The Choice to Be a Good Tree :: Brooke Ligertwood

Summary

The Grove Podcast: “The Choice to Be a Good Tree” with Brooke Ligertwood (June 3, 2026)
Host: Shelley Giglio
Guest: Brooke Ligertwood

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Episode Overview

This episode features an honest, in-depth conversation between host Shelley Giglio and acclaimed worship leader/songwriter Brooke Ligertwood. Together, they explore what it means to be “anointed,” the weight and freedom of spiritual calling, and the daily choice to stay rooted in Jesus, regardless of platform or circumstance. Through personal stories, biblical insights, and poetic metaphors, Brooke and Shelley encourage listeners to see their ordinary lives as fertile soil for extraordinary obedience, creativity, and fruitfulness.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding Anointing (05:47–11:05)

• Anointing as a God-Word:
  Shelley raises concern about the term “anointing” being overused about people rather than God. Brooke agrees, noting its mysterious nature and biblical precedents.

  • “God anoints people. …But then conversely also, I feel like sometimes…when David was anointed as king, it was clearly many years before he actually stepped into that role.…It didn’t become his identity, but it formed how he viewed his own identity, I think.” (07:01–08:24, Brooke)

• Anointing as a Mark and Weight:
  Both discuss that anointing brings stewardship and gravity—but shouldn’t feel crushing.

  • “When you have God’s smear on you…things grieve you that may not have grieved you in seasons past.” (09:09, Brooke)

2. The Good Tree Metaphor (11:05–16:16)

• Trees Don’t Have Eyes:
  Brooke shares her reflections:

  • “Trees don’t necessarily get to see the fruit that they bear, but they feel the strengthening of the branches…and feel the weight of the fruit…But they don’t necessarily get to see where the fruit goes. But I think that’s part of kingdom design.” (11:30, Brooke)

• Humility & Stewardship:
  Shelley draws out how not being able to “see” one’s own fruit protects from pride—it’s God’s glory, not ours.

  • “Part of the protection…is to not have eyes as the tree…and to not take glory in our own fruit.” (14:15, Shelley)

3. Consistent Faithfulness & the Daily Choice (16:16–24:29)

• Staying Planted in God, Not Outcomes:

  • “I think part of staying planted is not just with people, but most of staying planted is staying with God.” (27:17, Shelley)

• Songwriting as Stewardship:
  Brooke recounts her journey, from childhood songwriting to surrendering her gift to Jesus.

  • “Songwriting became attached to its redemptive purpose…It was part of the Lord’s assignment for me, to also write songs for people who will never walk into the four walls of a church.” (18:54–21:20, Brooke)

• All of Life as Sacred Ministry:

  • “All of these things and these circumstances and these gifts and…God has placed in our hand, redemptive purpose to them all. …Seeing all of life as a ministry means those lines…between secular and sacred can melt away.” (22:18–23:30, Brooke)

• Jesus’ Full Humanity:

  • “Jesus burped and passed wind and made jokes and took naps…the Lord chose to become incarnate…He showed us what it means to be fully and beautifully human.” (23:36–24:29, Brooke)

4. Sustained by Obedience, Not Plans (27:17–30:39)

• No Grand Plan—Just Jesus:

  <ul> <li> “My only plan is stay with Jesus. Yeah, that’s it. That’s all I got.” (28:09, Brooke) </li> <li> “We don’t know what we’re doing.” (28:05, Shelley) </li> </ul>

• Obedience Feels Misunderstood:

  • “Part of being a carrier steward of something is that you feel misunderstood because you just feel like you’re trying to stay obedient…It’s not always a describable thing…” (28:22, Shelley)

• Obey God, Trust God with the Rest:

  • Brooke references wisdom from Charles Stanley and Louis Giglio: “Obey God and trust Him with the rest.” (29:07–29:46, Brooke)

5. Cost and Choice of Staying on the Path (30:39–33:26)

• Daily Surrender:

  • “Every day since…my goal has just been not to take it back [my life]. …It’s little everyday decisions…” (30:39–32:52, Brooke)

• The Danger of Coasting:

  • “We could coast on a lot of things that are history past, and most people’s perception would be…they would never know that God had left the room or that we had left God a long time ago.” (32:52, Shelley)

• Community as Grove:

  • “Some of staying planted is that we’re in groves. We’re planted among other people who can look at our lives and say, come on, don’t give up now. Stay with God.” (33:00, Shelley)

6. Praying for Courage and Endurance (34:48–36:15)

Brooke closes with a prayer, asking for the courage to “stay planted,” not to retreat or reclaim life from God. She reminds listeners of John 16:33, where Jesus says to “take heart.”

