Susie

2011-02-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

Amazing

that God wants to do

and

through

(and you)

more than we can even

imagine.

What does that look like?

Think about it for a sec.

If God were to

let loose

and do in you

and through you

beyond

what you can even imagine . . .

what would that entail?

"Now to him

who is able to do

immeasurably more

than all we ask or imagine,

according to his power

that is at work within us. . . . "

(Ephesians 3:20 NIV)

what's holding Him back

from doing just that?

Ask Him.

Susie

2010-06-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

I have a friend who is offering

to give

a one-year subscription

to a teen girl

who can't afford

to purchase

SUSIE Magazine.

So take this invitation seriously.

And if you truly can't afford

the subscription

($23 a year for 12 issues),

let me know.

E-mail me at:

susie@susiemag.com

and label your e-mail

I NEED HELP!

and give me your name

and complete address.

You have to promise to

send her a thank-you note!

I'll get you connected.

Love,

Susie

2010-06-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Obie Shellenberger . . .

16 lbs. of mini-Schnauzer fur

Disassembled my cell phone—

took the back off, popped out the battery

and had the memory card on the floor.

Had to get a new $100 phone.

16 lbs. of gray fur

ate my blue-inked return address stamper

and inked himself, the carpet and the couch

BLUE.

Had to get a new $21 return address stamper.

16 lbs. of gray fur

jumped up on the table and chewed my GREEN Sharpie pen

dragging green ink across the carpet.

Had to shell out $110 to the carpet cleaners.

How can 16 lbs. of gray fur

cause so much commotion?

Just when I think he's learned . . .

I find his bottle of eye drops demolished

and I

shell out another $15

for a new bottle.

When I know he's exhausted

and has settled down for a 2-hour nap . . .

I come upstairs

to find that he has

ripped his doggie bed and shredded it to pieces

scattering stuffing all over the living room.

And I buy another one for $10 at Walgreens.

Sigh.

I can't help but think

of a girl—

just 5 feet and 3 inches

and at just the time she should know better,

she feels

some anger

or jealousy

tunnel right through her heart

and out of her mouth.

But You, God . . .

You just keep on loving me

no matter

how many things I shred

how much stuff I break.

I should have it down by now.

Shouldn't I?

But just the time I think I do,

I end up seeking Your forgiveness

so grateful

that You keep no records

and Your love is constant.

Thanks for never giving up on me.

Help me to be the kind of master

to Obie

that You are to me.

Your servant,

Susie

2010-05-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

saturday, may 22, 2010

i walked at the park today

and the wind was so strong

here in colorado springs

i thought for a moment

that it might

blow all 16 lbs. of

my furry four-footed little friend, obie,

all the way to his grandparents house

in okc.

i choked and coughed

through the wind

as pollen soared

and stung my throat

but little obie seemed oblivious

to the difficulty

he chased a great dane

caught a frisbee

made friends with a st. bernard

and

sniffed a golden retriever

i was miserable

sneezing

swollen eyes

and ready to leave

after 30 minutes

the invisibles in the air—

the ragweed pollution

the dust

and everything that allergies are made of

wore me down

Lord,

make me more and more aware

of the other invisibles in life—

the small things

that trip me up

knock me down

and keep me from becoming all You dream for me

help me, like obie, to plow through

any obstacle

and find the joy

simply in being

content

to just walk with my Master

i love You, Father.

—susie

2010-05-10T16:30:00.001-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

Am thinking about Gideon today.

From the Old Testament.

He was a nobody.

But God chose Gideon to lead the Lord's army

against the enemy.

The enemy far outnumbered Gideon's little home-made army.

And God began whittling away at Gideon's army.

He couldn't figure it out.

Don't You want me to win, Lord?

he must have thought.

"The battle is Mine," said God Almighty.

"Trust Me."

God downsized the army three times

until there only 300 men left to fight against the giant army of enemies.

Gideon trusted.

And God confused the enemies, until they began to fight each other

and lost the battle.

Gideon won with only 300 men.

Wow.

God really does know what He's doing!

Perhaps He's downsizing some areas in your life.

Friends.

Money.

A job.

Those things that make you feel secure.

Though you may never understand . . .

can you trust without understanding?

The mark of a mature Christian is to

accept God's ways

without having to understand them.

