The trees are budding, the crocuses have pushed their faces toward the heavens and the days are getting pleasantly longer. Yes, what looked like death is certainly now alive. Nature is such a beautiful picture of the resurrection of Christ. In the background, I love listening to Handel’s Messiah and the song, “I Know that My Redeemer Lives”. It is the perfect Passover/Easter message. Even Kelsey Grammer has spoken about the power of his faith to get him through life. He tells of the uniqueness of Christ who taught us to love our enemies.

Looking at the sunset one evening, I began my dialogue with God. “I’m not sure if you are there or not; but if you are, show me you exist? If you are there, you can have my life.” I was intrigued that maybe there really was a God. I dusted off the Bible tucked away in the corner of my dorm closet and began reading the book of John. Jesus was just an historical figure to me, not a living and resurrected being. I started keeping a journal on how He demonstrated his existence to me. I was a skeptic but I saw Jesus as someone worthy to commit my life to if he was who he said he was. If you are feeling like something is missing in your life, could it be because you were created for so much more——a relationship with the living God? He has a significant plan for your life. We have a God shaped void in our lives without Him. Nothing will fill it. How do you find Him? He said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:12).” If Christ was the Messiah and there is such a thing as abundant life here and life after death—————–wouldn’t you want to know? Anything this important cannot be ignored.

But there is hope. God loves you and has a plan for your life. “I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10. Just like nature is filled with a diversity of flowers and trees, so God has many ways to call his own to himself. Most of us have a thirst for more than this life can offer. We know deep inside that the end of life is not the end. It’s written in our hearts. “God has set eternity in the human heart.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

I was an agnostic at the University asking God, while watching the sunset, to bring meaning and purpose in my life. I told God if he was there, He could have my life. Then I added, “Make something wonderful happen, if you truly exist.” That night, I met Larry, my husband and soul-mate, at a dance. Over the years of our marriage, we have seen the hand of God in our own lives, our families’ lives, and so many others.

My search for God, brought me to a study of the Old Testament prophecies pertaining to the coming Messiah. We are thankful to the Jews who faithfully and accurately penned the Old Testament with the prophecies of Christ. (See Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and google the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls) Also read Acts 10 and 1 Corinthians 15.

My thoughts and prayers are with you this Easter season 2023 as we deal with a divided nation, record levels of violence and the war between Russia and Ukraine. But there is hope and peace when we open our lives to Christ. This is the perfect season to do your own search. I will post more on my research about why I believe Jesus was the Messiah in the coming days. For now, enjoy what might be our last snowstorm for the year. Let’s hope.

Have you ever had the sensation of being upside down when you are squarely on your feet? Have you had to have someone hold your hand while you’re spinning around uncontrollably? That is what I experienced not long ago. You may think you are right when you are in truth wrong. John F Kennedy Jr thought he was right when flying a plane into the ground with his wife and her sister. The probable cause of Kennedy’s accident was spatial disorientation-which results in a person being unable to determine their position or relative motion, commonly occurring during periods of challenging visibility. The auditory system within the inner ear and other sensory receptors work to coordinate movement and balance. My experience with Vertigo, caused by a problem in my right inner ear, made me think of how perceptions in life can be skewed. We cannot trust ourselves and our own perceptions or we could make a decision that could have dire consequences and plunge us into an abyss.

I was taught that we have five senses, but indeed we have many more. Here’s what happened when I had my experience with Vertigo.

When I woke up not knowing I had Vertigo, I stepped on the ground, but the world was spinning and I crawled on the floor calling for my husband, not knowing what was happening to me. After two days of Vertigo/nausea, I got the help I needed. A pill took care of the nausea. I reached out for my husband’s hand when we worked on a medical exercise to correct the problem in my right inner ear which was caused by the calcium crystals coming loose from their normal location on the utricle, a sensory organ in the inner ear. It was scary, as we tried the procedure, because the world was spinning but when i stood up, the problem was corrected and the world once again was normal.

