"I'm Here For You..."

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.

First things first. If you take the time to post on my blog in April, you may win a $10.00 gift card to Caribou, Target, OR Dairy Queen! Your choice. So drop me a note and say hi! Next week I'll announce April's gift card winner.

A week ago today, I was in Michigan for a speaking event. My hosts picked me up from the airport, got me something to eat, and then dropped me off at my hotel for a little down time before the big event.

I put on some music, set my alarm, and dozed in and out of sleep. Curled up in a ball and hugging my pillow, I prayed for the women for whom I had come to serve. I asked God to meet them in a profound way and to provide for their needs.

Instantly He led me to the first few verses in the 23rd Psalm. Over and over again, I prayed those verses and pondered them on behalf of my Michigan group of women.

Suddenly I realized that four specific needs are addressed in just the first two verses; in fact six needs are addressed in the first three verses:

Guidance, provision, rest, renewal, strength, and honor.

Let's take a closer look...

The Lord is my Shepherd...

Do you need direction and protection in your life? The Lord is your Shepherd! He has committed Himself to your care. But unlike a typical shepherd, He won't make you follow Him. He lovingly leads and protects all who lovingly follow and trust Him. He has your best interest at heart and He will faithfully lead you.

I shall not want...

Do you need a breakthrough in one way or another? Maybe you have current financial needs or maybe your health isn't what it should be. Maybe you need a breakthrough in your job or in the dreams of your heart. Maybe your current need is simply for peace and joy. Everything and anything you could ever want or need is found in Him. Wait on the Lord, my friend. He blesses those who wait for Him. He works for those who wait for Him. He rewards those who earnestly pursue Him. The Heavens are pregnant with provision and God has charged Himself to take care of His own. He will provide. Look up, believe, and wait for Him.

He lets me rest in green meadows...

Are you exhausted? Do you need a break? God not only calls us to rest, He makes a way for us! It's an act of obedience to slow down and rest - on a regular basis. He allows it, He provides pastures green, and He points you off the beaten path that you may stretch out and behold the bright blue sky. The problem with most of us is that we're moving so fast that we race right past the patches of grass that Jesus has prepared for us! May you be so aware of your Shepherd's leading and so in tuned with His voice, that you are quick to take advantage of those green pasture moments provided for you. Breathe in, breathe out, and rest for a while in His presence. He will renew your strength.

He leads me beside peaceful streams...

I love this one. Are you feeling dry and dull? Have you been trudging along for so long that you've lost your sense of life and joy? Do your words stick to the roof of your mouth and does your soul feel like an over-dried raisin? Then you need some time in the water! Your Shepherd knows your frame and He knows your need! And if you follow His lead, He will take you to the end of the dock and toss you in the water for some fun, replenishing water time! He'll let you dip your toe in and sit by the streams, or He'll jump in with you and just let you play. Either way, He's with you on this journey. He's an ever present help; totally engaged; totally there for you. He'll pour fresh life into you. Follow His lead.

He renews my strength...

Even the young grow tired and weary, but when we hope and rest and wait on the Lord, He WILL renew our strength. We'll run again and not get weary. We'll walk and not grow faint. If you're running on empty, or burning up your muscle on overdrive, it's time to slow down long enough to be re-fueled. Jesus has promised to renew your strength. Just as you have to stop your car in order to fill it with gas, you have to stop your wild mind and focus on God's promises. What's amazing is that you can be moving physically and still be renewed. You can be on a plane, in a car, going to the bathroom, or washing dishes. God can renew you while you are moving as long as your soul is at rest. If your mind is racing ahead of schedule, there'll be no rest for you. But if you will quiet your soul like a still, small child, and look up to your Father who knows every need, you will find your strength renewed. Meditating on His promises - more than your pace - will bring peace and strength to your soul.

He guides me along right paths bringing honor to His name...

Oswald Chambers once wrote, "The greatest enemy of the best, is the good." How easy it is to take the good path and miss the best one. And yet our good Shepherd has promised to lead us to the highest and best path for us. His will for us is our best case scenario. He leads us along right paths bringing honor to His name. We were created for Him. When our lives honor Him, we become a trophy of His grace; an evidence of His victory. When we stay in step with Him, our lives bear much fruit and become the stuff of miracles.

What do you need today?

Whatever it is, Jesus wants you to know, "I am here for you!"

Follow His lead, He'll lead you to the place of your promise.

He's good in every sense of the word.

God bless you, my friend.

Have a great and peaceful week!

The Cross For Me...

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.

If you take the time to post on my blog in April, you may win a $10.00 gift card to Caribou, Target, OR Dairy Queen! Your choice. So drop me a note and say hi!

I'm writing this post on Monday because on Wednesday, I'll be flying home from a speaking event.

