Think, Grow: Thin Places
Little Mary was in a thin place. Mom was broken. Daddy wasn’t daddy anymore, and the substitutes for daddy weren’t enough. The boys who picked her up at her babysitter’s house did bad things to her day after day, and she was too little, too powerless to make them stop.
Drugs. Alcohol. Addiction. All part of her world at no invitation of her own.
How does this shape the heart and mind of a little girl with no choices? And where is God?
Thin Places is the memoir of my friend, and author, Mary DeMuth. I know that Mary is an author to watch because her words make me forget that I know her. Instead, I am drawn into the portrait painted with powerful words and imagery and stark honesty in each of her books.
Her story is veiled in other books like Watching the Tree Limbs, the story of a little girl sexually abused under the massive branches and shade of an old tree near her home. But in Thin Places we meet Mary as that little girl, and her journey of faith toward a God she wasn’t sure she trusted, and her journey of intimacy with a man and with her family and friends, when her past taught her that people only wanted to harm her or abandon her.
Whether you’ve lived in those thin places or not, you know someone who is. You’ll never say again, “She should just forgive” or “Why can’t he just trust God?” when you walk in the shoes of a broken little girl grown into a woman of faith.
It’s a must read. For you to see another perspective. For me to once again thank God that He is a transforming God. For each of us to see grace and faith and healing in the Thin Places of life.
Posted by Suzie @
12:41 pm |
Think!…a book offering help for chronic head pain {{giveaway}}
How did Thursday get here so fast? Every Thursday I’ll share a new book that I’m reading. I’ll also share interviews with many of the authors. I was glad to interview my guest today for a personal reason.
I have a loved one who is a strong, athletic, jump-in-life kind of guy, but migraines shut him down. That’s why I was excited to read Lisa Morrone’s new book, Overcoming Headaches and Migraines. In it she offers hope and healing with those living with chronic head pain.
She’s a physical therapist. An adjunct professor in a university Doctorate level PT program, she has taught upwards of one thousand of tomorrow’s promising physical therapists, and now shares that information with those suffering with pain, and their loved ones.and shares her method of comprehensive Do-It-Yourself treatment for chronic back and neck pain sufferers.
Lisa joins me today to talk about some of those methods, as well as how chronic pain can sideline those who want to be active. She encourages those who have been told my numerous doctors that they should “just live with it”, to search deeper.
Suzie Eller: Thanks for joining us today, Lisa. . Let’s jump right in. When someone has head pain, they often reach for medication. Can the medication they take actually cause more headaches?
Lisa Morrone, PT: Strangely enough it can! When a person regularly takes medication to keep their head pain under control—whether it is over-the counter-medication, like Excedrin or Tylenol, or doctor-prescribed meds such as Cafergot or Imitrex—their brain actually gets used to the steady diet of those brain-altering chemicals.
In fact it can become addicted to them! So what does an addicted brain do when its chemical diet is running low? It does what it knows will get it some more chemicals—it produces another headache. Very clever, huh?!
(more…)
Posted by Suzie @
6:21 am |
P31 devo: The desires of His heart
As I mentioned, I’m way under the weather today but when I opened my daily Proverbs 31 devo, I smiled. God is gracious. I may not have anything to share today, but this devotional is a perfect fit for our Crossroads conversation.
What if you are in the crossroads because you are seeking the desires of your heart, and yet it’s not what God sees as your destiny?
I hope you’ll sign up for the free great devo. It pops into your inbox every day with wisdom, insight, and faith.
18 Jan 2010
Jennifer Erin Valent, She Reads Featured Author
“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
When I was young, my girlfriends and I used to play a game where we would choose different ideals we had for our lives, from whom we wanted to marry, to what car we wanted to drive. Life seemed so simple then! In just one short game, I could plan my life out from start to finish. Funny thing is, I never did marry Johnny Depp, I don’t live in a mansion, and I don’t drive a Porsche.
