close me off to something amazing. I don’t want to impede the work of the Holy Spirit by having too narrow of a focus.

For that reason, I will continue to pray for God’s leading and guiding. After all, Jesus told us, “Ask and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” (Matthew 7:7)

“Loving guide, my true Shepherd, I give [this process] to your hand and heart. Show me the open gate. I know you hear me and that a way is opening for me. I give you thanks.”

Flora Slosson Wuellner, Enter by the Gate

Amen.

Are there choices or decisions that are looming for you? Do you feel like you don’t have the tools and information to make the “right” choice? Or are you so focused on what you want that you aren’t seeing other things that God has placed in your path? How about taking it to God in prayer today.

Feel free to comment or send me a message if you want to chat!

Pick the Fruit

Happy New Year!

I know, I am a week late, but this is the first moment I have had to sit down and write the post that has been on my heart for a few days.

I don’t know about you, but for me, the start of a new year holds so much promise for something new. Especially when I am coming off of a year that seemed to be a struggle. If you have read my blog long, you know that something I work on regularly is gratitude, which has truly changed the way I look at life. Most of the time.

But there are always those times when I am sick, tired, overwhelmed, or frustrated, and my focus on gratitude falters. That happened some in 2019, and to be honest, more than once I may have said that I was just done with 2019.

Yet, while there were definitely struggles in a number of areas, there were also many joys and much fun in 2019. I think that is one of the reasons that the book I am currently reading, and this one section in particular has just stayed with me the last few days.

I was given the book, Searching for Happiness, by Martin Thielen, and it has been my “before bed” book since the start of the year. (I almost always have a non-fiction book that I can read a chapter of before bed. If I try to read fiction before bed, I stay up way too late.) In chapter two, Thielen recounts a story he heard from John Claypool about his grandfather.

For decades a beautiful plum tree stood in the backyard of John Claypool’s grandfather’s house. The tree was the prize of the farmer and the pride of John’s grandfather. Then one day a tornado swept through the community. the storm destroyed many trees, including that plum tree. The violent winds ripped the tree from its roots and left it lying lifeless on its side. After the tornado blew over, people ventured outside to survey the damage. Before long a few neighborhood men gathered in John Claypool’s grandfather’s yard. They stood in a silent circle, gazing down at the once beautiful plum tree, now ruined beyond repair. Finally, one of the men asked John’s granddaddy, “What are you going to do with that tree?” After a long pause the old man replied, “I’m going to pick the fruit and burn the rest.”

Martin Thielen

“I’m going to pick the fruit and burn the rest.”

This simple statement is so profound that I can’t stop thinking about it.

What if we looked at yesterday that way? What if we looked at 2019 that way? What if we looked at our whole life that way?

Looking at what is good, what brought joy, what inspired hope, what we learned and how we grew, but letting the other stuff go is picking the fruit and burning the rest.

So, what fruit are you “picking” from 2019?

For me it is things like graduating from seminary the same weekend my daughter graduated from high school, a girls weekend in Memphis, a 3-family trip to Southhaven, Michigan, a family trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama, a great Vine to Wine 1/2 Marathon and 5K, my son turning 16 and getting his license, a wonderful internship experience at First Presbyterian Church Edwardsville, Illinois, an amazing family, a great group of friends, lots of books read and lessons learned.

And as I move into 2020, I will continue to learn to enjoy the fruit. I hope you will as well.

At THIS Table

My news feed has been filled with posts about the recent comments by John MacArthur telling Beth Moore to “go home.” I have seen various open letters to John MacArthur, I have seen friends standing up and giving witness to the positive and Biblically fruit-bearing way that Beth Moore has impacted their lives (and I concur). After reading a few of these, I actually went and found the audio of the conversation in question. I was appalled.

Not only was I appalled at the nonchalance with which this man completely denounced women preaching, but with the response of the people in attendance – applause and cheering. I don’t know what the make-up of the audience was, but I can guess it was mostly, if not completely made up of men.