I just love mornings, and this morning was an extra special one for me. Today was the first time this season that it was warm enough for me to sit out on my deck and greet the morning.

With the breeze blowing in the trees, the birds singing a happy song, and the sun peeking through the clouds, I felt especially aware of God's incredible attention to detail. What a beautiful God He is!

For a brief moment, I closed my eyes, bowed my head, and prayed for our country. I've been concerned about the intense divisions among us as a nation. I'm troubled by the desire of many to see God wiped from our history. I'm concerned about many of the youth in our day. There's an absolute disregard for authority, purity, honor, humility, gratefulness, and so on and so on. Needless to say, I prayed and asked for mercy, for protection, and for a renewed fire in my belly that I might live for fully for Him.

As soon as I said, "Amen" I looked up and what I saw took my breath away. I captured it in the picture at the top of this blog. A perfect Cross was etched in the sky. I took out my phone and snapped a picture (click on the picture and it'll enlarge enough for you to see the Cross).

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is intimately acquainted with our ways, He is engaged in our journey, and He is high above every circumstance.

Within the hour the wind picked up and the clouds took on a different shape. Even so, I lingered a while with my thoughts.

That beautiful Cross for me, was a reminder of the brevity of life and the height of our calling.

This day, this time in which we live, calls for authentic faith, real passion, and a love that is less calculating and far more forgiving than we've ever known before.

The very thought of the Cross and the death Jesus died, forces me once again to ask myself, just how serious am I about following Him?

With all my heart I believe we are entering a day of acceleration. Things are going to happen faster. Things are happening faster.

Where once, it was unheard of for a young adolescent to shoot up his school, now, getting to that point seems a shorter road. Where once the idea that a wife would walk out on her family simply because she's bored, was something to make us gasp, is now a regular occurrence.

But it's not all bad news.

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord raises up a standard against Him! Psalm 75:10 says, "For I will cut off the strength of the wicked and increase the power of the godly."

Those who are sowing seeds of faith, cutting from their lives that which is displeasing to God, and loving others because God loved first - those people - will walk in a Super-natural power that will bring some of God's Kingdom to earth.

Read this powerful passage from 2 Corinthians 6:16...

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

And here's another one from 1 John 3:21-23...

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He has commanded us.

The verse above is a big reason why I spend much of speaking prep time letting God deal with me.

I want to be so in step with Him that when it comes time to pray for the women to whom I'm about to speak, I can ask for the moon! The things I ask for are above and beyond anything my finite mind can comprehend. I ask God to deliver, heal, restore, renew, remind, strengthen, and save the women at my events.

When we're at home in the presence of God, when we give Him access to our character, and when we love the lost and the unlovely, it's easy to come boldly into His presence and ask for the things He wants to give us.

The Cross for me made all of this possible.

May we strip off every weight, every encumbrance, every lesser affection that we might make a God-sized impact in the world around us.

The times call for it!

Blessings to you this week~

Grapes and Other Gray Areas...

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.

If you take the time to post on my blog in April, you may win a $10.00 gift card to Caribou, Target, OR Dairy Queen! Your choice. So drop me a note and say hi!

Now on to my topic...

It was about this time of year, about seven years ago, when my then, ninth grade son, was invited to a week-long intense discipleship training (known as IDT) which was scheduled to start the day after the last day of school.

The planners planned for this event to start bright and early on the first day of summer vacation. They wanted to train the students who wanted to be there; who made the commitment to be there.

One minute Jake was sure he was supposed to go, but then he'd go to school and hear his friends talk about all of their summer plans and he'd come home with a changed mind.

Back and forth he went.

My strong sense was that I was supposed to guide him from a distance and allow this decision to be his.

The day came, school was out, and vacation mode had kicked in.

My hands were immersed in dish water and dirty dishes when Jake approached me, "Mom, I was invited to sleep at my friend's house tonight. I really want to go but I kind of feel like I'm supposed to go to IDT too. I don't know what to do."

Drying my hands off I turned to him and said, "Jake, as a Christian you will notice that there are a thousand 'Christian' things you can be a part of, but you're only called to be a part of some of them. You have to decide, is this one of those things? How about if you go to your bedroom and spend an hour praying and asking God what He thinks?" Jake did just that. And I have to admit, I prayed hard too. I really wanted him to go to IDT.

The next morning we were up bright and early and I dropped him off for his first day of intense discipleship training.

What I wasn't prepared for, was the look of him when I picked him up. He slipped in the front seat, held a white square of cloth up to his face, and wept for several minutes.

I looked a little closer at the cloth and saw the words, "N-Vow."

I pulled away from the curb and drove as Jake gathered himself and began to share what just happened.

