Update

Wow, its been a long time since I have written on this and thought I would update. The two weeks leading up to Christmas were rough for me emotionally. Songs, memories, pictures, etc. would make me cry, but I only did my grieving in private. I held myself together in public. I was not looking forward to Christmas. I was actually not looking forward to going to stay with dad. We traveled down after work last Tuesday night. We got there late and stayed until Saturday. Once we got there, it finally felt right and Christmas Eve was a blast at the farm with the cousins. Christmas Day at Uncle Mike's turned out really relaxing and was good. So, overall, it was a very good Christmas and I am very thankful. God is so good to us and to me, I can barely stand it sometimes.

I hated leaving Bowling Green and my dad. Being at dad's is very comforting for me. Mom's stuff is there and there are cool pics of her around and its just where she used to be. But, I also know we are called by God to Louisville to work with youth and therefore moving to B.G. is NOT an option. We love our kids too much to leave them. God has made them as if they were our own and leaving them would be a huge disservice to them. We love them and they love us. Praise God.

Our youth ministry is going to take a huge turn this year and I will report more on that later. It is going to be soooooooo exciting. In the meantime be praying for us as we seek God for vision, ideas, and executing His will this year. We are so excited!

We are all doing well. Dad is so awesome. He hurts, as we all do. He seeks God daily and we seek support from one another and its a beautiful thing.

God is very present in our lives, despite the hurt and the grief. He is FAITHFUL.

This year I am focusing on the Gospels to learn more about my Savior. I want to emulate Him to the world and therefore, He led me to the best books ever, the books about His life on earth! I have already learned a lot!

His heart is about the Lost and therefore my heart needs to be about the same thing.

How is everyone?
How is your walk with God?
What things is God doing in your life?

I love you all and have a great week!

NChrist,
Susan

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving turned out Great! The week and a half leading up to Thanksgiving was very hard for me. Grief hit me hard and I pretty much cried every night before going to bed. I just kept seeing my mom's face and her words to me the Saturday night before she died. It just made me so sad and I was just wanting to hold onto her so much, I did not want to let go.

When we got to dad's the day before Thanksgiving, I was still in grief mode. He could tell. On Thanksgiving Day we were about to head to the farm and dad asked, 'Are you alright?' and I just melted in his arms and started crying. We had our moment and then we all just took a deep breath and headed for the farm. We had a great meal and wonderful fellowship there. It took the edge off my grief to be around family. After the farm, we headed to Lee and Jeans mansion(as Keegan calls it). We had good fellowship there too. I was exhausted by the end of the night. Needless to say, exhaustion and yummy food in my belly led to a Great nights sleep:)

The rest of our time with dad and family was wonderful. We needed to be there. Grief has started to move on out and peace and hope have returned and it makes me feel at rest. I know that grief will come and go these next few months, but I pray it won't be as bad as it has been the last couple of weeks. The Lord was my Shepherd, thankfully, and therefore I walked that shadow of the valley of death hand in hand with Him and that is why I believe I am coming out of it, because its the power of God.

I am so thankful for my family who has been tremendously supportive. I am thankful to finally feel apart of family in a way I have never felt before, I finally feel secure in this family thing. I am thankful to have two great jobs. I am thankful to have a roof over my head, clean water, food on my table, warmth, shoes, clothes. I am so thankful that no matter what the future holds, my God is unchanging and so is my Hope in Him. I am thankful for my mom who instilled in me many things, especially a love for God's Word. I miss her greatly, but am thankful she is with Jesus and all the heavenly host! What glorious peace that is.

I hope all of your Thanksgiving's were blessed. I would love to hear about them and to hear how God blessed you this season. I love you all a lot!

NChrist,
Susan

Living without Mom

Tommorow, it will have been two weeks since mom died. I can't believe it will have been two weeks. How does time fly so fast? It seems so surreal. Thankfully, my faith is not wavering, nor my joy and hope. However, grief is here now in my heart. This is an emotion I have felt rarely while my mom was still on this earth. The Lord gave me a supernatural ability to be strong and full of joy. And those things are still strong, but there is loss now and with it comes grief and mourning and my plan is to let it stay a while and do the work on me that must be done for me to get through this valley. I believe there is a purpose for grief to have its way with me now. I see now that too many people let grief get the best of them and there I moments where I can see how grief could take over if I let it. But, that is unhealthy. God wants me to learn what grief has have for me and to let God heal my hurts and my pain at the loss of my mom. He wants me to experience His healing balm and it will be a precious time between me and Him. I am assured of that.

Mom's visitation and funeral were beautiful. I was afraid the visitation would be a total bummer, but instead it was a day full of celebrating my mom's life and it was sooooo uplifting. The morning of her visitation, we were framing pictures of mom because she wished to have a closed casket. We needed 2 more frames, so Michael and I headed to Sam's. Michael called me over to a certain aisle because he had found something cool. And there in front of me, sat 4 digital frames. I had seen these around, but at that moment it just hit me how cool it would be to have one of these at Visitation. We took it home and for the next two hours the three of us had a project. Get pictures and music on this thing. It ended up being beautiful. We had about 20 pictures and classical music playing with it. There were times at the Funeral Home that we had a three rows filled with people just watching this thing and it made my heart so full! I was really glad mom wanted a closed casket, because even though they did a great job at making mom look gorgeous; something about her did not look like her. Many unexpected people showed up and it warmed our hearts to see these people.

The funeral was exactly what mom wanted. She had written out what she wanted. She wanted people to share stories if they like, she did not want a sermon, instead she wrote out Theological points she wanted communicated about God, a verse to communicate that and a song to end each point with. It was done beatifully by our friend Sid. I had asked mom if she wanted a preacher to preach and she said, 'No, I believe Scripture speaks louder than man.' I was wowed by that! The burial was awesome. The church that she is buried at is on the property of our families farm in Glasgow. So, Sid read the 23 Psalm and as he read 'let me lie down in green pastures and lead my beside still waters' we were looking at the pasture land and the pond below. How perfect can that get:) Lastly, our 11 year old friend played Amazing Grace on her violin(she is brillant on it by the way) and it was so amazing, no words can describe. It was a perfect ending.

We went to the farm afterwards for food and then onto dad's cousins house that evening for dinner. All the get togethering was so needed. But when we got home to my parents house, everything hit me. I will not see her again, until heaven. She is really gone and I just cried my heart out. We just hugged each other and cried.

This last week has been hard, having to get back into the swings of life with work and ministry and stuff. The quiet moments I get hit by waves of grief. And I thankfully, find peace and rest in God. What would I do without Him. He is my refuge and I praise Him.

I can't wait to get to Bowling Green this week for Thanksgiving and spend time with family, I greatly miss them.

Keep praying for us as we go through our grief. The Lord will be our Shepherd and I am thankful.

I love you all lots and I thank you for all your support, you are too wonderful to me!

NChrist,
Susan

It is Finished

Mom passed away last night at 10:14PM. All day her breathing had been rough, but around 10:00 it became evident she was not going to be here much longer and 14 minutes later she passed from this earth to the arms of Jesus. It all happened so fast and was very surreal. I felt myself leave my body for a minuted and just hover over us, thinking 'Whoa, what just happened. Did that just happen?' Then reality set in. Hospice came and declared her dead and then the funeral came and picked up her body. I hated it when her body left this house. You could feel something just missing. 

I fully know she is in a better place, but selfishly I want her back, but not as she was; just as my mom.

My mom showed grace through her whole fight. She told us in the beginning that God wanted to use this to show others His Glory and I truly believe that is what has been accomplished. Our family has united in a way I have never experienced before. Our strength has been a gift of God and His grace and mercy have been ever sweet upon our lives. In our grief we know she is in the arms of Jesus and can't wait for that family reunion one day.

How you can be praying for us:

1. I covet your prayers for my dad, as faces life now without my mom. Pray that our family will surround him, that their church would minister to him, that he would find community and that God's peace would cover him.

2. Pray for our family as we go through this, that we will be merciful, gracious and loving to one another. That in our grief, Satan would not gain any foothold of any kind. How I covet your prayers for that especially.

I love you all and thank all of you who have read with me, cried with me, encouraged me. Please, don't let that stop. Keep encouraging us, I pray.

Love to you all,

Susan

The time draws near...

I arrived in Bowling Green on Friday afternoon. I walked in and went to my mom's room where her medical bed is now positioned. I was sweetly surprised to see a stuffed Tigger on her bed and a gorgeous little keepsake mailbox, with an engraved piece of mail inside that said, 'choose to be a tigger.' It is a thing between my mom and our cousin Jennifer. It is really precious. It meant a lot to me to see that, because my prayer all week had been, 'Lord, remind my mom to have a Tigger attitude. Please, just give her joy.' So, the Lord answered and it was really sweet.

We hung out yesterday at the house. Then my aunt; and my uncle's family came in to spend some time with us. We brought the beach to the house since we had to cancel the trip to the beach. Uncle Mike bought Pineapples and we cut them in half and made pineapple cups and filled them with punch, a little umbrella and a straw. We had lei's and tigger got one too:) Mom really liked the punch, when halfway through with her drink she softly said, 'Holy Cow!!' It was really cute.