Let me know your thoughts.

Love,

Susie Shellenberger

Sunday, May 3, 2009

2010-05-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hi, Girls in the Sisterhood!

It's snaining today.

My own word for snow + rain.

Not quite snow,

but more than rain.

snain.

Feel like doing something constructive?

How about improving your

physical

mental

emotional

financial

and

spiritual

aspects of your life?

Sound like something you'd like to try?

If so . . .

You're going to LOVE

the 30-day challenge

in the June issue of SUSIE Mag.

The June issue just came out,

so you'll be getting it soon.

After you read through the challenge—

drop me a line and let me know what you think about it, OK?

Too tough?

Too easy?

Not interested?

Let me know what's going on with YOU!

And I promise to start writing more regularly

on here again!

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2010-01-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

Girls in the SISTERHOOD:

I have a few things I want you to know about!

• The early bird discount for our "Never the Same" missions trip will expire at the end of January, so you need to get your application in! We're going to Antigua, Guatemala June 28-July 11, 2010. And we always need leaders. So if one of your parents wants to come, great! You can download the student application AND the leader application at: neverthesamemissions.com

• A precious woman in my Sunday school class has offered to purchase a one-year subscription to SUSIE Magazine for a teen girl who can't afford it. If this is you, send me your name and complete mailing address at: susie@susiemag.com and label it: I NEED THE MAG. (Please only do this if you really can't afford the subscription. If you can afford it but just don't want to spend the money, this isn't for you.)

• You have an entire year to save up for our SUSIE Magazine Mom/Daughter Cruise. It's Feb. 17-21, 2011. We'll depart from Miami and hit two ports: Key West, FL and Cozumel, Mexico (both known for swimming with the dolphins). I'll give more information on this later. But please talk to your mom, grandma, aunt and any other fun females you want to bring on this amazing cruise!

Are you reading the Bible?

Are you praying?

What's God doing in your life?

I love you and want to know!

Susie Shellenberger

2010-01-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

Hi, Girls!

I want to continue this line of thought:

Is God really good?

Or are we just swallowing that simply

because the Psalmist tells us so in

Psalm 145?

If you haven't read the past two blog

entries, please do so, or you may

feel a little lost with where this is going.

In my last entry, I asked:

Why doesn’t God remove temptation, obliterate the devil, destroy the demons?

Here are two reasons:

First: God created man in His image (Genesis 1:26).

Therefore, because He's sovereign,
He gave us a certain measure of sovereignty, as well.
In other words . . . He didn’t create us as robots.
He allows us to make our own daily choices.He won't force us into His ways.
He won't MAKE us live according to His Word.

He allows us the freedom of choice.
And many times, the choices we make
bring hurt to ourselves.
So to shake our fist at GOD
and say, "How come, God?"
is unfair.

Second: Not only did God make you in His image
and give you a certain degree of sovereignty,
but God made you for a purpose—
and that's intimacy.

God the Father desires that we love Him.
And because true love demands a choice,
He won't force Himself upon us
but will give an alternative to us.
The alternative is evil.
The alternative is sin and self.
So if I choose to ignore God and say,
"I don't want to develop intimacy with You.
I want to live for myself and call my own shots."
Then the only alternative I have
is in the direction of evil.
And God will allow me that liberty.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah
said that it's only because of God's mercies
that we're not ALL consumed (Lamentations 3:22).

Really, every one of us should have been consumed
a long time ago. It's only because of God's goodness
and mercy that we're alive today!
This is true spiritually and literally.

Think about it:
The air we breathe is composed in
nitrogen
oxygen
and a few assorted gasses.
If the oxygen content was a mere 2% higher,
the world would catch fire and we'd all burn!
If the nitrogen content was 2% higher,
we'd all be poisoned and die immediately.
Who keeps the atmosphere in such perfect balance?
God.

Yet we've all rebelled against Him.
We've all sinned against Him
But He is good and merciful to every one of us.
He's slow to anger
gracious
full of mercy and
lets us continue on and on and on
until we finally come to the place
where we finally bow
in repentance and give our lives to Him.

The question isn’t, “Why is there evil?”

The question is, “Why is God so good?”

He really is good!

Thoughts?

You are loved!
Susie Shellenberger

2010-01-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

Hi, Girls!

