Hey friend!
All this week we’ve been sharing and praying with each other. I know many of you by name. Some of you I’ve had the privilege of sitting across a table, and sharing and laughing. For others of you, we are brand new friends. I don’t know a lot about you, and you may not know my story.
That’s why I’m sharing this recent episode on the Shaun Tabbatt show.
He asked me to share my story as well as more about my Come With Me Adventure. It’s been a long time since I shared how I started as a believer, and sharing it brought tears as I listened to how far God has brought this once broken girl.
Take a listen, will you? Then share one thing about your faith story. I can’t wait to get to know you better!
There’s also a giveaway. Check that out after you listen.
Suzie
Did you know that you can lead a study in your own home using Come With Me: Discovering the Beauty of Following Where He Leads?
Maybe you will invite two or three friends to meet a coffee shop. Maybe you’ll share it with your small group. Maybe you and a couple of co-workers will do this over lunch.
Perhaps you’ll sit alone with God, and discover where Jesus is leading you one-to-one.
On the Come With Me study page, we share resources — teaching videos, jpgs, downloadable journals, and a Come With Me prayer book. It’s all free and just for you or your church or small group.
I am LOVING this series so very much. Thank you so much for doing this!!
My faith story started a bit like yours, Suzie! My family did attend church, but that was all it was. My neighbor across the street led a Good News Club for the neighborhood kids. I still remember what I was wearing the day I sat on her floor and accepted Jesus as my Savior, but almost as importantly, my best friend! I was 4 maybe 5. I needed His friendship in our home, during difficult family stuff. In my late teens came the hippie days. Church stopped, but never the prayers to keep me safe. A bad marriage gave me my precious son, and I made sure he went to church with grandma. In college, he opened the dialogue about God. Soon after, it would be the Lord moving through the death of my dad, that snapped me right back into the arms of Jesus and He made sure I had zero doubt about who He was and His love for me!
I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, and like you, had no clue about anything to do with the Bible. I knew there was a God, but I thought He was only for people who went to church. I didn’t come to know the Lord until I was 41 years old. I had been through 2 marriages, 1 which was abusive, and a very abusive relationship with a man I met online. I had just come out of a women’s shelter and was living with my brother who was a Christian. I was so broken and searching for something, but didn’t know what, or who! My brother asked me to “talk” to a friend of his from work, and I said no! I wasn’t interested in any relationship! I ended up agreeing to “talk” to this friend, who is now my husband of almost 11 years! From the moment we met, we connected like we had known one another our whole lives. He invited me to go to church with him and I hesitantly accepted. When I walked through the doors of that church I was greeted by some of the most loving people I had ever met! I felt welcome, accepted, and loved! Of course I was experiencing the love of Jesus, but had no clue what that was at the time. Here we are, 12 years later, and I am so grateful for my brothers persistence! I found Jesus and some amazing friends in that church! Today I can stand at those doors and greet the women who walk through with the same brokenness I once had, and I can show them the love that Jesus so freely gave me!
Rachel thank you for your testimony .God confirmed to me that verbal abuse and emotional abuse could be healed when we let God take control of all things. I know God has better plans please keep me in your prayers as I’m going through some storms. God Bless you
Evelyn, I am so glad you are touched by my words. I am lifting you in prayer! You are so right, anything we are facing or walking through in our lives can be healed by the One who created us. We only have to give it to Him, and trust that He will heal us and lead us out of that dark place and in to His beautiful light! Keeping you in prayer, my sister!
Amen. God Bless you Rachel
So beautiful to hear your voice, your heart, your story, your journey.
Suzie~thank you for following your heart to encourage women in their calling from God. He created us different and equally special. The same goes with our callings. Hugs ~ Michele
As I’m broken @ the moment all I could do is thank God for putting this ministry in my path. It’s been in a huge blessing knowing that no matter of the the verbal abuse,emotional abuse. God will sustain me and give me strength. Please keep me in your daily prayers
Praying for you, Evelyn. One of the things that is ironic about feeling broken is realizing you never were. In actuality, God’s peace (Shalom) means there is “nothing lacking, nothing missing, nothing broken.” Feelings can be deceptive. Keep up with this devotional and speaking God’s words of life over yourself. Let Him help you to figure out how to get away from abuse. He does not expect you to live in that. (In fact, that is how we keep our “wholeness.”) Seek God, He’ll do the rest. Love you, my sister.
Regina Thank you so much for these encouraging words, yes God is giving me that peace and everyday I just pray for strength. 25 years of marriage, but As I read the word God has not intended no one to be abused in any way. I have prayed all these years that things will change and they never have. So God will give me the victory and will sustain me. God is my healer and I know that he will never fail me but man will. Love you sister and thank you for your prayers.
Evelyn I pray that Jesus will consume all your thoughts as you trust Him for healing in your emotions. I pray that as you meditate on His life giving Word, Jesus will lead you through this valley. I pray that He will keep you safe and that whatever the enemy meant for harm God will turn around for good. You are worthy because He is Worthy because greater is He that is in you than he that is in this world. Bless you sister in Christ
Amen. God is awesome I am so blessed to be a part of this blog. Thank you for your prayers it’s hard @ times but I will seek The Lord at all times and rebuke the enemy. God bless you Sister and please continue lifting me in your daily prayers.
Lee, you are the winner of the Come With Me necklace! Send me your mailing address (using the Contact tab on this page). Thanks!