After that fun, we just sat around watching Football and fellowshipping. Michael, Matt and I were in mom's room having a good time talking and then mom told us she wanted Jen and Mike and Dad in the room. Once in, mom sat up with the help of Jen and dad at either side of her. She kept looking down, and then when she wanted to say something she would look up. But, words never came. I could tell that whatever she was going to say was going to be tough for her and would make us cry. She finally got some words out. To Mike she said, 'I am so glad you got to come today.' After a few minutes, she was ready to lay down. She took some nauseau medicine that should have put her to sleep. And I got worried that whatever it was that she wanted to say would not be said, because she might fall asleep now with that medicine in her body. But, the Lord was ever gracious and she was fully aware and she began to speak and it was beautiful. She proceeded to tell us how much she loved us. Her words to my husband Michael were amazing. She told him that she loved him first because I loved him. But, it didn't take much time to love him because of the man he is. A man full of passion and love. She told me I waited for the right man. After some words she wanted each of us to sit by her for precious moments of our own with her. She told me how much she loved me and that she wanted to say so much more, but that what had been said was enough. I told her what she said was perfect and was an answer to prayer for me. I really needed to just here her voice. I was ready to get up, but she was not ready. She just wanted to look at me. Gosh, it just makes me cry thinking about it. She had special things to say to all of us. It was a very providential moment, that I pray I never will forget. I want it to be always fresh in my mind.

So, I felt that was her farewell speech, so I believe the time is not much longer. She is not eating  or drinking much. Hospice has said she has days POSSIBLY  two weeks. 

Here are some prayer requests:

*My library job, that I will be discerning about when to work and when Not work the next few days.

*Pray for peace and strength as mom passes from this world and into the arms of Jesus.

Love to you all,

Susan

He will wipe away the tears

Hey Everybody,

The title of my new blog comes from the chorus on Jeremy Camp's new song 'There will be a day'. There is a part in it when he just repeats that phrase and I just lose it because I long for that day when I will look Jesus face to face, tears running down because of all the heartache of this world and with one swipe of that hand of His, He will remove every tear....FOREVER. How I long for that day.

This weekend at my parents was very bittersweet. Mom looked a lot different from just a week ago. She was really tired, her skin was more yellow, she was more out of breath, etc. The moments I had with her were very short, since she slept a lot or was focused on breathing rather than talking. Seeing her smile, though, brightens my time with her.

Time this weekend was definitely heightened due to visits from Aunt Jennifer, Saturday afternoon and visits from Aunt Juanita and Cousin Audra Saturday and Sunday. Mom had a really good time with everybody there, plus the puppies:)

We went to church together, except for mom. It was michael and I, my dad, Aunt Juanita, Cousin Audra, Cousin Lee and Jean. We walked into the service and Lee had a place for us, which was so comforting. Our family took up the whole row and that was so precious to me. I sat next to Juanita and 'Blessed be the Name' was playing. You know y'all the song with the lines in it that read 'You give and take away, you give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name'. I was singing it and all and just praising God and then Juanita just held me close to her. I was a little overcome at first with it, but then it just felt natural. Then that 'you give and take away' part came and I just lost it. She just held me close. Those words are so bittersweet for me. I know them and believe them as Truth, but they are hard concepts to conceive. But, nevertheless, I trust my God in whatever He chooses to give and take away. The sermon was amazing as usual and they ended the service with 'Cardboard Testimonies'. This left everyone in the sanctuary with wet faces. One side of the cardboard would read something like 'CANCER' and then the person would turn it over and it would say something like 'Found strength in God'. It was beautiful!

Then there was communion and that is always a precious moment! We sat down and Aunt Juanita sat next to my dad and just held him, much like she had held me earlier. It was so precious to me to see that. My dad just had his eyes closed, I am sure in prayer and thankfulness for our family. This weekend, those two acts from my Aunt Juanita showed me the need for 'touch'. I am not that kind of person, and yet, those touches did something to my heart that I needed. Thanks Juanita. Second, I recognized I am a part of a great family. I have often struggled with how I fit in on both sides of my family. I did not grow up with them. I came out of nowhere into relationships that were already established. And that has always felt awkward for me, even when I can tell they are trying to reach out to me. I have often pulled away, and for reasons that are beyond me. But, this weekend, that all faded away. Audra, thank you for your words to me Saturday night, they meant the world to me. Jean, your wisdom on Saturday evening as we talked, were life to me. Lee, just your silent concern for us, warms my heart more than you'll know. Aunt Jennifer, your cookin and your extravagant love my mom(your sister) inspires me. I am greatly loved and I felt that this weekend, when at times I felt all love was draining out of me.

Lately, people have asked me what I need and I have not honestly known. I have been in fight mode and mommy mode for a while and my thinking has been ' I am strong, I don't need anything...except God of course' But, I need community, family and lots of hugs. Hugs are therapy for me. I am not going to want to talk all the time about this, there are just going to be times when I am just going to want to cry and cry my heart out onto my sleeve. All I ask is that your shoulder be ready. You don't have to say anything back, just let me have your shoulder and know that your heart breaks just as greatly over all of this. That is my need. I like encouragement too in cards and notes too.

I love you all and I will keep you all updated on everything.

How can I be praying for you all in the meantime?

I will not be moved, Part 2

Hey, hey everybody. First, thank you to everybody who left comments on my last blog, it really brought me a lot of joy! Second, thank you for your prayers, it means more us than you will ever know.

Wow, the weather has been FANTASTIC lately! I wish it could be FALL year round! I just look around and see God's beauty, the way He intended His creation to be from the very beginning. God is truly Glorious! The heavens tell of His Glory!

I am looking semi-forward to a weekend at home this week. We will not be traveling to my parents house this weekend. However, we plan to meet up in E-town Sunday evening for dinner. I just don't like going a whole week and weekend without seeing them. I look forward to sleeping in my own bed, having the dogs here where we can leave them outside and not have to worry about them crossing the boundary line, like they try to do at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Mom looked good this last weekend, except for Sunday. When I arrived Saturday afternoon, she wanted to go shopping and we were off. I was so excited about this. We had a good time and found some cute clothes especially some cute underwear! I was totally jealous of the underwear. We had a good dinner as a family and the evening was good. The next morning we were going to attend my Aunt's church. I needed to take a shower, so dad relieved me from watching the dogs outside. I went into my parents bathroom to get a maxi-pad and mom was hunched over the toilet. She was throwing up. Mind you, the chemo is out of her system now. I just rubbed her back for a minute or so and then I got dad. We don't know what caused her to throw up, but it rueined the rest of the day for her. Dad and I attended Jen's church and then we went home. Mom was very tired and nauseated. Most of the day she spent sleeping. That evening I had a really good talk with her, one I needed to have for a while and it went splendiforous. Out of it, we decided to have 'Porch Time' every weekend. This consits of sometime during the weekend, her and I go to the porch and just talk, be silent, cry, enjoy nature, etc. She was very honest though, she made sure to assure me that there will come times when 'Porch Time' might not happen due to the cancer. Surprisingly, I was okay with that, becuase I know there will come a day when the cancer will do things to her that I can't even fathom.

Dad and I had a good time too. I notice that we are talking more, just about stuff. And I am really enjoying that! Dad is loving on the dogs and that just warms my heart. I think he's getting a little soft spot for them in his heart, even for Crazy Maya!

I was very encouraged to see that it seemed her retaining of water had gone down a lot! I figured when I got there on Saturday, she would need to be drained again. But, she said she was doing okay with that. And it was not until I left on Monday that she felt she was starting to feel a little pressure again. Wow, that was a whole week without being drained! I think the chemo in her body had revved up that process for some reason and now that the chemo was out of her system, it was not retaining as fast! I also, believe a lot of prayers have granted this great miracled also! Keep up the prayers!

Michael and I doing well. He did not get to go with me this last weekend and we greatly missed each other.

Life is keeping us busy and I am really looking forward to our vacation in November to St. George Island!

Here are some of our prayers requests:
1. Our vacation begins Nov. 8th, please pray mightily that mom will be well enough to go. That is why we are taking this trip, is to spend a meaningful time with family. Pray especially, that she will not retain water quickly, that all forms of throwing up would diminish and that no disease against her would prosper during that time.

2. Pray for my mind, that I would let it and my heart be protected by the armor of Almighty God.

How can we be praying for you, list your requests with your comments.

Love to you all, and thank you so much for being such faithful readers!

NChrist,
Susan

I will not be moved

I am loving Natalie Grant's new CD 'Relentless'. It is letting me praise Jesus in the midst of my storm. I will stumble and face hearthache, but I choose not to be moved from the loving arms of Jesus. I choose not to be swayed from His promises. I choose not to be moved in my devotion and love of Jesus Christ even though circumstances like this often pull people away from God. He is too faithful to think of deserting!

Mom is not doing well. Her appt. last week showed that her liver has doubled in size and that its starting to lose function because she is retaining water. Last week they drained 5.5 liters off her body and today when I was with her, they drained 2.5 liters. Wow, I wish my weight loss could be that simple! The Dr. last week let us know it could be 6 weeks to a few month before its her time to go home to heaven. That is a big window and who knows when the Lord's timing is? So, in the meantime, we just cherish every moment we've got. 

So be in prayer for us all.

I am doing well, surprisingly. The Lord is my strength and He is ever faithful to me.

Will keep you updated.

NChrist, 

Susan

Lots of News

Goodness what month!
Mom finished the first round of chemo about 3-4 weeks ago. She was a fighter and that was awesome! Tommorow starts round 2 of chemo. Keep my mom and dad in your prayers. Oct. 16th is her next scan to see whether the chemo reduced the tumors or not. Be very prayerful about this, please.