It's been a while since I've posted,

but I want to continue this thought

on God's goodness.

Do you believe God is good simply

because

the

Psalmist tells us so

in Psalm 145:9?

Or has your knowledge

of His goodness

become more intimate?

There was an evangelist named Charles Templeton—

who was extremely popular and used mightly of God

way back in the 1950s.

After years of amazing ministry

and seeing God move in peoples' lives,

he simply walked away from his faith

and became an agnostic.

"I looked at the world," he said

"and it doesn't seem to me that it spoke

of a God who could be described as

father. It seems to be a universe

indifferent to man and to all

of God's creatures."

In other words . . .

If God is so good, why is there so much

suffering and evil and horror in the world?

Why are babies born deformed?

Why do people rape and kill?

Why are thousands starving to death each day?

Is God really good?

This is a question that haunts humanity.

Is God good?

What do we say to our friends when they're

honestly asking this question?

And what's the word for ourselves

when WE struggle with tragedy and difficulty?

Girls, whenever we have questions about the character of God,

we need to look to Jesus for the answers.

When we look at Jesus, we see that He freely

acknowledged the problem of pain

and the existence of evil.

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," He taught us to pray

(Matthew 6:13).

"In this world, you will have tribulation," He said (John 16:33).

"There will be trouble; you're going to have problems."

Charles Templeton (the former evangelist) asked,

"Why is God doing this?"

But his question was misdirected.

God is NOT the author of confusion. (1 Corinthians 14:33)

Man brings harm upon himself when he rebels against God,

when he ignores the ways and Word of God,

and when he violates the commands of God.

Why, then, doesn't God obliterate the devil,

destroy the demons,

remove temptation?

I'll stop here.

I'm going to give two answers to this question

on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

But first, I want some feedback from you.

How does this hit you?

You are loved!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-12-05T21:07:00.000-08:00

Is God really good?

"The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made"

(Psalm 145:9 NIV).

Do we believe that simply because the Psalmist says it's so?

Do we simply take it on blind faith that God is good?

What do we say to people who honestly question

whether God is good?

And what's the word for our own hearts

when WE go through tragedy

and difficulty?

Whenever we have questions

about the character or nature of God,

we need to look at Jesus

to find answers and solutions

for the problems and difficulties.

When we look at Jesus,

we see that He freely acknowledged

the problem of pain

and the existence of evil.

"In this world, you shall have tribulation,"

He said in John 16:33.

Jesus not only acknowledged evil and pain,

but He confronted them.

Sailing across the Sea of Galilee,

He was resting in the boat

when a storm suddenly arose that

beat the boat around.

"Master! We're dying!"

His disciples cried.

"Peace. Be still,"

Jesus said to the storm. (Mark 4:39)

In the Greek language,

the command is literally

"Be muzzled."

It's the same command Jesus used

when talking to people who were possessed with demons.

This tells us that when a typhoon strikes

or an earthquake hits,

they're not necessarily acts of God.

In fact, the apostle Paul tells us in John 12:31

that satan is currently the prince of this world.

I'm going to stop here and wait for your thoughts.

Think this through and share your hearts with me.

I'll come back in a few days and post some more.

I love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-12-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Hey, Girls!

I'm helping a friend (Steve Russo) film

a teen T.V. special this Saturday,

and we need some teens to call in!

This means YOU!

It'll be a fun call-in show with lots

of extra features.

It won't AIR this weekend;

it's being filmed this weekend.

What can you call in about?

Anything from A to Z.

Questions about guys,

a problem at school,

something you don't understand about God,

how to handle an eating disorder,

a friend who's cutting,

how to choose a college,

ANYTHING you have a question about

is what you can call in with!

The number I'm giving you is toll-free . . .

so it won't cost you anything.

888-465-6595

But the time to call in is very specific:

We need you to call between 10 and 11 a.m.

mountain time.

I can't wait!

This is my chance to finally get to hear your voice

instead of simply reading your words.

So write the number down NOW

and stick it somewhere you can find it quickly!

888-465-6595

I love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-11-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

SUSIE Magazine hit Barnes & Noble

stores across the nation on Nov. 24.

We double-dog dare you to go to one of the stores

and take a pix of yourself holding the magazine

by the rack it's on and send it to us!

We'll post it!

