great book

We got back from a church retreat yesterday afternoon. I was too tired to even unpack our suitcases. (I still haven't.)

I took a bath, crawled in the flannel sheets, and decided to read the cover of Suzie's new book, The Woman I Am Becoming. I got to the 3/4 mark last night and knew I'd blog about it today. I want to help her spread the word.

I'm telling you what. It's that good.

It's real.

It's relevant.

It's powerful.

It's honest.

I have two daughters in their twenties. They're gonna love this.

Thank you, Suzie. From one writer to another--you blessed me and will bless so many others through your words (and work). Well done. :-) Very well done. :-)

P.S. I'll finish it tonight during the Super Bowl.

Love,
Julie
www.juliegarmon.com

I want to remember

I've been absent for nearly a month from GGGL! But it's because I've been traveling across Europe. Over the past three weeks I spoke in Germany, Hungary, and in Austria. I spoke at a reformed church in Budapest and Debreccen, and in an International church at Vienna, Austria, and at a military base in Wiesbaden, Germany. God has been stretching me like crazy as I've stepped across borders and language barriers, and cultural differences.

And yet he's also allowed me to make new friends, to glimpse what heaven will look like one day as I worshipped with people in different languages, and with different experiences, but with one heart for God. I also ate very cool foods and saw buildings that were amazing!

I wish I could share all of it, but I want to at least give you a glimpse of one very powerful moment. I went to Mauthausen, a concentration camp in Austria where thousands and thousands suffered and died because they were Jews, or as POWS fighting for the freedom of the Jews.

I traveled with a good friend named Martina. She lives in Austria and studied Mauthausen, writing her thesis on what happened behind the walls of the camp. The first thing that I saw was memorials from all around the nation. I saw small rocks piled everywhere--remembrance rocks picked up from the quarry where Jewish men broke large rocks by hand and carried it all up 186 steps. Many died of fatigue or exposure to the elements. Others were skeletal, starved and broken in body.

The hardest part for me was walking into the gas chamber and the Krematorium. These were small rooms, yet large with pain and suffering. A room where evil overtook compassion or human concern. A place where torture was commonplace, and where human dignity was forsaken.

How does that happen? How can a person be so lost in darkness that this seems normal, or even allowed to take place? I believe this is a question that needs to be asked again and again.

But we often do that. We look at the larger picture, but I wanted to take a long look at my own heart.

I brought home a rock. I could have shopped in the beautiful stores in Austria, or in Germany, or Hungary. I could have bought trinkets and tourism items, but that rock picked up from the quarry at Mauthausen will help me remember.

I want to remember to love others.
I want to remember that people in the world are hungry, or hurting and the my comfort isn't the greatest thing on God's heart.
I want to remember that my words count.
I want to remember to speak out against evil.
I want to remember so that I might learn something from standing inside a gas chamber in Mauthausen, and it not just be another experience.

I've missed talking with you girls. Let us know you are here. We love hearing what you have to say.

Suzie Eller
http://realteenfaith.com

A Day Late, or maybe two weeks

First, I need to apologize to my wonderful Girls, God, and the Good Life bloggers! I was supposed to blog two weeks ago and somehow time slipped past as I traveled and wrote.

And here I am, out of turn, but with a promise to get back on track.

Lately life has been a blur--but a good blur.

A new book is out. Making It Real: Whose Faith Is It Anyway? is a discipleship book for teens. I started this series when I started hearing the reports that many twentysomethings and college students were abandoning their faith when they go to college or leave home for the first time, even when they were totally connected to God all through their teen years.

There are a lot of reasons that people say this happens, but after getting to hang out with wonderful teens for a long, long time, I think that sometimes faith gets all mixed up with other good things--like church, or tradition, or family beliefs. That's good stuff, but not enough when you need to dig down deep and find out what you believe when you're on your own and life hits, or when others question why you believe.

So, Making It Real helps you discover your own beliefs, carving out all the voices so that you can hear God, and make your faith your own.

Besides this book, I'm in the editing process of my next book for twentysomethings called The Woman I Am Becoming: Embracing the Chase for Identity, Faith, and Destiny. Isn't the cover beautiful?

Last, I'm packing my bags tomorrow to go to a wonderful Christian writer's conference at Mount Hermon, and then I'm off to Europe to speak in Hungary, Austria, and Germany with a very cool organization called Hearts at Home.

So, busy, yes. But also grateful. Each of these adventures are a little scary, and a whole lot of wonderful, and I'd love to know that you are praying. I need those prayers.

Are you a communicator? Are you someone who feels that one day you'd like to write? Or perhaps share the gospel in creative ways--speaking, drama, comedy? I think there are many of you who do. In fact, one of my friends has started a conference for teens and twentysomethings called She Speaks! for those who feel that God has called them to communicate the message of hope!

This is the deal. If you have that dream, I pray that you'll begin to use those gifts and sharpen those skills. For me, speaking is just as powerful in my home city of Muskogee, OK as I speak in high schools each month as it is Budapest. Writing in this amazing blog and getting to connect with you is just as awesome to me as writing my next book.

