Category: Sue’s Views

Sue’s Views

Yesterday was a bit of a roller coaster! After an emotional farewell with our family in the North ….. we had a pleasant enough journey back to Suva by bus and boat. Only to discover our bag was no longer with us! That sinking feeling when you realise all you have lost! It’s not only the clothes ….. it’s things like medication ….. and items that will be of no value to others but mean a lot to you. We realised God is our only hope after an unfruitful call to the transport company who don’t want any responsibility. The first thing we did was to pray and release everything to Him (including whoever took our bag). We then discovered so many blessings. We’d left a few clothes behind ….. we’d packed a few more in our carry on bag last minute ….. there were 2 doctors upstairs who graciously wrote out a prescription for the missing meds. Sometimes God’s ways are very different to what we’d like ….. but they help us know Him in a much deeper way! We are ok! We can now laugh about the whole thing. We only hope whoever has it will be blessed! I’ll finish with a beautiful memory of our trip to SavuSavu.

Sue’s Views

Yesterday we celebrated Mother’s Day ….. and I hope all the Mums got the message of how much they are appreciated. But the truth is ….. much of what you do will not be! Your advice will not always be heeded ….. your expectations will not always be met ….. your sacrifice will often go unnoticed. But ….. you will wake up tomorrow and do it all again ….. because you are Mum! God has wired you that way ….. and He sees everything you do.

Sue’s Views

Our past experiences make a pathway for our future. They can take us up to new heights of expectation ….. or down to old feelings of failure or shame. Why is it that some who have had an abysmal past become world changers ….. while others repeat the cycle? They make a decision whilst at the crossroads. They see clearly the two choices laid out before them and they choose the higher road. They see their God given potential and don’t want to waste it. They realise that ….. with His help ….. nothing is impossible!

Sue’s Views

Just as a wall starts with one brick ….. a stronghold in our mind starts with one thought. When we come into agreement with that thought ….. we add another brick. Wrong thinking usually starts when we are young. If not checked ….. the lies become so familiar we believe they are the truth. But there’s a way to destroy a stronghold ….. and that’s by shining God’s Word on it. Is the thought in agreement with what God says? If not ….. grab it ….. and throw it away ….. before it can do any damage! One of the names of Jesus is ‘Chief Cornerstone’. Build your thought life around Him and you will have a healthy mind!

Sue’s Views

The Bible is not a book of fairy tales. It’s a book of true stories about real people who experienced everyday life. It’s about sibling rivalry ….. rebellious kids ….. unfair employers ….. poverty ….. incest ….. adultery.  You name it ….. it’s in there! Somehow ….. many have the idea that God is some kind of magician with a magic wand who is there to make all the bad stuff go away …..and give us what we want. The Bible is full of miracles ….. some of which are instant such as the healing of the blind, deaf and lame. But many miracles are only realised in hindsight. Once we are on the other side of the Red Sea ….. after we step out of the fiery furnace ….. once we reach the other side of the lake during a storm. The actual journey is not that much fun! God doesn’t promise to take us out of the situation ….. but He does promise to walk through it with us. Note in the following scripture He says ‘when’ not ‘if’. Your fiery trial which seems so unbearable right now ….. will one day be your personal testimony to a miracle working God!

“When you pass through the waters,

    I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

    they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

    you will not be burned;

    the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;” Isaiah 43:2

Sue’s Views

We can learn so much from those who have gone before us. Their successes help us know what to do and how to live well. Their failures warn us what not to do to avoid living badly. We so often see the same cycles being repeated in families. If you recognise patterns of addiction ….. illness ….. violence ….. divorce ….. in your family lines ….. you can break the cycle. By acknowledging it ….. asking forgiveness ….. and making a u turn ….. with God’s help you can begin a new legacy of blessing that will affect the next thousand generations. Now that’s a life well lived!

Sue’s Views

You may feel small and insignificant but your life impacts others. Like the ripple effect on a lake ….. your realm of influence gets bigger and wider. You will never know how effective you’ve been ….. but God does! He sees every act of kindness ….. even those done in secret. He hears every prayer prayed behind closed doors. You may not receive thanks or recognition in this world but you are investing in Heaven where the interest will be amazing!

Sue’s Views

In the ‘Sound of Music’ ….. Maria got the children to think of their favourite things when they were afraid. It got them from being scared of a thunderstorm to singing and dancing for joy! It was good advice ….. because it changed their focus. Whatever we focus on will be magnified. When we focus on how big our problems are ….. they get bigger. When we focus on hurts from the past ….. they go deeper. By focussing on things that bring us joy ….. the chemistry in our body changes! We create feel good chemicals like dopamine and serotonin. Make sure you have a list of things at your disposal that bring you joy.

Sue’s Views

We can’t all be perfect! These carrots are branded ‘The Odd Bunch’ ….. and I guess that pretty much sums us up! We come in all shapes and sizes ….. and we are all a little quirky in one way or another. How do you measure perfection anyway? When is it good enough? There has only been one person who is perfect ….. and He changed places with me so that I can be perfectly acceptable to God. Isn’t that amazing?  I can assure you that these carrots taste just as good as ones that are ‘perfectly shaped’!

Sue’s Views

Just as this sun dial will only work if it is in the right position ….. so it is with our conscience. Right and wrong are not just a matter of opinion. When we line our thinking up with God’s Word ….. we can trust our conscience to let us know when we get off course. It’s up to us how we respond. True north will not change course just because we want to go in another direction!