Send to:

susie@susiemag.com

and label your e-mail THE MAG & ME B&N

and include your first name, age, city and state

and PHOTO.

You'll find it on a side rack that says

"Customer Favorites."

You can ALSO find it at

Krogers, Cub Foods and King Soopers

grocery stores.

The same double-dog dare

goes for these stores as well!

Just change your e-mail label to:

THE MAG & ME KS (King Soopers)

or CF (Cub Foods) or K (Krogers),

so we'll know which place you're

posing for the photo with the mag.

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-11-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

SUSIE Magazine

Big News!

ENJOY FREE MEMBERSHIP!

If you've visited www.susiemag.com,

you’ve probably noticed we’ve been offering the features of

the online global sisterhood at no cost.

Sadly, we can’t keep giving this precious commodity away.

At the end of November SUSIEMag.com will no longer provide

a full membership to anyone and everyone.

But we are extending a FREE ONE-YEAR PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP

to existing members (people who have a subscription to the printed magazine).

It's a “Thank You” for helping us grow SUSIEMag.com.

And if you haven’t joined, you still have time to become a member FOR FREE if you act now!

Here are the future membership options:

1. Basic Membership: Free. Participate in some forums and create a basic profile.

2. Premium Membership: $13. Full access to the entire site which includes: electronic version of the print magazine, online video devotions with Susie Shellenberger, full profile features, all forums, friend groups, webinars, and so much more.

3. Full Membership: $23. Subscribe to the print version of SUSIE Magazine, and a Premium Membership of the Online Sisterhood is included. All you have to do is visit SUSIEmag.com to set up your profile.

If you love the Sisterhood, invite others...tell your friends. You’ll be their BFF for saving them a few bucks, and we would LOVE to see thousands of sisters get a FREE ONE-YEAR PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP! But DON’T WAIT!

We love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-10-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

Hey, Girls in the Sisterhood!

Let's chat some more about prayer.

There's something really awesome I want you

to think about.

It's found in Daniel chapter 10.

This is way after the lion's den escapade.

And after his three best friends

were thrown into the fiery furnace.

The book of Daniel is almost finished

at this point—just two more chapters.

But in chapter 10:4, we see Daniel beginning

to pray and fast for his people in Jerusalem.

You see, Daniel had been taken captive

several years before and is living in Persia.

(That's modern-day Iran.)

But his homeland is Jerusalem. And he's deeply

burdened for his friends and family back home.

Some of you have experienced such a burden,

haven't you? Your heart sometimes breaks for

your loved ones that you want to help.

We're told in the Book of Ezra (1:1) that King

Cyrus gave permission for all the captives to

leave and go back to their homes.

So why is Daniel still in Persia?

Why hasn't he left and gone back home?

Why is he still in a heathen court?

Hmmm.

Must be because God has made it crystal-clear

to him that there's still a job for Daniel to do.

So Daniel remains faithful to God and stays in

this heathen land.

But we see in verse 4 that he's praying fervently

for his people in Jerusalem.

He's been fasting for more than three weeks.

He's eaten very little food—probably rice and

some bread and juice to sustain him—and the scripture

says, "I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over."

In other words, probably no cologne, no nice soaps,

no hair gel. None of the extras. This shows me Daniel's

attitude: "It's not about me. How I look right now isn't

important. What IS important is that I lift my people

in prayer."

What commitment, huh?!

And THEN through the rest of the chapter we get to

eavesdrop on a conversation Daniel has with an angel!

And I love the message this angel gives him.

"Daniel, I know you've been praying for 24 days now.

Maybe you thought your prayers hadn't gotten through.

But actually, as soon as you uttered the first word

on the first day of your prayer and fast vigil, your prayer

got God's attention. It didn't take 24 days to get through,

Daniel. He heard it immediately."

Cool, huh?

Sometimes we think it takes forever for God to hear

our prayers. But He actually hears them as soon as we pray!

OK.

But it gets even more exciting!

The angel tells Daniel that at the very moment

he first began this prayer vigil, his prayer reached

God and God dispatched this very angel

to give Daniel an important message.

Really?

If God dispatched the angel

as soon as Daniel prayed,

why has nothing happened for 24 days?

Sheesh!

That's a long time to keep praying, huh?

If you'll keep eavesdropping on the conversation,

you'll discover the answer.

