Your child and faith
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…)
Posted by Suzie @
6:59 am |
Pardon the interruption
I was sitting at my desk late Sunday night. Church was amazing. Richard and I arrived home. He needed to study for finals, so I settled in for an exciting game of computer spades while I waited for him to finish. There was an annoying glare on the screen. I kept moving it, trying to get rid of it. Then I realized I couldn’t quite see all of the card numbers. So I got up and turned off the light.
The glare was still there. But it had nothing to do with the screen.
I walked into our room and started getting ready for bed, thinking my eyes must have been tired. I slipped into the bathroom to wash my face. The left side of the mirror was a shimmer. I couldn’t see my left pupil. I could only see a pinhole of light where my eye should have been.
That’s when I realized that I just might be in trouble.
I don’t know why, but I took a few more minutes, trying to figure out if I was having some sort of weird vision problem, moving from one bathroom to the other, holding a hand over one eye –which changed nothing – to holding a hand over the other eye. Still no change. I closed my eyes.
Fireworks on the left side.
The word “stroke” flitted through my brain.
So I went to Richard and knelt down beside his chair. “Hey babe, something weird is happening,” I said. My thoughts were to let him know just in case something really bad happened in the next few minutes.
He grabbed my hands, pulled me to my feet, and said, “let’s go.”
It appears that I had a TIA, a mini-stroke. To a healthy, exercising, eat chicken and broccoli kind of girl, this is a surprise.
The good news. No after affects. No damage that we can see motor skills wise, language, cognitive, etc.
The bad news. Why did this happen? And will it happen again? So I am going to undergo some tests. I have suspicion, however, that a bone density med I just started a month ago might be the culprit. The warning I read, but didn’t think would have anything to do with me, says, “in rare cases, taking this can lead to death by stroke”.
I’ll take weight training and exercise and lots of Vitamin D, thank you very much. Toss the meds.
Your prayers are appreciated. It seems a little surreal. Strokes are what happen to old people, or those who have high blood pressure or medical challenges, right?
I’m at peace, happy, wrapped in His arms, but it’s also a little scary–especially for the family. I feel just as great as I did Sunday afternoon, but I want to be wise so I’m going to try to make sure that we get to the bottom of it.
As usual, the interruption makes me see what is important and what is not. God is. Family is. Friends are. Life…
definitely, I love life.
Posted by Suzie @
10:48 am |
No Name
Today’s post is from one of my favorite people and most respected writer. Cec Murphey shares a story about his wife, Shirley, and a little girl with no name.
I don’t hear the term, “A mother in Israel” used often these days. It appears only a couple of times in the Old Testament. When I was fairly young in the faith, I used to hear the term regularly.
They referred to a woman, who might be a birth mother, but she was a person who wrapped her arms around others and expressed nurturing, motherly love.
I want to tell you about a mother in Israel. The story goes back to our days in Kenya. After we had been there at least a year and my wife had learned the Luo language, she went to a women’s convention with Africans Margaret and Wilfrida.
After they arrived at Kadem in our VW Bug, Shirley saw a little girl sitting alone next to the outside, wooden fire. Shirley guessed she was maybe eight years old. Her matted hair, dirty skin, and a dress that defied naming the color stirred up deep compassion in Shirley. She held out her hand to the child and introduced herself. (more…)
Posted by Suzie @
8:06 am |
Facebook Mee Maw
I hung out with my mom on Saturday. She’s 70, but pretty computer savvy. She really wants to be able to connect with all of her children and grandchildren, because many of them live far away.
So, I helped her set up a Facebook account. And man, she took off with it. I checked yesterday and she had become “friends” with 8 of her 11 grandchildren. She had already left messages and her wall was filling up with, “Hey Mee Maw!”.
I love Facebook. I love connecting with family and friends and colleagues. I love meeting with someone and knowing what’s going on in their life. No awkward pauses. No “I know you, but don’t really know you” moments. I love knowing what their favorite song or book is, and to be able to celebrate moments such as my nephew, Mitch’s, engagement to his beautiful girlfriend, Brittney, this past weekend.
And I enjoy hearing from you. Thanks for all the Facebook messages. Thanks for encouraging this writer sitting, pecking away on her laptop, her hair in a clippee, still in her PJ’s (it’s raining buckets, it just makes it feel like a comfy Saturday morning, I can’t seem to change out of my pj’s), wondering if anyone out there is reading her books.
Connect with Suzie on Facebook: ID is Suzanne Eller
Posted by Suzie @
1:24 pm |
A long lost friend
I love being part of Facebook and MySpace because I connect with people around me that I might not get to hang out with, but also with friends from the past.
Yesterday I received a message on Facebook that took me back over 30 years. It was from Kathy. . . (more…)
Posted by Suzie @
12:15 pm |