For the first day of IDT, the instructors taught from the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapter six, verses one through four. In this passage we learn about a 'set apart' group called the Nazirites. As a testament to their sold-out commitment to the Lord, they were (among other things) never to drink alcohol.

In fact, they were asked to go even farther than that. Let's read the passage:

"If some of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way, they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine, they must not drink other fermented drinks or fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins."

The message to these students wasn't about alcohol but about all of the lesser things that keep them from sold-out devotion to Christ. Since this was intense discipleship training, they were intensely challenged to look at their lives and take inventory.

The question was this, "What are the 'wine' areas in your life? What things do you dabble in that could take you down a slippery slope? Now back up a little bit. What are the 'grapes' in your life? In what ways do you go to the edge of certain things, thinking you're always in control?"

The students were deeply challenged to bring before God every lesser affection. They had a powerful time of ministry, prayer, and worship at the end of their first session. Jake was totally blown away by his encounter with God. Never before had he looked hard at the ways he has blended with the world and thought so little of it. That week changed his life.

First Samuel 15:22 provides an important and balanced perspective:

"Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to Him is much better than offering the fat of rams."

This is a very important verse in light of this topic.

If we just start giving up things and making little rules for ourselves - we will turn into legalistic pharisees who will then wonder why others aren't as holy as we are.

However, when we pursue a deep and thriving relationship with God, and when we stay in step with Him, He will speak to us. He will ask for things.

Obedience is better than sacrifice, and listening to Him is everything. When we walk with Him, there will be times when sacrifice is obedience. He won't demand it, but He'll ask for it. And if we offer it, we learn anew that anything we give up for Him is rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Him.

Hebrews 12:1 challenges us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...

Read these challenging and powerful words from 2 Corinthians 7:1...

With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let's make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let's make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God. More Passionate, More Responsible

Wow.

Read it again. And again. And again.

Maybe God isn't asking you for your grapes today, but maybe He's nudging you in that direction. And maybe you're wrapping your fingers around those grapes, just a little bit tighter. If that's the case, then pray, "Lord, I don't want to. Help me want to."

Take inventory before the living Lord and pray Psalm 139, "Search me O, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts; point out anything in me that offends You..."

We are on earth for a short time, and what we do here directly impacts this life and the life to come.

May we live as ones who are spoken for. May we be quick to listen and quick to obey. May we live in a manner worthy of our high calling!

Blessings to you this week!

I write a quartely Ezine. Check it out if you're interested: April Ezine

Peace, friends!

Raise Your Shield!

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.

If you take the time to post on my blog in April, you may win a $10.00 gift card to Caribou, Target, OR Dairy Queen! Your choice. So drop me a note and say hi!

Now on to my topic...

I was talking with one of my mentors this morning and she expressed something quite profound to me. She said, "Susie, I don't think we have any idea of our impact as ones who belong to God. Take the touch, for instance. Since my husband has become a Believer, our embrace has taken on a whole new meaning. When we wrap our arms around each other, just for the sake of a hug, there's more power in that embrace than I've ever known before."

I tried to imagine in the spiritual realm, what that means for us as Believers. Since it's true that God has assigned angels to our care, things change when we walk into a room. And to the extent that we walk in the knowledge of who we are, will there be an impact on the things we touch.

This morning during my prayer time, I considered the gift God gave us when fastened each of us with a shield.

Do you know how to use your shield?

The book of Ephesians tells us that our shield can extinguish ALL of the flaming arrows of the enemy.

Think about that.

What are some of the flaming arrows aimed at you?

Are you being attacked in your finances, your health, your relationships, or your perspective?

Remember, John 10:10 says, "The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy."

His aim is to take you out along with all of the promises budding around you.

But the rest of the verse is our promise, "But I come, that you might have life; life to the fullest (life abundantly).

Abundance means: teeming in plenty, rich, lavish, copious amounts, large, huge, overflowing, great, ample

Are you living a large life? How about an overflowing life? Do you consider yourself rich in every way? Because the Bible says that you are.

Most of us spend our time ducking and running from the arrows.

But the shield, when properly lifted and aimed, will extinguish ALL of the arrows aimed at us.

What is that shield? It's your shield of FAITH!

By FAITH you stand, you raise your shield and you say NO to the schemes and attacks of the enemy against you.

Psalm 91:4 says that His faithful promises are your armor and protection. You can stand against those fiery darts by believing in FAITH that His promises are true for you!

Your shield is your protection, but not just that. His shield is your victory.

Psalm 18:35 says, "You give me YOUR shield of victory. You stoop down to make me great."

When we stay in step with Him, He only leads us into battles we can win. He carries us in His arms, He raises His shield and we see - with our own eyes - the victory of God on our behalf.

We'll never see that victory though, if we cut and run. If we hide anywhere but in His shelter.