• “I pray for fresh courage and I thank you for fresh hope for all of those who turn to you for it in this moment…and we pray, Lord Jesus, that all of the fruit of our lives would be up to you and unto you for the glory of your name.” (35:16–36:15, Brooke)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Trees don’t have eyes. …The fruit of our lives is really up to the Lord and what He does with it. But we can still choose to be good trees and trust him with that fruit.”
  — Brooke, (11:30)

• “Part of the protection…is to not have eyes as the tree to see and to not take glory in our own fruit.”
  — Shelley, (14:15)

• “My only plan is stay with Jesus.”
  — Brooke, (28:09)

• “Part of staying planted is staying with God…that today, as much as any other day in my life, He will be enough for me.”
  — Shelley, (27:17)

• “Every day since…my goal has just been not to take it back.”
  — Brooke, (31:06)

• “Obey God and trust him with the rest.”
  — (Paraphrasing Charles Stanley), recalled by Brooke, (29:07–29:46)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 05:47 – Discussion on the meaning and misuse of “anointing”
• 11:05 – “Good trees” metaphor and trees not seeing their own fruit
• 16:16 – The daily choice to remain rooted; practical stewardship of creative gifts
• 18:29 – Brooke’s personal journey as a young songwriter
• 22:18 – All of life as ministry; secular/sacred divide dissolves
• 27:17 – Sustaining faith in God, not outcomes or circumstances
• 28:09 – “Staying with Jesus” as the only plan
• 30:39 – Staying surrendered and the costs of obedience
• 33:00 – The role of community (“groves”) in perseverance
• 34:48 – Brooke’s closing prayer for courage and rootedness

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Tone and Takeaway

This episode is warm, candid, and deeply encouraging, blending biblical wisdom, personal vulnerability, and poetic imagination. Brooke and Shelley offer a compelling picture of surrender that is neither heavy nor solemn, but full of joy and hopeful realism.

Key takeaway:
God calls us all to unique paths marked by His anointing, but our greatest responsibility—and liberty—is to stay rooted in Jesus, humbly steward our gifts, and trust Him with the fruit. Success today might simply mean standing firm and “not taking it back.”

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For listeners:
Whether you feel weary, overlooked, or afraid of missing God's path, this conversation invites you to see your ordinary minutes as sacred, your creative impulses as ministry, and your daily “yes” as the making of a good tree—planted, nourished, unnoticed perhaps, but fruitful and pleasing to God.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's Christian Stanfill from Passion and we are so excited to hit the road this summer with our friends Taya and Levi Lusko. These nights of worship are going to be so special, and we believe God has something unique in store for each city and each of us. Head over to passionmusic.com to get your tickets and we'll see you soon.

[B]

Hey, Grove girls, it's Cigna Coleman here and I am so excited to welcome you back to the Grove Podcast. This summer, we're kicking off our recap series featuring some of your favorite past episodes. Today is episode one of five, and it is a conversation that feels both deeply grounding and incredibly freeing. Shelley Giglio sits down with our dear friend Brooke Ligertwood for an honest conversation about anointing, obedience, creativity, and what it means to stay planted in Jesus. We are so glad that you're here. So let's dive in.

[C]

So today I get to hang out with my good friend Brooke Lidwood, who is a growth podcast history making girl. Literally some of our largest downloaded podcasts you have been a part of. So congratulations. Sorry we don't have any, like streamers or.

[A]

I think, I think that is a great credit to you, Shelly. You are one of the finest podcast hosts, interviewers, conversation generators that I have ever known. So.

[C]

Well, you're kind to say that it's been amazing to be able to. It's so interesting who's good at podcasting and who struggles with it. But I do think God has gifted me with a desire to know what people think and believe and how they're processing God. And I think it just leads me to questions that I hope opens up conversations in a way that's natural and helpful. You know, even as we were just praying before we started today, we were saying to God we want to be helpful. You know, we don't want to create another hindrance for somebody to have to get past or over. We actually want to help people pursue God in a way that feels fresh and authentic to them. And you're the best at that.

[A]

I feel like you're the best at that.

[C]

No, you're the best.