"Daniel, I was SENT HERE TO YOU as soon

as you prayed. God didn't delay. But wow,

Daniel, you don't have a clue what's going

on in the heavenlies!

"I was on my way to you so I could give

you God's response, and suddenly I got

caught up in a fierce battle with the demon

who hovers over the whole country of Persia!

"Daniel! It was such intense spiritual warfare

that God had to dispatch the angel Michael to

come relieve me from the fight so I could get

here to you!"

The rest of the book of Daniel (chapters 11-12)

is the message from God about things that will

take place in the end times.

But . . . did you get it?

Sometimes we wonder why God hasn't answered

us yet . . . but we have no clue how much spiritual

warfare is happening on our behalf.

Daniel had no idea that God had already dispatched

an angel on his behalf, but he continued to faithfully pray.

What if he'd stopped praying?

I think the angel would have simply continued his battle.

But because of Daniel's ferventness in prayer . . .

because he kept praying and praying and praying,

God intervened again and dispatched Michael

to intervene in the spiritual battle so Daniel

could get the message God wanted him to have!

Don't grow weary in praying.

God always answers your prayers.

Not always in your timing.

Not always the way you want Him to.

But your prayers are always answered.

We simply have no clue what's really

happening in the heavenlies.

I love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-10-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

SUSIE Mag interns, Lindsey Rodman and Katie Hargrave (with Obie) at Susie's house working on the magazine.

2009-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, Girls in the Sisterhood!

I want to remind you of how important

your prayers are to God.

Do you realize that as soon as you utter

His name, you're walking right into

the Throne room of the Kingdom of heaven?

He doesn't use call-forwarding.

He doesn't need caller-I.D.

And His line is never busy.

As soon as you say His name,

His attention is acutely focused

ON YOU!

God will always answer your prayers.

It may not be in the time you want them answered.

And it may not be the way you want them answered.

But He ALWAYS answers.

Sometimes His answer is yes.

Sometimes His answer is no.

Sometimes His answer is not yet.

But He always answers!

Let me know your thoughts on this.

I'm not finished.

But I want to give you some time

to chew on this.

Then I'll be back in a few days

to share something really

exciting from God's Word

about prayer.

I love you!

Susie

PS: If you haven't yet signed up for

the online global sisterhood . . .

DO IT NOW!

Go to susiemag.com and get

signed in and start communicating

with teen girls from around the world.

2009-10-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

Hi, Girls!

I hope you're enjoying the online sisterhood.

Will you help me pray about something?

I need my sisterhood to join me in asking God

to send me a mom of one of our readers

who would volunteer her time

to monitor our sisterhood postings.

See, I don't want anyone to be able to put something

on there that could negatively influence another reader.

But because I have to crank out the magazine,

I don't have time to monitor it.

So I'd love to find a mom of one of our readers—

someone with really high standards—

someone with high morality whom I can trust—

not to let anything go online that I wouldn't approve.

So please help me pray, OK?

Thanks!

I knew I could count on the sisterhood!

I love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger, Editor

2009-10-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hey, Girls!

It's here. The online global sisterhood is now launching.

Have you signed up yet?

If you haven't, go to

susiemag.com

and get signed in NOW.

It's a ton of fun.

And if you're on Facebook,

ask Obie Shellenberger

to be your friend.

He has his own FB page now.

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-10-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hey, Girls!

I want to introduce my new interns to you: Lindsey Rodman from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Katie Hargrave from Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas. They’re really excited about helping me take SUSIE Magazine from 40 pages to 80 pages and into stores, so they’ve hit the ground running with new articles and stuff you’ll enjoy.What they’re MOST excited about, though, is YOU! That’s right. They love teen girls and want to connect with you in a “big sis” type of way. So welcome them aboard and help me introduce them to your friends.

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-09-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

"But these things I plan

won't happen right away.

Slowly,

steadily,

surely,

the time approaches

when the vision will be fulfilled.

If it seems sow,

do not despair,

for these things will surely come to pass.

Just be patient!

They will not be overdue a single day!"

(Habakkuk 2:3 The Living Bible)

2009-09-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

"We are pressed

on every side by troubles,

but not crushed and broken.

We are perplexed

because

we don't know why things happen as they do,

but we don't give up and quit.