We need a compass to tell us which direction is correct when driving. We cannot say that any direction is fine in order to get home. And for me, the Bible is my moral compass giving me the directions for how to live a fulfilled life. It tells me the way to live and how to have the abundant life I now live. I find the words of Jesus fill my heart with wisdom, love and peace. He said, “The thief comes to kill and destroy, : but I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10.

We have seen first-hand the damage the thief has done to our world, but know that there is a better way to live.  If you want to communicate further, leave a comment on my blog. www.lifewithlarry.org or Sue Schuerr Face Book.

After all the political division these last couple years, with supposed Christians cozying up to threatening organizations and questionable un-Christlike people, I was very dismayed that there would be a large fall out of believers.  Our churches are down in attendance by a third from pre-pandemic days. If Jesus walked the Earth today, would many who call themselves Christians embrace Him? He lived a servant’s life and had a heart for the poor and marginalized. He warned about how difficult it was for the rich to inherit the kingdom of God.

But I turned on the radio, and while listening to part of the football game, Damean Bivins went down and without intervention would have died. I watched as both teams were on their knees rallying around him in prayer. I was so grateful to see the demonstration of faith and team support. The real Jesus still inspires people to reach out to him in time of need.  Yes, the Spirit of God is still moving on Earth. People do believe in prayer and in miracles. We are the hands and feet of Jesus and God wants to use us as he used those who resuscitated Damen and the wonderful doctors who helped bring him back to health.. Damean’s doctors are calling it a miracle.

 I am given hope that after all the horrible division that has separated us as a nation, that there is still hope for the future of true followers of Jesus. 

Whenever the weather permits, I either take a long walk or a bike ride. It’s October and the mornings and evenings are cold, but when the sun comes out in the afternoon, it’s delightful. That’s when I grab my bike, put on some tunes and take off. Each day I take a different route while listening to tunes on my I phone. I marvel at the beauty of flowers and the trees that are just beginning to fade. It’s Ok that I’m riding alone, because I always talk to God and mainly thank Him for health and happiness. But here is what happened last week.

I took a bike ride last Saturday while a soccer game was going on at the park I often ride around. I noticed a young beautiful woman on the walk/bike path. She was distressed. On my second time around the path, she stopped me to tell me she had lost her keys. I told her if she lived locally, I could ride home and get my car. I noticed she had a thick Polish accent. She said, “Could you just look for a shiny object in the grass? This is where I walked.” I continued around the almost mile circular path and asked again. “Any Luck?” I continued the next time around, and she still hadn’t found her keys. I stopped riding and said, “God sees your keys and knows where they are.” And I prayed with her that God would help her find her kays. No sooner had I finished praying, when an elderly woman holding a dog in one arm held up the keys in her free hand. We were so happy that God had answered our prayer. Now you may say, “This is just a coincidence in timing.” But I say, “It has happened to me so many times. What are the odds?”

The words of Norman Maclean in the book A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT have haunted me since I first saw the movie.” As an old man, he wrote about his loved ones from the past.  “The RIVER was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.” His memories stir in the ripples of time and rise up while he casts his rod on the banks of the Big Blackfoot River.

It made me think of all those who I have loved and lost, and how they have impacted my life.   My father had encouraging words, my mother gave me the gift of music, my brother taught me to stoically face adversity when his cancer was uncurable, and my sister’s words and laughter are with me daily.   

Like Norman, we may not have understood our loved ones thoroughly. Often, we may have cast a rod to help them only to discover that the ones we love the most are hardest to help.   

We can look back to the basement of our time and reflect on how they have shaped who we are today, and how God has used them in our lives.  Like fish rising to the surface at sunset, they speak to us from the roof of timelessness.   lifewithlarry.org