[A]

No, I think, I think, Shelley, one of the things that I love about you, and I think that that makes you so very good at podcasting and so very good generally at the way, the way that you lead, the way that you pass to people, the way you engage with people, the way you. That you love people, is that you have really potent curiosity. And I think that, I think that that is rooted in wonder I love that you have cultivated a life of wonder and you have chosen to stay in wonder, like, in wonder at who God is and how he moves and. And how he works and what he's doing in people. And I think that that curiosity is what enables you to uncover so much treasure in people. Because you are you. Because I feel like other things that decisions people might make or directions people might be going, other people might easily dismiss those or judge them. But I constantly see you responding with this gracious, like, curiosity, like, tell me more about that. And the way that the Lord's grace rides in on that and people just open up and the Lord is able to minister through that, I think is so powerful.

[C]

We want this to be a ministry moment for people. And I just think. I can't help but think about the people who are listening in some stage of their life where maybe the words that we speak today could give them hope or courage to step into something that maybe they're hesitant to, or maybe they feel like God is leading them in a way that feels semi uncomfortable, which we all know how that feels. Or maybe faith is required for something they're about to do. And they're all feeling. And I've been there, and I am there as we all are hesitant, like, oh, I just want to do what

[A]

God wants to do, but I'm not

[C]

sure I know exactly what that is or how to act in this time. And I feel like if today can unlock a freedom, that Christ is calling someone and that he is freeing someone to something specific, and that he has something in his heart and mind for every person who's listening. And it's not just people who stand on stages who have things to say. It's people in life who have fellowship with the Father, who get to end up leading other people toward Him. And we're just two of those followers today. We're literally just two people. We might be slightly ahead of some of you, but we're also probably slightly behind some of you in our pursuit of Jesus. We're definitely on the track to knowing him and. And really with our lives, trying to make him known. So I love that we get to be in the conversation. I really wanted to talk today specifically about anointing. And I feel like. I feel like there's just a lot of conversation about anointing and about anointed people. I just had a conversation recently with Christine Caine about this and just talked about how I feel like anointing is such a God word. But I feel like some of the times the Ways it's being used doesn't feel like it's about God. It feels like it's about a person.

[A]

Wow. Yeah.

[C]

And how confusing that can be within the church. I also want to talk about anointing in the sense that it's weighty, that it actually comes with a stewardship, but it doesn't have to be the definer of a heaviness on a person, that it can actually be a light and fun and enjoyable and joyful thing. I feel like there are very few people in life who carry that better than you. You are one of the funniest people. Funnest people. Funniest people. Just light and joyful. Right you are. And yet there's an anointing and a calling and a weight on your life, but it doesn't feel like the weight has buried you.

[A]

Right.

[C]

How?

[A]

Oh, gosh, how?

[C]

I mean, tell us. We want to know a. How do you feel like God's anointing works in some ways that you might can understand that we haven't yet. And then how do you walk around knowing that he's anointed and appointed you without it feeling like it's going to bury you?

[A]

Yeah, I. I feel like I. Anointing is so mysterious to me and I really resonate with what you said before is often when we talk about anointing, it can be in context of talking about a person of. That person is so anointed. Which. Which is. Which is. God anoints people. I don't. He gives us gifts to steward and he gives us gifts that can be really powerful. But yeah, I see that he anoints people. And we see that throughout, obviously Scripture as well. God anoints people. And when God anoints people, I feel like I was talking to someone about this just this week actually, or someone was talking to me about it. Someone older and wiser. But when God anoints people, it's as if they become a totally different person. When. When Saul was anointed, he. He became this almost this other person. And then, and then. But then conversely also I feel like sometimes, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, and, and obviously all the Bible teachers know a lot more about this than me, but when David was anointed as king, it was still clearly many years, many seasons before he actually stepped into that role of. Or authority, but he was anointed many years before. So to me also, anointing was about. Was about. It wasn't. And it didn't become his identity, but it formed how he viewed his own identity, I think. And so, and so because he knew he was anointed when he was out in the wilderness and cut off the corner of Saul's robe and then was just deeply distressed by what he had done, it was because he, first of all, he actually recognized that Saul was anointed as well, that Saul had been, Saul was the king at that time. So he was distressed and grieved that he had shown disrespect to what was, what was the God's order at that time, even though he knew it was going to shift, but also I think because he knew he was, he had been anointed. So therefore, when you know that God has marked you for something, you grieved in a different way. When you know you behave or choose in a way that is, that is less than that. Anointing and God's, you know, we know, we know anointing is God, the smearing of God. When you have God's smear on you, yeah, you things grieve you that may not have grieved you in seasons past. When there is a smearing on you, there is a calling forth to something deeper and better. And I know I am not claiming to be a smeared one, but I know how let down I feel it myself sometimes, you know, even if it's not something that manifests outwardly, but like something that I think inwardly or I find I catch myself thinking down a particular pathway and then, and then I kind of catch myself. I'm like, it's not, it's not who you are, you know, so if you