I went to a great and glorious OB-GYN last Thursday who is helping us find out some answers to some problems we are having and have had for many years. I won't get into in this post. She is a Christian woman, who is determined to help us and voiced that to us. You all have no idea what a blessing this is to me and she listened and did only what I wanted done. 'Lord, I praise you for this woman.' If any of you need a good gynecologist, The Hubbard Clinic is the place to be in Louisville, Ky.!

I started attending a Precept Bible Study, which I am really liking even though it is very time consuming. I don't get how our teacher has time to lead two precept studies and attend one on Isaiah, wow, she is my hero! I really want to learn what Paul talks about having a sincere faith and living with a clear conscience. That 'clear conscience' thing is really important to me. Because my mind is my battle ground and I want to serve God in purity and holiness, knowing that I can't be perfect myself, but that through Him I have the power of the Holy Spirit that can control me! And that's exciting when I think about it!

Hurricane Ike struck last week and it really shut down Louisville. Literally. Michael and I did not get power until Yesterday, Sunday. It was so weird...our power came on just about the same time our power had gone away the week before. It was pretty cool! Thankfully a friend had a generator and let us borrow it all week, so we were able to keep our fridge on! I really enjoyed not having power EXCEPT for no dishwasher, or hot water for showers. Those two things I did not enjoy. But, having no T.V. no internet, etc. I found it spectacularly nice! And the sky at night, Wow, it was gorgeous!

Last night Michael and I, and my parents attended Chick-Fil-A's 1st Annual Desert Cruise and it was the bomb-diggity! We had deserts from teh Homemade Pie and Ice Cream kitchen, Gordon Food Services and GODIVA chocolate(woo-wee, that one made me especially happy!). We ate great food, danced the night away and it was a blast. At one moment, us four were out on the deck and the DJ played the song 'unforgettable' and michael and I danced and dad just held mom as we overlookd downtown L-ville. It was a precious moment for us and a very precious evening! My mom had no idea I liked to dance so much and it was cute to watch her laugh at me as strutted my stuff on the dance floor. I just adore all of them!

Michael and I are really excited about youth ministry. The NOOMA videos have really sparked something in our youth group and last months study on doing a quiet time/getting rid of the noise in life to hear the voice of God... really worked well with our students! We are excited about what God is doing in us and in our students! I feel a revelution stirring!

How is everybody?
How can I be praying for you all?

Love you all lots!

NChrist,
Susan

Ups and Downs

Man, life is crazy. If I had kids right now, I would definitely be in a straight jacket headed towards the looney bin. Yet, I really want to start trying for kids, but it probably is not the right time. I want to start, but if my mom dies in the next year I am afraid of two things: 1. she dies while I am giving birth. 2.the emotions of this next year could stress me out a lot and cause me to miscarry. Sorry, if you are new to this blog, my mom has cancer and has been given 9 months to live.

Mom just finished her first round of chemo pills. She did great! Her next round will be in 3 weeks or so. We go down every other week and visit and that has been cool. We bring the grand-doggies and they liven up the trip.

Work is going well for the both of us, but life is just really busy. I get really excited when I have a moment in the day to spend just chillin. I have made it a priority every morning to do my devotions and I praise God for that! He has really helped me keep that one in check. I can't get through this life without Him. I can't get through the stinken day without Him. I am desperate for Him.

Plus, I have loved moments in my car, when some good Christian music is playing and I am just worshipping God in my car, man that is good stuff! I love Bebo Norman, Addison Road, Hawk Nelson, Mercy Me, Brandon Heath, Superchick, Francesca Bertacelli(I think that is how you spell it????). It's great!

Youth Group is going well. We just love our teens! I wish we had our own room or area in the church instead of the downstairs. Why can't we have the sanctuary?? Aargh, that really gets on my nerves, but don't worry, I just ultimately want youth there on Wednesday nights. That is what is most important.

I have good days and awkward days. All my days are good, I just have moments where life comes crashing in on me. The thought that my mom might not be around in a few months just punches me in the stomach sometimes. I will see grandma's with their grandchildren at the mall or just about and it just takes my breath away, because I think, 'I won't get to see my mom hold her grandchildren and that just gets me all choked up'. As dad would say, this 'double sucks'. Then I have days where I just remember that even if it's God's time to take her home, then it is temporary, I will see her again. But, it just really is so weird. Sometimes I think I am dreaming. It is all soooooooo weird, yet God is with me and I am thankful. I am especially thankful that I can be totally honest with Him about everything and He is there for me and listens, even in the really hard times. I am also in 'fight' mode with my mom's cancer. We have entered chemo mode and I have hit that 'fight/hope' mode that we can win this. Yet, I am finding myself having to find balance, because I have to be prepared for the fact that we might not win this battle and she could still die. That is really tough too. Yet again, the Lord is ever with me, reminding me that I will be okay, they will be okay, etc. He will get us through, no matter how much the tempest rages around us. He will be our Peace.

How is everybody??? How can I be praying for everybody??

Love you all lots,
Susan

Crazy Times but Comforted by Christ

Sorry everybody, it has been a while. But, there have been many things happening and I have been just trying to take in life lately. I have been making my devo time in the morning consistent, because I sure need it these days and Christ needs to be first. He has been mine and Michaels true source of comfort, peace and joy.

Well, here is the new update: Mom was diagnosed with Melanoma Cancer(yes, usually skin cancer), but it is inside her liver, lung and breast. The tumor in her liver and her lung are both an inch in diameter. Once someone has melanoma inside their body it is an automatic Stage 4 diagnosis. For those of you wondering, there are only 4 stages. So, they have given her 9 months to live. Surgery is not an option because opening up those areas where the cancer is will only make it spread further. Chemo therapy does not work all that well. There is a chemo pill that has been proven to reduce the size of the tumor and she will start that in two weeks. It will not remove the tumor but could lengthen life expectancy and will definitely relieve pain. So, that is where we are now.

Michael and I will be in Bowling Green, Ky. every other weekend and we will be taking a family vacation after her second round of chemo pills, which will be in two months.

My mom and dad are doing well. We had a praise report the other day. The cancer is NOT in her brain or in her bones and that is a huge praise. We prayed a lot about this and God was mercifully gracious to us in allowing this disease not to be in those two areas. We are so thankful to God for that great answer to prayer! My dad is sweet, his new mantra is, "This double sucks." My dad is still enamored by his wife and loves her dearly. Their love for each other is very evident and it breaks my heart that my dad has to go through this. We love my parents a lot and are so thankful for them and their dedication to Christ during this very difficult time. My mom believes that God wants to use this time for us to show others how to be strong and joyful during hard times. She is usually the prophet of the family and I really believe that is what God wants us to do, even though at moments its really difficult. Especially, in my jobs where it's best to have a smile on my face most of the time. My Chick-Fil-A family has been superb. The owner prayed over me and one of my co-workers prayed for me. I am so honored to work at that great company! God is Good. Michael and I are just seeking God and being there for one another.

No news on Michael's mom.

How is everyone else? How is God working in your life? Share your stories of times when God strengthened you in a really tough time. I would love to hear your stories.

How can I be praying for you all.

Love to you all,
Susan

Lots of Updates

Hey Everybody!
I hope everyone is doing well.

Here are some updates from the Luka family:

New Orleans Mission Trip with the Youth
Our annual youth mission trip to NOLA was again a success! We spent time mowing lawns, weedeating, beautifying yards, etc. Then we ended up at Ms. Shirleys house where we spend 4 out of the 5 days. This house was one block away from where we worked last year and those who went last year got to see the progress of what their hands accomplished last year. The two houses we worked on last year were done and two families lived in them! The swamp we cleared out last year(really messy job!) had a house being built on it! And the other yard we cleared had a house on it too! So, the kids were really proud of what they had done and so was I! At Ms. Shirleys house the kids learned under the direction of Michael, Nathan and Billy how to hang drywall. I taught a crew how to hang insulation. All of our crews were hard working! Ms. Shirley fed us on Friday. She was a joy to be around, everyone loved on her! Thank you for your prayers, they were answered! The kids were so excited about trades they had learned that we are going to start a street cleaning and construction crew in our youth group. I think once a month on a Saturday while it is warm, those who want to participate will go with us and our trailer filled with mowers and weedeaters and go arond L-ville taking care of peoples yards for the price of a prayer with them. And we are going to work on construction endeavors with CrossRoads here or look for them ourselves. Anywho, we are bringing that home with us so we can impact our community and if we go next year to New Orleans we will have some Pro's with us!

MICHAEL'S MOM:

A month and two days ago, Michael and his brother got his mom out of the house she was living in with her husband. She has severe MS. She was sleeping on a bed with no sheets, she was laying in a urinated bed with urine all over her, she was malnourished, weak, etc. Her husband is an emotional abuser. We had her in a hospital for a week and then moved her 3 weeks ago to a rehab facility. Things were looking good for her. While we were gone, Michael's brother took her to doctors appointment. Henry, showed up out of nowhere. The doctors office, unbeknownst to them, had called her house reminding them of the appt. and Henry heard it and made sure he showed up. He proceeded to talk to her. We had been told by her Adult Protective Services agent, numerous counselors and pastors that if something like that occured she would digress and desire to talk to him more and possibly go back. Greg did a great job of keeping things under control. But, two nights later she called Henry and told him her room number and said things she should not have. Michael and I got home Saturday night at 9PM and Sunday we visited her after church. We were very firm with her and thankfully a woman at our church from a similar situation came and talked to Susan. After that talk we decided we needed to put an EPO out on Henry. But, then we decided not too, because we thought it might trigger and unknown response in Henry and we feared for our safety. So, we decided to have Susan call Henry to let him know she would not be going to marital counseling the next day, instead they would work on individual counseling first and in 2 months would re-evaluate for marital therapy. From the moment go in that conversation he yelled at her. But, this had to be her decision. She was becoming co-depedndent on us and she had to finally make the decision. She ended up choosing the man yelling at her on the phone. After that conversation, we firmly told her we were out. From now on, Henry and her would have to work on getting disability, getting her care, etc. We were out and we were finished. The next day the rehab place discharged her and Henry now has her at home. All this breaks our hearts, but that is her decision. Please be in prayer for Susan and Henry. Please pray for her safety and his transformation of heart. thanks.

