Hello, 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.

Before I get into my topic, I want to mention that next week I will be giving away a $10.00 Caribou gift card to one of you who posted on my blog in January. Like coffee, smoothies, green tea? Post a note and share what God is doing in your life! Your name might be drawn for a sweet treat!

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend and we enjoyed a candid conversation about the church, our lives, and the world in which we live.

"This is a different day than we've ever known" my friend said. "If we want to make it, we can't pretend; we have to talk about stuff. There are too many temptations to pretend that they don't exist, and there's too much at stake to just pretend everything is okay."

She's right, you know.

If you've heard me speak or read some of what I've written, you've no doubt heard the analogy I've repeatedly shared with my sons:

The Christian life is like a winding, country road - with deep ditches on each side. One ditch represents your rebellion, the other, your response to someone else's rebellion. Satan could care less which ditch he gets you into, he just wants you off the road.

Last night as I tossed and turned and battled sleeplessness, I found myself thinking again about that analogy.

Many today are painfully pretending to be something they are not. In public, they look like the stereotypical Christian, but behind the scenes they are embroiled deep in addictive behavior.

Other Christians are squeaky clean on the outside, but their hearts are hard with pride because they love to look down on those who struggle with such blatant sins.

As I pondered my analogy, I pictured more and more of the road giving way, creating cavernous ditches on both sides, and leaving a very narrow road on which to walk.