I went to church with my family regularly. I was in youth groups and still stay in touch with friends from church to this day. I went to a Billy Graham Crusade in Mpls. at the age of 12. I went forward and excepted Christ and was baptized at my church after. I really did not have a personal relationship with God until many years later. I have served many years in children’s ministry and have been on a break from that for about six years. After reading your book Come With Me I answered God’s calling to serve him this year in what ever he asks of me. Well I’m back in with the children because how huge it was in my life to have that as a child. I love to tell children about Jesus. This year is about serving Him for me.
Jody, I can’t think of anything more rewarding than working in children’s ministry! Our church sits in a neighborhood that is not far from the less than desirable areas of the City. About a year ago, we suddenly had an overload of “neighborhood children” appear on Wednesday night. What was a hard challenge in the beginning, has turned into a beautiful blessing from God. He led these kids to our church for a reason! We have discovered that these kids keep coming back because they feel loved and safe. We have been able to bring these kids from being loud, obnoxious, angry children to the place where they are beginning to learn respect, love, and most of all they are answering questions about Jesus during our group times! These kids have been such a blessing to me and so many other children’s ministry leaders! We have even been able to welcome a few of the parents to our church. God is up to some great things in our neighborhood! 🙂 <3
Thanks for sharing Rachelle. I’ve always believed the children are so important because when you get them in church their family is not far behind.
My family didn’t attend church and then I found myself in a bad season of my life in my later 20s. It was at that time my grandma bought me my first Bible and shared with me. From that point on I was changed and it has been an amazing journey of faith!
Suzie, What a beautiful exciting broadcast! You are a true disciple of God and want to share those responsibilities and love with all of us who are your readers. You bring a sense of excitement to me through your ministry. I am grabbing onto your excitement and reading the book of Luke now myself.
My faith walk started as a young girl going to Sunday School and church but not really getting it. They were nice people but God seemed like a figurehead to me. As I became a teenager I was priiviliged to play the piano for Sunday school openings and I began to feel the words of the hymns in my life. I was not sure what to do with those feelings but they truly touched my heart. In my adult life I worked within the local church sharing God’s word in a small loving congregation.
Fast forward To retirement years and I have such a desire to share God with all I meet including my son in law who is not sure who God really is or for that matter is there really a God. I pray your ministry continues to touch as many women as possible and may God continue to invite all of us into the unknowns of life!
Thank you Suzie for your ministry that was put on your heart by God!
Thank you for sharing! I was raised in the ministry and married a minister, who became abusive. After 26 years of extreme ups and downs, he left it all, including me. My children were in transition of moving out, as well. I found myself suddenly alone and went through the most dark depression. As God brought me out of that, I looked for traditional ministry opportunities, but it wasn’t to be- at least not in the avenues I was pursuing. God began showing me grassroots ministry opportunities that didn’t include music or being married to a preacher. It was one on one and in small groups. I began to see miracles in the lives of women who couldn’t get free from their brokenness on their own, or needed restoration after divorce. Now, 12 years later, I have the most loving husband who support the book I am writing and any ministry God puts in my(our) path. God is enormously good- putting lives in connection for mutual benefit and His glory!
Amen.
Really enjoyed hearing your beautiful voice and story (again), such a great interview Suzie! Getting to know you this past year, going to the Come With Me Retreat and hanging with you in Austin has all been such a blessing in my life and has meant more to me than you will ever know!
Love You BIG❤❤
Before Christ I searched for significance and acceptance from people or things. I was constantly trying to fill a place in me that felt so empty with relationships and things that never seemed to last or satisfy my need for acceptance. Placed a lot of unrealistic expectations on people to make me feel better about me. I was actually brought up in church but never grasped the aspect of relationship vs head knowledge of Jesus. After an encounter with Jesus when I was 22years of age I began a long journey of discovering Jesus through relationship rather than just knowing all the stories. Suddenly the Word of God became real and living and active in me. I say suddenly but really it was years of digging into Gods word to develop a truly self absorbed person that I was into being moldable person in the potters hand, at least this week. 🙂 Constantly on the potters wheel is really not such a bad place to be. In His Hands.
Our group took a break and we will begin again on the 18th of Jan discussing Ch 4 Loving People You Don’t Want to Love. Really enjoying this 21 days Suzie!
Enjoyed listening to your interview with Shawn (?) To find out how you began in your faith, ministry and writing. You are a very encouraging person to me. I have the book, Come With Me, and had started with it, but haven’t finished it, so I want to do that soon. Thanks for the free resources you provide! God bless!
Dear Suzie, I also wasn’t raised in a christian home. We hardly went to church and when we did it was only when my dad went to war. I accepted the Lord as my savior when I was 17. As I was listening to you I realize that I too have made faith in following Jesus far more difficult than it really is. I do want to be used of the Lord. I know there are many women our there with great needs. I’m not sure how to go about helping them but some how I want to trust the Lord to bring them to me and give me the faith to lead them to Him and share how He has done so much for me in my life. You are a real blessing. I loved your book. I enjoy your blog posts and listening to you every chance in get! Love In Christ, Linda
Go
Thank you for sharing. I’ve read many of your books, but didn’t hear your whole story all together before. This was wonderful.
I love that you share your heart Suzie. You are an inspiration to me as well as to many others. Thank you.
Thanks you for giving us this opportunity to win.i am loving ready ur blog