Well, I was young, and it’s certainly a blessing that I didn’t end up having to live out the life I planned for myself then. But what about now? As an adult, I’ve had plenty of dreams for my life. I think I’m pretty intuitive about myself, and I’ve got a good idea how I think things should go. And since Scripture says the Lord will give us the desires of our hearts, shouldn’t these things be coming to pass?
Maybe not. The Lord knows a whole lot more than we give Him credit for, and maybe what He has planned for our lives doesn’t match up with what we have planned. (more…)
Posted by Suzie @
10:33 am |
and the winner is…
I’ve got some kind of coughy, chest hurting, want-to-curl-up-in-bed kind of thing going on today. I’ll be back tomorrow, but I did want to announce the winner from the Discerning Direction post last Tuesday. The winner is….
Barbara from B His Girl
Tomorrow I’ll be back and we’ll discuss The Crossroads: When You’re Going in Circles.
Have an amazing day, friends.
Posted by Suzie @
10:16 am |
Discerning Direction
If you are joining me from Encouragement for Today’s devo, I’m so glad you did. Maybe you dropped by today because you are stuck right in the middle of a crossroads — unsure of where to go, or what direction or move is the right one.
I’ve created a devo for you to print out called Discerning Direction. It takes you right to a crossroads I had to cross, and offers six questions to help you know if you are making a good decision. Download it, share it with friends, take it to your Bible study group, or just have a one-on-one with God as you go through it.
Discerning Direction (click to download)
I hope you will consider leaving a comment so I can pray with you today. I promise that I’ll pray over each person and each crossroads. Do I have the answers you need? No, but I know Who does.
I’ll also send an autographed copy of my book, Making It Real: Whose Faith Is It Anyway, to one of you that leave a comment.
Be sure to leave your email address (I’m the only one who will see it) so that I can contact the winner!
Blessings,
Suz
PS: It’s 12:47 p.m. and after reading many of the comments, I want to take this deeper. Is that okay with you?
For the next few days we’ll address some of the issues you brought up. What does Scripture have to say about it? How do you live it out the next day? Are there tangible changes or choices that can be made? What do you do when there doesn’t seem to be?
I hope you’ll come back tomorrow through Friday. We’ll dig deeper together, okay friends?
Suzie
Posted by Suzie @
4:21 am |
I’ve been a bit of a baby lately
“Why is this so hard?”
“Why can’t I just come up with a title?”
“Why won’t THEY hear what I’m saying?”
I hate to admit it, but I’ve been a bit of a baby this past week. I’ve been stuck. Oddly enough, stuck on a title for a book about “being stuck”.
The night before a message from my agent landed in my in-box. “Try again,” she said.
Again? Really? I could have written the book by now.
I was discouraged. I shut my laptop down and turned on a Hallmark TV movie, hoping to be inspired, or at least distracted.
Last night Richard and I went to the evening service. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do that. Our church is a 90-mile round trip, family has been in, Richard has had to study… lots of reasons to keep us away on Sunday night.
But I wanted to go. I needed to go. I looked forward to seeing friends, to worship, to something anything besides brainstorming for a title.
Pastor stood in the pulpit. “Did you know that the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul had to pray one week for a title for his book?” he said.
What?
He went on to share how one of the founders of Chicken Soup was in angst over a title. And every title he came up with just wasn’t good enough.
He decided to pray for a week. When Chicken Soup came to him, he resisted. Why would his grandmother’s soup be a good title?
People are sick, he thought. That’s why. They need something warm, something uplifting for the spirit.
No, the soul.
The right title was key. That first book sold 200,000 copies. Now the series has sold millions of copies.
I sat in the pew, shaking my head. What were the odds that the Sunday evening I attended the sermon would be about finding a title for a book?
I’ve resisted. I’ve whined. I’ve been discouraged.
But this title matters. So I’ll go back to the drawing board prayer room. I’ll ask for help from the One who knows the name of every beautiful reader who will pick up the book because they feel stuck.
Father, have I mentioned lately how much I love You? I do.
And
Posted by Suzie @
11:41 am |
