“The envious man thinks that if his neighbor breaks a leg, he will be able to walk better himself.” – Helmut Schoeck
The other day I read about an author who was getting the full treatment: publicity tours, media, foreword written by a celebrity, a huge print run out of the gate…
and I was happy for her. Truly happy.
But I also felt a twinge. What might have happened to my books if I had those opportunities? Why do I have to work so hard to get the word out when I know the message could help women, or teens?
I felt the Lord gently pull me back.
Comparison. It’s the foundation of envy. It’s what takes our eyes off of what we do have and focuses our attention on what others have, and what we wish we had.
Do I still want those things? Yes, I do. Not because I want my name splashed across Oprah’s website or my book face-out at Barnes and Noble, but because I really believe that God transforms lives in spite of our backgrounds, or the hurts we’ve encountered, or addictions we battle, or relationships we are praying to be healed.
I believe that we can live free in Him, and it’s a message I would carry strapped to my back from city to city if I could. I love watching what happens when Christ enters the story of a person’s life.
But comparison can’t be in the equation, because the focus becomes about Suzie rather than about what God can and is doing.
I’m happy for my friend today. I rejoice with her. And I rejoice that I get to do what I do… what a privilege!
Posted by Suzie @
11:12 am |
family pics
My children bought a family portrait package for me…
on Mother’s Day.
Ever since then we’ve been trying to find a weekend where we could all get together and take the pic.
It’s a real sign that my children are adults now. With careers, and new marriages, and friends and churches. We’ve got together many times since May, and I see some of them all the time, but it’s usually for a family event or it’s one couple, or divided by other things.
Now that we’ve conquered a date, a new issue has cropped up. What to wear.
“Mom, just throw out some colors.”
That seemed simple enough: white, lavender, gray, and black for pic one. Fall colors for pic two.
“So, do I wear my manly lavender shirt?” one asked.
“Lavender, really? What is that, purple?”
“I wanted to wear my brown boots.”
“You know someone’s going to show up all dressed up. Other casual. Mom, you’ve got to be more specific.”
Why are Eller family pictures like an act of Congress? Is this only my fam?
It brings me back to our last family picture. A really long time ago. It so scarred me that I haven’t tried again. In the pic, Leslie is gripping Ryan’s arm like a cold, hard vice. Payback for the conflict between them seconds before the flash.
I’m grimacing, sort of like a smile. Kinda.
The thing is that we really love each other. If you asked anyone of them who they like to hang out with, it would be the family. We laugh. We joke. We love.
But family pictures brings out a whole different side.
We’ve nailed down the colors as of last night. I finally tossed out this statement on our FB discussion: Hey guys, I don’t care about the colors so much, or even if someone wears brown boots and another has on black shoes. I just want it to be wrapped in nature, and I want to have fun.”
I’ll share the pic later. We’re taking it on Saturday. The weather is supposed to be beautiful. We’re meeting in Tahlequah at one of the most beautiful places I love to hang out.
But if Leslie is gripping her brother’s arm in the picture, and a pair of brown boots is kicking someone else in the shins, it will still be beautiful to me. I love these group of people called “family”.
(pictured in my 50th bday party – Leslie, me, Richard, Melissa, Stephen, Josh, Ryan, Kristin)
Posted by Suzie @
1:02 pm |
become a scholar
Wow, Suzie, I just fell in a huge way. I had such great intentions, but it just wasn’t enough.
What do you do when you fail? You really have only two options: you can stay down or you can learn from the experience.
Take a good look at the experience.
What happened? Where did things go wrong? Did you take the bait rather than walk away? Did you take it personal, instead of seeing the real problem?
Did you let hurt dictate your response?
Is there anything you could have done differently?
Learning from our experiences, even those where we did nothing wrong, can help us intentionally grow through it, rather than focus on the failure.
I wish I was perfect, but that’s never going to happen. So sometimes I have to back up, take a long look at the situation, and take another stab at it.