His shield is our protection and our victory.

Wait, there's more!

God's shield gives us access; helps us gain ground; makes a way for us when there seems to be no way.

Psalm 5:12 says, "For surely, O, Lord, You bless the righteous. You surround them with Your favor as with a shield.

I once heard a powerful message by Rex Somebody (Friends, if you know Rex's last name, please post it for me). Rex's message is by far, my son Luke's favorite sermon ever.

Rex's whole message revolved around the favor of the Lord. In a nutshell, he said that the favor of the Lord speaks of three things...

1.) God's indulgence

2.) God's endorsement

3.) Having the unfair advantage (because our lives are impacted by the favor of well, uh, God!)

Believers who don't believe God's promises are true for them, never think of raising their shield of faith or expect God to be big in their midst.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 77:14 and it says, "You are the God who performs miracles! You display Your power among the people."

What are you battling today?

Raise your shield and proclaim loud enough for the neighbors to hear, "My God is mighty to save and He will protect me! He will deliver me! And He will establish me!"

Have a blessed and wonderful week.

My April Ezine comes out next Tuesday.

Be sure to subscribe on my website if you haven't already.

Peace and victory to you all!

Wisdom...

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.

It's time to announce the winner for March's giveaway. And the winner is...Gina Wills! Congratulations! Gina, email me at: info@susielarson.com Send me your address and let me know which gift card you would like (Target or Caribou).

Since spring is upon us (well, only in theory for some of us), I want to add one more gift card to the mix.

If you take the time to post on my blog in April, you may win a $10.00 gift card to Caribou, Target, OR Dairy Queen! Your choice. So drop me a note and say hi!

Now on to my topic.

Every once in a while my husband and I like to put our sons on the spot.

Sometimes when we are all together sitting around the table we will throw a question out there and ask for a quick answer - just to test their instincts and see if they're becoming the critical thinkers we've tried to train them to be.

Here's an example:

"Okay, boys, give us your gut-instinct answer on this one. If you had to choose, what's more important? Loyalty or integrity?"

I love to watch them look out the window or up at the ceiling as they play through a few scenarios in their mind.

In no time at all, Luke spouted out the answer, "Integrity!"

"Why?" I asked.

He replied, "Because if you're loyal to someone blindly, you may end up abandoning integrity to stay by their side."

Bingo.

There are many noble virtues that we should embrace as a part of our walk of faith.

But if we embrace certain virtues at the expense of others, we may put ourselves at risk of wandering way off track. With the exception that is, of Love. Christ-like Love will always keep us on the Christ-like path.

For instance, I care deeply about social justice issues. I care what's going on in the world and as a Christian, I feel a personal responsibility to right some of the wrongs in our day.

But as a mother to two college kids, and as one who loves young people, I've met my share of young adults whose religion has become their stance on social justice issues. As if that's enough.

Jesus calls us to stand in the gap for the weak and the marginalized, but He also called us to die daily and grow abundantly in faith, humility, kindness and love. He exhorted us to keep His Word in us - to hold on to it- that we might easily discern departures from truth.

Especially in this day, when there are so many spin-offs of the faith, we must know the truth and walk in love.

I suppose that's why Psalm 26:3 is one of my favorite verses: For Your Love is ever before me, and I walk continually in Your Truth.

If my sons weren't challenged on a regular basis to think a little deeper, they might consider loyalty such a lost virtue, that it's one worth dying for.'

Well, in a sense, that's true. Loyalty is a lost virtue and our loyalty to Christ is worth dying for.

But if we transfer that loyalty to a person, as if to say, at all costs, I'll follow you and go with you, forever, wherever...then we've thrown out our need to be watchful and discerning in these turbulent times.

I've told my boys over and over again, "You know the promise of wisdom is one of the best kept secrets in the Bible. God promises to give an abundance of wisdom to those who ask for it. Wisdom is worth more than money, but imagine if you found someone who gave you money every time you asked for it. Wouldn't you ask, and keep on asking? Keep asking for wisdom, and you'll receive it more and more. Wisdom will protect you from being easily led astray."

Proverbs 4:6 says, "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her and she will watch over you.

Proverbs 24:14 says, "Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul, if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."

Ecclesiastes 7:19 says, "Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city."

I'm very concerned that we live in a day where "Group Think" reigns supreme. People are so spent, so busy, so over-committed, that they don't want to think. They just want to look up to someone they trust or feel good about, and follow them.

Oh, Lord, have mercy!

May we all be provoked to lay hold of the wisdom God has offered us!

May we be so savvy to the truths of God that we are not easily led astray!

And may the Power of the Risen Lord, compel us to live focused and purposeful lives.

In Jesus' Name, I pray.

Have a blessed week~