One of the things that John MacArthur said was:

“(when people) literally overturn the clear teaching of scripture to empower the people who want power you have given up biblical authority.”

John MacArthur

I literally had to listen to that more than once. Seriously? Isn’t the clear teaching of scripture just this? Giving power to the powerless? Justice to the oppressed? Freedom to the prisoner? Hope to the forgotten? Resources to the poor? Healing to the sick? Need I go on?

If this is truly how he feels, does that mean that we should go back to a country that condones and practices slavery? After all, the bible talks about how slaves should obey their masters. Should we all revert to being slaves in Egypt? Because didn’t God empower to the Israelites to escape Pharaoh?

Yes, I am a woman. Yes, I am a preacher. And yes, God has called me to do this work. I believe that rather than take one or two verses that Paul wrote to a specific audience for a specific purpose and broadly apply them to every situation forever and ever, it is much more important to look at how Jesus treated women, giving them a voice and a place in a culture where they had none, and to look at how Paul ministered with women and empowered them to be about the work of building the church. God created us all in God’s image. God has gifted us all in various and specific ways. And God calls us ALL to be about the work of spreading the good news of the gospel.

I am not angry. But I am sad, because I am for the inclusion of all at the table of the Lord, and I believe that when we put limits on what God is able to do, then we are hurting not only people created by God, but we are also doing serious damage to the Kingdom of God in the here and now.

Want to read more about the full inclusion of women in ministry? Here are some links to check out:

There are a ton more resources – maybe you even have one or two you want to share in the comments.

I want to leave you with a new song that I heard today that sums up all of this for me – to love with the love of Christ means that at the table of Christ, ALL are welcome, ALL are important, ALL are called.

“At This Table”
Indina Menzel

At this table everyone is welcome
At this table everyone is seen
At this table everybody matters
No one falls between

At this table you can say whatever
At this table you can speak your mind
At this table everything’s forgiven
There’s enough for everyone

So come as you are
Remember that the door is always open
Yes come as you are
The perfect gift that you could bring is your heart
So come, come as you are

At this table there will be no judgements
At this table mercy has a seat
At this table we’re all sons and daughters
There’s no place I’d rather be

So come as you are
Remember that the door is always open
Come as you are
The perfect gift that you could bring is your heart
Come, come as you are

Come as you are

At this table everyone is welcome
At this table everybody cares
At this table everybody matters
So come pull up a chair

(Full disclosure: This is the song I REALLY wanted to include, but take it as tongue-in-cheek.)

Don’t. Just Don’t.

I see it everyday. Memes. Comments. Posts. Someone always has something to say about someone else, and it’s not often good. Most of the time it is some kind of commentary on a particular group or type of people, noting how they don’t line up to some standard that the person posting has arbitrarily set.

And this really makes me angry. Particularly when the people that are posting claim to be followers of Christ – Christians.

Two different people that I have talked with this week have said something along the lines of, “I just can’t do church because of the damage done to me by the people who are supposed to be Christ followers.”

This is a problem. Fellow Christians, listen to me – WE ARE THE PROBLEM!

Last I checked, we haven’t been given all of the answers, we haven’t been gifted with the fullness of God’s plans for the world and the humanity therein, but we have specifically been told that we are not to act as judges of our fellow humans.

As I was listening to Pray As You Go this morning, the passage was Romans 2:1-11, which says:

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. 2 You say, “We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.” 3 Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: 7 to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.

If God shows no partiality, why do we? After all, Paul tells us here that WE HAVE NO EXCUSE that allows us to judge others.

So, instead of focusing on what everyone else is doing wrong or how everyone else is living their life, how about we focus on where we are in need of God’s grace, and living in such a way that brings glory to God. This kind of life will have more far-reaching and positive impact than one in which we dub ourselves the judge of humankind.

Who is with me?

It’s Time for Change

I like to read. Anyone who knows me is aware of this. And I like to read lots of different things. Sometimes I am into memoirs. Sometimes romantic suspense. Sometimes non-fiction. Sometimes classics.

