An Uncommon Woman: Susie Larson
June 10, 2008 | Interesting People,Knowing Christ
Suzie interviews Susie Larson, author of The Uncommon Woman: Making an Ordinary Life Extraordinary
Suzie: Hi Susie. I just finished the preview copy of The Uncommon Woman and it’s a great book. Thanks for joining us. Let’s jump in! What is your definition of an uncommon woman?
Susie Larson: First of all, Suzie, I want to thank you for taking the time to read the book and for interviewing me. I’m passionate about this topic because I believe churches, families, and communities will be strengthened when we as women rise up to the high call on our lives.
~ An Uncommon Woman is Not Defined by What She Does, but Whose She Is ~
An uncommon woman has determined to believe the beautiful truth about herself; that she is called to something so much greater than the pettiness, drama, and gossip common to women. The uncommon woman embraces a holy confidence and humble dependence that declares, “I’m nothing without Christ, but everything to Him.”
She is willing to reach for the stars and do things way over her head (without pride). And she is willing to do things that seem beneath her (without self-awareness). She’s not defined by what she does, but by the fact that Jesus has made her whole and He has equipped her to do mighty things.
Suzie: You say that an uncommon woman “gets back up again”. How is that possible?
Susie Larson: In the book of Proverbs it says that the righteous falls seven times, but gets back up again, but the wicked stays in the dirt (my paraphrase). The Bible also tells us that we will have many trials in this life, but that the Lord will deliver us from them all. If we are “Believers” then we have to ‘believe’ the things God has promised us; and that’s reason enough for us to get back up again.
~ An Uncommon Woman Allows Her Story to Lift Others Up, Not Keep Her Down ~
In the book I shared a few stories of women who – more than most – had a reason not to get back up again. But these women determined not to be defined by the times they were knocked down. They rose up and went on to do incredible things with their lives. They made the devil sorry he ever messed with them!
Francis Frangipane once wrote, “We must determine to allow no one and nothing to define us, not even our experiences, unless they are consistent with the promises of God.” If you’re a Believer, you have to get up again. Don’t lose hope; it’s your rope. God will make something good out of your pain.
Suzie: You write that “truth is key to understanding”. How does our perception of things help or hurt us as women?
Susie Larson: The truth sets us free only when we believe it for ourselves. I am convinced that many women – many people – are Christian (they are saved), but they’re not free. How we perceive ourselves and the world around us has everything to do with the kind of lives we’ll live and the kind of impact we will make. Someone once said, “Satan lies to us, Jesus tells us the truth, we are the ones who cast the deciding vote.”
Will we believe only that which ‘feels true’ or will we be bold enough to declare in the midst of painful seasons, “I am loved and accepted! Every day I’m in the Father’s presence and all that He has is mine! Overwhelming victory is mine in Christ Jesus!” The battle is won or lost in the mind and in our perception of things. Since the words of our mouths are so important, I included scriptural declarations at the end of each chapter.
~ An Uncommon Woman is Merciful ~
Suzie: You share that an uncommon woman chooses mercy over judgment and prayer over pettiness. I love that, but it’s not the easier choice, is it? What advice do you give to women struggling with this?
Susie Larson: As a backdrop for this book, I used the basin story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Imagine yourself sitting on a rickety old chair with your feet in a basin of murky water. Your feet are soiled from the places you’ve been and the things you’ve done. But Jesus is washing you clean again. Kneeling before you is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He’s holding your feet and rubbing between your toes. What attitude or emotion does this picture ignite within you?
I always tell my boys, “If you have to ‘try’ and be humble, you’ve forgotten who God is.” When you consider the passage in Philippians that says, “Jesus – did not CONSIDER EQUALITY WITH GOD a thing to be grasped, but He laid Himself down…” He didn’t consider equality with God something to leverage for His own benefit (at great cost to others)…Most people, in high positions of influence, will at one time or another leverage that position for their own benefit and great cost to someone else. Not Jesus.
When you consider the steps of Christ, you have to ask yourself, how can I do any less? The radical, uncommon path calls us to be in the humble habit of repentance and forgiveness. We ask forgiveness when we’ve blown it and we forgive those who have offended us. This practice calls for an active dialogue with God on a regular basis.
~ What about people that won’t change? ~
On a practical note, when you bump up against irritating flaws in others (rather than over-processing someone’s quirks), this is what I suggest in the book:
- Give them the benefit of the doubt
- Pray for them
- Entrust them to God
~ When You are in the “Bad Things that Happen to Good People” Part of Your Life ~
Suzie: You’ve overcome a lot in life. Why does God allow bad things to happen to people? What would you say personally to a woman reading this today who is in the “bad things that happen to good people” part of her life?
Susie Larson: God allows painful things to happen to His children; no doubt. Look what He allowed to happen to His own Son. But He is in the business of restoration. He will restore every lost thing. Painful times refine us if we allow them to. During painful seasons we run the risk of committing two significant errors:
1) We stop believing the best about God ~ We assign motives to Him and we decide on our own what He’s like and how He works. When we stop believing the best about God, we miss out on the opportunity of seeing just how big He can be amidst our desperate seasons. He’s no respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of faith. Faith is sown in the soil of our need.
2) We stop believing for His best in our circumstances. I have learned that in order to thrive in hard times we have to be both tough and tender. Tough against the devil’s lies and temptations; and tender with the healings and dealings of God. God has to deal with our souls and our character. And He loves to give great things to His children. He always has our best interest at heart. If we give God access to do His work in us, He will do abundantly above and beyond all we could ever ask or think; but it’s always relative to how much room we give God to work in our own lives. Believe the best about Him and trust that He’ll give His best to you!
~ A Call to Be an Uncommon Woman ~
Suzie: Is there anything else you want to share?
Susie Larson: I travel around the country and speak to lots of people and I’m amazed by the pain the Body of Christ inflicts on itself. We hurt others, we gossip about others, and we reject others because of our own insecurities and soul wounds. It’s imperative that we draw near to God so that He will draw near to us. We must allow Him access to our character if we wish to be transformed into His likeness.
The more we wrap our arms around the idea that we are someone God loves and wants to use, the more willing we’ll be to get over ourselves and move into the BIG things God has for us. A.W. Tozer once wrote, “If it’s true that the very power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us, then we should be some of the most amazing people in the world!”
With all my heart I pray that women will read this book and respond to the other-worldly call to be uncommon.
To find out more about Susie Larson or to invite her to speak at your event, click here. To buy the book on Amazon, click here.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
The URI to TrackBack this entry is:
http://www.tsuzanneeller.com/2008/06/10/an-uncommon-woman-susie-larson/trackback/
You always have such great suggestions. I have one for you. In our book club of moms we read, ‘The book of mom’ by Taylor Wilshire. This is the first novel that we all agreed on–probably because it is so funny, a can’t-put-it-down type of book that we all could see ourselves in. (A mom loses her passion to life, is mad at her husband and how she gets her life back in flow) Loaded with self-help ideas and universal spiritual insights, this book rocks!
June 15th, 2008 at 11:24 pm