Carve away meetings. Denominational differences. Nice church clothes. Conferences. Books. The guy on TV who wants you to send in $100 for seed money. Two-a-day Sunday meetings.
What do you have?
Not easy faith. Not faith without questions. Not rich or poor faith. Not he or she’s better or worse faith.
But man reaching for God, and that meeting of the hearts transforming man.
I couldn’t sleep Saturday night. So I talked to God. It’s been a long time since I hung out with him in absolute silence.
I’m a simple kind of girl when it comes to faith. I believe. I trust. I turn. And yet I’m also a woman who digs deep to find answers, who doesn’t want to follow blindly, who wants intelligent faith, who desires to hear other perspectives, who has to shut out the noise and listen to God.
I see what happens when someone who has never known God experiences Him for the first time, and I’m still in awe of that.
I also see what happens when faith becomes anything but about relationship. It’s the last thing I want, and yet I see how it can happen.
I’ve waited nearly two years for the right project. I’m grateful for a patient publisher. But it’s time to write that next book, which is why I was talking to God about it in the middle of the night.
I think it will be titled Simple Faith. What it is. What it’s not. How we get sidetracked from it. What it means to have relationship, to suffer, to sacrifice, to abound in joy, to trust, to have peace that doesn’t make sense, to fail, to follow.
But before I write one word, it has to be a personal journey first. So that’s why I hung out in conversation with Him. And yes, there were a few complexities that needed ironed out. Yes, indeed.
But that’s also part of simple faith. Isn’t it? Receiving life, direction, wisdom and even rebuke so that we can keep it real.
32Jesus responded, “The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. 33The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world.”
35Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. 36I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me. 37Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go. 38I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.
34They jumped at that: “Master, give us this bread, now and forever!” (John 6)
We are having quite possibly the most exciting giveaway yet! Momlogic and A. Jaffe, a premier jeweler is offering a $400 designer diamond necklace to the woman who brings in the most members between now and April 10. Check out the site for details.
When your child’s life is changed forever: Interview with Jeanne Damoff, author Parting the Waters. Jeanne’s life and that of her son is forever changed in a near-drowning accident. (GIVEAWAY)
You ask me if we have made Christianity a sappy love story, where God allows us to do whatever we want and yet he’s standing there with open arms. That doesn’t seem like love to you, you say.
And you know what? I agree with you. I believe in God’s love. I know that the sacrifice He gave was based on love for humanity. I don’t understand it always. I know that we don’t merit it most of the time, and these words from Romans 8 convince me that He loves me when I least deserve it:
I’m absolutely convinced that nothing–nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable–absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
But I also struggle with the way we love Him sometimes. Like He’s a convenience. Pull him out in the hard times. Tuck Him away when Scripture seems to ask us to go against feelings, desires, or wants. Argue and debate with others, as if we are superior and faith is all about us or our opinions, when the reality is we should be pointing the way to Him. (more…)
Sisterhood of Faith: Interview w/Shirley Brosius whose great new book shares life-changing stories and devos based on 365 women of faith.
Godsight: A book that is rocking my world. Part 1 of my interview with radio host personality and author, Lael Arrington.
Our book club is growing! 35 members. Our Christian Momlogic Healthy living group is growing (hey, I lost 6 pounds in January!).
Our community, Christian Momlogic, continues to emerge as a community of friendships among women who are are real about life, faith, and issues women face.
Suzie with teens cleaning up camp for disabled children after ice storm
Did you know that this generation (13 to 20) is quickly becoming one of the more selfless generations? Teens desire to change their world.
They are handing out blankets to the homeless. Picking up a hammer to build a home with Habitat for Humanity. They are volunteering, creating websites to generate funds, creating storehouses for clothing for children in they foster system, buying shoes for children in Haiti…
What? Are you sure? Suz, isn’t this the generation of teens sitting on the couch playing video games, munching chips, and holding out their hand for a little extra cash to go to the mall? What about the entitlement?
As I travel around the nation, I bristle (quietly) when I hear adults knocking teens. (more…)
Welcome to those who have come over from Proverbs 31 Ministries’ Renee Swope. It’s a hard thing when your teen begins to question their faith. And yet, it just well may be the beginning of their personal faith journey.
Consider a teen’s life span. What has taken place in the last 13 or 17 years? What are the norms of their society? Understanding their culture helps you grasp why they may struggle with the words, “just believe”.