What will you change? (Only those things that are within your power.)
Maybe it’s an apology. Maybe it’s grabbing a resource or mentor in an area where I’m weaker than I want to be. Maybe it’s being honest and saying, “this gets me every time” and getting to the bottom of the real issue.
Digging deeper
Last week I was a guest on The HomeStretch, a Nashville radio station. In the interview I talk about becoming a “scholar” of the past and how that can change your future, and even your relationships with your loved ones.
I hope you’ll check it out. Then come back and let’s talk about this topic. I’d love to hear what you have to say.
Posted by Suzie @
7:34 am |
live free, run after your dreams
Living free is intentional. It’s not always easy, and sometimes the progress seems slow. But it’s also rewarding. It helps you and me discover who we were intended to be from the very beginning. It also helps us to discover what we are meant to do! This month Proverbs 31 Ministries magazine featured my article: Pursuing Your Passion.
What does it mean to pursue your passion? Is it what you do or what you believe? Is it who you are or who you run after? I hope you’ll check out the article: Pursuing Your Passion.
Posted by Suzie @
7:02 am |
…and the winners are
Patricia of http://www.caregivingandbeyond.blogspot.com/
Leigh France of http://www.leighfrance.blogspot.com/
Please send me your mailing address at tseller@daretobelieve.org and your autographed copy of Real Issues, Real Teens: What Every Parent Needs to Know will go out in the mail asap!
Posted by Suzie @
11:54 am |
what hope looks like
Here we are in a home that houses a mom and three little guys. All three are sponsored by Compassion International.
Two-year-old Scarlett is in the Infant Survival program. At two, she is healthy, bright, and beautiful. Here she is working in her Grandma’s home with her ISP tutor. He spent 45 minutes teaching her colors, working with her on dexterity, and teaching her how to count. When her 4 and 6-year-old brothers visited her she taught them what she had learned.
Teens have a safe place to go — to learn about Christ, to be educated, to eat a healthy meal, to talk about issues that are reality for them, to be mentored.
A classroom of students eager to talk about their experiences.
Laughter.
Posted by Suzie @
11:54 pm |
stay tuned
I can’t wait to share pics and stories, and there are many. As I stood in the back of a pickup today driving down curving cobbled mountainous roads, I thought of the last Office episode I watched where Pam told Jim that you needed to take mental snapshots of those special moments. She held up an imaginary camera and clicked it.
I have experienced many of those moments. I am leaving for the airport and will blog as soon as I can after arriving back in the US.
But for now, I sense your prayers and I’m grateful.
Suz
Posted by Suzie @
6:06 pm |
Day 2 in Ecuador
I only have a few moments to share my heart, but today has been a good day.
I met Abraham, one of the children sponsored by Proverbs 31 Ministry team. I also met Johanna, the other child. Abraham is 6. Johanna is 7. I will add pictures later, but can’t at the moment!
They traveled with our team today to a school in Quito where Jonathan, a young man who started in Compassion as a young child after the loss of his father, tutors children. Today he is a university student in the Compassion Leadership program. He is studying physics and plans to be a teacher.
We also met two other young women in the leadership program, both in the university. One plans to be a psychologist and the other is studying oil engineering.
Our second stop was at a Compassion project. We played, we sang, we observed children in school uniforms learning. The area was poor. Concrete block homes with outdoor laundry, many many dogs, glass embedded on top of gates to keep intruders out, but also a place where children laughed and played. The school and church were an oasis.
Abraham hung out with me, and Johanna with Patty. Sherri had Christian with her, as he is her daughter’s sponsored child. Abraham was shy at first, but warmed up. He and I played on the slide, played with the stuffed “mono” — monkey — and put together a puzzle.
