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How to Feel Loved

Earlier this week, I read a New York Times article about a new book by two leading researchers who study happiness. According to the piece, if these two authors had to choose one thing as the secret to happiness, it would be “feeling loved.” The book points out that “In order to feel more loved by ...

Have We Learned to Hide Our Brokenness?

I live in a city in India where Christians still have freedom to worship together. In fact, I live in a part of town which we jokingly (and unofficially) call the “Bible Belt.” In a five-mile radius from where I live, there are two thriving Bible colleges, not to mention dozens of churches, Christian schools, Catholic ...

Can We Go Back to “Striving”?

It has evolved into a distateful word in the Christian lexicon. A word we feel guilty about. Over the years, I’ve dismissed and disparaged it, too.  What word am I referring to?  “Striving.”  We’ve turned the word “striving” into something almost sinister and sinful. I’ve written blog post after blog post saying “wise” things like, “May we not ...

How to Read the Bible Consistently in the New Year

“You’ll love reading the Bible more than you love chicken.” About 30 years ago, someone at a teen Bible study I’d attended spoke those words over me. I don’t know if there were an "impression" of sorts from God on their hearts. In fact, I don’t even remember who shared them with me.  But, back in the ...

Christmas Rewrites the Questions 

Earlier this week, I had the chance to do a mini solo getaway. Not just any getaway, but an uninterrupted time with God, reading the Word, worshipping Him, and simply practising His presence. In that place of quiet, I reflected on the year that has slipped by and spent some time thinking about what lies ...

When You Don’t Know What’s Next

Eighteen years ago, when I was expecting our first child, What to Expect When You’re Expecting was considered the go-to pregnancy “bible.”I know there’s an app for that now. But, back then, the book provided all sorts of baby advice and trivia. We would know, for instance, that at week 16, the baby would be ...

The Thrill of Hope, The Weary World Rejoices

Back in 2007, eighteen long years ago, I hung up an ornament on our Christmas tree. Why would I remember that moment?  The hubbers and I had been married about two years, and I was six months pregnant with our firstborn. We were excited and anxious soon-to-be parents. I remember hanging up that particular dull-gold ornament ...

Give Thanks in ALL Circumstances? How??

On the eve of Thanksgiving, we walk through tired hospital corridors. We are there to visit a friend, but we can’t meet him because he’s still in the ICU. His sister watches the clock in the waiting room. She is emotionally exhausted—but she is also remarkably resilient. As we talk to her, there’s something else—through ...

How Can We Reclaim Joy?

When my daughter was little, she would present me with dainty bouquets—composed entirely of weeds. We lived in Portland, Oregon, at the time, and on our few and scattered sunny days, my mini-me would joyfully run through the grass, filling her hands with wispy dandelions and wild daisies. When she gave me her handcrafted bouquets, ...
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…