Susan Merrill's Blog, page 16

Join Me on Periscope!

Have you ever heard of the phone app called Periscope? Until recently, I hadn’t either! It’sanapp that gives you the ability to broadcast live to the world.

My friend Lesley and I are doinga beta test of our first ever live discussion, and we want you to join us! I’m thrilledbecause Periscope is like having a virtual cup of coffee with you and women all over the world — all at once. And trust me, it is easy to get started.Follow the steps below to get started with Periscope:

Download the fr...

How to Agreeably Disagree with Your Spouse

We all have challenging times in our marriages when we have to make tough decisions, and sometimes that can cause conflict. My marriage is no exception! When to start having kids. Whether or not to quit good, stable jobs to go into full-time ministry. How to discipline our children. What to spend our money on. Whether or not to adopt. How to run a ministry while raising a family and dealing with serious health issues.

Mark and I definitely don’t agree on everything! And you know what? That’s...

Panic Gives Way to Peace

I sometimes wonder how people survive without prayer. I couldn’t make it through a single day, much less a lifetime, without prayer. For me, praying is almost like breathing.

I’m not saying that because I want you to think I am acing the Christian life. I’m not. I have to pray simply to survive and stay sane! Without prayer, I have no peace in my life.

But I do have to admit that praying is not always my first response to the difficulties that inevitably come up in life. In fact, I have a pro...

5 Parenting Speed Bumps

When I’m in a hurry and trying to get somewhere quickly, nothing irritates me as much as a speed bump—especially when it comes out of nowhere and takes me by surprise! While flying through life, attempting to balance the countless things on my plate, I sometimes get hit by a speed bump that reminds me I have to slow down. They’re never fun, but these speed bumps in our lives offer a perfect opportunity for reflection and evaluation.

Over the past 24 years, Mark and I have faced countless pare...

Let’s Talk About Marriage Communication

Communication is the glue that holds a marriage together. But I can tell you that during our 25 years of marriage, there have been countless times when Mark and I have come a little unglued. Early in our marriage, I struggled to navigate the sticky communication situations we sometimes found ourselves in. I had to start by figuring out how to communicate…about communication!

As crazy as it sounds, I learned that to improve our communication, we had to talk about the way (conversations were ge...

What to Do When You’re Not in the Mood

There is a lot that goes into making a marriage great, and it’s important to talk about the basics like loving your husband well, making him a priority, and spending time together. But there is a huge part of marriage that we can be afraid to talk about realistically. Yes, I’m talking about sex! When you have kids, employees, and friends to serve and love, it can be hard to have energy left to love on your husband. Yet of all the people I love, he is the one I care about and want to please mo...

I Was Justified, and I Was Wrong

Have you ever made a decision for your life and been totally convinced it was right only to find out you were wrong? At the end of last year, I was convinced that this year I needed more down time for me. And I was justified! Last year was hard. I was overwhelmed, exhausted, and both emotionally and physically depleted. This was not a want; this was a need. I needed more “me” time.

But I was wrong.

More time for me is what I wanted. But it is not what God wanted. He wanted me to spend more ti...

Lamb Burger Dinner

I have recently discovered a new way to make burgers… have you ever tried a lamb burger? Oh my, it is so delicious! Your kids would never know that it wasn’t ordinary beef, and better yet, lambis comparable in price! You can spice them up however you would like, butthese are so yummy and simple. Top them with anything you have in the house, but I did feta cheese, tomatoes, onion aioli and lettuce. So fire up the grill and have a little fun!

Conversation Starters

1. What do you like to do for...

Inspiring and Noble

Have you ever wondered how some people have so much courage? Have you ever thought to yourself, I am not nearly asbrave as so-and-so? Or that because you are ‘just a mom’ you don’t have the grit that some others do?

The truth is, youare brave, you are courageous–because you are a mom. A mom who loves her kids so much that she would be willing to sacrifice anything and everything for them. To me, that is the most selfless, better yet,most noble thing you can do.

TheNoblemovie is coming to thea...

Mother’s Day Bundle Giveaway

Let’s face it–we all could use a little encouragement these days. The school year is rapidly coming to a close(if it hasn’t already), summer is on the horizon and our days are just becoming a frenzy of to-dos. It’s hard to think that our kids aren’t going to remember all of the laundry we do, or the activities we filltheir days with. Don’t get me wrong, those are incredibly important things for us to do as moms, but what they will forever remember is the passion that you have as their mom.

Th...