[C]

knew, which I think you did. We've talked about your story a little bit in seasons Past, but it feels like once you were awakened to Jesus early in your earlier in your life, you also knew that you carried something in a similar timing once you really were awakened to Jesus and he had a, he had a pretty massive awakening for your life.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

It wasn't long after that, it doesn't feel like until you knew that you were a steward of something, even though you were probably too young to understand what the something was. Would you say that's true?

[A]

Yeah, I, I, I would agree. And I didn't, I didn't know what it was and, but I, I knew the, the weight, but not a crushing weight, an invitational weight. A I, I was going back through some notes I made because I'm preparing to share it something in the next couple of weeks and I came across some notes I'd written down where I was talking about how trees don't have eyes. And, and I've always loved that scripture about, and I've probably referenced it possibly even here before, but that, you know, Jesus talks about good trees and bad fruit. I remember being very compelled by that scripture at a very young age and, and so wanting to be a good tree and, and, and thinking down the lines of, well, how. What does a tree do to be a good tree? A good tree stays planted. A good tree receives the sun. A good tree receives the rain and continues to grow. And then kind of further along those lines, when I was looking at some notes I'd written down, I was thinking about how trees don't have eyes. So trees don't necessarily get to see the fruit that they bear, but they feel the strengthening of the branches and the stretching of the extension of the canopy and the strengthening that has to happen, the nourishment that, that they receive that then goes into the boughs that are extended. And then, and then, and then definitely they, I imagine, feel the weight of the fruit that begins to, to grow and the, the breaking of the, the bud into the blossom, into the fruit. But they don't necessarily get to see where the fruit goes. But I think that that's part of kingdom design, is that, yeah, trees don't have eyes. We don't. The fruit of our lives is, is really up to the Lord and what he does Him. But we can still choose to be, choose to be good trees and, and choose to really trust him with that fruit and believe that and believe and take comfort and that he sees the fruit and the fruit is to his glory.

[C]

That is like, so beautiful. And you basically just preached the whole grove that you just. If we ever needed words for what we're trying to do here, you just put them on it. The fact that you can't force fruit, that you literally can't. I know that there are ways, like with growing grapes, that you can force the grapes sooner or whatever, but you can't really make them be made. You have to just nourish what's there. You have to remain planted in a way that nutrients can reach those places so that something can form and be used then for glory. Right. So if I drink a glass of wine, which I'm not saying I do or I don't, but I might. I actually am participating in some of the glory of that fruit.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I didn't actually have anything to do with the fruit. I just am enjoying the glory from that fruit. And I would say about a life that is anointed that there is a glory from the fruit of those lives and part of the protection of you and me or anyone like us who feels that anointing to live on earth is to not have eyes as the tree to see and to not take glory in our own fruit. And is to say, I know it exists. I pray that my life is a blessing to many people because of what's been given to me to steward. And like you said, that's a weight. Stewarding a life that feels like God put his hand on is not something you do easily or lightly. You don't wake up every day and just haphazardly live however you want. If you feel like you've been touched by the hand of God. Right. So it's weighty. But you also know that you're not that much of a participant in the making of what he's using to be a blessing. You know, he did that work, and it's freeing, I think, and makes you feel like you don't want to miss it. You certainly don't want to mess it up. I think I've prayed the prayer more than any prayer in my life. God, please don't let me mess this up today, because that's the most likely thing that can happen, is that I can get in the way of what you've anointed and appointed to happen just by my humanness and by bad choices and by selfish ways. But so please don't let me do that today. And that will have to be your grace, your provision to me, to not let me screw it up because I'll, in my own strength, just become a hindrance. But I know that you're gifting me in a way that I can be sustained today. Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And that goes back to daily manna. It goes back to the fact that we're not sustained over months and years of time, but in daily ways. And that God brings us back over and over again to his word and to himself to say, I'm enough for you today. Yeah. And you're going to make it through this day. Talk about just as you became aware of being a songwriter in particular, and that part of your anointing felt like it was related to bringing these melodies and lyrics. Some of your words are about God, and some of your words are to God. Talk about some of the ways that you feel like every day you choose to be a steward of that path. Talk about ways that you choose to not go down different paths that maybe are good opportunities and how you've stayed the course. Because a lot of People feel like they maybe at a younger age, had something that they really felt called and anointed for, but then life has become life, and it's very distracting, and it pulls us in a lot of directions. And so they may have kind of lost their way in that. What would you say about those things?

