Brilliant!

April 27, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I didn’t miss it, Lord

I noticed

and pondered

and soaked in

Your brilliance

It was all around me

and in me

but I almost missed it

because the day was busy

and my thoughts were all over the place

but then you drew me in

to the green earth

and the blue sky

and the love of family

and the truth of Your Word

And Your brilliance

BURST

before my eyes

and in my heart

Let me not miss

for a single day

brilliant YOU

for life is dull

existing only in the shadow

of distraction

– Susie Stewart

God, brilliant Lord,
Yours is a household name.
Nursing infants gurgle choruses about You;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.
I look up at Your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?
Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden’s dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us Your Genesis-charge,
Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps.
God, brilliant Lord,
Your name echoes around the world.

– Psalm 8 (MSG)

Photo by Arik Stewart

Love Sees

April 26, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

You look at me

and see

my flaws;

I look at you

and see

flaws, too.

Those who love,

know love deserves

a second glance;

each failure serves

another chance.

Love looks to see,

beyond the scars

and flaws,

the cause,

and scars become

an honorable badge

of battles fought

and won –

(or lost)

but fought!

The product,

not the cost,

is what love sought.

– Ruth Bell Graham

God help us see

beyond the now

to the before,

and note with tenderness

what lies between

– and love the more!

– Ruth Bell Graham

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

– Romans 12:9 (MSG)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Grief & Grace

April 26, 2016April 26, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

But in thinking about love and grief we must be careful not to confuse either with that sentimentality which is part of cheap grace. The kind of loving grief I’m talking about involves acceptance of the precariousness of life and that we will all die, but our wholeness is found in the quality rather than the quantity of our living. Real love, between man and woman, friend and friend, parent and child, is exemplified for us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who offered us and still offers us the wholeness of that costly grace which gives us the courage for healthy grief.

We live in a time where costly grace is what makes life bearable; more than bearable – joyful and creative, so that even our grief is part of our partnership in co-creation with God.

– Madeleine L’Engle

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

– Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NLT)

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

– Psalm 24:18 (NLT)

God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

– Matthew 5:4 (NLT)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Warrior

April 24, 2016April 24, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Do you know

that your King

is also your Warrior?

He fights for YOU

The fiercest battles

are the unseen

And because you are His

He will defend you

Almighty Warrior

Savior

Defender

Rock

Surrender to Him

and He will fight for you

– Susie Stewart

The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior….

– Jeremiah 20:11 (NIV)

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

– Exodus 14:14 (NIV)

You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

– 2 Chronicles 20:17 (NIV)

For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

– Deuteronomy 20:4 (NLT)

Artist unkown

Endure

April 24, 2016April 24, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

What then are we to do about our problems? We must learn to live with them until such time as God delivers us from them. We must pray for grace to endure them without murmuring. Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting. They harm us only when we resist them or endure them unwillingly.

– A.W. Tozer

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

– Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

The readiest way to escape from our sufferings is, to be willing they should endure as long as God pleases.

– John Wesley

Photo by Susie Stewart

On Purpose

April 22, 2016April 22, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

The decisions we make dictate the schedules we keep. The schedules we keep determine the lives we live. The lives we live determine how we spend our souls. So, this isn’t just about finding time. This is about honoring God with the time we have.

– Lysa Terkeurst

Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God.

– Ephesians 5:15-17 (PHILLIPS)

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

– Deuteronomy 6:5 (NLT)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Grateful Trust

April 21, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Ungratefulness can be traced to a failure to find benefits in everything we experience and an unwillingness to trust God to fulfill our deepest needs.

– Gary Smalley

I realize anew that, just as we must learn to obey God one choice at a time, we must also learn to trust God one circumstance at a time. Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will. I never feel like trusting God when adversity strikes, but I can choose to do so even when I don’t feel like it. That act of the will, though, must be based on belief, and belief must be based on truth.

– Jerry Bridges

Begin to rejoice in the Lord, and your bones will flourish like an herb, and your cheeks will glow with the bloom of health and freshness. Worry, fear, distrust, care – all are poisonous! Joy is balm and healing, and if you will but rejoice, God will give power.

– A.B. Simpson

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I trust Him.
For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with His feathers.
He will shelter you with His wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.
If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
For He will order His angels
to protect you wherever you go.
They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love Me.
I will protect those who trust in My name.
When they call on Me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”

– Psalm 91 (NLT)

Photo by Arik Stewart

The Pull

April 20, 2016April 20, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Heaven is not here, it’s There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.

– Elisabeth Elliott

Life without God is a slow decline of heart and soul, ever accepting a lower standard, and gaining speed toward eternal darkness. Less happy every day and needing ever more distractions from the pain. Lost, miserable, and feeding on the greedy pull of things in the world. But never really enjoying anything because there is always this nagging in the back of the mind that Hell awaits. For those without God, the fear of dying must be overwhelming. As it should be.

– Rex Rouis

The Pull

is real

Luring, coaxing, beckoning

to eternal joy

or eternal pain

Without being saved

weighted by sin

the pull is ever downward

But as children of God

graciously saved

the pull is upward

We either await eternity

with dread

or peace

Choose wisely

You will be pulled to one or the other

– Susie Stewart

We know that if our earthly house—a mere tent that can easily be taken down—is destroyed, we will then live in an eternal home in the heavens, a building crafted by divine—not human—hands. Currently, in this tent of a house, we continue to groan and ache with a deep desire to be sheltered in our permanent home because then we will be truly clothed and comfortable, protected by a covering for our current nakedness. The fact is that in this tent we anxiously moan, fearing the naked truth of our reality. What we crave above all is to be clothed so that what is temporary and mortal can be wrapped completely in life. The One who has worked and tailored us for this is God Himself, who has gifted His Spirit to us as a pledge toward our permanent home.

– 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 (VOICE)

On that day—when the clouds draw back displaying His powerful heavenly messengers in a fiery blaze, Jesus the Lord will appear from heaven dealing out perfect justice to anyone who doesn’t know God and anyone who disobeys the good news of our Lord Jesus. And what’s to become of them? They’ll pay for what they’ve done; their punishment will be eternal destruction. And what’s worse? They’ll be banished from the Lord’s presence and glorious power.

– 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 (VOICE)

Photo by CoffeePam

Dark to Light

April 19, 2016April 19, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

What is your Dark?

What eats at you

grieves you

overwhelms you

discourages you

tears at you?

Bring that dark

and expose it to Light

Lay it down

before He who illuminates

even the deepest black

Bask in the light

of who He is

and the glory of His Words

He can

and He will

bring light

to your Dark

Let Him

be Him

for You

– Susie Stewart

Only words of Light can drive out worlds of dark.
Only deeds of Light can drive out depths of dark.
Only lives of Light can drive out lies of dark.

Darkness can never travel as fast as Light. No matter how bad things get, no matter how black the dark seeps in, no matter the depths of the night — the dark can never travel as fast as Light. The Light is always there first, waiting to shatter the dark.

You can always hold His Word like a ball of light right there your hand, right up there next to your warming heart.

You can always count on it: Jesus is bendable Light, warmth around every unexpected corner.

– Ann Voskamp

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

– John 8:12 (NLT)

A light that thrives in the depths of darkness, blazes through murky bottoms. It cannot and will not be quenched.

– John 1:5 (VOICE)

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

– Ephesians 5:8 (NLT)

The deepest darkness of all is separation from God because of sin. You are in need of a savior and He will be that for you. Accept Him today as the only One able to cleanse you of ALL unrighteousness. His light will penetrate your darkness and change your life! Only let Him in. Humble yourself and accept His free gift of salvation. ~Susie

Photo by Arik Stewart