His mother, Kathy, and I became quick friends. The director of the Compassion project, and her son’s tutor accompanied her on the 10 hour drive from her home city. She lives along the coast of Ecuador and is a dedicated mother to her children. She once wanted to be a doctor when she was a child. She now hopes that her son will one day be a doctor. As I listened to the LDP students who were in the university, I believe that this dream can one day come true.
The team is calling me away. I must go, but I hope to share pictures on this blog post later. For now, imagine it with me, pray for us, and pray for the Compassion team.
Tomorrow we go to the Infant Survival program.
Posted by Suzie @
6:46 pm |
Day 1 in Ecuador
I woke up early, sun streaming in my room. After an amazing breakfast of fruit, strawberry juice, a fried plantain, and omelet, we climbed on the bus.
Queto (Kee-to) is a city of three million. It’s beautiful and yet there are the harsh parts of such a large city. We drove a few miles to a neighborhood down winding, narrow concrete streets to a Compassion project. It is a church/school that is in the heart of an area filled with children, many many dogs and “el gatos”, and a lot of love.
Compassion International reaches 52,000 children in Ecuador, partnering with 200 churches. If I say it fast, it sounds just like a number.
I hope that I can put a face on it.
Meet Eric.
He’s 13. He’s a little guy. He has special needs. He was born needing surgery and special care. As a Compassion sponsored child, his needs were met. He has had many surgeries and interventions. Today he is an intelligent, special-needs child who can say a great deal without any words.
Eric’s mother invited us to his home. It’s concrete and rock. One room to sleep for his mom and Eric and his two brothers. You enter the home from an alley and it leads into the open narrow room that is heated by wood and is the kitchen/rest of the house. My guess would be 250 square feet. Roberto, our Compassion host, says that this represents 60% of the population in Ecuador.
Eric’s mother pulled out the letters that his Compassion sponsor had written to him over the years. Pictures. Notes. Then she pulled out the other letters, showing that her other two sons, ages 10 and 6, were also sponsored.
I remember how I felt when I first saw harsh conditions in another country years ago. But I also remember walking away feeling overwhelmed. Our efforts just didn’t seem like enough.
But not today.
I saw children who were sponsored by men and women just like you who ate a nutritious meal. Who were spiritually educated, but holistically educated as well with mentors who teach them how to move beyond poverty with job skills and life skills and simple health education. I saw teachers who loved these children. I saw smart, smart kids who had a support system in place until they graduated.
And I listened to a mama share her dreams for her sons, and the 
light in her eyes when she spoke of Compassion. And I realized that this program would go on long after any of us left. It’s in 28 countries reaching over a million children, but also changing families. Putting a dream in the heart of mamas all over the world.
It was a good, good day.
Tomorrow we go to the Leadership Development program to meet with students who went all the way through the program, and are now in university.
Night all. Thanks for the prayers. Thanks for the many blankets you sent. Thanks for sponsoring a child if that is something God lays on your heart, or for donating, if that is within your means.
I’ll leave you with this picture of children in the classroom after lunch, singing and playing–just like kids do.
Posted by Suzie @
10:45 pm |
thank you
Thank you to each of you who crocheted, bought, made blankets and sent them to me for Ecuador. Thank you for praying over those blankets and for the little ones who will be wrapped in them.
Father,
Thank you for this trip. Thank you for caring friends who sacrificed, who prayed, who are praying, and who tangibly did something for a little one. Thank you for the babies who will sleep in these blankets. Thank you that they will be healthy, that they will be warm, fed, and nurtured.
I pray for the team who are flying in from all over the nation to join with Compassion International. Thank you for showing us your heartbeat on this trip. May we listen, and respond.
In your amazing powerful and loving name, Amen.
And on a lighter note? I’m also thankful for space bags! (Thanks, Linda Au, for the suggestion.) You responded so well that I had more blankets than luggage. Look at the pic above, and then see what space bags did!
All fifty blankets made it into two space bags. They are heavy and they filled the suitcase, but they fit!
Posted by Suzie @
9:30 am |
