Suzie Eller
Suzanne (Suzie) Eller is a bestselling author, Intl. speaker, and co-host of the popular podcast, More Than Small Talk with Holley Gerth and Jennifer Watson, and founder of TogetHER Ministries. Suzie has been featured on programs including The Harvest Show, MidDay Connection, Focus on the Family, Aspiring Women and more. Suzie lives in NW Arkansas with her husband, Richard, and loves hanging out with their children and grandchildren, hiking, kayaking, cycling, and anything in nature. Her heart is to come alongside women as they live free in their family, relationships, and feelings together.
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Oct 22
October 22-24, 2021
Girlfriends in God Conference
North East, MD
With: Mary Southerland, Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith
Feb 19
February 19, 2022
Outrageous & Contagious 10th Ladies Conference
Tifton, GA
With: Mary Southerland, Sharon Jaynes, and Gwen Smith
Apr 22
April 22-24, 2022
Girlfriends in God Women’s Conference
Asheville, NC
With: Mary Southerland, Sharon Jaynes and Gwen Smith
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Five-year-old Brooke was sitting in the backseat of the minivan while her mom and I ran errands. “Mommy,” she asked, “Is it worse to pick a scab or pick a mosquito bite?”![]()
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“You shouldn’t pick either one,” her mom replied.![]()
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I glanced back at Brooke as she tried to wipe away the bloody evidence that she had done both.![]()
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Little girls aren’t the only ones who pick at scabs. We big girls do it, too. Maybe we don’t pick at the brown crusty scabs that form over flesh wounds, but we do pick at bitter rusty scabs that form over soul wounds. Either way, picking at scabs keeps wounds from healing, and keeps us stuck from moving forward.![]()
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One day Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast. While He was there, He stopped by what was called The Sheep Gate Pool or Pool of Bethesda. The pool was surrounded by five covered colonnades or verandas where a great number of physically compromised people used to gather—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. They believed that from time to time an angel would come down from heaven and stir the waters. The first one in the water after such a stirring would be healed. So, there they sat, day-after-day, waiting for the mysterious rippling.![]()
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A man who had been lame for thirty-eight years caught Jesus’ eye. He walked over and asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6)![]()
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That is a strange question; or it is?![]()
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Sometimes we can grow comfortable being stuck in a bad story. Sure, there are heartaches and heartbreaks, disappointment and disillusionment, fear and fragile emotions, but at least we know what to expect out of life. Wounds can become like old friends that we wear as a badge of honor in some strange way. Sometimes it’s easier to cling to a bad story than embrace the redemption of a new one because the old one fits like a well-worn shoe. I’ve worn that old shoe with the floppy sole myself. I wonder if you have too.![]()
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For the lame man by the pool, healing would mean a drastic lifestyle change. He would have to get a job and become a responsible part of the community. He would have to stand on his own two feet literally and figuratively. Begging is all he’d ever known. Do I want to get well? Hmmm. I’m not sure. At least I know what to expect in this condition. Let me think about that.![]()
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The first step to healing from past trauma, no matter how we received it, is to decide that we want to get well and move past it—that we want a better story. We may not have deserved or caused the wound, but that’s what we got. It may not be fair, but those are the facts. ![]()
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Even though the man never did answer Jesus’ question, Jesus stepped over his excuses and said, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” (John 5:8). And he did.![]()
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Jesus had a knack for telling people to do what they didn’t think they could.![]()
Stretch out the fingers of your withered hand.![]()
Stand up straight and unbend your back.![]()
Roll the stone away and let the dead man out.![]()
Open your blind eyes and tell me what you see.![]()
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We all have some kind of condition. Maybe it’s not as visible as the lame man by the pool, but we have something in our stories we’d like to change. And Jesus asks the question…do you really want to live differently than you are right now?![]()
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It’s paralyzing to live in the past. Jesus provides the way to move forward—to pick up our emotional mats and walk. Let’s do it together.![]()
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LORD, I really want to stop picking at this emotional scab of hurt and shame. I want to be healed of anything that has been holding me back from moving forward. Show me if I have any past hurt or shame that I’ve been picking at and give me the power to open my hands and let it go. ![]()
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.![]()
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Close your eyes for a moment and picture who you will see in heaven. Perhaps you’ll see the face of that beloved grandma who prayed for your salvation or the women from your Bible study. You know who else you’ll see in heaven? Jesus, loving people from all different colors and cultures, many who will look nothing like you. Yet, in eternity we’ll stand unified worshipping God together and proclaiming His name with one voice.![]()
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If we’re going to worship God with one voice for all eternity, what is keeping us from worshipping and serving God with that kind of unity today? ![]()
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One of the most uncomfortable barriers to our unity as believers in Christ is the topic of race. During a discussion after one of his speeches, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. told an audience that “We must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most segregated major institution in America.”![]()
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To be clear, our struggle with race in America isn’t unique. In ancient times, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Jewish believers in the Galatian church imploring them to fully embrace their Gentile brothers and sisters with Christlike love, not discrimination. Paul’s priority was the gospel and he knew that as the gospel’s power began to bring down the walls of divisions between believers, their unity would overflow into the world.![]()
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Today’s truth offers an inspiring and challenging vision for us today: “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28 NLT).”![]()
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In Paul’s day, the gospel meant that Gentiles, women, and slaves were now on the same level as the men and religious leaders. Imagine the beautiful scandal in that! It would be like a server at a country club strolling into the main dining area, taking a seat at the best table, and being served as if he or she was a top member of the club. The gospel means that every believer is a top member in God’s kingdom.![]()
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When Paul says that we’re all one in Christ, does that mean we’re to ignore our differences? Not at all! When it comes to the gospel, Paul teaches that everyone is an equal heir to the promises of God. There’s no room, space, or place for jealousy, pride, hatred or superiority because all of us are recipients of God’s precious promises.![]()
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For many years, I served as the only black staff member at my large, nearly all-Caucasian church. One of the most helpful examples that I watched during my years on staff was my senior pastor’s commitment to having lunch with the black pastors in our community several times a month. Those pastoral lunches also created opportunities for real conversation, breaking down barriers that divided black pastors and white pastors. ![]()
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Eventually, our church began partnerships with black churches that still exist today and together, our unified presence shares the gospel with our community in order to make a lasting and positive impact for eternity.![]()
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I define unity as a “gathering of imperfect people passionately committed to something greater than themselves.” Unity is powerful because our human nature is to reject our differences and tear each other down. Lucky for us, the gospel of grace recognizes our shortcomings as human beings. As believers, we’re united by the gospel that frees us to stand together and share Jesus’s message with the world.![]()
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Could it be that in the midst of all the divisions we have as believers, we have an extraordinary opportunity to show the world—especially those who are far from God—what the gospel looks like through our unity? Is there an opportunity to partner with believers of another color or culture in your community or online? Let’s never forget that unity is the vehicle that can transport the gospel to the world!![]()
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What is one way that you can create community with someone that is different from you? Click comment and let’s share.![]()
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