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in susan narjala
You Have Permission For This
There’s a distinct point of time when I snap.
I don’t mean that I snap my fingers to a happy chorus. Nope.
I mean I snap like a dry twig. You can almost hear the cartoon-like crraaack.
My patience runs out. My face contorts. My tone hovers somewhere between irritable and infuriated. My words range from snarky to ...
Perfect Love Holds Us Through It All
“Sometimes God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves.”
Those compelling words were shared by a woman who plummeted to the depths of suffering. Yet she did not allow the waves of pain to drown her. Instead, she chose to let God lift her from the bottom of that sea of despair.
Joni Eareckson Tada ...
Vacations and Worship: Can They Actually Go Together?
Is it just me or do you find it harder to connect with God while on holiday?
As someone who thrives on schedules, I enjoy time in the Word during my regular routine. But you know what happens on vacations? Or, more to the point, what doesn’t happen on vacations? Routine. That’s what.
Schedules and calendars melt ...
When Shame Keeps You In Hiding
As part of an online accountability group for a "healthy lifestyle," I’ve signed up for a few fairly awkward things. For one, I tell a group of about 20 people how much I weigh every day. Thankfully, others on the group “weigh in” too (literally speaking) so it’s not overly embarrassing.
Other things we do include ...
Come and See—An Easter Reflection
One of my favorite jewelry pieces is a cross pendant my parents gifted me for my 21st birthday. More than two decades later, I still treasure the gift. It's delicate and pretty, but I love it because it represents something intrinsically central to my faith—the cross of Calvary.
As Christians, our church services and our meditations often ...
Jesus Didn’t Give His Life Because Of This—A Good Friday Reflection
“Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to the Cross I cling.”
These lyrics from one of my favorite hymns, “Rock of Ages” fill me with sorrow and wonder, grief and joy, amazement and awe—that God would become man and choose to lay down His life for me.
But I am also relieved. There’s nothing more I ...
What Does It Mean To Love God?—A Maundy Thursday Reflection
As I knelt by my bed and reflected on the Cross this week, I felt compelled to respond to God’s incredible love and sacrifice. My eyes brimmed with tears as I thought about that ponderous, numbingly horrendous journey Jesus took to Golgotha. Without a doubt, my heart was moved and my spirit was stirred
I pulled ...
God Didn’t Wait—And Neither Should We
The doorbell does its thing just as I’m sitting down for lunch.
My daughter proclaims she “needs” a snack just as I’m starting work.
Okay, let’s get real here, nature calls with urgency just as I’m about to write that profound life-changing sentence.
We’re all familiar with pauses and interruptions in our daily routines. We know what it ...
Two Words God Laid On My Heart
I sometimes find myself standing before God 's throne like I’m at a Chinese fast food stall at a mall's food court waiting to get served.
Let me explain.
I can approach Bible reading like I’m there to get Hakka noodles and sweet and sour chicken plopped on my plate and say a quick, “Thank You, God," ...
MEET SUSAN