Last week I finished reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I thought I had read it when I was younger, but apparently not, because it was not familiar to me at all. I loved it and had a hard time putting it down.

The real reason I read it was because I was told about March by Geraldine Brooks, the story of the girls’ father from Little Women. So of course, the minute I finished Little Women, I picked up March.

Yes, the story is told by another author, so it is her imagination at work, but nevertheless, I am having the same issue with this book – I can’t put it down.

But what is drawing me in more than anything is the fact that Mr. March is an abolitionist whose convictions led him to sign up as a chaplain in the Civil War.

I am only about half-way through the book, but the character of Mr. March in regards to his position on slavery is fascinating and inspiring. Standing up for what he believes is right, even when others disagree, sometimes very harshly; working to help the slaves – whether still in servitude or “freed” (escaped, conscripted to work for a minimal wage for the union – not exactly free); this man not only believed that slavery was wrong, he did what he could to back up that belief and treat all as those who bear the image of God.

Fast forward to today. Yes, slavery is no longer legal. Yes, we have granted rights to people of all skin colors. But have we really moved that much past the time in which fictional Mr. March was living?

I sat in a gathering of Christian women recently, in a breakout session about racism. I was stunned to hear some of the questions that these (white) women had about the issue. When our presenter made a comment about our Constitution being racist, people were shocked and didn’t understand what she meant. When she said that black people could be prejudiced against whites, but not racist because racism implies power and privilege, I could feel the discomfort and lack of understanding in the room.

In the last few years, issues of racism, not just individual but systemic, have once again been brought to the forefront with events like those that happened just down the road from me in Ferguson, Missouri. As far as we have come since President Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, and since Martin Luther King, Jr. and “I Have a Dream,” it is not far enough.

As a white woman, I cannot fully understand the struggles that my black brothers and sisters have to deal with on a daily basis. I don’t have to wonder when my son leaves the house if he will come back home alive. I don’t have to worry that he might get passed over for a job because of the color of his skin. And it breaks my heart that this is the reality in our country.

Issues around race (which is a human construct – not God’s because we were all created as the human race), are complex. They are hard to understand – especially for those who have never had to deal with them. They are even harder to address because of the ways in which they have been built into our country from the beginning. (Remember how when the white Europeans came to this country they kicked the indigenous people off the land they had been living on for years?)

But here’s the thing. Just because it is hard, doesn’t mean it is not worth it. And God has told us over and over in the Bible that we are to be about the business of lifting up the oppressed and downtrodden.

Also at this women’s meeting, a young black woman, Glynis Brooks, came and portrayed the story of Harriet Tubman. It was one of the most amazing things that I had ever seen. The fear, the cruelty, the bravery, and the determination of this woman as she escaped from slavery, and then led others in their escape through the Underground Railroad inspired me and broke my heart all at the same time.

I was asked in the small group gathering about racism why I attended that particular breakout. My answer was this: I can’t know firsthand what my black brothers and sisters experience on a daily basis, but I can listen to their stories, I can educate myself about what they face, I can acknowledge my privilege, I can speak out about the injustice that I see, and I can hopefully help those with the power to change the system to see what I see: that we haven’t come far enough and we have more work to do.

Dear Me

Isn’t it interesting how a song you have heard many times before can suddenly jump out and hit you like a cup of cold water to your face?

That was this song for me this morning as I was in my Contemplative Corner. I had just finished my bible reading and journaling, and moved on to listening to a little music before I jumped in the shower to prepare for the day.

And then I had to listen to this song a couple more times.

Because I think this song really addresses what happens, (or needs to happen) as we continue to draw near to God, and emulate Christ, and be led by the Holy Spirit.

We think that we can package Christianity up in a neat little box with lots of rules and regulations, when in reality, the more we read God’s Word, we find out that it’s not as easy as that.

