Times and Places...

Greetings, Dear Friends!

Susie Larson here...

And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.

Each month I give away a $10.00 gift card to someone who posts on my blog. Would you believe it's already time to announce the winner for June? The winner of a $10.00 gift card from Starbucks goes to...

Drum roll please...

Stephanie Carlson! Congratulations! Please note that you have to email me your mailing address some time before I award next month's winner. Contact me at: info@susielarson.com 

*One more important note. I will be on vacation next week and will be away from the internet and out of email range. I'll look forward to connecting with you on the 15th of July. 

Now on to my topic...

Many years ago, I learned a valuable lesson: God is not subject to my timetables. I may have good reason for expecting Him to come through for me on specific occasions, but His actions will not be dictated by my timelines. 

As a young mom, I never realized how much I had hoped in God for my circumstances (instead of through them). 

After six months on bed rest due to a high risk pregnancy and in spite of some scary neurological symptoms during that pregnancy, I had hoped God wouldn't allow me to go from dealing with bed rest to dealing with a disease. But He did.

Amidst babies in the hospital and my own health battles, I had hoped that God wouldn't allow us to suffer financially, but He did. 

After going through several years of crisis, and then finally having the opportunity to go on a vacation to a resort with my extended family, I had hoped God would bless us with great weather and healthy kids for a week, but He didn't. 

At the end of the day, I wanted to stomp and scream and wonder what was the point of faith (and I definitely had my moments), but deep in my soul, I knew God was there with me, teaching me to hope in Him - and not in my circumstances. 

A verse that I love comes from first Timothy (6:6) and it reads:

Godliness with contentment is great gain.

To me, godliness speaks of forward movement; an earnest pursuit of the Father; a strong hope that He will come through for us; and a faith that believes in God's promises amidst the absence of evidence. 

And then there's contentment. My Thesaurus describes contentment with these words: fulfillment, peace, happiness, ease, comfort, well-being, satisfaction, serenity.  

To me, that's a measure of maturity; embracing a forward moving faith, along with a peaceful, satisfied heart that embraces God amidst your current circumstances.

When our hoped-for plans come to a screeching halt and God disappoints, how do we find peace, fulfillment, ease, well-being, and satisfaction amidst it all?

We step back and remember that God is God. And He is good. And He is always up to something. 

We wrap our arms around the Vine, we pursue godliness, and we embrace contentment; a contentment that declares, "I will find God in this somehow! My hope is in the Lord, and not in the idea that things should always go my way. Plans may fail, the rain will fall, and circumstances will sometimes fall short of my expectations, but this is where my faith counts. When I put everything on the table and give God room to work, I will find Him in the most unexpected places, and I will grow in the process!" 

Godliness with contentment is great gain. 

Though our plans may fall short of our expectations, we must not miss the opportunity to gain ground in our walk of faith. We hope in the Lord, not in that next raise, the next potential job, vacation, family time, etc. We make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps (See Proverbs 16:9). And in due time, we will enjoy a surprisingly sunny day, or a peaceful morning, or a sweet vacation, or a quick breakthrough. And those times are especially sweet when we learn to put our hope in the Lord. It's like icing on the cake. :)

In closing, read this wonderful quote by John Tauler written in the 1300's:

"Be assured of this, you do not know God in truth, and have no true peace, if you are depending upon times and places. Remember that whatever God gives you to do, from moment to moment, that is the very best thing you could possibly be doing, and you little know where and when the Lord will meet you. He who does not seek to find God everywhere, and in everything, finds Him nowhere and in nothing." 

Have a blessed couple of weeks.

PS ~ If you haven't signed up for my free quarterly E-zine, you might want to. Some of my author friends give away free copies of their books, I write a devotional, share some great book recommendations, great quotes, and a prayer to send you on your way. My next issue releases on the 15th of July. Click the link below to sign up:

Sign up for Susie's Ezine...

What's New?

Greetings, Dear Friends!

Susie Larson here...

And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.

Each month I give away a $10.00 gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So leave a comment, share a story or insight, bless lots of people, and maybe you'll win a jolt of java for you and a friend. 

Now on to my topic. 

What is God doing in your life these days? 

That's a question we often asked our boys during their growing up years. In fact, we still pose the question from time to time. 

One of the things I love about God is that He is always working. He is always up to something. The Bible says that daily the heavens pour forth speech and there is no language where His voice is not heard (See Psalm 19). God is always after an increase in our lives. He wants to bring us from strength to strength, from glory to glory. He's moving and He wants us to move with Him. 