MY MOM

My mom went in for a biopsy Monday on her breasy, liver and lung. Last night we all found out that the growths in her liver and lung are cancer. Thursday she goes in to find out what needs to be done, what can be done, etc. I have lots of thoughts running through my mind; how I pray that she will be a survivor of this because I want her around for grandchildren, just to visit when I need her, to talk with her on the phone, etc. I am scared, but we are all finding strength in the Lord and He is proving faithful. Please keep my parents in your prayers, they are wonderful people and I know dad is scared. We will keep you updated as we get news.

We love you all lots!
Read my new life verse and may you apply it too to your lives in this season of trials.

NChrist,
Susan

NOLA BOUND!!

Hey y'all!
Tommorow we leave with our youth group for our mission trip to New Orleans! It is our favorite event of the year! My heart is continually in NOLA. I miss it 11 monts out of the year. But, our heart is for our youth and it is them that keep us in Louisville doing ministry with them. Please pray for our trip there and back and that God would keep us safe as we work and play.

I will be only writing on here once a week from now on. I was getting really frazzled by writing on here and trying to do my devo's in the morning and I need to really spend time with God thoroughly in the mornings. Life is really busy right now, working two jobs that I thankfully love and praise God for. Second, with Michael's mom situation we are daily visiting her and trying to get things in order for her and her disease with MS. God has been totally faithful in all of this. Even in times of humongous waves of overwhelming issues, He has carried us. There have been days when I have just begged Him to return because it seems the burden and load on us is heavy. But, he takes that burden and reminds us of His presence and His power to carry the load for us!

Plus, I have been doing the Frazzled Female Bible Study on my own, since I work until 9PM on the nights that group meets. And that Bible Study has been so providential, I encourage everyone to try it out! It's quick and to the point. It takes me about 20 minutes a day to do it and then I spend time just praying and sitting at God's feet. It's pretty radical!

How is everybody? I miss you all.

Michelle, you diva, you. You are looking fantabulous! I miss you lots! How is running doing? Ashleigh how is life?? Denise, have fun on vacation!

Love to you all. And I will get back on here when I get from NOLA.

NChrist,
Susan Luka

The Word of God tells us what to do

I just love the Word of God especially when it tells us something to do. For instance, I love that the Bible tells us how we are to confront our brother for forgiveness, to talk it out, to resolve the problem. I love it when two people are ready for that and can forgive! I love it when people are humble enough to apologize for things they may not have even meant to hurt the other person with. Because I believe when we are able to humble ourselves and apologize for something we know was not meant to hurt the other person, then it is a humble way of telling the person, 'I see what my action did to YOU, and even though I did not mean it that way, I am sorry for it hurting you. Can you forgive me?' I know how I feel when someone is willing to see things from my point of view and I am thankful to God when He gives me what I need to be willing to humble myself in order to see where the other person is coming from. I praise God when the body of Christ can come together and forgive, it's a beautiful thing. I used to be really scared of having to go to my brother to confront or to ask forgiveness, but now that I see the beauty of it, I am not fearful anymore. I just want the relationship back and the body of Christ to be mended that I am willing to humble myself, willing to listen to the other person, willing to forgive so that Christ is ultimately Glorified. That is what all this about, God's Glory!

Have a great day everybody and learn to confront and forgive with no fear, keeping the goal of God's glory in your mind,

Love,
Susan

Updates

Cow Appreciation Day was a huge success at both of our stores!
The Westport Rd. store had about 290 Cows show up or people with the cow headbands.
The Mall had 192 of the same!
My goal for the mall was 100 and I exceeded that! Glory to God!
All that hard work paid off and I just praise God!


Michael's mom: She starts re-hab this week. She has been very complainy. See, she has bought into that whole 'name it, claim it' theology. And she just does not understand why God has not healed her and she feels like life cannot begin until she can walk again. We have been talking to her about this to show her what Scripture says and to show her that God uses the shameful things of the world to shame the wise, the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God can and has a purpose for her, wheelchair or not. There is much to do and many decisions to be made, but the Lord is being incredibly faithful. His hand is on all of this and it feels great being a family.

Please be praying for all of these things, how can I be praying for you all?

Psalm 119:45 'And I will walk in Liberty, for I seek your precepts.'

Have a great day and walk in Liberty!

Susan

COW APPRECIATION DAY

Well, tommorow is the big day for Chick-Fil-A! Cow Appreciation Day happens tommorow and I am super excited. If you dress like a cow you get free chicken! If you wear one piece of attire that is cow-ish you get a free entree(sandwich or nuggets). If you dress fully like a cow you get a free meal(combo stuff). I have been marketing this for three weeks and am expecting to give out 250 free sandwiches or combos. I have worked hard and this week I will be getting about 25 hours there this week. And tommorow will be the bulk of those hours. But, I get to work with Michael and I am super excited about this! Tell your friends and family and head out to a chick-fil-a tommorow and be creative and have fun! It is at any chick-fil-a.

Please be praying for us tommorow. For Michael and I, the cow and our crews. We will all be working very hard and we will need sustained strength from the Lord. We will need wisdom and we will need patience with customers.

The Lord has been sooooooo faithful to us this week! Michael's mom is now at a rehab center and will be getting therapy on her body! The nurses were great at the hospital! Pray for her transition to this new place. Even though it has been a busy week, the Lord has been strong with all of us, giving us strength, waking us up refreshed in the morninigs, speaking to us through His Word, giving us oppurtunities to bless others and others to bless us. He is always with us, even through the valley and I am so thankful!

How can we be praying for you all? I won't be writing tommorow, so please, put your requests down today or tommorow.

Michelle how is Michigan? Ash how are you doing? Denise, are you excited for your daughters performance on Saturday? And to all my other readers, I hope all is well with all of you and feel free to let us know how we can be praying for you.

NChrist,
Susan

What a Crazy Weekend

Wow, our weekend was jam packed and it all started Friday. We attended the Brodies 4th of July party and that was a lot of fun, but it started to storm and we all got wet. We ended up inside watching a movie. We went home around 8:00PM and on the way home Michael got a call from his mom. (Let me give you a history lesson first. Michael and his mom have just started talking again this last week. Michael's parents live in a highly dysfunctional marriage. Michael's mom has severe MS(limited feeling in her legs, the losing of bladder control, weak, et.). She has been teaching but is now off for the summer. Michael's dad has emotionally abused Susan(his mom's name too) for the entirety of their marriage(32 years). He does not work, but is trying for his PhD in Psychology(scary). The last time Michael had contact with his parents was 5 months ago when Susan said she wanted out. Michael and Greg(his brother) went over to mediate that leave and she chose Henry over her boys. That was the last straw for them, and they knew they would have to cease all contact. This loss of contact for Susan has really done the trick in getting her to realize that she needs out) She said that Henry had put towels in front of the door and she could not get out of the room to go to the bathroom or to eat. So Michael and Greg headed over and called the police. They all entered the house and began to get her out. There was no Henry in the house. Micheal went upstairs and found that the room Henry was living in was clean, and air conditioned. Henry finally appeared downstairs and was like 'what is going on. Sue you know I love you. Let me talk to her.' The police were awesome they told him to back away and they set him in a chair in a corner. She stayed at our house the first night. She needs so much care and Michael was awesome, but we knew we needed to get her in a hospital and Audobon took her. Side Note: that area around Audobon is awesome, I would love to live there! She will be discharged in a few days to a rehab place and Michael and Greg are having to go and look at places today. It is all so fast, but I wouldn't replace it for the world. Michael and I have been togther for 9 years and married 7. And this has gone on for the entirety of it and we have waited so long for Susan to be ready herself to get out and I just praise God that it has finally happened. We have been at the hospital and have been a family like it always should have been. Susan is eating food, being washed, helped to the bathroom, being loved on, etc. Wow. God's plan is sooooooo good.

Please be praying for our family as we have to make tough decisions in such a short amount of time. Attorneys, filing for disability, visiting her, our jobs, our ministry, our families. It all seems so insurmountable, but we just beg of you for your prayers that God will let everything be so smooth and that with a Chick-Fil-A event at the end of the week that I won't get moody. I want to be moody-less and just be joyful in God who will be my strength and our families strength.

Just a note. When Michael and I were visiting homes yesterday we ended up at Eden Terrace on Blankenbaker across the street from Southeast Christian Church. They were Christ to us and I don't think they were Christians. I walked in asking for info on the place and the lady was making punch and handing out cookies and offered some to me. And by that time of day, I was so thirsty and she was there filling a drink for me. Wow. Then the lady we met with, sat us down in the porch area and listened to our story. She was soooooo compassionate and even though Eden Terrace is personal pay and we figured Susan could not afford it, she still worked on helping us calling someone who was on vacation for recommendations of places. They were Christ to us. We were so overwhelmed with the list of homes(about 70 in all) that we were just stir crazy and didn't know where to start. And God provided them as a means of clarification and refreshment! God is so awesome!

