www.susielarson.com

Celebrate!

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 May, 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 recently returned from speaking at the first ever, "Beloved" conference hosted by South Union Christian Church in Indiana, and I'm telling you, we had a wonderful time!

The event hosts treated me with absolute love and care. In fact, they bathed the whole weekend in prayer and we enjoyed a powerful time in the Lord's presence.

My reason for sharing this with you is because they they did a skit that is still affecting me. And though this at first glance may appear to be a post directed at women, there's something here for men too.

Prior to one of the sessions, the lights went down, the spotlight went up, the music played, and one at a time, women marched down a model runway, each wearing different banners that represented where their value came from. One banner said, "Ambition", another, "Model", and another, "Educated" and so on and so forth. One at a time, the women strutted down the runway with an empty but prideful look in her eyes. During this portion of the skit, the large Power Point screen displayed one timeless quote after another; each depicting true beauty; inner beauty and value.

Off to the side, judges sat on tall chairs, whispering and jotting down their remarks on each woman.

Once the women had done their walk, they disappeared back stage. A minute later, they all re-appeared wearing jeans and a "Beloved" t-shirt. They lined up on the stage, all looking very much the same. The judges approached the first girl, crowned her and hugged her. She jumped up and down with excitement and headed down the runway, this time with great joy and humility and celebration. The music was fun and upbeat and everyone celebrated her.

Then the next girl was crowned and celebrated and did her walk/dance down the runway. Everybody cheered. Everybody celebrated.

Every girl in the cast was crowned, cheered for, and celebrated as if to say, "You win. And, You win. And You win. And so do you, you win!"

And so it goes with you.

For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song (Zephania 3:17).

Your Pilgrimage...

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 has visited and posted on my blog. Well it's time to announce the gift card winner for the month of April.

And the winner is...Kathy Schwanke! Kathy, contact me offline at info@susielarson.com and claim your gift card! Congratulations and thanks for being such a faithful visitor! Blessings to you!

If you take the time to post on my blog in May, 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...

As some of you may know, I've stepped into a new role as of late. While I'm used to being interviewed on the radio (and I really do love radio), working on the other side of the microphone is fairly new to me.

We as Minnesotans (and the surrounding areas) are blessed with fairly large and very popular Christian radio station. KTIS is continually rates in the top ten Christian stations in the country.

Recently I had the privilege of co-hosting with Kim Ketola (formerly Kim Jefferies) on her show, Along the Way with Kim Ketola. My first time co-hosting I got to interview my friend Sara Groves. Sara was incredible as always. Yesterday I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Calvin Miller. We had a great time together. If you want to hear that interview or listen to the whole show, follow this link (the interview took place during hour 2):
Along the Way - May 6th

So what does that have to do with our topic today?

The theme that ran through the whole two hours was this: Our Pilgrimage.

Kim Ketola just returned from France and described how, because of their desperate need, thousands and thousands of Catholics traveled long distances to touch the holy water. Calvin Miller described the mindset of the Celts and how they viewed their whole lives as a pilgrimage.

Though our hope is not in the water but in Christ alone, the challenge remains. What is the object of our earnest pursuit? In fact, are we earnestly pursuing anything?

To be earnest is to be:
Intense
Committed
Dedicated
Diligent
Wholehearted
Sincere
Urgent
Impassioned

The opposite of earnest is to be:
Frivolous
Apathetic
Halfhearted

Look again at this list. Do you see yourself among the earnest?

When you pause and take a look around, where do you see your greatest energies applied?

I chose the picture at the top of the page because I think it represents the life of the Believer. We are not a stagnant pond with no life flowing in or out. We are a bubbling, bursting, flowing stream. Isaiah 58:11 calls us a spring, whose waters never fail. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that He rewards those who earnestly seek after Him.

We are journeying toward our Promised Land and while we're at it, through our faith and earnest pursuit of God, we bring God's Kingdom to earth as we go.

Our call is this sacred pilgrimage. Our temptation is to forget our call.

"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 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.

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.

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?

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.

Maturity...

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?

Your Turn...

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 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.

Though I'm an early riser, I wake up extra early on Wednesday mornings because I'm scheduled to stand on the wall and prayer watch on behalf of my church family.

I sat in my usual oversized chair surrounded by my devotional books and Bible, and I wrapped my hands around my warm cup of java.

It was pitch black outside. I couldn't see past the window.

I couldn't help but ponder the days preceding Christ's death. Talk about a dark night of the soul.

And yet, in His knowing and understanding of what was ahead of Him, He kept moving forward. Each day, He taught, He loved, and He lived.

He pointed His followers to life and to the provision and promises of God. He modeled love. He stayed focused.

Furthermore, when He defeated death on the Cross, the Bible says that He made a public spectacle of the powers that opposed us and stood against us.

Colossians 2:13-15 says,

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Though I could have spent the whole morning meditating on what Christ did for us when He made a public spectacle of the powers that stood against us, my thoughts quickly turned from what He did for us, to what we do for Him.

Love Him More...

Hello, Everyone!
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 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.

If you've heard me speak before, you've no doubt heard me drill home the message of God's boundless love. It's not that we loved God, but that He loved us (1 John 4:10), and it's not about how high we can jump, but that He stooped down to make us great (Psalm 18:35).

The Church is full of striving, jumping, straining people. We're exhausted from trying to earn enough God points to be good enough, or just so we won't seem so bad.

Though this is not new news, it's certainly great news...God loves us.

He sent His Son to pay our debt that we might be free, forgiven, and linked in fellowship with Him.

Love, love, beautiful love, that's what we have access to every single day.

His mercies await us with each new morning and His faithfulness is there during those dark nights of the soul.

The more we let His love pour in to every pore of our being, the more we will be healed, restored, and assured that He's enough for us.

Yes, His love is the best news of all.

His love is the foundation of the free and true life of every Believer.

But where do we go from there?

Staying True...

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.

A special thank you to Jo Franz for guest blogging for me last week.

Today I announce the winner of February's gift card giveaway. And the winner is...Carrie Kuiken! What a faithful blogger you are! It's always a pleasure to read your posts. Congratulations, Carrie.

I'll be doing another giveaway in March.

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.

This morning I read the fascinating story of Catherine Booth, who with her husband, co founded the Salvation Army.

I was incredibly inspired by her grit and perseverance.

In the face of incredible persecution, this once painfully shy woman of God, rose up to be a mighty warrior for Christ and a mighty advocate for the poor and the needy.

Catherine and her husband William were vehemently opposed by the British government because it was believed the Booth's had a political agenda, when in fact, they were simply living out the Gospel.

The name, "Salvation Army" was intended to ridicule the Booths and their work, but they liked the name. In the face of incredible odds and persecution, this once shy and fearful Christ follower proclaimed, "Members of the Salvation Army will fight on, waging war on poverty and injustice wherever we find it."

What's amazing is that the work of Salvation Army, along with Catherine's fiery speeches, led women to give money to the same organizations their husbands were trying to outlaw. (From Stories Behind Women of Extraordinary Faith by Ace Collins; p. 29).

In due time though, the government that scorned them finally embraced them and recognized the impact of their ministry.

Because Catherine stayed true to the Word of God and the call on her life (even while her husband was imprisoned for his faith), she became a history maker and a hero in her time.

Let's read what the Word of God says...