Author: suzinspire

Wife, mother, runner, writer, musician, singer- dedicated to bringing inspiration and encouragement through an honest and creative exchange of words.

Heaven Waiting

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Last fall, my husband and I doubled up for an off-road four wheeler ride into the hills  not long before dusk. We took a rugged side trail right near the top into the woods, my husband deftly steering around the trees and limbs and undergrowth. Watching it grow dark beyond the maze of trees, he assured me the trail would come out soon onto the ridge. When it did, the evening was dark, and the trail led steeply down the side of a hill through a stutter of trees and stumps in a forgotten route. My breath caught in trepidation of rapid descent and in awe at the same time because the view was simply stunning. The retiring sun blazed living orange through the silhouette of trees, shining its last rays over the shadow of Lake Crescent far below us.
Upon returning that night, I happened on a haunting and wildly beautiful song, "Spaceship", by LeAnn Rimes. The lines were thought-provoking, especially after the incredible display in the sky from an undeniable Creator. In the song she says, "Hey, God, why don't you take me home?... I'm waiting on my spaceship to come...Got to be an infinite amount of room up there in the stowaway...Yeah, it's my life, I have a say..." This song wrung my soul with its melodic beauty and reflective sadness because she's talking to God about His heaven, but waiting for a spaceship with a suppositious ticket to take her away. In the music there is anger and pain, but strange hopefulness, somewhat like spectating at shadow boxing where the participant truly believes they have a physical opponent. The singer stated it was to "just have a moment of having it out with God. After all, it’s the only way for all of us to get back to living our lives. There's a lot of hope in the anger of this song, because anger can drive us out of hopelessness."

While anger is a motivator, it drives more like a vehicle with imbalanced tires, vibrating and shaking with any increasing speed. In this life, troubles will always pummel the soil of our hearts, ever eroding hope that is not rooted deeply, shaking us to the core when we realize our finiteness. 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Sunrises and sunsets shout God’s name too loudly to be waiting for a spaceship to come. There are no online tickets to reserve a spot in heaven, and there are not enough good deeds to outweigh the sin nature innate in all of us. What better time than now to be a messenger of hope about a place in heaven only secured because of Jesus, the guilty debt of ours He paid on the cross, and His interceding for us to God. One thing we all know is that we only have one life to live, the length of which we know not. God’s power and beauty is seen in His creation. His love is written on the palms of Jesus, and spoken on the pages of the book breathed out by Him. Our moments here are held in His hand.

“Tell the world that Jesus loves you. Tell them you’ve found a forever friend. You’ve opened up your heart’s door to Him. The love of Jesus has no end.” (children’s song)

Luke 2:10 “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people…”

Stewards of Freedom: My Life for Yours

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“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Whenever our minds encounter what appear to be strong, competing truths, it becomes necessary to combat the dissonance with prayer, study, and intentional engagement on those topics.

In this powerful current of chaos coursing through our world, we, as Christians, find our liberty, first and foremost, in a foundation of faith through which our soul freedom from the shackles of sin and death has been bought and paid for, sealed with the promise of eternity. This is a liberty that can never be shaken, renegotiated, or infringed upon.

That settled, our minds can contemplate the freedoms we have been gifted as Americans through the provision of the Constitution of the United States, the blood of those willing Patriots, and the prayers and purposes of the godly founders who wrote it. It is undeniable that the Constitution is prefaced by statements of faith, laced with moral purpose, and is undisguised in the intent to guard its beneficiaries from tyranny, especially that of singular rule, through the due process of law, thoroughly laid out, for every aspect of government.

Freedom stewardship…

Take a walk with me now on a bridge that leads from dissonance to purpose and don’t be afraid. It is right and good for us as Christians to practice stewardship of the gift of freedom our countrymen laid down their lives for over 200 hundred years ago. We have a Constitution set with care and prayer, like none other. Its due process is the reason we have enjoyed the freedoms and protection of individuals. Our carelessness and lack of attention have allowed many of these to slowly be eroded.

I have never valued freedom as much as I do now, as I contemplate its sloping edge, worn away by societal laziness, murderous selfishness, and petty division, caught in a landslide of tyranny.

To guard what we have been entrusted with by God is to be faithful. There ought not to be dissonance, where we continue to trip up those who fight for freedom by sending messages of discouragement and fear of personal reprisal, disguised as reminders to be sumbissive and humble. Moses was the meekest man on Earth, yet he boldly led thousands out of captivity. He did not bend to peer pressure, but submitted his heart and love to God.

Patriotism is honorable, because it shows a robust appreciation and dedication to preserving the country God established. Every soldier who has served America, from the birthpangs of our country, to the writhing pain of conflict now, has engaged with the concept of “my life for yours”. To practice stewardship right now, is to be courageous in the face of opposition, and not to give in to fear or buckle under pressure in hopes of returning to a false sense of peace.

Not an inch of freedom must be yielded to tyranny. To do so is to compromise the Constitution on which this country was founded. The practice of dictatorship was enough to call for the Sons of Liberty in 1765, allied troops to others’ aid in WWI, as well as a bloody WWII. Our freedom is not free! We can no longer ride on the sacrifices of others. We must be willing to give our energy and time to prayer, reading, and research of laws and the Constitution, as well as to experience the uncomfortableness of going against a narrative of fear that erodes freedom.

“Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esth. 4:14

Reflections and Refractions

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Your eyes may not always see what your heart knows to be true.