How is everybody doing? Would love to hear from everybody.

Love to you all,
Susan Luka

PRAYER REQUEST DAY

I can't believe its Friday:) But I am soooooooo happy it is and I am super happy that it is my week of rotation that I work today and not tommorow at the library. This has been a good week and the Lord has been ever so gracious to me. He has taught me new things and I am learning to depend on Him at all times. He is my Rock and I am grateful!

Before I ask for prayer requests I want to share with you all a verse I read this morning from Jeremiah 9:23-24.

23Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;
24but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.

It is my prayer for myself and everybody this weekend that we detour away from boasting of our own wisdom, of our own might and of our own riches AND that our BOAST will continually be that we understand and Know the Lord Almighty, that it is He alone that exercises lovinkindness, justice and righteousnesson his earth. May Christ be our continually BOAST to those around us and to our own very minds everyday.

What are your prayer requests?
Here are some of mine:

* A major unspoken. I need to see this person and this situation through Jesus' eyes, because right now all I am is upset and very confused.

*The Hogue and Carder Families. Keep praying for restoration in their marriages. For protection of everyone's heart from temptation and the power of God to heal brokeness.

*PRAISES:
A. I am finally losing weight. God used my friend Michelle to show me what I needed to do. Wow, what a Godsend she was. I have been trying to lose weight for 2 years now with only a 6lb loss in that amount of time and lots of exercising and eating well without results. The issue: sugar. I think with my low thyroid, my body just does not metabolize it well and with a slight elevation in my cholesterol the less sugar = the better.
B. Work with my manager at Chick-Fil-A is doing much better.
C. God is really working in the Hogue and Carder families.
D. God is faithful in providing work for our family. Man, God is so good!
E. I am learning to be brave with the aid of the Holy Spirit and I doing much better in the anger department and am continually putting into practice James 1:19 'Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.'

Have a great weekend of relaxation, fun and family time!

NChrist, Susan

Giving away chicken is easy, but sharing the Gospel is hard

For those of you who do not know, I now have a PT marketing job with Chick-Fil-A. And yesterday was radical. It was like Christmas for me. I knew that our event on July 11 was coming and I needed some promo materials. So, I asked my manager where those might be and took me to the storage room and showed me a humongous box. And I was like, 'That's for me!!!:)!!!' I was so excited. So, yesterday I opened that box up like a Christmas present on Christmas morn. I found wonderful things to promo with. Cow headbands, a 5 foot cow standee, stickers, invites, etc. It was everything I needed to promo and WAY MORE! So, I spent most of the day going down one half of the mall handing out invites designed with the Chick-Fil-A cow dressed as cow. See, the event on July 11 is 'Dress like a cow, git mor chckn'. If you dress partially as a cow you get a free entree', if you dress to the hilt as a cow you get a free meal. Pretty cool, eh. So, I did that and people were totally excited. I was very fired up about promo-ing this event, because when I was opening up the box that morning my manager walked in on me in the storage unit and I was wearing one of the cow headbands. He was like, 'what are you doing wearing that?'. I said, 'I am so excited for Cow Appreciation Day, aren't you?'. He said, 'No, i hate this event. No one does it and its a waste of time.' ERRRRRRRRRRRRR, I just kept my mouth shut and vowed to myself that I want 100 people dressed as cows or atleast wearing the cow headband to show him. I found out later, my boss Jenny, had the same response from her manager and the owner of our Chick-Fil-A'. So needless to say we are fired up!

But, I started thinking this morning. I am more fired up about sharing an event, than I am about the Gospel of Christ. Just like Chick-Fil-A has given us everything we need to promo, I have all that I need to promo Christ too in my life. I am surrounded with unbelievers everyday, I have been equipped with the Word of God, I know how to share the Gospel, I have Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to guide me and to open up doors for His purposes. I have a world who is against me, just like the managers at Chick-Fil-A are about this upcoming event. So, I really want to work on making sure I am just as fired up about sharing Christ, than I am about sharing chicken with others. My prayer is that chicken will be a means to share the free gift of Christ to others, somehow, someway. Jesus gives us the power to be brave!!

What keeps you from being brave about sharing Christ to others? Are you fired up about sharing Christ, or like me, have you found that you are more fired up about other things in life? Let's encourage each other to detour our lives onto the road less traveled. The road that leads us to a fired up life about Christ and sharing His life with others.

Love to you all today and God's peace and bravery to you,
Susan Luka

God is so good

Well, I went in yesterday to work after writing that blog yesterday and spoke with bravery. I did what I needed to do and he did not try to power play me and that was nice. I still don't know about him, everyday is different with him, but I know the Lord gave me those verses and that inspiration yesterday because He had a plan for me. I am usually the one following, or atleast that is how I like it sometimes. If I am told to do something I usually do it, no questions asked. I am just laid back like that. I am not a drama mama. I like to be the most helpful and the least demanding of all people. So when my manager has disagreed with me or told me to do something different I have just said, 'okay' and then harbored bitterness in my heart towards him. But, the Lord wants me in this job for a reason, for some odd idea He saw me as capable for it and He does not want me power played. However, He also does not want me as a godly woman holding onto bitterness. Because that bitterness will erupt like it says it will in the Bible. The word of God says in Hebrews 12:15

15See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;

I don't want to be that kind of woman whose bitterness defiles the many. Where I go around telling everyone my anger about someone and warping someone else's view of that person. I know I am guilty of doing that, but I am saying I don't want to be like that in this situation or others in the future. My job is to ensure that no one I come into contact with comes short of the grace of God. I instead, sacrifice by putting my big panties on and dealing with it and asking God to give me grace for that person. Wow, I can't believe I am learing all of this. I am suddenly so aware of God's lessson for me today and its amazing. In the last few months He has been shaking my ver foundation showing me the cracks in it and showing me how to repair them and I am soooooooo grateful! He is with us and that is soooooooo awesome!

So, my challenge to you today:

Show grace to all who you come into contact with. Especially, the mean of heart, the gossiper, the annoying kind, etc. Show'em grace and if your lacking it, ask God without doubting and He will give to you graciously what you lack. Hope to see you many of you tonight at VBS. I will be bringing the wacky hair once again!

Love to you all and I appreciate those who read my blog and who are faithful commeters, it means more to me than you will ever know!

NChrist,

Susan Luka

Walking with Wisdom

Hey everybody! Thanks for your comments yesterday and your prayers, I really appreciate them. Yesterday was okay. VBS seemed to be the highlight of the day. Singing the songs and doing games made me really happy. Chick-Fil-A is a love/hate thing right now to me. I love serving people and going to the different businesses. That is my fave part by far. But, I am so intimidated by the manager there and I get so nervous asking for samples(will he be okay with it or will he not). It's like I am always walking on eggshells in the back. So, right now, I am always nervous in the back of the store and am fine out in the Mall. I really, really hate feeling like this. My boss Jenny is really cool, I look at her and listen to her and she does a great job of getting the job done with my manager. She told me last week I have to be strong with him and not get underneath him, because he has a way of power playing people. Well, I am just not good at that. I feel like all I do is try to avoid him so I don't have to deal with his up and down moods. And then at the same time I am trying to learn to be brave in my speech toward him and with what I am asking of the crew(sampling, etc.). I am so thankful for learning and memorized James 1:19 'Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.' Because by now, I might be rambling mean things or saying mean things to him or being really impatient with him. But, God has done a great work. I am trying to learn how to be brave in speech and also carry around being gentle and kind so that I am also viewed as a Godly woman. But I am finding in business this can be really tricky. So the verse I read this morning really comforted me because I can't do any of this without God, I have to lean on Him heavily everyday!

Colossians 4:5

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of every oppurtunity.

How are your walks with God, what are you all learning? Would love to hear from everyone!

NChrist,

Susan

Speedy Blog

Well, y'all. I don't have much time this morning. I have to jet over to church to get games ready for VBS tonight and then I have to head over to the Chick-Fil-A job for about 3-4 hours and then come home and head to VBS. I chee wa wa.

We had a good weekend. Not great. I worked all Saturday at the library and then we worked all day yesterday at church. Not that work is not good, but now its Monday and work really begins...again. So, I don't feel really rested and am a little moody. Pray for me as I go through the day that I will continually live for Christ and will react in motion with the movement of the Holy Spirit and esepcially that I will 'be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.' I would appreciate your prayers.

Doing my darndest to live for Him today after an unrestful weekend,
Susan Luka

PRAYER REQUEST DAY

Hey everybody, lay those concerns and praises of your heart here at the 'Detoured' Blog! I think we all can say that we have seen some amazing results in prayer and praise lately with all the situations we have been going through. God is Amazing!

Let me know your requests and praises so we can pray and rejoice together.

Here are some of mine:

1. My boss Jenny met with me yesterday and I really needed that. God moved in a way I did not expect and I am so thankful to Him for knowing my heart and knowing what I can and cannot handle and bringing me peace when I feel overwhelmed!

2. Much healing is going on in the Carder and Hogue families. Please praise God for this and please pray for the road ahead that God will be their Rock and Solid Foundation. Pray for the guarding of all their hearts that they will be kept in perfece peace.