[A]

That is a lot. That's great. All right, Jesus.

[C]

Take one at a time.

[A]

Help me say, Lord, what's helpful? I. Yeah, I mean, songwriting for me is. I'm so grateful for it because I believe it's a gift that God has given me, but it's also a gift that he used to draw me to him, because I started writing songs when I was 12 years old, but I didn't come to meet Jesus until I was 15. But I remember when I discovered songwriting, and it was very simple. My. My piano teacher. I began piano lessons when I was 7. And when I was 12, my piano teacher gave me an assignment to. To. To compose a piece of Christmas music, and that there should be, you know, melody and chord and compose some music, but also write some words to it. And I.

[C]

Please tell me there's a recording of this. Please, I'm begging.

[A]

I definitely don't think there's one of the Christmas song. But. But the first song that then I wrote properly after that was a song called Sand Fly, which I still do remember very vividly. It was a song about, like, the small. Like blood suc. Sets that, you know, kind of buzz around and bite you, like the little.

[C]

And that hurt, but you can't really see them.

[A]

Yes, exactly. Oh, I didn't go that deep.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

That was. That would have been a more mature.

[C]

I was 12.

[A]

I was 12. But I remember just this. This sense of exhilaration and adventure that I didn't have to just play what was written on the sheet music in front of me that I could create a world with. With music and melody and. And words and tell stor. So at 12, I discovered songwriting, and it felt like I had come home in a way that. So it became like my escape. I would come home from school in the afternoons and sit on our family piano for hours and just write things and create things and try things. But what I feel like the Lord did in that time was obviously, it was a gift that he had given me. But I began to write. I mean, at 12. How much life experience do you have, really? I remember writing about Princess Diana's funeral. But, you know, writing. I began to process in this way. And also it became a way of me being able to Articulate my internal world and process what was inward. I now had this vehicle to begin to frame and understand that. And the hunger for the Lord, the hunger for hope, I wouldn't have said at the time it was a hunger for the Lord, but I know that that's what it was. The hunger for hope, the hunger for purpose, all of these things began to, came out to emerge in these, these, these words and these melodies. Completely awful that I was, but that I was beginning to explore. And, and so then when I did meet the Lord, that, that obviously was the singular, most transformative and world changing, eternity changing event in my life. But in terms of how songwriting then connected back, it was like songwriting then became attached to its redemptive purpose. Now, I guess the thing that would be, I don't think you could. I would say that this is a principle. I'm only speaking from my experience and I believe what God had always planned for me to do was, you know, I began to write then songs to the Lord, but still write songs about stories. And I would create narratives and invent things in that creativity. And many will know, some a lot won't, though probably that I, for 15 years or more, alongside serving church and writing songs for the church, had a mainstream music career. And that was not because of vanity. It was because actually that was part of the Lord's assignment for me, was to also write these songs for people who will never walk into the four walls of a church and to try and frame the human experience from a redemptive perspective. Because I was now in Christ and the miracle working power of God and the invitation to questions that then for many became an invitation to the gospel through that whole part of the way of using song and the way of using creative and redemptive art. So I also think, you know, we, we are living in a time where I'm excited for a new generation of artists in the church to discover the redemptive purpose of art that is propelled forth from those in the church. Because we're not in heaven yet. So there is. So everything that is placed in our hand as believers is used for redemptive purpose. Whether that is, whether that's suffering, whether that's being sick, and the Lord using that to form something in us, whether it is our job as a kindergarten teacher or as a doctor or as a marketing assistant or an administrator, that all of these things and these circumstances and these gifts and these things that God has placed in our hand, redemptive purpose to them all. When we wake up every day with a Sense of. A sense of wonder, a sense of curiosity, like we talked about before with you, Shelley, in a sense of Lord, please don't let me mess this up. But seeing all of life as a ministry means that those, those lines that are so easy to draw between secular and sacred can melt away when we realize that for the life of the believer and the follower of Jesus, that the very act of being a human unto Christ is sacred. All of the moments. I love to read. Sorry I'm. I haven't even gotten to answer your questions yet, but you're doing so good.

