Suzanne Eller, Living Free Together

Living free in faith, family, and feelings

You are more than that lie

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What’s a lie that you have believed about who you are?

That’s a hard question, but an important one to ask.

Because some of us have accepted a lie as truth, and have allowed it to define us. Some of us may even allow that lie to keep us from stepping into an opportunity that God has uniquely designed for us.

And that’s not okay. You are worth so much more than a stinking lie.

I have fought this battle of lies and God has healed my heart in a thousand different ways, but sometimes a new lie tries to tiptoe in.

When the enemy hits us with a lie, there’s a reason behind it. It’s to:

  • silence us
  • stunt our spiritual or emotional growth
  • to hide the gifting God has placed inside of us for his purposes

So we choose truth over a lie every single time. The beautiful news is that we can find everything we need in God’s word. It’s right there, waiting for us, like a seasoned warrior ready to stand up and fight for us.

I’ve created a printable for you. It’s from my book, The Spirit-Led Heart. I know the graphic is a little small here, but the printable is frame-size and easy to read. Place it somewhere that you can see it every single day until the truth soaks in.

Download this beautiful printable

Rather than allowing a lie to disqualify us from anything, we disqualify that lie with truth.

So let’s remember these three things today. Speak it loud if you need.

  1. God’s truth is greater than any lie
  2. We all have gaps, but God fills them
  3. When we step into truth, we are freed to live the truth

Love you friends. Let’s live in freedom and truth together.

Suzie

Resources

Listen to Episode 29 of More Than Small Talk with Holley Gerth, Jennifer Watson, and Suzie Eller. In today’s episode we take this topic deeper. I share the one lie that the enemy tried to place on my heart recently. It’s a powerful, life-giving conversation. Listen on iTunes, KLRC, or your favorite podcast app.

More Than Small Talk with Jennifer, Suzie, and Holley

Want a printable of the beautiful Freedom from Lies graphic shared in this blog post? It’s yours! Download it here.

10 ways to be fully present

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It’s almost an epidemic.

We know there’s value in experiencing what is right in front of us. We don’t want to be that person with regrets. We hear those stories that tell us what they wish they had done while there was time.

But it’s still a struggle to be in the moment.

Today I want to invite us all to intentionally choose one way to live fully right where we are. Here are 10 suggestions to get you started (and a bonus!).

Hold a real conversation

Push every every other thought out of your mind and give the person in front of you 100% attention. Listen all the way to the end without interrupting.

Let that hug linger

I know you’re tempted to pull away, but let that hug sink in.

Look for the special in a moment

What is special about an ordinary moment? Look for it. Note it. Embrace it. Savor it. Thank God for it.

Look at it from a child’s perspective

Do you notice how a child delights in the simplest things? Ask God to give you a child-like perspective when you are tempted to rush through a special event or celebration.

10 ways to be fully present with those you love. #livingfreetogether Click To Tweet

Put your phone down

Don’t just turn it over. Put it away. Don’t allow it to be a third-party in that conversation or gathering.

Give your to-do list less power

Sure, that list is important but is it the boss of you? It’s not. Give yourself permission to defer, delegate, or delete some of the tasks. You’ll get them done, because that’s who you are, but rolling them over to another day or allowing someone else to help with them is a strong move.

Look them in the eye

If, like me, you are easily distracted, look that person in the eye. Let them know you are there, 100%

Resist the urge to take a picture

I realize we all have six million pictures on our phones. Some of those photos are absolute keepers. Yet the memories that are most vivid are those that involve all our senses. Choose to embrace the moment in your mind, rather than on your phone.

Go for a hike or walk

Go for a walk or hike with no other agenda than to be a “noticer.” No pics. No Map-My-Run or specific pace. Take a friend, child, or loved one with you. Notice God’s creation. Celebrate the beauty you see.

Be spontaneous

Jump on the bed (seriously). Laugh. Say yes to something frivolous and fun.

Bonus: Just Breathe

You would be surprised at how often we forget to breathe. Let that breath go all the way to your belly. Take in the air you need. Do this 10 times.

Okay friends, you aren’t required to do all of them but if you choose one, practice it all week long. Share how it went for you. What you learned. What you want to do different from here on out.