When we are truly living out of the love that we have been given by God through Christ Jesus, it gets messy and doesn’t fit into our human constructs of religion. And that is a good thing, because it forces us to rely on God rather than ourselves, and to see people as God sees them rather than how our human eyes see them.

It all comes down to one word for me: LOVE. When we live with the love of God at the center of our lives, when we love like Jesus loves, this is when we are living out our faith in the most effective way. This is when we are acting in ways that bring glory not to ourselves, but to our God.

So, take a listen this morning. What else would you say to yourself today? How can you step out in love this week? Let me know your thoughts!

Giving Grace

Sometimes the hardest person for me to give grace to is…

…myself.

Anyone out there have this problem? I can give grace to most everyone else most of the time, but I am so hard on my own self.

Right now I am frustrated with myself for so many things including my weight, my two-week hiatus from exercise after a surgical procedure, my clothes not fitting the way they should, the way I see myself in the mirror, and that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my health. Don’t get me started about other areas.

But then I remember that today, my youngest turns 16. I birthed a 10 pound 1 ounce, 23-1/2 inch boy 16 years ago today. I carried this monster of an infant in my womb for 9-1/2 months and then nursed him for almost a year. I have chased him around, first on foot around the yard and numerous parks, and now in a car from soccer field to tennis court to band concert. I have ridden bikes around town with him, jumped with him on the trampoline, sat in the car with him as he learned to drive, and so much more.

And really, isn’t living what life is all about?

What if, instead of beating myself up about not being where I want to be physically, I reminded myself of all the things that this body has done for me over the years. What if, instead of frowning at my reflection in the mirror, I looked myself in the eye and saw the love and laughter that fills my eyes because of the amazing life I have been given. What if, instead of choosing to be frustrated with myself, I offered myself some grace.

This isn’t to say that I should just let myself go and be okay with it, but rather, be kind to myself as I continue to pursue health every day.

This quote, which is attributed to Jillian Michaels, is one that I have pinned on my Pinterest board – Health & Fitness – Ideas and Motivation. It is one of those that reminds me how crazy it is to get down on myself because I couldn’t exercise for two weeks, or because I had the medium instead of the small Bobby’s Frozen Custard. My body needed to recover from the surgical procedure, and I can start exercising again next week. I have only gone to Bobby’s ONCE this entire season, so I should let myself enjoy it.

So today I am going to celebrate all that my body has done for me, including giving birth to two amazing children, one of which we are celebrating today, and give myself grace rather than criticism.

I invite you to give yourself grace today (and everyday), in whatever area of your life that you struggle to do so. Let me know how it goes.

Let Us Go With You

I have been using the app Pray As You Go for awhile now. It is a wonderful tool for directing my prayers based on daily Bible readings, and paired with various musical selections and probing questions.

Tuesday morning’s reading was from Zechariah:

20 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; 21 the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, “Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.” 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Zechariah 8:20-23 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

As I listened to this scripture read a couple of times, the part that hit me was verse 23: Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

What would that be like? To have people who grabbed ahold of us and begged to go with us because they knew God was with us?

The thing is, in order for someone to want to go with us for these reasons, we must be exhibiting qualities and professing faith that is evident not only to those who share our faith, but also to those who are observing us from a distance.

The question that I am pondering today is: am I living a life that draws people to God? This is what I want more than anything! I want to be living in such a way that brings glory, not to self, but to God alone, and draws others into a relationship with the God of my salvation.

So, what is it that draws people to God through us? I have some ideas, but I am curious about what you think. Leave a comment below and next week we will continue the discussion!

Sing Along

Yesterday, as I drove to church in Edwardsville, where I am serving as an intern this fall, this song came up on my “Worship Girls Playlist.” This is one of my playlists that I often put on shuffle to see what God might have to say to me through music that I love.

I was singing along. Loudly. Joyfully. Passionately.

And on the way home, I had to listen to it again.