[C]

Are you kidding me?

[A]

But I love reading the Gospels and thinking about all the in between moments or everything that happened in between the red letters. Jesus burped and passed wind and made jokes and took naps on the side of the road and probably had diarrhea sometimes, you know, like, like. And all of these aspects. I just love that. I love that the Lord chose to become incarnate because there is just so many layers to that that we will never even touch this side of eternity. But just he showed us and shows us what it means to be fully and beautifully human. And the invitation in that to create art out of our lives every day is open to all of us. And I will never get over that. I just think that is the most

[C]

fun thing and, And I think the way you carry it is with such gratitude.

[A]

I.

[C]

I think it would be easy with your success. I mean, I got to be a part of standing in a room where you were singing, you know, what people would call secular songs or mainstream music, with a group of people who may or may not have known that you were born again. They loved the songs, they loved the storytelling. And I watched you lead those people towards something past themselves, toward a hopeful place of discovery. And you didn't preach the gospel at the end of the night, but you led people on a journey that made them curious about their purpose and about what maybe God might have for them in a way that you never had to even speak those words. And I love that God is using us broken, feeble wind of breath of God to literally create in ways that bring curiosity and. And that make people lean towards something bigger than themselves. And they may not can put the label of God on it yet. They might not yet know that he was going to awaken their lives to the greatest purpose, which is to know him and make him known. They might not yet know that, but they can still experience something within them that understands at a deeper level with creativity, that that's a possibility. And your life has been a beautiful reflection of that. And. And I think partly what I was going to say about you in it is that you feel like you don't ever lose touch with that. So you're not now successfully living through mainstream world music creation or through worship, leading music creation and saying, now I'm good. Now I can just kind of move on and do whatever else. You have stayed true to God's anointing. And while the form of it may ebb and flow, how it's created and for how it's used may look different in season to season, but the. The continuity of your gratefulness that God would use someone like you is consistent. You talked about it early on. You said, I decided for a tree to. To be able to bear fruit, that it had to stay planted. And I think part of staying planted is not just with people, but most of staying planted is staying with God.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And just to say, even when circumstances don't all look like they're going in the way I assumed they would or worked out exactly like I hoped they would, that I'm still planted in the person of God. And I believe that today, as much as any other day in my life, he will be enough for me. And I feel like that consistency, Brooke, ends up opening doorways for you that are unexpected that you didn't know would exist, that you didn't know you would stand in, that you had no idea was before you. But the point wasn't that you were going to those places. The point is that you were with someone.

[A]

Yes. Does that.

[C]

Is that don't. I think that perfectly describes you.

[A]

Yes. I don't have a plan, and I do.

[C]

That part is what I'm trying to say. We don't know what we're doing.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. It drives some. Some of the people close to me crazy because I really don't have a plan. And my. My only plan is stay with Jesus. Yeah, that's it. That's all I got.

[C]

I feel the same way, literally.

[A]

I know you do.

[C]

And I wish I could describe it better. And I wish people could understand it more. I wish people could really. You know, I think part of being a carrier steward of something is that you feel misunderstood because you just feel like you're trying to stay obedient to whatever the thing is or the person is. And it's not always a describable thing like, oh, I can tell you how all this works. I can't really tell you how most of it works. I just know that I know that I'm supposed to stay in the flow with God. And I don't know where it's going. I don't know when we're going to get there, what it's going to look like when we do get there, or even if there is a there. I just know that I'm with him. And I think you feel the same way. And it's a beautiful, beautiful thing to watch.

[A]

Yeah. And sometimes it's outrageous and unexpected or the opposite. Sometimes it seems banal or ordinary. But staying with Jesus and being obedient to his voice is. I mean, I think. I hope for me, and I pray for all of us, that we can, especially in 2021 and 2022 and beyond, may we be so, so much less judgmental of other people's obedience. Because I know for me, sometimes if. If I am, you know, if I am criticized or doubted for something that I know the Lord asked me to do, I. It's. I kind of am like, lord, this is on you. It's like, you know that amazing podcast episode with. With Pastor Louis, your husband, and Pastor Charles Stanley, and the thread through all of it, you know, trust God. Sorry. Obey God and trust him with the rest. But he says it a lot more articulately than that. But that's all we've got to do, to do what Jesus tells us to do. And I know even literally just yesterday, I was in my car and I. Honestly, I wasn't even praying. I was kind of. I was. I was thinking about. About something the Lord's asked me to push into and kind of having a little bit of a whinge to myself about all of the.

