All Sons and Daughters has a song called ‘Great Are You Lord’ — You give life, You are love You bring light to the darkness You give hope, You restore Every heart that is broken Great are You, Lord It’s Your breath in our lungs So we pour out our praise We pour out our […]

So when the request was made to pick a blog theme….yesterday, because none of us had been so enlightened up to then….I had to wrack my brain. I’m usually good under pressure but for some reason this one had me grasping at straws. Or prayers as it turned out. “Living on a Prayer” seemed appropriate […]

Seems an appropriate blog theme for the week on the heels of the Fox presentation The Passion this past weekend on Palm Sunday. I built my entire day’s plan around being available at 8pm. I was interested in the presentation, I had a friend involved with it, and it was just wholesome entertainment that could […]

I don’t know about you but it sure seems life has picked up steam lately. Seems I am just going….and going…..and going. I think I’d give the Eveready Bunny a run for his money. Maybe minus the drumbeat. It could easily become a litany of all I have going on….working close to 50 hours a […]

I’m a thinker. I’ve been told I like to talk about ‘matters of consequence.’ I love theology. I love counseling. I love coordinating large events. I love all kinds of things – like a chameleon. I have a lot of interests and by God’s grace love doing a lot of things. Sometimes to my own […]

So last week we declared a bye week on the Weekly Blog Post Challenge, which has continued since the first weekend of November, so we’re really doing rather well! Travel, sickness, and life all decided to take priority so we gave in. But it’s a new week and though I am 2 days late….I have […]

You’ve probably seen it before in a movie or a cartoon. The fireman jumps out of the truck, grabs the carefully stowed hose, and runs to the nearest fire hydrant, leaving the hose trailing behind until it gets to the source. He feverishly affixes the hose to the hydrant, secures the seal, and grabs the wrench […]

Something strange has been going on. I feel it more with each passing day. Things are welling up within me that have never found their way out before now. Not to say they weren’t there…just never permitted an exit to see the world. Until now. You should be aware. There is a new Sue emerging. […]

I learn a lot of things from my dad, and one of them has to do with the degree of impression from something. Dad is an engineer, has a few patents to his name….even had something to do with helping develop the scratch and sniff technology (like for perfume samples). Yep….literally 3 points below genius. […]

As you can probably guess by now this week’ Blog Post Challenge theme is officially ‘Cold, Community, and Sue Bee Honey’ – or just ‘Community’ – so I opted for a nice blend of the two without the honey. Though depending on what comes out a spoonful of honey might make it taste a little […]

I remember grad school. There are a lot of stories to tell about those 2 years of my life, but one thing I recall in particular is the camaraderie amongst my peers as the time drew near for our Comps (comprehensive exams). We were already writing full scale alternate plan papers (equal to a thesis […]

I confess every time I hear the word ‘exhale’ I start singing the song by Plumb with the same title. “It’s okay to not be okay / this is a safe place / this is a safe place.” That song is special for a LOT of reasons. If you know the most recent chapter of […]

This is intentionally posted on December 22 in honor of Russell Anthony Bowles. ========================== It’s three days before Christmas. When we were little we had already made out the Christmas list, stood in line to see Santa and whisper that same list into his ear (wonder if he had a box or Qtips standing by […]

For a few hours, it was ‘normal.’ Whatever that can mean, last night it meant relaxed socializing with family and friends over a shared dinner and program. Had you walked into the room, besides all the men wearing the same color clothes and ID badges and the CO’s lingering in the background, you would not […]

I was never much of a reader growing up, unlike my sister, Beth, who was a verocious reader. She had a huge collection of paperbacks downstairs and I barely cracked my textbooks! Somehow I managed good grades! When I read, even today, it’s real life stuff….motivational, Christian based, biographical, etc., or the book I’m writing. One thing I’m not […]

There’s a song I love…best covered by Geoff Moore and The Distance…and it starts “I can see clearly now the rain is gone.” Well, I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel like my life reads more like a weather forecast! “Sunny and 70.” “Overcast with drizzle.” “Freezing rain, sleet and snow” (for those […]

So last week I was reading Psalm 18 and vs. 19 stuck out to me: “He rescued me because He delighted in me.” I was struck with two words – rescue and delight. I like being rescued. It brings me delight. My penchant for needing rescued began at an early age. The house where I […]

It’s that time of year. Yep….more than at seemingly any other time, the dead animals on the side of the road seem more common this time of year. Maybe they’re finding their winter nests. Maybe they’re slowing down and have worse luck. Or maybe…just maybe…they’re curious about what’s on the other side of the road. We […]

Let It Go! I have struggled with where to take this blog post. SO many different angles….so many paths….so many meanings. And I’m not sure I’ve settled on anything just yet but we’ll see what spits out as I type. A couple decades ago I really focused on memorizing the Word. My favorite book in […]

It was an unassuming evening. The day had been wrought full of teachings, interactive group discussions, soul searching, tears, laughter, and deep thought, wrestling with God. It was nice to wind down after a long day’s work at a recent Walking Stick Retreat (www.twentyfirstcc.org/retreats) called The Disappointing Messiah. The fire burned bright. I got to be […]