3. Our VBS is next week at church and I am sure, like myself, a lot of people are in 'crazy mode' right now getting ready for it. Please pray for all those working that we will be lifted up on wings like eagles. That we will commit ourselves wholly unto the Lord for His service during this week. Pray for all who attend, that their hearts will understand that the Lord longs for them to be His children and that they will FULLY understand the Gospel and will be impacted to make a decision for Him. Pray for those who will come away from this not making a decision, pray that they will have been impacted and that, that seed will grow into their making a decision one day for Christ.

How can we be praying for you this weekend?

Have a great weekend and God bless you all,
Susan Luka

Revelation Rocks

This morning as I did my normal 'walk' study through the Bible, I came across a cross-reference Scripture that has nothing to do with walking, but really Wowed me. I wanted to share it with you all because I hope it blesses and challenges you as much as it has done me this morning.

REVELATION 21:1-8

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
4and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
5And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new " And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."
6Then He said to me, "It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
7"He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
8"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."


Of course these verses are future tense, but I look so forward to it. The older I have become the more my heart longs for my home country. This place is not my home. I am merely a sojourner in this land, to be used by God to bring Him glory and to be used to reach others for the cause of Christ.

I was Wowwed by the end of v.6 where it says, "I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost." WITHOUT COST. I tell you, that principle of Salvation is often too great to take in sometimes. I read that today and like usual it just takes my breath away the generosity of our God. The unmerited favor He lavishes upon us. I am just a woman thankful!

Second, I was challenged by v.7, "He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be His God and he will be my son." I WANT TO BE AN OVERCOMER. And you know what, I don't even want to be an overcome just because I will inherit these things. I want to overcome because I want to please the Father. I desire more than anything in this world to stand before Him and to those lips of His say to me, his child, "Well done good and faithful servant.". Wooh, I just long for that day. And of course I will want to give him the biggest hug ever! To look in those gracious eyes to touch his nailed scarred hands, wow, that will be the day! Oh Glorious thought! I am challenged as ususal, to be serious about my walk in Christ. To lean on Him for all things. To cry out to Him. To continually call upon His name. To continually thank and praise Him for all things. To be led by His Spirit and to obey. Being wise rather than unwise. And...will I still make mistakes. Unfortunately, yes. I am not preaching a salvation of perfection. Instead, I am teaching a salvation of allegiance to a God who deserves our all, knowing first hand, that we alone cannot be perfect. We have to rely on Christ for our righteousness and ask forgviness and repent when we do wrong. It's all about being authentic, real to ourselves, to our God and to those around us.

I pray that these verses blessed you today. Let me hear your thoughts.

Walking daily in His grace,
Susan Luka

Refills made me think..

Yesterday at work I sampled some nuggets and also did refills of drinks. Well, the girl I kept taking the drinks to was really cool and filled them up to the brim which was totally great. But, I noticed for me, it made me have to walk very carefully so that I would not spill anything. I felt like it was God's way of giving me a reminder about my challenge, to walk carefully. I love how God providentially plans things like that so that we will remember and grow.

I am so thankful for grace! I am so thankful that I get to walk in grace daily. The fact that I serve a God who sent His son to lay down his life for me, is so humbling and calls strongly for my allegiance to Him. We are new creations in Him and that is awesome. I hate the fact that we still have to keep our old nature, but you know what, without that struggle I wouldn't lean on God as much as I have to. I am just so thankful for God today! I am thankful for His plan for our lives, His continual provision of our needs, His blessing of our ministry to youth.

What are you thankful for today? How is that walking going??

Have a great day!

NChrist, Susan

Walk Challenge for the week

My challenge to myself and to my readers is this: During this week, be aware of your walk with Christ. Are we walking carefully, with the Spirit of God leading our actions and reactions? Are we walking in Love, just as Christ loved us? Are we walking with God, is that relationship between us and Him being fostered? Are we walking in grace, knowing that our salvation was won by Him and Him alone and that no works of our own increase that salvation? Are we walking aware that our walks will be tested by God to see whether or not we remain faithful to Him? Are we walking in His Word, in His Ways?

I challenge you this week to ask yourself those questions and to spend this week walking with God and His Word. To spend each day making wise decisions that align yourself with the will of God. To ask for forgiveness and repent when we do something wrong. To look for the open doors that God would have us go through in order to bring Him glory and to reach the lost for Christ.

On Friday I would like to hear your stories of what God did in your life concerning your walk this week. I hope there are a lot of stories.

'Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise..'

Ephesians 5:15

NChrist,

Susan Luka

Walking took me to an interesting place today

Todays walk through Scripture took me to a unlikely place. A set of verses in Psalm 48 revealed some really cool things. I looked at this verse in my concordance and thought to myself, 'well, those are a'ight, so I will just scribble them on my paper and move on to some cooler verses.' But, when I read the set of verses after it, it really made the 'walking' part of this verse come alive. Here are the verses:

PSALM 48:12-14

12 Walk about Zion, go around her,count her towers,
13 consider well her ramparts, view her citadels,that you may tell of them to the next generation.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.

The first word in v. 12 is 'walk'. Walk about what? WALK about Zion, Gods Holy Land. Walk around counting her towers; consider how strong this land is and whose God protects them. Walk and consider her ramparts or bulwarks; otherwise known as armies, defenses and realize the strenghth and might of them. Walk and view her citadels, how beautiful they are. When we walk or Michelle in your case, run. We pass by many things as we do so. How often do we take in their beauty, grandeur, strength, might, God's creation, the thought of our God with us and his protection over us. The walk above is definitely a verb, but it wants us doing more than walking. It wants us walking and looking around. Taking in what is around us. Commentaries describe the towers, the bulwarks, the citadels as the beauty, grandeur and might of doctrine, our beliefs. The Psalmist desired that enemies look at these things in Zion and be in awe and would tremble at the might of their God and his blessing in letting them have such strong towers, mighty defenses and beautiful citadels. Today our churches, our lives, our sacred families should be those towers and bulwarks and citadels that people can look at and awe over and see the might of Jesus in.

And why did the Psalmist want people walking around looking at these things? v.13b says, 'that you may tell of them to the next generation.' Notice it does not say, 'that you MIGHT tell'. We are told to tell of these wonderful things to our children, to the future generations. I love how Origen puts it, 'In a spiritual sense the towers and bulwarks of Zion are those doctrines of the true faith, which are the strength and glory of the church, which are to be maintained in their soundness and stability against the assaults of heretical teachers so that they may be transmitted unimpaired to the following generations-' Wow, I love that quote. We need to keep the history of our faith in tact, doctrines and all. For its those things that we must pass down to the next generation. Walking in faith. Walking in the word of God ensure that our steps are firm and our doctrines true so that those behind us would follow our example. Charles Spurgeon puts it well, ' An excellent reason for studious observation. We have received and we must transmit. We must be students that we may be teachers. The debt we owe to the past we must endeavor to repay by handing down the truth to the future.' Wow, these old guys just know how to put it! I think this is why Michael and I love youth ministry. It is our unfailing desire to transmit truth to the generation behind us. It was adults in our past who invested truth into us, and it is our desire to do that to this generation. May God raise up a godly generation who desire nothing more than to invest truth into one another and into the lives of future generations that we might be sons and daughters of the Most High King, for now and forevermore. Amen.

NChrist, Susan

Prayer Request Day

Bear one anothers burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. -Galatians 6:2

Here are some answers to pray I have had lately, how about you?

1. The new women's bible study went very well last night at our church. I am so excited for Wendy Wallen to be teaching this study. God has really risen her up in our women's ministry and He has given her a heart for the women of Forest Park and I am excited to see how God will use her!

2. Even though Michael's business is slow, God is faithfully providing for our needs. He is so faithful, plus, he provided me with a new job = more income a month. He is so faithful.

3. God is healing hurt in many people.

Here are some of my prayer requests:

1. Well, here is another disaster currently happening: Cedar Rapids, Iowa is under a lot of water. The river there overflowed its banks and it is all over the city, much like Katrina with New Orleans. I was looking at pictures last night and it looks a lot like New Orleans. Those type of clean-ups are soooo hard due to mold and infestation. My heart goes out to this community and others communities in Iowa, because its not over yet. More rain is coming and 8 other rivers are about to overflow their banks. Pray for God's will to be done in this time.

2. I GET A WEEKEND! No work, no nothing. I can do whatever I want. I get to be with my man and I am super excited about that! Pray that it is refreshing and loads of fun!

3. Pray for our church's VBS program. It starts in 2 weeks or so and there is much to be done. Pray that we will really reach out to our community and the families within it.

Everybody, have a great weekend!

Tell me of your answers to prayers and your requests. I can't wait to hear from everybody!

NChrist, Susan

Walking

Ephesisans 5:15

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,..."

I love having time to study the Word of God. I finally have started to get my butt out of bed earlier. I think I have just been so frazzled from certain events + starting a new job that I just wanted to sleep alot. But, I think I am refreshed now. I am totally looking forward to this weekend! I actually get a weekend, with no jobs:) I am so happy!

So, I started cross-referencing this verse above and found some cool stuff, then I looked in my concordance for the word 'walk' and found some rad Scriptures for it also.

Our walk with God is pretty dang important. I love that the Word describes our trek with God as a 'walk'. I love walking. And I have been doing a lot of it lately at my new job. When taking refilled drinks back to people I have to be very careful how I walk, so that I don't spill any of the drink. Our walk with God is very similar, we must be careful how we walk. We carry around in us, the living God in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy God whom we serve lives in us and I need to be careful how I walk everyday. For our walk should be led by the Holy Spirit.

