The only exception.

For those days we felt like a mistake,
Those times when love’s what you hate,
Somehow,
We keep marching on.

For those nights when I couldn’t be there,
I’ve made it harder to know that you know,
That somehow,
We’ll keep moving on.

There’s so many wars we fought,
There’s so many things we’re not,
But with what we have,
I promise you that,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

For all of the plans we’ve made,
There isn’t a flag I’d wave,
Don’t care if we bend,
I’d sink us to swim,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

For those doubts that swirl all around us,
For those lives that tear at the seams,
We know,
We’re not what we’ve seen,

For this dance we’ll move with each other.
There ain’t no other step than one foot,
Right in front of the other.

There’s so many wars we fought,
There’s so many things we’re not,
But with what we have,
I promise you that,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

For all of the plans we’ve made,
There isn’t a flag I’d wave,
Don’t care if we bend,
I’d sink us to swim,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

Right, right, right, right left right,
Right, right, right, right left right,
Right, right,
We’re marching on.

We’ll have the days we break,
And we’ll have the scars to prove it,
We’ll have the bonds that we save,
But we’ll have the heart not to lose it.

For all of the times we’ve stopped,
For all of the things I’m not.

We put one foot in front of the other,
We move like we ain’t got no other,
We go when we go,
We’re marching on.

There’s so many wars we fought,
There’s so many things we’re not,
But with what we have,
I promise you that,
We’re marching on,
(We’re marching on)
(We’re marching on).

Right, right, right, right left right,
Right, right, right, left, right,
Right, right,
We’re marching on.

Right, right, right, right left right,
Right, right, right, left, right,
Right, right,
We’re marching on.


But with what we have,
I promise you that,
I'm marching on.

I know things change
Your world has slipped away
I know things change
But you're living like a soldier
Who's caught in the fray
Don't lose your faith
It's not so cold
It's not too late

There was once an athlete who reached the pinnacle of his sport. Someone asked him what he wished someone had told him when he first started playing the sport. He replied, "I wish that someone would had told me that when you reach the top, there's nothing there."

Perhaps I sometimes forget that everything happens for a reason.
And that reason is God's plan for something better.

Carve it.
Inscribe it.
Engrave it.
On my heart, my Love.

Because then, I realised I didn't know how to love anyone anymore.

Neither my family.
Nor my friends.
Nor You.
Not anyone.

Utterly disgusted.
On a journey.
To learn.
This time, Jesus, I'm Yours completely.

This is me, your forever Valentine. I don’t know who you are or what you look like. I may know you already or you may be thousands of miles away. I just want you to know that on today, a Love Celebration Day, that I adored you before I even knew you. It’s hard to not want you more than I want the Lord, sometimes. (Let the record stand that whenever we get into ‘I love you more’ conversations, I can let you win with ‘I love you more’… but I’ve loved you longer.)

I’m a little strange and really really loud, so I’m glad that doesn’t put you off too much. I’m so thrilled that you’re out there somewhere, the puzzle piece that the Lord has promised to be my sidekick through thick and thin.

But here’s what I’m thankful for even more, because I know this to be a fact: I’m thankful for the love you hold in your heart for the Lord. I love the passion with which you serve. And I love the sincerity with which you praise. I’m thankful for the words of healing you speak and I’m thankful for the hand of grace with which you touch others. Mostly, I’m thankful that you love the Lord way more than you love me, because truly… that’s the only way I’d ever want to be loved— in the long run.

And you know what? I’m sorry that I’ll one day let you down.. a lot of days. I’m sorry about our fights and the way I misunderstand what you say. I’m sorry for the days I’m silently grumpy or the days I scream at you, with tears in my eyes, trying to hurt you. I can say I’m sorry now for the things that I’d never want to happen… but I know will happen, because we’ve both been created human. And maybe you’ll snap less often than me, but I want you to know that I’ll always and do already forgive you; and as the Lord is ruler of my heart, I will never stop loving you.