Let’s live fully! We’ll arrive at “one day” and our story will be that we lived our lives exactly the way we wanted. No regrets!

Suzie

In today’s More Than Small Talk podcast (Episode 29: How to Be Fully Present), Holley Gerth, Jennifer Watson, and I take this deeper. We share all the reasons we struggle with this and some ways we are trying our best to be fully present.

Discover all the ways you can listen!

The last thing we need is another list. . .

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I feel out of sorts and I’m not sure why.

Should I “do” something? 

That’s where my brain goes, because that’s the way we are wired. We try to fill up those out-of-sort feelings with tasks and goals — or we try to work our way out of them instead of asking ourselves what we really need.

So I pick up the Bible. The words as familiar as my heartbeat. Something fresh, something new leaps from the page into that mile-wide valley in my heart.

I read a couple of pages in a devotional. Words settle like cool rain on a scorching summer morning.

God is with you. His perpetual presence with you can be a source of joy, springing up and flowing out in streams of abundant life.

Then I simply talk to him. No agendas. No big requests. I just open my heart and talk.

Yep, that’s what I needed. 

In the busyness, I let this part of me fade away. I’ve been in the Bible, studying for ministry, but not just me and God.

Are you listening to @HolleyGerth, @SuzanneEller, and @JReneeWatson on More Than Small Talk #podcast? Check out the new episode today on your fav podcast app. #klrcpodcastnetwork

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I sink to my knees in the carpet. I stop wrestling with that nudge that says, “I miss you, Suzie”.

That I’ve been push, pushing away. 

Knowing Christ is part of who I am. I’m out of sorts because I can’t ignore that part of me and feel whole.

It’s not about what I need to do, but Who I need.

Just knowing that leads to renewal as I step into that need with him. He becomes the center of my life again, and suddenly I’m centered too.

I’m not there out of duty. Not to check off my to-do list, but simply to read a scripture, a passage. To call out his name.

And I am filled. Springs of living water, just as promised in John 7:38.

Are you out of sorts and unsure why?

Don’t start that to-do list. Don’t try to work your way out of it. Those to-do’s will be there when you get back.

He’s waiting for you.

Suzie

In today’s More Than Small Talk podcast, Holley, Jennifer, and I talk about our lists. You know, the one that’s always going on in our brain. The ones that try to take over our life.

While lists are important (I’m a huge list maker), sometimes we just need to put the lists aside. Or, if you are like me, make those lists work for you instead of be the boss of you.

I hope you’ll tune in today at KLRC.com or on your favorite podcast app. Click here to see all the possibilities available to you to listen.

God knows exactly who you are

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I got really angry on the podcast today. Not at my friends, but at the word “imposter.” It makes me angry that this word dares to settle in the heart of anyone that I know. It makes me angry that it once occupied any part of my heart.

The truth is none of us show up knowing everything. There is a learning curve. There will be mistakes made.

Yet if God is the one asking us to do something, he knows what’s up. He knows the plans he has for us and it’s an adventure worth taking! I love this verse in the Message version.

He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. Romans 8:27-30 (The Msg)

In today’s More Than Small Talk podcast, Holley, Jennifer, and I shared the times we felt like a fraud, but also what God has taught us.

These are just a few of them.

  • The need to be perfect is almost always tied to fear
  • God knows who we are becoming
  • There’s always a learning curve (embrace it!)

Will you join us on the podcast today? Share your thoughts. If you need prayer in this area, I’m happy to pray with you and there’s an amazing team of prayer warriors who will join in.

What is one thing God is asking you to do?

Take one step toward that today.

Suzie

Related Resources

Listen to today’s More Than Small Talk episode #22 – “Afraid You’re a Fraud.” (Click on the link and it will give you options of how to listen!)

When a loved one is depressed. . .

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There are times I don’t know what to say, no matter how badly I want to.

When a loved one or friend is struggling with depression, we want to say the right thing. We want to be a good friend. In today’s conversation with Dr. Michelle Bengtson, a board-certified neuropsychologist, she and I talk about what helps and what doesn’t help when a friend is walking through depression.

