Family

How are you all?

Here we are in 2020 and what a crazy, unexpected year – this is definitely going to make the history books.

I haven’t ‘blogged’ in the longest time and such a lot has happened. My daughter Emerald was married in January to Izaak and now a beautiful and much loved baby is on the way. The whole family cannot wait for this child to arrive!!

Since becoming a Pastor, life has become incredibly busy and full with great things like: lots of opportunities to encourage others in their faith; and the incredible gift of leading people to the Lord. It has been an amazing four and a half years so far. It has definitely had its challenges, and there have been those days where I declare, “I am quitting!” But this is just the reflex of a slightly impulsive person! (Less impulsive in my old age:)) And then I remember how incredibly blessed I am to do what I do.

But recently I have felt the nudge from the Holy Spirit to write again.

It came about because I do so much study each time I am asked to preach. Hours of work goes into something that I share for 30 minutes and then that’s it.

I absolutely love studying to preach or teach the word of God. Why? Well, I’m glad you asked!

Because every single time God reveals new things to me; teaches new things to me; often convicts me, and I know I always come away changed from the time that I spent with Him.

So instead of all this work being a one hit wonder (well hopefully it is) I felt that maybe I could share some of the insights that the Holy Spirit shares with me. That others too might be blessed by the wonder of the things that I am taught as I study the Bible.

I look forward to sharing with any of you that might want to read this!

Bless you heaps!

Suz

PS: The above photo was taken a my 50th birthday just recently with my wonderful family!

Sometimes in life we are blessed with a truly extraordinary friendship – I have been blessed in this way with my friend called Bin. Actually she is the brains behind this blog. She is the one who puts it all together and makes it look so great. For 17 years we have been the closest of friends. We now call ourselves sisters and our families think of each other as family.

Together over 17 years we have journeyed the good: The birth of seven children (my last child and her six), miraculous healing, marriage reconciliation, wonderful New Years together, fantastic holidays and just great fun. We have also journeyed the bad: Marriage separation, mental illness, wayward teenagers, and Mark’s cancer, long term illness and death. We have laughed a ridiculous amount, cried together and prayed and sought God together. They have been 17 very blessed years!

At the beginning of this year Bin found out she was pregnant with her sixth child, and in May we found out that after five handsome sons Bin and her husband Bring (his nickname) were expecting a daughter. I remember her ringing me and telling me and Jasmine when we were parked at a shopping mall, and we just sat in the car and cried with happiness at the blessing our dear adopted family was receiving. How exciting – a little girl!

Very early on the 22 September Bring & Bin welcomed their little girl into the world. With great excitement we raced to the hospital. They named her Sadie, which means Princess – so incredibly appropriate for the youngest and only girl but also because this little girl is a daughter of the King of Kings!

For ten weeks we all enjoyed getting to know this little bundle of joy, and then in the blink of an eye it all changed. After what was supposed to be a routine doctor’s check, Bin and Bring headed to the hospital and within days they were told their precious baby was very, very sick with a serious heart condition.

Thirteen days later on the 14th of December at just about 12 weeks old, Sadie left us for her eternal home prepared for her by Jesus as he promised in the Bible in John 14:3.

Tragedy has struck my dear precious friends. I cannot take their grief and pain. Grief and pain that I am all too familiar with, but this is a baby – it seems so senseless.

But senseless it is not in our loving Heavenly Father’s eyes because Sadie had to be born to live forever. You see, Sadie has always been in God’s mind. In Jeremiah 1:5 it says

God knew all about Sadie… God knew Sadie… God had holy plans for Sadie. But none of that would have mattered if Sadie had just remained a thought. Conception brings life and the minute Sadie was conceived God’s thought was given life! Our Sadie had to be born in order to live forever with Jesus.

And it is the same for Jesus. He had to be born so that we could live forever.

Over 2,000 years ago God came in the form of a human baby to make a way for all of humanity to be able to live forever. Through Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection ALL of us are given a way to live forever in heaven with our holy and loving heavenly Father.

Sadie has been taken from us. She is out of our vision. But Sadie is not lost – she is home. She is now a citizen of heaven, which is where we all will be one day if we have accepted the truth of Jesus. One day we will be with her and we will understand the joy that although she was here for such a short time, she had to be born to live forever.

Death is tragic but it is only tragic for those left here grieving our loved one. But for Sadie, for Mark, for all the others who have died knowing Jesus, death was their welcome home!

Sadie had to be born to live forever!

AND JESUS HAD TO BE BORN SO THAT WE COULD ALL LIVE FOREVER.

This Christmas CELEBRATE!!!

Celebrate Jesus’s birth for the truth that it truly is – OUR WAY HOME!!!