This beautiful specular reflection is the result of capturing light bouncing off the water at just the right angle. The truth is, this is a swampy area within walking distance, in which the water has collected to a depth of four or five feet, creating a pond, of sorts. Surrounded by trees on most sides and infiltrated by complex root systems on the opposing bank to me, it is dark, with shadows that trick the eye; murky, unless you crouch down to catch the zoom of a water strider or fixate on the orange of a salamander. It is beautiful in a wild, fallen sort of way, where the carcasses of dead trees lie half-submerged, mosquitoes dive-bomb, nettles needle, and still water smothers land.

When light bursts over and through the barricade of branches, it is a world awash in wonder, with glassy surface, glorious green, and statuesque stumps. The frogs may interrupt each other, and the jeweled leaves whisper from a quiet breeze. The fingers of a snarly root attempt to capsize my efforts to catch the angle of light, capturing for the eye what the heart knows to be true.

As long as we are here on earth, there will always be the dichotomy of beauty and ugliness, the shadows of the unknown beneath the vastness of heaven, the stillness of death mixed with the song of a bird, the exquisite joy and pain entwined in love, the continuous exchange of loss with gain, the striving always to live in the light of hope, for love is stronger than fear and light dispels darkness.

"For  God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."  - II Cor. 4:6

"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God, and not to us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed..." II Cor. 4:8-9

The God who created light, wields the brush of refraction to paint a grey sky in promises, mirrors beauty above a slough of ugliness, and illuminates shadows to dispel darkness. This same Creator cradles the world in hands larger than time, speaks life into beings, offers salvation to sin-swept souls, and sings them home in perfect cadence to eternity.

“So, we do not lose heart.” II Cor. 4:16 

"...we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." II Cor. 4:18

#hopewriterlife#faith#devotional

On Breathing and Bugs

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Sometimes you gotta breathe the open air. There’s nothing like screeching out the front door, thirty minutes before dinner, to catch the run you planned to do earlier, but were held captive by needy dishes. Knappy hair masquerading in a runner’s ponytail, a shirt sporting a chocolate smear, and your favorite Spartan pants, with a betraying patch of worn polyester, are the best you can manage. After careening down the Olympian-grade hill from your house, you move into cruise control with rhythmic breaths. The gravel road crunches, like your husband’s favorite Juanita chips, the birds warble 8 the quiet evening, and oxygen seeps into every crease of your brain.

Your feet choose the path to the left, past a tall white shop with a pastoral scene of cows in a field below, only slightly curious at the upside down trampoline waving its warped legs in the placid pond. Further on, a red gate stands guard over the dusty road….or is the real sentry that giant carving of a rat armed with a chainsaw nearby?! Sneaking by both, you continue on unscathed, till the silence is abruptly shattered by the scolding of an arrogant little mutt, who has caused you tempory tachycardia countless times over the last five years. You show your resilience by not visibly twitching a muscle and carry on to your point of turn-around. You always take in the most beauty when passing by the expansive lawn of a friendly neighbor, studded with trees, laden with well-placed flowers, and crowned with the most eclectic assortment of yard art- a metallic green lizard climbing a tree, two meer cats standing in conversation on a dirt mound, a majestic steed rearing out of a flower pot. You breathe in deeply the scent of earth and flowers….and a sizeable winged bug. It is bitter and tangy, like diluted Dawn soap, and will travel neither up nor down, not blocking airflow, just clinging to the windpipe with paper wings and dainty legs. You know you are good at multitasking. You maintain your pace, breathe through the bug, and concentrate on not tasting it, till gravity prevails (on the bug, of course).

Sometimes home seems farther away on the return trip, because it is all uphill. You occupy your mind with oxygen; the life-giving thoughts and ponderings that will fuel your evening, spur your writing, and remind you of the eternal. The last hill conquered, your hand finds a familiar doorknob, and you enter, inhaling the familiar, yet joyfully infused with the calm that comes from breathing in air alive with freedom.

Easter Morning

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It actually is morning, if you can count 12:20 a.m. Late for bed, too early for sunrise, but never too late for words.

Today’s a day that, I, while many are doing church in pj’s at home, will still get dressed, go to church with my family, and play the piano for an FB live service, while my hubby runs the sound for the pastor. Why? Because people need to hear again the Story that never grows old, the Story on which we bank our lives- John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.”

Why am I blogging? I’ve never done it before…

  • I’m here to encourage. I’m here to move to action. This blog will show that everyday decisions are the addends of a life, and their sum will either be based on fear or faith.
  • That said, this is my brave. I’d rather keep life mostly to myself, but there are mountains to climb, and valleys to traverse. That’s easier done with others.

This is my action step: combat against my introvertedness and introspection. I see how it robs me of the ability to be generous with my love, because I’m focused inward.

To help you get to know me and become comfortable, I’ll tell you a few goals I have:

  • I’m blogging publicly to prepare for a book launch in the future. As of now, my main focus is writing my Dad’s biography.
  • Topics I am mostly likely to touch on will be faith, personal stories, family, motherhood, parenting, poetry, music I write, running as a mental excercise, current events as they relate to trusting God.
  • I would love to connect with you via this blog. If my writing resonates with you, let me know, so I can know how to encourage you further and pray for you.
  • If I blog successfully throughout this next year, I hope to use it as a stepping stone on this journey of learning generosity and writing a book with my readers in mind.

Thanks for checking me out! I’m excited to meet you here.❤

Love, Susan

#faith#family#everydaylife#zerotohero