I’m already thankful for the quirky/awkward/weird stuff that you say and do. And though I’ll probably laugh at first then get really annoyed (to your confusion) when you do them… deep down, I love them, because they make you you. (Just stop doing it in public so much.)

I love it when we pray. I love it when I can’t pray and you pray for me. And I am never more scared than when the both of us are at a low point and can’t reach out to touch our Father’s hand… so I’m commissioning you, Lover, to hold on tight. It will be a crazy adventure, festooned with memorable mornings and eventful evenings, but I’m never more happy than I am when sharing it all with you. (Except for maybe when we’re at church together. That’s also a beautiful time.)

Here are a few things that I wonder about, but don’t truly put any weight on:

I wonder if you sing. I do. But if you don’t sing, I wonder if you really like the way I do.

I wonder if you play an instrument. I kind of do. If you did… I hope you’ll have the patience to teach me. :3

I wonder if you like candy very much. I don’t have much of a candy sweet tooth, but I will remember your favorite and buy it for you randomly.

I wonder if you like the same music I like.

I wonder if you like to dance.

I wonder if you hate to write. Or perform. Or hold hands. Or walk barefoot in the rain. Or eat the crust on sandwiches. Or collect strange non-sequitor knick-knacks. Or give stuffed animals. Or stare inside flowers. Or read.

I wonder if you snore. I wonder if you draw. I wonder if you like to drink water. I wonder if you like bananas. I wonder if you pick your nose in public. I wonder if you hate amusement parks.

I wonder if you don’t even like the majority of things that I like. I’ve come to realize that compatibility is not simply bred of like-mindedness, it springs from God-mindedness. And I’m willing to give my all to the Lord in order to find you. I’m going to wait here patiently prayerfully until the Lord shows me exactly who you are. What’s funny is that…. I’m probably going to know that you’re The One before you know that I’m for you… considering the little set-up God and I have. About five or six years ago, I asked the Lord to give me a scenario… a kind of Eliezar-prays-for-the-watering-of-the-camels-like-scenario in order to find Isaac’s future wife. Except for watering my camels… it will be something else… profoundly simple and something that could happen any given day…. but ever since I prayed for it, it’s never happened. So I know the Lord heard me and will make you do it… and I wonder how I’ll react. I wonder how you’ll react. I wonder if I’m even supposed to tell you when it happens…

But anyway, all that to say is that we will not be an accident. There will be no going blindly. And though we will pray and seek God’s face in all we do, it is already written that me meeting you will be an answer to prayer in a very literal way. I know some couples who have a hard time coming to terms with the realization of the sudden coupleship… and for all the doubts that we can carry in our idiotic, imperfect hauman hearts… the design and inevitability of you and I will not be one of them. I will rest assured that there is no one out there for me besides you. You and I are the perfect team. The Lord created us to give Him the perfect praise that a couple can. And be the best Iron to sharpen Iron team ever. I want us to be able to lift up others and shake up our communities spiritually… I realize a lot of that starts with what we each do, individually, now. So I’m going, Love. I am running. My eyes are watching the sky and my feet are on the ground. And eventually, the Lord will make sure the two of us, we sky-watchers, collide— too preoccupied with Him to notice one another until we both fall.

So today, of all days, when I’m missing you and wishing you were around, I’m celebrating the wonderful gift you will be. I’m celebrating the heaps of love the Lord is maturing in me. I’m rejoicing in the independence He’s showing me and the growth He’s giving me, so that I am His most perfect servant before I am yours.

And I rejoice that you, silly wonderful awesome handsome you, wherever you are, exist and will one day be realized.

I love you.

-A lovely girl named Danielle.

Lord, I do not deserve.

The most important encounter you can have with God isn't on a cg meeting, or a sunday church service.

It's the personal meetings you have with Him behind closed doors alone, every single night.

Love forgives.

Even the most heinous of crimes, or the worst of sins.
No matter what your partner did, I believe if true love existed between them, they would always forgive.

If only you would look at God waiting.
Waiting for you to come back into His open arms.
No matter what you did.
He would welcome you, like the father welcoming his prodigal son with joy.

I wished they could see today's service.