Here are some things I learned to day from Scripture:

1. We are to walk in LOVE (Ephesians 5:2, Colossians 3:14, John 13:34). Why walk in Love. Well, first God commands it, Second He was willing to live it out. Remember, being wise is taking what you know and putting it into action in your daily life. Jesus was the Master of all this! His example is the example we should follow.

2. We need to walk blamelessly(Genesis 17:1). What is being blameless? In my bible it is described as 'having integrity'. Peeps, we need to walk in such a way that others cannot accuse us. In such a way that the light of Christ can shine fully. Even as I write this, I am so convicted, becuase I know that by myself I can't walk a life that is blameless. I will have to rely daily on walking in the Spirit. For that is the only way I can do this. In Genesis 17:1 it says, 'Walk before Me and be blameless'. I have to 'walk before Him'. That is the only answer for this equation. I have to be listening and willing to follow where He leads, keeping my eyes on Him continually.

3. Our walk with God will be tested, by Him.(Exodus 16:4). Why would God test our walk? He desires to see if we will walk with Him through thick or thin or if we will pull away. I see so many Christians give up...in so many things.... in their marriages, in their kids lives, in their jobs, with their friends. Circumstances like deaths, illness, drama, misunderstandings drive so many away from Christ. I have come to learn that it is the hard times that I ask Christ, 'Lord, what would you have me learn? What are you trying to teach me out of this?' There is always something to be grasped. He does not test us for our failure, but that we would realize His strength to get us through. That we would learn to trust and lean upon Him heavily in those times and learn that we can do that in All Times. That is what our walk is about.

4. Walking in God's Truth and His ways is primarily done by reading and living out His Word. (1 Kings 2:34, Deuteronomy 17:18-20). The kings of the Old Testament were required to write down the word of God and read it everyday. Why? So that they would walk carefully as they led the people of Israel. Wow, not much has changed. So many people say, 'Ah, the Bible is so boring. I don't get the Bible. etc. etc. excuse after excuse.' But, just like the kings of old, we are called as Children of God to pick up our bibles and read them and learn them so that we would walk carefully. We can't live the Word if we don't know what it says. Invest in commentaries, bible devotionals to help you learn parts of the Bible that are confusing or boring. Ask your questions of your pastor, small group leaders, men's small group leaders, women's small group leaders, professors at biblical colleges and seminaries, biblical internet sites. Even, be willing to ask God your questions. He has answered many questions for me and I am sure He will for you too.

Well, I know this was very long winded today, but there was much to learn and I am excited about this journey!! I hope you are as well!

Have a great day y'all!

NChrist,

Susan

I finally got up early enough!

Wow, peeps. I finally got up early this morning so I could get this blog in before I head to Chick-Fil-A. I have been going to bed at 10(my husband thinks I am crazy, but he just didn't have 20 more hours put onto his week for work) and getting up at 9Am. And I have been sleeping hard. I don't remember anything from dreams and I wake up thinking I just got to bed. But, like I have been saying, I have just been praying to God for strength and his hand of guidance.

This morning I returned to some fave scripture of mine: Ephesians 5:15-21. In my Women's Speaking Class at Boyce Bible College I spoke on these verses and it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed that class with all those other ladies.

Join me today as I learn to practice these verses in my daily life for the next few weeks:

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. 21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ

For the next week or so, I am going to work on living as wise instead of being unwise. I read Charles Stanley's 'Walking Wisely' and it was amazing and I think to get a hold on this verse I will read some of that book again. To live wisely means putting your knowledge(facts and stuf) into daily practice. It is good to know to love your neighbor, but wisdom calls for you to live that out towards your neighbor. So, living wisely calls for putting your knowledge into action so that the world can see Christ in us!

I hope you all join me in this journey. Tell me what you learn as you put it into practice.

NChrist,

Susan

Sorry

Y'all, Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be crazy days for blogs and if I am late in the day doing them, forgive me, but its the only time I have to do them on those days. Please be prayerful for me on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am begging for prayer. I start work at 10:30 and then go to the other job until 9:00PM. I am really tired on those days, but much like yesterdays blog, I see Gods hand on me, His strength getting me through. However, I notice that about mid-day I am pretty cranky and start getting a headache and I don't want that. I want the fullness of the Holy Spirit lifting me up and I do forget to ask God for that, but I need to learn. Just to cry to Him in my weakest and most vulnerable moments.

I am so thankful for God's word. I really feel that my month long study on 'anger' has done sooo much for me. It's like it is solidified in my body and my mind and I am so thankful to be less angry towards others. When I am tempted to be, His word comes to my mind and I am just so thankful!

I have a funny story from the library today! A woman asked me to come over to help her on the computer. She said she had put in her card and password and it was not letting her on the internet. I immediately looked at the top of the screen and lo and behold it was one our card catalog computers. I explained to her that these computers were not internet accessible. She said, 'well, I put my card in and everything'. Well, as she was saying that line she was pointing to the floppy disk insert in the computer. She said, 'See I put my card in there, why won't it work'. Ladies, it took all of the grace of God to keep me from laughing hysterically in front of her. Yes, she put her card in the floppy disk insert thinking it would read her card. Lord, that was so hilarious. What was most hilarious is that she was so naive and really believed it would read her card.

Anyways, enough of me. How was your day??

Love,
Susan

It's Monday? HUH!

Wow, I can't believe it is Monday again! I never want a week like last week to ever happen to me again. What is sad, is that the there is so much from last week that is going to seep into this week and into the weeks ahead. I almost get frazzled thinking about it, about a new job, about my current job, about my marriage, about youth ministry. Eek, it gets overwhelming. My saving grace has been Christ this week. He has kept me sane. He has carried me when I did not think I could take another step. He kept me strong, when I felt sooooooo weak. He alone is God and I give Him glory for being my constant source of living water and my rock to lean upon. Man, we serve an awesome and glorious God!

I have not read much Scripture, but I have been LISTENING to a lot of Scripture on our Zune and filling my mind with Christian Music whenever I can. I love 1 John right now. I was working on that whole obedient thing through the Bible, but then last week hit and I was like, I need 'to go' Scripture, woot woot. So, 1 John has been amazing! Plus, I love listening to the 'Sojourn Worship CD', 'Ayiesha Woods', 'Hawk Nelson', 'Elventy Seven'. Those have been my faves as of late!

How is everybody doing? How is your walk with God, what is He teaching you? How have you seen Him work during your day?? Let me know I would love to hear about it!

Love to you all,
Susan

Prayer Request Day

I cannot believe it is Friday. I hate the week the work rotation hits where I get Friday off and have to work Saturday. I have to work today for Chick-Fil-A, we will be passing out free sandwiches for the Crusade for Children on the intersection of Hurstbourne and Westport Road. So, Michelle if you read this, I will be getting my train on out there today! Wow, I don't think I have ever walked so much as I have this week. I am pooped.

Today is prayer request day, but since I did not do a 'Question Day' feel free to ask your questions too. Ashleigh, I am still working on your question. Here is a link to a page that was really interesting to me and I think it might help you a little also. You can even click on the blue headlines and it will give you a further commentary about that section Now mind you the commentary is 'Matthew Henry's Commentary' and its older and it is not my favorite. But, for now until I can go to a bookstore and read a commentary I like, this is all i have to offer:: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/index.php?action=getBookSections&cid=35&source=2

Here are some of our prayer requests:

1. Stephanie Chandler as she serves in Iraq(former teen in our youth group) for 6 months.
2. Pray for moments of rest and relaxation this weekend.
3. Please pray for healing of two families who are going through a very difficult time right now: The Carder Family and the Hogue Family.

What are your requests for this weekend?

Have a great weekend everybody!

NChrist,
Susan

Whoo-wee

Wow y'all I am exhausted! Emotionally, physically. I worked from 10:30 until 9:00PM today and I am so tired. I am sorry that I did not write this morning, I was working on getting all my clothes in order. I am finding that I really don't have all that much to wear to the Chick-Fil-A job and am getting together clothes to sell on Cheap Cycle so that I can buy a few new pairs of clothes for the summer for Chick-Fil-A.

God has been a very active part of my day lately. I have had to rely on him for my emotional state and my phsical endurance of each day. Yesterday, I think I walked 3 miles in the mile. I walked the mall in the morning and then walked it in the afternoon. My feet were so sore, but I just kept crying out to God and wow I am finding out how much I can just talk to Him during the day. It's like He is just there with me and its fantabulous! It's like I have had my time to get the word in me and rest in Him and now its Action time. Go out and and live it and turn to Him at all times as I work in the world and work among those who don't know Him. It's amazing how much I have to rely on Him and He is so faithful!

I am so thankful that he laid on my heart to work on the anger stuff, because dealing with it has made me the woman of God that is being used in my jobs currently. There would have been a point in my life a couple of months ago where I would have been really stressed with working with the public. I would have been easily angered, but the word of God has been used to transform me and those verses are in me, used to be making me the woman of God He wants me to be to the public. Wow. I am so humbled!

Love to you all, how is everyone.

NChrist,
Susan

P.S. Michelle, thank you for the lovely comment you left me on my Wed. blog. I really needed that and it was so good seeing a friendly face! How I am thankful for you and your amazing exuberance of grace!

Craziness and God's Faithfulness

Wow, it has been an intense few days. Since Sunday it has been non-stop at the Luka house. Sheesh. I finally got to see down for a few minutes this morning and read Job a little. Ashleigh, all I know currently is that Chapter 3 is Job's Lament and that chapters 4-31 are Jobs dialogues with his three "friends".