We are hunted down,

but God never abandons us.

We get knocked down,

but we get up again

and keep going"

(2 Corinthians 4:8-9 The Living Bible).

2009-09-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hi, Girls!

Some of you are asking about the online global sisterhood and when it will begin.

We really wanted it to launch in September . . .

but it looks like it will be October.

We do have some of the new "skin" up on our Web site:

susiemag.com

but it's just taking a while to get the sisterhood all put together.

It's amazing, though.

I just finished a three-hour photo shoot for it today.

You'll get some video-devotions from me,

a column from Obie,

a bunch of new stuff,

and best of all—

you'll be able to interact with the sisterhood:

other girls around the world who are also

plugged into SUSIE Magazine.

We're creating something really cool—

a symbol—

that we'll print inside the magazine.

And you'll hold it up to your computer

camera

and it will immediately take you inside.

It's hard for me to explain,

because I'm so tech illiterate,

but it really IS cool!

And if you don't have a camera

on your computer,

you'll still be able to make it work.

So if you have friends who haven't yet subscribed

to the printed magazine,

please get them signed up quickly!

This would be a great b-day gift

for you to give your friends.

I love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-09-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

I've LOVED your responses on the two questions:

1. What's your wall of protection around your life?

2. Is there anything in your life that needs a "holy destruction" as described in Deuteronomy chapter 3.

The foundation for a solid wall of protection

around your life

is, of course, a strong

growing

intimate

relationship with Jesus Christ.

Your parents can also provide a strong wall of protection—

and some of you mentioned that.

Youth group,

Bible study,

and

church

are also great sources that provide

a strong wall of protection.

But the wall begins

with our relationship

with Christ.

Now about that "holy destruction"

we talked about. . . .

We read a sobering story

about a holy destruction

gone bad

in 1 Samuel 15.

It went bad

because Saul only halfheartedly

attempted the holy destruction.

He didn't carry it through

with 100%.

Here's the recap:

God spoke to Saul through Samuel the prophet saying,

"Destroy the Amalekites—

the people who snuck up behind you

and attacked your weakest

and most feeble when you were

wandering in the wilderness."

(See Deuteronomy 25:18 for that part of the story).

"Make sure you destroy

every man,

woman,

child

and

beast.

Leave nothing behind."

So Saul gathered 200,000 footmen

from Israel

and 10,000 footmen

from Judah,

marched on the Amalekites

and utterly destroyed them . . .

all except for one.

He kept Agag, king of the Amalekites,

along with some sheep.

As Saul returned victorious to Israel,

he saw the prophet Samuel in the distance.

"Blessed be the name of the Lord!" Saul said.

"I have obeyed all of His commandments!"

"Really?" Samuel said.

"Then how come I hear the sound of sheep bleating."

"Oh. Well . . . uh . . . we saved the best of the sheep

and the oxen

to bring back as a sacrifice to Jehovah!" Saul declared.

Samuel looked at Saul and said,

"To obey is better than sacrifice.

Rebellion is as bad as witchcraft and idolatry.

And who's he?"

(Wow. Rebellion—disobeying God—is as bad as

witchcraft and idolatry? Rebellion—disobeying God—

is serious stuff!)

"And who's he?" Samuel asked.

"This is Agag, king of the Amalekites.

I brought him back as a trophy," Saul answered.

Samuel grabbed a sword and hacked Agag into pieces

right there on the spot,

threw down the sword in utter disgust

and said,

"Saul! You have disobeyed.

No longer will you be king—neither you,

nor your descendants.

The kingdom is taken from you."

Pretty harsh, you may be thinking.

Saul was rationalizing.

He was trying to make wrong make sense.

We do the same thing, don't we?

Instead of completing a holy destructionwith 100% effort . . .

we only half-heartedly take a whack at it.

But I can make it make sense!

Surely God wouldn’t want me to destroy the BEST sheep!

God doesn’t always make sense.
He's the One who says:
• The Last shall be First.
• Wanna be great? Learn to Serve!
You see, it's not our job to understand God.
Our job is to simply OBEY Him.

OK, maybe I can understand the need to kill the animals, but what’s wrong with bringing Agag back as a trophy to march in the victory parade?

At the very end of 1 Samuel, and in the first chapter of 2 Samuel,

we see Saul 20 yrs later on Mount Gilboa fighting the Philistines.