[C]

The.

[A]

The possible negative things that might come with this particular step of obedience. And then. And then I just found. Well, actually, I heard the Lord speak to me and he was like, oh, that's yours, is it? And I was like, you're right. You know, when I. Like I said, I don't have any goals or any plans. My plan is stay with Jesus. But my aim within that is just when I gave my life to Jesus in 1999, every day since, my goal has just been not to take it back. And we'll all get opportunities to take it back. And that often doesn't happen in big foul swoops. But it's little everyday decisions, sometimes medium decisions, sometimes big decisions. But we all have the opportunity to kind of just sneak a little part back off the altar. Cause it's a bit safer or more comfortable or we're not going to be Our motives aren't going to be doubted if we just stay here in this little comfortable place. If we don't step out, if we just stay on the couch and watch Netflix and don't do the thing that we know Jesus has told us to do, we're not going to get criticized. People won't leave nasty comments on our social media. People won't misunderstand everything we do. But then it becomes about us. And in the end, if we are. That's why it's very difficult to go halfway with Jesus. You might say impossible. You. We have to go all the way. There's the. There's the local and the high call, and, and we are invited into the high call. We are invited to take the place and to live out the days that the Psalm 139 says, the Lord ordained for us every day. Every day ordained for us in this book was. Was written in his book before one of them came to be. So will we. Will we live as if our days have been ordained or as if we have to be, as if we have to coddle ourselves and, and stay in comfort? Because honestly, we could. And honestly, a lot of people do, but then.

[C]

And honestly, a lot of people wouldn't even know we were for a long, long time.

[A]

Exactly.

[C]

We could coast on a lot of things that are history past, and most people's perception would be what they would never know that God had left the room or that we had left God a long time ago. So I feel like the fact that we can call each other some of staying planted is that we're in groves. We're, we're. We're planted among other people who can look at our lives and say, come on, don't give up now. Stay with God. Come on.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Because we know we need that in this broken place to be able to stay the path that's designed for us. And I'm with you. It's ordained for every day, but we have a choice in it. And we can step out at any point and we can take things back at any point. And God is calling us to so much more. And so thank you for just staying true, Staying the path, staying with God, staying with Jesus, as you say, he's your everything. And we can tell. And I love that I get to be a close enough friend that if you ever dare start taking stuff back, that I can say, brooke, you're taking stuff back. Yes, put it back on the altar. It's not yours to take. And that you can do the same for me. And I think maybe more than anything, as we finish, I feel like what we want to do is give people courage to stay. And I would love if you would pray for people in that way that they wouldn't have to maybe take an advancing step today of really moving toward all the big things and promise, but that if they could stay planted, that that would be success today, that they would not retreat, that they would not go in the opposite direction, but that they would stay. And I believe that that will be a victory today. So pray for us if you would.

[A]

Yes, I would love to. Thank you, Lord Jesus. I thank you so much for every single one of the precious people who has spent these few moments with Shelley and I and I pray has felt a stirring and an encouragement and an emboldening in their spirit. And Lord Jesus, we remember your words that in this world we have trouble, but we can take heart for you. I've overcome the world and. And I love that you use those words, Lord, because you told us to take heart. That's an active step, to take courage. So, Lord Jesus, I pray that by the power of your Holy spirit that indwells every woman, every man who believes in you, would you help them to actively and decisively and deliberately take heart and take courage today because that is required for what it is to stay planted and to stay with you, Jesus, and to not shrink back and to not slowly sneak back bits of ourselves that we had offered to you. So, Jesus, I thank you for fresh courage and I thank you for fresh hope for all of those who turn to you for it in this moment. And we pray, Lord Jesus, that all of the fruit of our lives would be up to you and unto you for the glory of your name. Lord Jesus, we crate. Thank you.

[B]

What a gift that conversation was. If you loved hearing from Brooke today, you can stay connected with her at Brooke Ligertwood on Instagram or visit her online at brookligertwood.com be sure to download, follow and subscribe to the Grove Podcast so you never miss what we're up to. And as always, if this question conversation encouraged, you share it with a friend who may need it too. We love you Grove girls and we'll see you next time on the Grove Podcast.