Run, Run, Running

I almost danced last Friday when I deposited the manuscript in the mail. Tucked inside the large envelope was a project that I worked on for the last four months.

Monday I turned my attention to the next project. I't is a series of discipleship books for teens who want to take their faith to the next level. The first is titled, "Just You and God". It's how to find your own unique relationship with God and how to take it to the next level.

It's due in three weeks.

I also have an article due for a magazine. And in the midst of all of this, I'm flying out in a couple of weeks, first to minister with Teen Mania's Battle Cry for Parents, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and then with After Eve in Virginia. I need to prepare my workshops.

Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? That's what I keep hearing in my heart -- keep writing, Suz. Stay on the treadmill and run, run, run, because doors are opening and you want to keep up.

But I quiet that voice in my head each morning. Before I run, run, run anywhere, I want to sit with God.

The things God has called me to do are so much more than projects. The book I deposited on Friday is way more than a project. It's a story of God's healing. It's the story of destiny because my mom's brokenness was fracturing me and somehow I found a God that understood and was bigger than our chaos. Not only did God reach past my angry, hardened heart, but he gave something so much more valuable to share with my own children.

The second project is a very personal part of what God has called me to do. I've worked with teens and now college students for a long time. I keep running into hungry teens and college students that want more than religion, more than church activities. They want God. They want to take their faith to the next level, to a depth where they hear God's voice in spite of the clutter, where they can impact their friends and family and world. They want to know God, not just about him, but to have that face-to-face relationship.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will work inside of me as I write this book. I don't want it to be a fluff book, or just something that has my byline on it. I want to share his heartbeat with words on paper.

Same with the article. Same with the workshops.

One thing that I've learned is that it's easy to get focused on the stuff that we do for God and lose sight of why we do it.

That's why I've stopped run, run, running long enough to hang out with God every day. It's kind of like checking in with the boss before I report to work, but it's more than that. It's also communing with my best friend, hanging out with my Savior, finding that place where I can be real about who I am. Coz way before I'm T. Suzanne Eller, author and speaker, I'm Suz, child of God.

The Bible calls it a secret place (Matthew 6:6), and I get that. It's a place where God knows what you need before you ask. It's a place where you can crowd out the hype and noise.

So, I have a lot to do today. In fact, I have so much to do that it seems impossible, but it will all come together. You see, I'm not in this alone.

Gotta go. I have a morning appointment I just can't miss. : ) Someone I love a lot is waiting to hang out with me.

Suzie Eller