When I consider my own life, I see movement all around me. As you can see from the picture above, my youngest son Jordan just graduated from high school. 

And in a couple of weeks, my middle son Luke will marry the love of his life. Our house is quieter than it has ever been. I just finished writing a book that'll release in October, and I just started another book which will release next March (kind of like having a baby, but not really). Amidst all of this change, I'm going through the painful letting go syndrome common to moms of boys. You've heard it said, "A daughter is one that you'll have for life, but a son is only a son until he takes a wife." 

A fellow author friend of mine (also a mom of three boys) once shared these wise words with me: Prepare yourself for the day when your boys get married. It's a drastic adjustment. You go from having the starring role in their lives, to having a bit part. You go from being their number one to being number five, just behind the family pet. For those of us who have been super involved in our son's lives, it's a tough adjustment but one every healthy mother of boys needs to make.

I'm telling you, with one son living in Nashville, one son about to get married, and another very busy with life and quite taken with his girlfriend, I'm feeling that surprising ache in my heart. 

On one hand, I'm so happy for all of them. This is the stuff of life. But their absence reveals another place in my heart for God to fill. And I'm expectant for Him to do just that. 

What I do love about this next stage of life, is the extra time I get to spend with Jesus. I take my time praying, reading, and journaling. My heart is at rest because I have the time and the space to cultivate such a thing. I also love the extra time with my husband, Kevin. 

Even so, as I move into this next season of life, I know I have to let go of the 'mom who takes care of her sons' role, and move into the 'mom who intercedes, loves, and supports' her sons and their future wives. 

In this transitional stage of life, I'm reminded afresh of how steady and sturdy and faithful God really is. He is moving and I want to move with Him to the next places of promise He has for me.

So what about you?

What new thing is God doing in you, around you, and through you? How are you handling it? 

Let's do this together!

Have a blessed week~

PS ~ If you haven't signed up for my (free) quarterly E-zine, you might want to. A number of my author friends give away copies of their books, you'll get a devotional from me, some great book recommendations from me, a couple of great quotes, and a prayer to send you on your way. The next issue comes out mid-July. Click on the link below to sign up:

Sign up for Susie's E-zine... 

Focused and Purposeful...

Greetings, Dear Friends!

Susie Larson here...

And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. 

Each month I give away a $10.00 gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So leave a comment, share an insight or story, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a fun treat!

Since it's the first week of June, it's time to announce May's winner of the $10.00 Starbucks card. Drumroll please...

Kristen (sorry, I don't have your last name, but I do have record of the dates you posted)! Congratulations! Here's the deal: you need to claim your prize by contacting me at: info@susielarson.com (sometime before I award next month's winner). Give me the address where you want me to send the gift card and enjoy a nice jolt of java. Thanks for your recent posts!

Now on to my topic...

During a recent prayer time, I marveled at Jesus' steadfast purpose and focus on His mission. He clearly understood His identity in spite of countless people who completely missed what He was about, or who were so threatened by Him that they plotted His death. He held to His value, kept to His mission, and would not be derailed; not for one second. 

Let's look at a few instances of Jesus' resolute focus on His mission:

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:2-4)

The enemy tempted Jesus to grab prematurely for Himself, that which God already promised Him (protection, provision, the kingdom).Though weak and exhausted from fasting, Jesus refused to give in to temptation and stayed true to His mission.

Here's another example...

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matthew 21:8-9)

The crowd that was so quick to praise Him was the very crowd that later shouted, "Crucify Him!" Jesus rode into town on a donkey while the crowds cheered. In the face of shallow praise, He didn't get full of Himself; He didn't hop off the donkey and change His plans; He stayed true to His mission.

Here's one more...

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." (1 Corinthians 11:23)

On the night He was betrayed - while evil men schemed behind His back - Jesus looked into the eyes of His beloved disciples and taught them about communion, about intimacy with God, and about resurrection power. He didn't rally His own allies to combat the gossip and betrayal. He didn't say, "We're going to fight this! Nobody treats me this way!" He willingly laid down His life. And He made sure His disciples had some important time with Him. 

In the face of betrayal, backstabbing, and horrific assault,  Jesus stayed true to His mission. 

Is it possible that we get derailed far too easily?

When we have to wait - we get mad. 

If we have to endure an insult or someone disrespects us - we shake our fists.

If we show up to pray but don't 'feel' anything, we wonder if it pays to pray.

If we give and don't receive a 'thank you' - we pull back and look for a more deserving recipient.

We need deeper roots.

We need more clarity on who we are and why we're here. 

