Crazy hair

March 17, 2009 | family, feelings, fun

I can’t fix my hair. I tried to put a barrette in it the other day to get my hair out of my eyes and it stood up like a telephone pole by my ear. So Mr. Richard has to help me.

That’s what he calls himself. I sit on a folding chair in front of the bathroom mirror and we do a tango beauty session. He holds the blow dryer and I one-hand the brush.

When my hair is dry he straight irons it.

It’s hilarious. One of the best parts of my every-other-day.

He’s only burned my ear once, but that jerky movement you make when 400 degrees hits the tip of your ear is ugly to a broken collarbone.

Other than that, he’s pretty good. In fact, I think I’d like to have Mr. Richard as my full-time beauty consultant. I get laughter and straight hair. A recent session looked like this:

Suzie: Babe, you’re burning my neck. Can you move the blowdryer to the hair and off the skin?

Richard: Like this? (smoke rises from my scalp)

Suzie: No, more like this, hon. On the hair. Move it back and forth.

Richard: Mr. Richard doesn’t like bossy clients.

Suzie: (laughter)

Richard pulls out a clippy and puts my hair in sections and starts to straighten. We hear a sizzle sound and both jump. It’s a spot of conditioner that we left in the hair. I’m not that good in the shower yet.

Suzie: Hon, that piece is sticking straight out. Can you straighten it down toward my face instead?

Richard: I like it this way.

Suzie: But, could you do it anyway?

Richard: I think it looks nice like this.

I never know what it’s going to look like. One day I had flippy hair. It was kinda cute. Another day I had flat, flat hair. Not so great. The lumpy hair day was another bad one. This past Saturday it looked really good. I think he’s got it!

He’s most fun when he’s teasing the crown. We only do that when I’m going out in public. The first time he complained because it didn’t make sense to straighten it all, and then to “frizz” it up in the back. I explained that it would look good.

Yesterday he really got into the “frizzing” part and my hair stood up like a rooster in back. But once he combed it all down, it looked terrific!

 I love my new hairdresser. He’s funny, and handsome. And he’s kind enough to put up with a picky one-armed woman who is sometimes really bossy in the hairdressing chair.  

Let’s give a shout-out to Mr. Richard.

Week Two

March 7, 2009 | family, feelings, fitness/health

I’ve had some challenging moments this past week. The nights when pain made every movement excruciating. The day the bone migrated, pointing north and south instead of east and west. The days my arm turned beet red as the bone compressed blood vessels. The brown chair began to feel like a prison on Day 7. It’s where I sit, sleep, and eat. (I climb out for 30 minutes at time starting today!) (more…)

You said…

February 25, 2009 | books, family, feelings

Suzanne,
I have never had a book speak to me so clearly in all of my life. The Mom I Want to Be has opened my heart to WANT to forgive my parents. I am a 33-year-old mother of four and I am holding onto resentment and bitterness for my parents and it is absolutely spiritual warfare. I have gone to Christian counselors and many christian books for steps on how to get out of this bondage………I am failing miserably. I need some Godly councel and wondered if you would listen to my story and guide me. Laura

Dear Laura,
I’d love to hear your story. I know that God is faithful and able. Today I read a scripture in Psalms:

Only by your power can we push back our enemies; only in your name can we trample our foes. Psalm 44:5

I am a firm believer in counselors and resources, but I also am grateful that God can and will heal our hearts when we don’t know how. It’s a process and takes time, Laura. We’ll continue to talk privately, but may I pray with you today and with other moms who are struggling?

Father, I stand beside Laura today, asking that you begin the healing work inside her heart. Be the Father she needs to love her. Help her to see herself as she is now, rather than as a broken child of the past. Help her to see your love, and to see all that is around her that is good and strong. May the past be a teacher, so that she passes down good things to her children–whether now or in the future. Thank you for healing. Thank you for wholeness. Thank you for Laura.

In the powerful and precious name of Christ.

A joy-filled, sorrow-packed weekend

February 23, 2009 | family, feelings

On Saturday we traveled to a little town called Council, Oklahoma. Once a thriving boom town in the 20’s, it is now a desolate rural area. There are some farms. There is a post office. There are vacant trailers with front yards decorated with tires and rusted washing machines. It is the remains of what once was.

Richard’s grandmother turned 94, though she swears she’s 100. If I were 94, I might claim a hundred years, too.

I first met Grandmother Franklin nearly 30 years ago. She was tall with dark hair and she didn’t mind sitting in the floor playing with her younger grandchildren. Her husband, Earl or Granddaddy, was warm and sweet and kind. He whipped out a picture of Hazel (grandmother) when they were married and told me that if I loved Richard half as much as he loved Hazel, our marriage would last. (It has, Granddaddy!) (more…)

This week on Christian Momlogic!

February 16, 2009 | books, faith, family, feelings, interviews, momlogic

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)
• Risky Behavior: The good kind
• Godsight II: When your imagination takes you places you don’t want/need to go. Interview with author and radio host, Lael Arrington.

When did we become the “hub”?

February 9, 2009 | family, feelings

There have been glaring signs around me lately that Richard and I are entering a different phase of life. In some ways, I’m ready. In others, I’m continually surprised.

“How old do you feel?” I asked Richard as we drove to Tulsa on Saturday.

“Hmm. Thirty-five,” he said.

“Same here! Although I feel more thirty-sevenish,” I said, grinning.

We feel wiser, more experienced. Don’t feel the need for others’ approval. Settled. We both agreed that this part of getting older was amazing. But physically and mentally we both feel young. (more…)

This week on Christian Momlogic

February 5, 2009 | faith, family, momlogic

Check out these great interviews and topics:

• Day in the Life of an Early Childhood Expert: Brenda Nixon shares how to effectively parent toddlers through temperment, tantrums, and the terrific twos.
• 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. 

Please check out Christian Momlogic. I hope you’ll join us.

This week on Christian Momlogic!

January 27, 2009 | books, family, feelings, fitness/health, interviews, momlogic

Two great interviews with two amazing ladies and a book review of Max Lucado’s For the Tough Times.

• Your Best Life Ain’t Easy (GIVEAWAY!) - Virelle Kidder started out life with an alcoholic dad and a mentally ill mom. How do you get your best life when it starts out hard?
• Rest - A modern day Sabbath (GIVEAWAY!) - Keri Wyatt Kent was a mom who was running ragged. She studied what it means to spiritually rest and implimented a modern-day Sabbath in her home. It doesn’t look like the Old Testament version, but it re-energized her and brought her family closer.
• For the Tough Times by Max Lucado (a review) - I have a friend who just lost a son, and last year he lost a wife. He feels suckerpunched, and in a sense, he has been. Where is God in the tough times?
• Praying for our President-Elect (now President) - I’m dismayed by the comments I hear from fellow believers about our leader. Doesn’t Scripture call for us to pray?

Faith in Action: The Do-Something Generation

January 20, 2009 | Proverbs 31 Ministries, T. Suzanne Eller, faith, family

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…)

Your child and faith

January 19, 2009 | Proverbs 31 Ministries, T. Suzanne Eller, faith, family

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…)