Good Day, Friends!
Susie Larson here...

And to those visiting, I say welcome!

I post every Wednesday and my goal is to nourish your soul and challenge your faith along the way.

I'm writing this from my sick bed and I'm scheduled to speak in Georgia this weekend. Please pray for a divine and swift recovery if you think of me. :)

If you take the time to post on my blog in March, you may win a $10.00 gift card to either Caribou or Target (your choice). So drop me a note and say hi!

Now on to my topic.

With one son getting ready to graduate from college, and another pondering the idea of marriage, and still another making plans to take his darling girlfriend to the prom, I can't help but think about the various phases of life.

I love my boys, and while I see plenty of areas in their lives that still need to be refined, I think they are exceptional young men because they each possess a tender, teachable, humble heart. And to me, that's worth more than gold.

I'm not one of those moms who is blind to her children's foibles. I'm a straight talker when it comes to addressing the low or inconsistent places in their character. I won't be sympathetic towards a trait that could very well diminish the kind of husbands, fathers, employees, and Christ-followers they are called to be.

Even so, every day, several times a day, I let them know I love them. They know it so well, that when times of confrontation come, they stand up a little taller knowing that this too will equip and mature them into healthy, fully-devoted followers of Christ.

According to Ephesians, we are all called to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves...rather, by speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body is joined and held together.

So what are the stages of spiritual growth and just what does spiritual maturity look like?