We need more tenacity to hang on to the promises of God - because they are true whether they feel true or not! 

How do we remain focused and purposeful?

We measure every encounter against our God-given mission. We embrace in our core, that we are something special to God and that He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). We earnestly seek after Him to find out His highest and best will for us so we don't waste our time on lesser things.

When we encounter tough times, instead of shrinking back, we're quick to ask this question:

Is this temptation, a trial, or training? 

We remind ourselves every day, that in order to stand in these latter days, we must be gritty in faith, full of love, and abounding in mercy - just as Jesus is with us. 

Dear Father, show us how to be more like You. Make us into ambassadors for Your name. Help us to be focused and purposeful in all we say and do. In trials, storms, and temptations, may we stand strong. In the face of praise, honor, and success, may be remain humble and flexible in Your hand. When others miss us, disregard us, or disrespect us, may we humbly honor You and entrust our reputation to You. Our time on this earth is important; help us to live in a manner worthy of our calling. We are just passing through. We're made to live forever with You. Lord, make us ready! Amen.

Have a blessed week!

Oh, and if you haven't signed up for my quarterly E-zine, you might want to! Four times a year I'll email you an E-magazine with some great book giveaways from my fellow authors, a devotional, some great book recommendations, and a prayer to send you on your way. You can subscribe by clicking on the link below:

Susie's E-zine...

Know...

Greetings, Dear Friends!

Susie Larson here...

And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. 

Each month I give away a $10.00 gift card to someone who posts on my blog, so leave a post, share a story, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a little treat for yourself. This month's gift card comes from Starbucks. 

Now on to my topic...

How do you respond to stress? 

I clench my jaw at night which makes for a powerful headache in the morning. For the longest time I considered jaw-clenching an involuntary reaction to my level of stress. I now realize that when my thinking defaults to stress, my jaw-clenching kicks into gear. 

How about you? What is your default response when things feel unmanageable?  Do you get anxious, mad, overly busy? Or is yours an opposite response? Do you sometimes get so overwhelmed that you camp in front of the TV and eat more than your body requires?

Lately I've been meditating on the wonderful Scripture, "Cease striving and KNOW that I am God." (Psalm 46:10).

Picture two rivers. One with a strong current pushing the waters south, the other, with a steady, powerful current flowing north. God is our True-North. We can either jump in the southbound-river of striving and straining and continually battle the currents of self, or we can hop on an inner-tube and ride the northbound-river of God's power and provision. 

To cease striving is to know - with utter assurance - that God is who He says He is. He is in control, profoundly good, enormously huge, divinely capable, and more-than-enough for us. 

When we step back, take inventory, and thus glean our perspective from our feelings, our understanding, and our own resources, we will undoubtedly find ourselves in the wrong river. We waste  a lot of energy battling our wrong perspectives. When we allow ourselves to get into a tizzy, it's because we've put too much weight on our own abilities and resources. We've become strivers. 

But God says to us: "Stop that. Don't do that. Cease. Cease striving. Cease striving and KNOW. Cease striving and KNOW THAT I AM GOD. I am God. Do you know that? Do you really believe that I spoke the world into being and that I delight in every detail of your life? Your job is to trust and obey. To live by faith. To walk in love. I've got the details. Refuse stress. When you're tempted towards striving and straining, turn away from such thoughts. Hop in My river and let My current take you where you need to go. Peace. I speak peace to you, My precious one."

Proverbs 9:10 is a great verse: Knowing the Holy One results in understanding. When we know Him, we understand why He allows us to walk through hard times (because there's something in it for us). When we know Him, we trust Him. When we know Him, we consider the treasure of His heart more blessed than the gifts from His hand. When we stop striving and hold on to our 'knowing' life - even amidst great difficulty- becomes peaceful, powerful, and completely doable.

Take a deep breath in. And exhale. Know Him more today. Trust Him with your whole heart. He is good. His God. And He is far greater than our minds can comprehend. 

Walk in His presence. Embrace His promises. Count in His provision. 

He is faithful!

Until next week~

PS ~ if you haven't already signed up for my quarterly E-zine, you may want to! Four times a year I email out an E-zine filled with great book giveaways from fellow authors, a devotional thought, great book recommendations, and a prayer to send you on your way. Women love it! Sign up here...

Sign up for Susie's E-zine...

Blessings!

Perspectives Far and Near...

Greetings, Dear Friends!

Susie Larson here...

And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. 

Each month I give away a $10.00 gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So leave a comment, share an insight or story and bless lots of people. Maybe you'll win!

