Author Archives

from Susan Narjala

Hope For When You Feel Stuck

“This is going nowhere.” Have you ever thought those words or voiced them when frustration mounted and you were ready to call it quits? Confession time: I have. Multiple times. I’ve been ready to throw in the towel because it felt like things were stuck, or like I was going in circles, or like I was on a road ...

Let Your SMART Goals Give Way To WISE Ones

We’re six months into 2022, halfway through the year — which means by now we should have checked off half the goals which we charted out at the beginning of the year. You know, written half the book. Run half the marathons. Lost half the weight. Cleaned out half our drawers and closets. Saved half ...

When You Feel Like You’re Not In Control

“What in the world am I doing on this thing?” That single thought seized me as I found myself suspended from what was essentially a swing on steroids, 40 feet above the ground. The “thing” was actually called “The Giant Swing” and it was one of the activities at an adventure park we visited over the weekend. Not ...

The (Surprising) Thing To Do When You’re Overwhelmed

Chances are, you have a lot on your plate at the moment. Scratch that. Chances are, you don’t just have one plate with stuff on it, but so many that you could possibly open a crockery store. (Anyone think they have enough inventory to start a Corelle franchise with me?) Chances are, most of us are overwhelmed by ...

What We Can Learn From Walter

A 100-year-old man recently won the Guinness World Record for working at the same company for an incredible 84 years. In a day and age when people jump jobs quicker than a caffeinated kangaroo, Walter Orthmann has worked for the same textile company in Brazil since when he was 15 years old. Walter, who celebrated his ...

How To Hear God’s Voice Over The Noise Of The World

Remember the game ‘Chinese Whispers’ you likely played at a birthday party when you were a kid? If you’re scanning your memory trying to think back to a few decades ago (like I did), here’s a little reminder of the game: A word or phrase is whispered from one person to another till the final ...

A Cry Of Lament And A Confession of Hope

Father God, We sit in the numbness and the rawness of our grief as we dwell on the tragedy that unfolded just hours ago. We think of the homes where 19 little ones won’t be asking for snacks or calling out to their mamas because they’ve had a bad dream or saying, “I’m bored” this summer. We ...

Love Shouldn’t Prompt You To Share Good Advice

She suddenly appeared at our table and interrupted our conversation: “I hope you won’t mind if I joined you all for five minutes.” I froze because she was a complete stranger. My mom and aunt, on the other hand, indicated to her that she could sit with us. The lady slid into the sofa seat next to me ...

Hurting People Don’t Need This (As Much As We Think They Do)

Six months ago, our seemingly perfect life was fragmented by the sudden passing of my husband’s dad. As waves of grief engulfed us, we also got slammed with health concerns and job transitions, and the pressures that come with unforeseen changes. It felt like a punch in the gut, followed by less-intense-but-painful jabs that knocked ...
MEET SUSAN

I love words. But you probably figured that out by now, considering this website essentially collates my words on the web. Read More…