Michelle is not only a neuropsychologist, she’s battled depression herself.

She wrote about her experience in a book titled, “Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression.”

Join me in this conversation.

If you can’t see the video, click here.

These are four things that Michelle says will help.

  • You don’t have to know what to say, just be present
  • Don’t offer advice
  • Check in from time to time
  • Be aware that depression isn’t his or her identity

I hope you’ll check out Dr. Michelle’s Bengston’s book, Hope Prevails.

I also invite you to join Holley, Jennifer, and I today on More Than Small Talk Podcast for Episode #20 — Depression Doesn’t Define You! You can listen at KLRC.com or on your favorite podcast app.

What is one thing you learned from today’s conversation with Dr. Michelle? If you struggle with depression, what is one thing you want us to know about you? Let’s take this deeper. . .

Suzie

Find out more about Dr. Michelle Bengtson at:

What if waiting is part of the plan?

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I admit it. I stink at waiting.

What does waiting feel like to you? It can bring out sadness or frustration. Maybe it makes you feel like God has forgotten that dream he poured over your heart.

I hear from God and I’m ready to do it yesterday. When it doesn’t happen, no matter how I’m feeling, I need to take a step back and remember this one thing:

Waiting isn’t wasted.

In fact, the finish line may not be the actual goal at all.

In today’s More Than Small Talk podcast, Holley, Jennifer, and I honestly share about those times when waiting felt like the hardest place to be.

Jennifer, Suzie, Holley — More Than Small Talk

Jennifer waited through a season of infertility. I waited when I felt like God had given me a message to share, but six years later all the doors were closed. Holley shared how her answer to a waiting prayer didn’t look anything like she thought it would.

If you are in a waiting season, I know it’s hard. I’ve been there too. You are not alone in that waiting place. There is comfort and clarity as we honestly talk about it with our Savior. These are the questions I ask in waiting seasons. Maybe they’ll be a great prayer starter for you too.

  1. Lord, is there a miracle you trying to perform right where I am?
  2. Will you help me to trust you with your timeline?
  3. Show me today’s assignment.

I don’t always hear the answers right away, but often find one thing he’s showing me that day. I find one thing that seems small, but it brings him joy. It takes my eyes off my timeline, my plan, and I start to see power of his work in the waiting season.

Are you in a waiting season? I’d love to pray with you. My prayer team would love to wrap around you.

Suzie

Related Resources

Listen to More Than Small Talk podcast.

While you’re there, we’d love for you to leave a review or share it with a friend. Today’s episode was Episode #19.

The resources mentioned in today’s podcast were:

Strong women, soft hearts

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If you had to pick only one attribute to describe yourself — a strong woman or a woman with a soft heart — which would you choose?

This felt like an impossible question when we asked it on More Than Small Talk today.

It led to a bigger question.

Why in the world should we have to choose?

Sometimes culture tries to tell us what strength should look like. We are told that being soft-hearted is weak. We are told that being a strong woman makes us “too much.” We can be both soft-hearted and strong. And the world needs both.

KLRC Podcast Network

In today’s More Than Small Talk podcast, we wrestled with this conversation.

These were some of our thoughts:

  • Never let the world define you (amen!)
  • Shut out negative voices to listen for God’s leading
  • You don’t have to choose to be strong or soft-hearted

I may have even quoted a line from one of my all-time favorite shows to prove my point, but this is a better word from Paul.

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NLT)

There are times you won’t feel strong. There are times when your soft heart fails to lead. Don’t feel condemned when that happens. Instead, that’s exactly when we lean into our relationship with Christ to find what we need — and that is strong!

Never ever apologize for being a strong woman with a soft heart. Be who you are. Let God use those traits to impact a world.

And let’s be strong together.

Suzie

Resources

Listen to today’s More Than Small Talk podcast (Episode #16) on KLRC.com podcast network or on your favorite podcast app.

Resource mentioned in podcast today is Fiercehearted by Holley Gerth.

Hey friend, if you enjoyed today’s post, you might find these blog posts helpful as well.

*An Open Letter to Women: Let’s be strong together

* When You Feel Less Than Strong