Next week I'll announce the winner for April, so be sure to stop back and look for your name!

One more little piece of business. As many of you know, my husband and I co-chair the International Justice Mission benefit banquet in Minnesota, which is coming up on Tuesday, May 12th, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Kevin and I are sponsoring a couple of tables and would like to extend this special offer to you, my friends in blogosphere. 

We are giving away four free tickets to the IJM benefit (that's a $200.00 value!). You can claim one or all four tickets, IF YOU ARE AVAILABLE MAY 12TH AND CAN MAKE IT TO THE BANQUET, please email me privately at: info@susielarson.com

Now on to my topic...

This morning during my prayer time I spent some time pondering the loaves and fishes miracle described in the gospel of Mark, 6th chapter. 

I don't know, maybe it's because I'm a bit weary and overloaded with work that I looked at this story differently this morning, but I couldn't help but picture the disciples staring out at the sea of people after a long, long day of ministry and wondering if they would ever feel 'caught up'. I imagined Peter running his fingers through his curly hair wondering if he should speak up or not. I pictured the other disciples with sweaty, gritty skin, growling stomaches, and a strong sense of their own inadequacies (maybe I'm projecting too much here). Still, indulge me for a moment.

Let's read a bit of the passage:

By this time it was late in the day, so Jesus' disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late.  Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."  But Jesus answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" (Mark 6:35-37).

The disciples faced an enormous task. Impossible, actually. 

Jesus looked at the thousands of hungry people and then at his empty-handed disciples and said, "You feed them." 

I don't know about you, but much of my own angst comes from looking at the 'multitudes' of needs and demands on my time and feeling painfully insufficient to tend to them all (which I am - and which the disciples were). 

I love how Jesus brought the disciples' focus back to Him and to what they did have available to them. It's so tempting to stare at the endless task list or the gaping area of insufficiency and despair over its big-ness and our smallness. But we must listen to Jesus say to us, "Look here. Look at me. Open your hand. What do you have to work with? Let's start there." 

Imagine if the young boy in the story would have given his lunch to one other person. That would have been nice of him, but his lunch would have only fed one person. Instead, he gave it to the disciples who gave it to Jesus. Thousands and thousands were fed with baskets left over - from one faithful offering.

Why are we so quick to forget the majesty and the power of our God? 

Even so, we do forget, and that's why we need reminders to adjust our perspective from time to time. 

I think it's good to scan the horizon on occasion, just to get the bigger picture. When discouragement plagues us, it's good to look over our shoulder and consider just how far we've come. When the daily grind begins to feel incidental and inconsequential, it's great to look up, pray, and be reminded once again to press on because there is a promised land up ahead. 

But in the day to day living, I hear Jesus saying, "Look here. Look at Me. Don't try to carry all of your tomorrows today. Open your hand. What do you have? Let's start there. A small seed is all we need."

Someone once said that it's best to 'glance at our circumstances and gaze at Jesus.' 

What do you need today?

Is it time for you to step back and consider how far you've come? Is it time to refresh the vision for your life? Do you have a sense of where is God taking you? Or are you walking around the same mountain again and again? 

May God give you a fresh insight into the landscape He has designed for you.

Or maybe you're feeling a little like I am; a tad weighed down by the demands of life;  you have more tasks than energy and time. But in spite of how we feel, we know that God is God and that He is with us on this journey!

Even so, it's time to scoot in a little closer to Him; it's time to open our hand and show Him our little offering. And it's time to cease striving and know that He is God. More is on His shoulders than on ours. Even when our arms get tired, He's still got us. 

Today I embrace a 'near perspective' - I draw near to the heart of God and leave my list at His feet. I show Him what I have in my hand, not because He doesn't know, but because I need to be reminded that He is perfectly fine with small, insufficient offerings; that's when His glory shines through and His power to multiply is revealed. Then, with His strength and under His direction, I tend to the task He has assigned me today. It's a perfectly simple plan. :) 

I said this at a conference last weekend and I'll mention it here again. Jesus said, "My Father is always working, and I too am working." God is always good and since He's always working, He's always up to something good. May we open our eyes and clearly see what He's up to in our lives!

"Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation." --Andrew Murray

Be blessed this week! I'd love to hear from you.

Susie

PS - If you haven't signed up for my quarterly E-zine, you might want to! We have great fun. Four times a year you'll receive an email 'magazine' with a devotional, some great book giveaways from my fellow authors, some great book recommendations, and a prayer to send you on your way. Here's the link in case you're interested: 

Sign up for Susie's E-zine...