It reminds me of this verse that I love for the picture of God that it offers:

The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

With the turmoil, division, disasters, marginalization, and so many other hurts and dashed hopes that we are seeing in our world today, it is easy to think that God is far away and doesn’t care, or just won’t act. But that is so not true! God created this world and all that is in it, and called it GOOD! Yes, people have marred that good creation, but never has God stopped loving and caring for us. He loves us. He rejoices over us with singing. And we have the opportunity, and dare I say responsibility, to sing along and participate in God’s work in the world.

There is no song greater, no purpose higher, than God’s. I think I will sing along. Will you join me?

Sing Along
Songwriters: Christa Joy Black / Christy Nockels / Jason Ingram / Jesse Reeves / Nathan Nockels
Sing Along lyrics © Essential Music Publishing, Bethel Music Publishing, Capitol Christian Music Group

From babies hidden in the shadows
To the cities shining bright
There are captives weeping
Far from sight
For every doorway has a story
And some are holding back the cries
But there is one who hears us in the night

Great God
Wrap your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
So we can join in your song
And sing along yeah, 
We’ll sing along

From the farthest corners of the earth
Still his mercy reaches
Even to the pain we cannot see
And even through the darkness
There’s a promise that will keep us
There is one who came to set us free

Great God
Wrap Your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
So we can join in your song
And sing along, yeah 
We’ll sing along

So let your song rise
And fill up the earth
Let your hope ring out
Let your heart be heard
So let your song rise
And fill up the earth
Let your hope ring out
Let your heart be heard

Oh, great God
Wrap Your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
And we will join in your song
And sing along, yeah 
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along

Great God
Wrap your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
And we will join in your song
And sing along
We’ll sing along

Great God
Wrap your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
And we will join in your song
And sing along
We’ll sing along
Yeah
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along

Still on My Mind

Gratitude. I wrote about it last week, and here I am writing about it again. Maybe that is because this is my word right now and it is on my mind consistently. Or maybe it is because I am in the middle of writing Thank You notes to all of the 2019 Vine to Wine 1/2 Marathon and 5K sponsors. Either way, it is not a bad thing for it to still be on my mind.

Today, though, I want to take a little different view and ask this question: how often do you tell people that you are grateful for them or that you appreciate one of their attributes or something that they do?

It is one thing to keep a gratitude journal and express our thankfulness to God for the various ways in which we have been blessed, and even to write down someone’s name or action in your journal as a way of thanking God for them, but it is quite another to actually verbalize to a person how grateful you are for them. And I think that this is something that is sorely missing in our world right now.

We are quick to point out when we don’t like something, when we are frustrated with someone, when someone’s beliefs don’t match with our own. What if we were as quick to point out the good stuff? And more than just a simple, “Thank You,” (but even that would be welcomed). A real, heartfelt moment of face-to-face gratitude. How different would the world be if that were our default? Even simple things like instead of saying, “I’m sorry for being late,” saying, “Thank you for being patient with me. I truly appreciate it.”

Since I didn’t get my Monday post up (again) this week, I am adding a song that expresses this idea. Maybe there is someone in your life that needs to hear this from you. No matter what, let’s work on this gratitude thing together, both expressing it to God and to those that surround us with love and grace.

More Than You’ll Ever Know
Watermark (Nathan & Christy Nockels)

Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it’s okay to cry with you

Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I’ve been near God
And that’s the way it ought to be, yeah

‘Cause you’ve been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
‘Cause you’ve spoken the truth over my life
And you’ll never know what it means to me
Just to know you’ve been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn’t think I could find the strength to sing

And all the while I’m hoping that I’ll
Do the kind of praying for you that you’ve done for me
And that’s the way it ought to be

‘Cause you’ve been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
‘Cause you’ve spoken the truth over my life
And you’ll never know what it means to me
Just to know you’ve been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

You have carried me
You have taken upon a burden that wasn’t your own
And may the blessing return to you
A hundredfold, oh yeah, a hundredfold, oh yeah

‘Cause you’ve been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
‘Cause you’ve spoken the truth over my life
And you’ll never know what it means to me
Just to know you’ve been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you’ll ever know
More than you’ll ever know