Monday and yesterday have been so busy, and I am looking forward to actually spending some time with my hubby this afternoon. I did not see him until 9:45PM on Monday because we both worked and then he went to the Prayer Meetting at church and that went a loooong time. Then yesterday I worked at Chick-Fil-A until 1PM and then had to be at the library at 1:30Pm. My library shift was from 1:30-9:00. Michael picked me up and we were headed over to Ronnie's where Michael had been babysitting the kids. I had to go to Wal-Mart and by the time I was done and back to Ronnies, he was back from doing Prison Ministry. So, needless to say, I am pooped.

Chick-Fil-A started out rough yesterday. I did my business of the day and then I came back to start refills and second mile service to the customers. Well, there weren't any yet. So, I tried to make conversation with the crew, but that was really hard. They just weren't very talkative and I felt so alone. Then when it started to pick up, it seemed like every customer was annoyed that I was asking them for refills. Sheesh! I felt even more alone now and dumb! To make things worse, I have to walk around behind the restaurant to get refills and they are doing construction where the bathrooms are and all those construction guys are there and I just feel like I am being eyed like a piece of meat. ERRRRRRRRRR. I definitely got my work out having to walk to the food court and around the back to the restaurant to get refills. Thankfully, I saw some people I knew and after that things got a lot better. I just kept praying for God to be with me, to lift my head up even though I felt like crawling in a hole. He was faithful. The library was good, it was my shift with my crazy friend Kelly and it was fun! However, I was so tired during those last 30 minutes.

God was so faithful to me yesterday. I am learning and will probably always be learning to call on Him at all times. I lived out James 1:19 yesterday 'Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger'. It was tough at times, but God was with me, using the Holy Spirit to guide me.

I hope all is well with everyone! Let me know your stories and how God is working in you.

Love to you all,
Susan Luka

My new job:)

You wouldn't think your job would teach you lots about our walk with Christ, but mine did yesterday! I began at Chick-Fil-A yesterday at the Mall. Jenny, my boss, was telling me all about their marketing, which is what I will be doing at the Mall. She had this box of stuff and I got all excited because I love looking through boxes!

Basically, Chick-Fil-A's marketing is all about giving away. Can you believe it! I can't believe that everyday I just get to look for ways to give stuff away and make people happy. This is so biblical on so many levels and yesterday really impacted my normal life. How much do I give away, and if I do give it away do I give it away cheerfully and without the want of getting back. We don't get paid on sales, we just get paid to make people happy without the need or want of getting back. Whoa! That is radical!

I am especially excited about something I get to do everyday. It is the Chick-Fil-A Business of the Day. I get to go to a store in the Mall and tell them that they are our business of the day and give their employees that day free chicken! Yesterday we did the Body Shop and their reactions were awesome, they were amazed and that is the whole point! As I think about their faces and reactions now, I am realizing how I reacted and felt the first time I really grasped the free gift of Jesus Christ to me. Wow, if I and all of us would just be continually thankful for His gift the same way we get excited about free chicken and want to share that knowledge with others so that they might experience the gift of God; salvation through Christ alone. Please pray for open doors to share. Right now its all about building relationships and if God wants to open doors, then just pray that I will be an obedient child of God and willing to say what He wants me to say!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK
Be looking for how you can partner with God this week in doing His will for your life.

NChrist,
Susan Luka

Oi!

Well, fellow sojourners, this has been quite the weekend! I am not going to get into details, just know that I am pooped out, emotionally and mentally. I am sorry that I am so late in the day getting to this. I worked at Chick-Fil-A today and then got together with some friends to talk. It has been a very productive and good day.

Ashleigh, I am going to ask for your patience on the question you asked last week. I promise I am going to get to it. With events that happened this weekend, it is spilling over into my life as we speak and I have to say I am a little overwhelmed. But, I promise this, I am going to get to it and my plan is to have an answer for you at the end of the week. I appreciate you so much and I hope you know I take very seriously every question that is asked of me.

There is nothing really spiritual today except a quote from my pastor yesterday that was amazing. 'Foolishness is defined as follows: the absence of intelligence, the absence of thinking through truth.' Wow, how it affected me and related to all that happened this weekend.

Love to you all and may you have a restful evening, full of the Lord's grace.

NChrist, Susan

Prayer Requests

Well, I can't believe it is Friday. I am at work and I have a killer headache; I am afraid it is a migraine headache leftover from last night. Please pray for me if you read this soon. Thanks.

Well, it's official. I will be working for Chik-Fil-A PT doing Marketing and I am so excited. I have no Marketing Skills whatsoever, but I am ready for this season in my life to grow and learn new things. I will be at the Library still + Chik-Fil-A. I believe it is an answer to prayer. We have been praying to pay off the house quickly and this new job = more income to pay off on the house and I am just like 'God, You are so faithful!' It also puts me in front of new people and new audience to share the Gospel with!


How can I be praying for you all this weekend? Any answers to any prayer requests??

Have a great weekend everybody. I wish you all the best and if you live in L-ville, come by Dicks in Springhurst(Behind Chik-Fil-A on Westport Rd.) from 11:30-1:30 to get a free sandwich and a coupon for a free sandwich! I will be there, it will be my first day and I would love to see some of you all!

Remember, to keep making time for God and to partner with Him everyday for His work and His glory!

NChrist, Susan

QUESTION DAY

Sorry, I seem to be making Thursday 'Question Day' lately. Feel free to ask whatever questions are on your minds.

I had a great Wednesday! We had deer in our backyard and that was Radical! Our dogs went ballistic but it was way cool!

Youth Group went really well. We talked with them about our faith and is it impacting our lives first and then is it impacting those around us. As we wait and hope for the return of Jesus Christ we get the honor of being partners with God to make this world as He originally intended it to be. That was a huge statement Rob Bell said in the NOOMA video last night! So, our challenge to them was 'partner with God' this week. Be obedient to His voice and partner with Him in being used to make this world the place God originally intended it to be: full of beauty, full of holiness, peace, love, forgiveness, etc.

Then we went out to eat with the Firsts and Kramer and that was rad. But, I am really disappointed in myself. Matthew and Patty started to tell us what they did not like about the current curriculum and I got defensive. I thought I was doing okay, but I asked Michael later and he was like you got a little too defensive and I was like 'errr'. I did not do a good job of that first part of James 1:19 'Be quick to hear...'. See I am still working on stuff like that, will be for the rest of my life I am sure. But, I am going to call them today and apologize for being defensive. Thankfully, I think they knew I got that way but it did not hurt our evening. We laughed and kept talking after that. But, I feel on my part, I need to apologize.

And for those of you who live in Louisville. Chik-fil-A is giving away free chicken sandwiches and one free coupon for a sandwich on Saturday from 11:30-1:30 at the Dicks in Springhurst(close to Tinseltown Movie Theaters). Come and see me as I help pass out sandwiches!! Yummy!

Have a great day y'all and remember

PARTNER WITH GOD TODAY.

NChrist, Susan

I am Back

Sorry, everybody. We ended up extending our mini-vacation to yesterday. We came home about 1:00 then I worked at 4:30. I thought I would have time to write something at work, but we were swamped. School is out and everybody is starting 'Summer Reading' at the library. Whoo-wee. But, I saw the cutest kid yesterday! He came and stood at the Circ. desk where I work and he had on his little version of the Indiana Jones hat and he was checking out an Indiana Jones book. He was soooooooooo adorable!

We had a great couple of days away down in Southern Kentucky at the farm and at my parents house. We even brought the dogs and Grandma and Grandpa Simmons were so excited to see them and hang out with them. Grandma even bought them big pillows to sleep on. I will have to get a picture of that on here:)

I have not had time to read the next few chapters in Genesis so there will be nothing long on here today. But, I do what to share a quote I heard yesterday on an audiobook Michael and I are listening to by Rob Bell called 'Velvet Elvis'. I highly recommend this book. He is the pastor at Mars Hill Church and does the NOOMA videos. He was talking yesterday about how as an intern he had all these dreams about how church should be and then when he became a pastor all of that came true and he was running a 10,000 member church. Then one day, he figured out how overwhelmed he was trying to be 'Super Pastor' and he needed to decide what to do. He knew he was trying to be someone he wasn't created to be. In therapy, his counselor said this , 'Anything other than the pursuit of who God wants you to be is Sin.' He really liked this, because he realized he was pursuing more of what he wanted rather than just being who God wanted him to be. He wasn't detailed oriented, he is creative. Michael and I stopped the book there and just talked about what kind of Super People were we trying to be and was that our pursuit or God's?? We figured out a lot and where God wants us to be. WE love ministry. We love youth. And if it means being poor doing that, then so be it. Then we are in the active pursuit of who God wants us to be and that is what is most important.

I want my life remembered as a legacy of pursuing the life God wants me to lead everyday. To stop pursuing what I think needs to be done or who I need to be or what I need to be doing with my life. All that is done for people's favor, not God's. I want God's favor, His plan. I want it badly! I have been living in bondage to that super person instead of living in the freedom that God wants me living in everyday. So, today I start my pursuit. Where it takes me, I have no clue. I hope you all understand what I am saying and will ask yourselves 'Am I being the person God wants me to be or am I pursuing who I want to be?' 'Is there junk in your past that has formed who you are today that you are beginning to notice has led you to pursue who you should be rather than getting healing from God or counselors so that you can actively pursue who God wants you to be?' See I have some major healing to go through with my past. Stuff, that only God can heal that I have not given Him fully. Stuff that keeps me from pursuing who He wants me to be.

Love to you all,

Susan