I feel like a fairy princess this morning waking up in my magical kingdom in the Black Walnut B&B located in Sturgeon Bay, WI. The 1890 house with each multiple rooms decorated and themed is freshly painted and newly renovated while keeping the original veneer. Each room is equipped with its own jacuzzi which even my 6ft 2in husband could comfortably enjoy despite his recent shoulder replacement. He was so happy to be completely relaxed and pain free.  The jacuzzi faces a mirror for the romantic couple wishing to be framed.  We slept in a very comfortable queen-sized bed adorned with blue and white fluffy pillows and blankets.  While looking for a place in Door, a friend suggested we call the Chamber of Commerce in Sturgeon Bay since there was no place to stay in the Upper Peninsula.  It was reasonably priced with a military discount in a high demand season. Queen Amanda, the owner, greeted us each morning with wonderful breakfast which included ample fresh fruit garnished with Greek yogurt. We dined on the deck outside our room where the sun beamed in and birds sang beautiful songs.  What a wonderful place to get away and spend quality time with my Prince. Sturgeon Bay was less crowded than the Upper Peninsula and easier to find a good restaurant for dinner. There was also interesting stores and live plays close by.

It was a short drive to Whitefish Dunes where we spent several hours. I walked along the beach and enjoyed watching children play; it our first time on a beach this summer. We checked out on Sunday morning with warm memories of our stay in the Magic Kingdom refreshed and ready for our volunteer assignment with Humble Design/Chicago on Monday.

I wake up in the morning to the sound of birds, humming birds are at our feeders and go from flower to flower at the plants Larry planned. Each day is a gift as the days get shorter.

Larry had shoulder replacement surgery and struggles at times to find a comfortable position to sleep in. On the otherhand, I usually sleep well and wake up early to grasp the best of the day for me. But Larry still would use each day to one handedly complete tasks around the house like mowing the lawn and feeding the birds while up on a ladder. As he got better, he continued his volunteering by making Welcome Home plaques and serving at Humble Design, Adaptive Adventures and Habitat for Humanity. I marvel at his dedication in traveling miles to help others with the high prices of gas.

When I knew he could easily take care of himself, I hopped on a plane to Bozeman MT, and spent 8 days with my Montana family. It was such a delightful time to go with my son, Aaron to his workouts at Cross-Fit at 7 PM. Afterwards, he made me a delicious foamy coffee latte that gave me energy for the day ahead. Aaron and Lynelle have built an art studio and apartment in their yard. I’m so impressed with how they have used the internet to learn how to do difficult tasks like plumbing, etc.

Deb and I went hiking to beautiful places in Montana and enjoyed a lunch with her friend, Bradford, who is an actor and teacher at MSU. We talked about theatre and I shared about directing plays and teaching high school English.

Each day I was there, the mornings and evenings would be cool with the sun becoming intense during the day. A highlight to my week was seeing Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night at Chico, a beautiful resort in Pray, MT.

The frosting on the cake, was the time I spent with my grandsons, August, Jasper and Isaak. They are young men now with a love for karate and the outdoors. They are so close to one another. I took a walk with Isaak, the youngest of the three, to Yellowstone River. As I absorbed the beauty of the place and listened to the roar of waters, I became emotional about such a special place to visit. I wished it was closer.

As much as I enjoyed my vacation to MT, I missed my husband, my home and friends. There is beauty in almost every place we visit if we can look at it with fresh eyes. I love, love, love summer and I’m holding on to each beautiful day that comes our way. We are so blessed.

“Normal Christian political engagement is humble, loving, and sacrificial; it rejects the idea that Christians are entitled to primacy of place in the public square or that Christians have a presumptive right to continue their historical predominance in American culture. Today, Christians should seek to love their neighbors by pursuing justice in the public square, by promoting religious liberty, fostering racial justice, protecting the rule of law, and honoring constitutional processes. That agenda is different from promoting Christian culture, Western heritage, or Anglo-Protestant values.”(Christianity Today)

God calls us to live a life embracing the tenants of Matthew 25: Jesus said in illustration, ” For I was hungry and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick or in prison and you visited me. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, YOU DID FOR ME!”

This is our life mission as a couple—to live out these tenants on our short journey called LIFE! We also have found that true happiness comes when you reach out and help someone else. It’s then that you forget yourself and your worries about what others think of you.

True joy comes with living the life God called you to live. He said, “My sheep hear my voice and follow me.” (John 10:27)

You will find Him when you seek Him with your whole heart.