How can they really know what is true?
The environment you grew up in does not reflect their reality. Today’s believing teen can’t just walk through their high school doors and call themselves a Christian. They are scrutinized. Their beliefs are challenged, not just by students but by adults and professors. So if they say they believe, they need to know why… (more…)
As I’ve delved into Scripture this past week on an assignment for curriculum for a publishing house, I’ve had to dig past the lesson to find the setting, the conflict, the plot, the characters, and how and why and who.
Yesterday I worked several hours and thoughout the day I found myself talking to God, like, “Thank you for reminding me that your mercies are new every morning”.
I received an e-mail from a younger friend, a guy who is going through a tough time right now. He poured out his heart and I prayed for him. I also sent him the questions I was working on that morning.
“Can you help me,” I asked. “Can you tell me what your answers might be?”
I wanted a different perspective. To know that I was staying true to Scripture and the heart of what was taught, rather than trying to comform it to a cultural message of faith.
I also saw nuggets of hope that might speak to his situation.
He wrote back later that night. “Tears are running down my face,” he said. “God spoke to me.” (more…)
If you came over today from the Proverbs 31 devotion, welcome! I hope it’s not the first time you visit, or the last. I’m always excited to make a new friend.
The other day I was talking with two friends about forgiveness. All three of us have dealt with this issue. One friend’s dad was an alcoholic. The other was sexually molested as a girl.
These close friends and I have moved on from the past, leaving those memories behind to pursue life and all that God has for each of us. We are writers and speakers. We teach on healing and wholeness. We have solid marriages. Families that are close and loving. Faith that transcends the events of the past.
But as we talked, I realized that forgiveness was still an issue, just in a different way.
“It’s the small stuff that gets me,” one friend said. “I’ve forgiven my past. I can forgive the big things. But someone can do something little and it makes me angry, and I don’t want to let it go.”
My other friend concurred, sharing a story about how she lost her temper with her family just that last week.
My conversation with my friends made me think about my own life. I consider myself a forgiver. I believe that I see the best in others. I’ve let go of the past, and I know the benefits. And yet, the truth is that we all struggle with this issue at times. (more…)
Last night I attended a Watch Service at my church. For some reason I’ve looked forward to it all week. Pastor shared a short sermon on anticipating change in the New Year, but I can’t tell you the specifics. Candles were lit. The lights were dim. The church was more full than I anticipated.
We had communion. All beautiful, but still not what I longed for, not knowing how to put words behind it.
And then it was over. Pastor asked any of us who desired to come to the altar and pray. As I knelt, there it was. What I was missing. What I had longed for all week.
Him.
Something inside of me longed to begin the New Year in His presence. Quiet. Gentle. Soft.
Powerful. Filling. Overflowing.
Sufficient.
I get so busy sometimes that that part of who I am gets put aside. I pray. I read the Bible. I minister. I am mom. I am Suzie. I blog. I write. I speak. I clean. I pay bills. I write some more…
But at the core of me, I am His. And that part of me was teetering on empty.
I was longing for communion. More than a cracker and a thimble of juice. I needed to sense His presence and rest in the reality of a Heavenly Father.
Thank you, Lord, that I can reach for you and find you.
Happy New Year to all of you. I appreciate you — more than you know.
Tomorrow I will share a funny story about the power of social online communities. We hear so much negative, but there is a lot to gain as well. New friends outside your tight social circle. Differing perspectives. Opportunities to pray for each other, laugh with friends, and to connect with old friends who have moved away.
Yes, there’s negative, too. We’ll talk about that this week, too. Can anyone say the word “addiction”? (more…)
Believing that God redeems our life stories, Intl. Proverbs 31 Speaker, author, and columnist, T. Suzanne Eller, teaches you how to give every chapter of your life to a relevant and life-changing Savior.
Simple Faith
Carve away meetings. Denominational differences. Nice church clothes. Conferences. Books. The guy on TV who wants you to send in $100 for seed money. Two-a-day Sunday meetings.
We are having quite possibly the most exciting giveaway yet! Momlogic and A. Jaffe, a premier jeweler is offering a $400 designer diamond necklace to the woman who brings in the most members between now and April 10. 
You ask me if we have made Christianity a sappy love story, where God allows us to do whatever we want and yet he’s standing there with open arms. That doesn’t seem like love to you, you say.