Talk to us about it. I want to hear your dreams, and perhaps what you hope God will do in your life, as well as where you are going with that dream--right now, right where you are.

Suzie (T. Suzanne)

http://realteenfaith.com

Having Fun with Your Parent

I'm writing an article today about having fun with your teen. As a mom of teens, and someone who works with teens (and LOVE it!) this doesn't seem like a hard subject.

I love to hang out with my girls, and my son. I like to horseback ride with Melissa. I like to go out to eat with Ryan. I love to talk with Leslie.

But fun stuff? Maybe that's different than just hanging out.

Is it making cookies? Watching a movie? Hiking? Going through old pictures? Shopping? Playing ping pong, cards, or Deal or No Deal? Is it having a special night or day reserved just for fun?

What is fun for you? What is one thing you'd like to do with your parent (or parents) that would be fun to you?

I'd love to hear your opinion. In fact, I might even quote you in the article, and your opinion would help lots of other parents out there trying to figure out how to connect and have a great time.

Have I mentioned that you girls rock? You do.

Suzie

Give me an "N"! *\o/*

What does the word "nurture" mean to you?

Is it covering the basics? I'm fed. I'm warm. I have a roof over my head. There you go, I'm nurtured.

Really? No, not really.


Nurting is going beyond the basics. When someone or something is nurtured, it fosters growth.

One way to nurture yourself is to nurture your dreams. Are you growing your dreams, tending to them, asking God to water them and help them sprout? Nurturing your dreams means that you do two things:



1. You protect your dreams


2. You pursue your dreams


There will be dreambusters every step of the way in your journey. Sometimes that is people who run you down, or tell you that you can't possibly succeed. It may even be someone really important in your life.

It's tough when you want to dream and no one seems to believe in you. But I discovered a long time ago that God believes in me. I was created by him. He breathed life into me, and he knows what my life can look like as I listen to him and follow his leading.


If someone had come to me as a teen and said that I could dream, I wouldn't have believed them. Life was sticky, icky and hard. Today I would love to be able to sit next to my once 15-year-old self and whisper, "dream, baby, dream." I would encourage that young girl to believe in the powerful words found in the Bible, instead of labels stuck on her life like rag-tag post-it notes. Those promises aren't just for the old me--they are for you too.


Another dreambuster is letting relationships in your life that don't line up with your dream. If a guy says he loves you, but asks for anything that could delay or destroy your dream, he's a dreambuster. If he's into you and not into God--dreambuster!


Remember the story of Joseph? A lady tried to mess up his dream and he literally ripped away from her, leaving his nice robe hanging in her hand. He recognized a dreambuster. She still tried to mess up his life and his dreams, but he stayed focused. He knew who to trust with his dreams. He placed them in God's hands.



He showed us that you nurture your dream as you pursue it. Sometimes dreams seem impossible because they are so HUGE!


And yet most dreams are accomplished one step at a time. Like a beautiful mosiac, little things, little acts of courage, little steps of faith, all combine to create the larger picture.

Pursuing your dreams might involve waiting. Most good things take time. You can nurture your dream by growing in strength and character while you wait and take those baby steps, so when it arrives you're ready to assume both the privilege and responsibility.

So, give me an "N"! And begin to nurture his dreams for your life. *\o/*

Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you. . . Jeremiah 1:5a (The Message)

Suzie Eller


Real Teen Faith

Our friend, Sarah

Sarah Sumpolec, one of the authors on Girls, God, and the Good Life, was on the Tyra Banks show in January. She was featured with several people who believed in wicca, satanism, and witchcraft. Sarah was interviewed because she practiced solitary witchcraft as a teen.

Later she found truth, and put away (burned) all of the things that once seemed like power to her. She found that knowing Christ took her down a road of destiny, instead of darkness.

As she shared her testimony on national TV, I sat in my living room and cheered her on. What I should have been doing is praying for my friend.

The backlash has been huge. I visited her website and the sheer amount of comments from those who believe in wicca and satanism has been overwhelming.

And yet Sarah continues to hold up the "light" of her faith as she responds with truth, with compassion, and with integrity. I was angry for her as I read some of the statements calling her a fraud or insisting that she was on the Tyra Banks show for publicity.

You see, I know Sarah. She's more than just a name to me. She's a friend. She's real. She's smart. She's incredibly funny. Most of all, she loves Jesus and it shows in her life, and in her writing, and in her relationships.

So, I'm asking you to join me today in praying for Sarah Sumpolec. Ask God to protect her, and to give her wisdom, but most of all to walk beside her as she speaks to new friends (and those who don't want to be friends) about an amazing God.

Prayer: Father I pray for Sarah today. I ask that you encourage her. I pray that you give her exactly the right words to say. I pray that she will celebrate with you the one or two or hundreds that respond to what she had to say, and allow you to influence their life and destiny. You never promised that when we spoke truth that it would always be positive. Lord, you showed us that truth might not be received by all, and yet you continued. Be with Sarah, wrap your arms around your beautiful daughter today, and may we be encouragers to her also. In your powerful and precious name. Amen