Wounded in battle, he heard the voice of his attacker behind him.

“Who are you?” Saul cried out.

“I am an Amalekite,” came the answer.

GASP!

You see, the period between the time Saul brought Agag back until the time he talked to Samuel was probably less than a week, but in that time, Agag must have escaped and fathered a son.

Now, 20 years later, he appears and attacks Saul.

We THINK we have sin under control,

but whenever we keep a little trophy hanging around

to show how powerful we are, we’re playing with fire.

“R-rated movies used to be a problem” you may say. “Romance novels used to be a problem. Drinking used to be a problem. But I have it under control now. No need to block it completely out of my life. I can turn it off, stop doing it, whenever I want. Partying? I can handle it."

Watch out!

You are not as strong as you think you are.

When God says, "This needs to be destroyed"

DESTROY IT!

That’s why a Father who loves you says, “Destroy completely every Amalekite. If something is wrong, if something is tempting, if something is pulling on you carnally, if something is attacking you from behind, annihilate it. Don’t play around with the Amalekites, because if you leave even one, he’ll come back and get you!

I'm asking the question again, Girls:

Is there anything in your life that needs

a holy destruction?

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-08-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

I'm reading in the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy.

I'm intrigued with chapter three.

God has told the children of Israel

(I like to call them "the world's largest backpacking group")

to destroy certain cities, kings and people.

As you know . . .

before Christ came

and paid for evil

with His death,

God often dealt with evil

by obliteration.

(Remember the world in Noah's day?

And Sodom and Gomorrah?

God dealt with the evil

by obliterating it

with death.

A clean wipe-out.)

Back to Deuteronomy chapter three.

God is instructing the children of Israel

to deal with those who

defiantly

and

willfully

oppose Him

by wiping them out.

"So God, our God, also handed Og king of Bashan

over to us—Og and all his people—

and we utterly crushed them" (Deuteronomy 3:3 The Message).

And we read a little further . . .

"There were also numerous unwalled villages.

We totally destroyed them—a holy destruction" (Deuteronomy 3:4 The Message).

Wow.

A couple of strong things to notice here:

1. unwalled villages

If a village didn't have a strong wall

to surround it

and protect it,

the city and its people

were an easy target.

We need a strong wall of protection

around our lives!

2. a holy destruction

Are there some things in your life that need

a holy destruction?

Check out Deuteronomy 3:11.

Catch this description of King Og's bed:

"His bed, made of iron, was over thirteen feet long and six wide."

Why do you suppose

God wanted a description of a king's bed in the Bible?

Maybe God wants us to know

that the quality of stuff we have

doesn't matter—

if it's evil . . .

or if it's causing us to do evil things . . .

He wants to perform

holy

destruction.

You see, God doesn't want ANYTHING

to come between us and Him.

And if it does?

We need a holy destruction.

I have a few questions for you:

First . . .

about unwalled cities that were easily destroyed.

—Do you have a wall of protection surrounding your life?

If you don't, you'll be an easy target for Satan.

If you do have a wall or protection surrounding

your life, tell me about it.

Second . . .

—Is there anything in your life

that needs a holy destruction?

Would you be willing to ask God?

Here's a prayer to get you started:

Dear Jesus,

Is there anything in my life that's not

right with You?

Anything I'm connected with

that needs a holy destruction?

If so, Jesus,

will You bring it to my mind?

Help me think of it.

When You show it to me,

I'll destroy it

in obedience to You.

In Your name I pray,

Amen.

How do you know if something

needs to be destroyed?

Well . . .

if that "something" is in disobedience to God

if that "something" is pulling you away from God,

those

are

signs that they need to be destroyed.

I'll write more later.

But first I want to hear your answer to these two questions:

Again:

—Do you have a wall of protection surrounding your life?

and

—Is there anything in your life

that needs a holy destruction?

You are loved!

Susie

2009-08-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

What Does God's Voice Sound Like?

Let's look at 1 Kings 19:11-3.

The Old Testament prophet Elijah

had just defeated

450 prophets of Baal.

The evil queen Jezebel was after him,

so he fled for his life.

He'd experirenced a great victory,

but now he was hiding in the mountains.

While he was there . . .

God spoke.

"Go out and stand before me on the mountain," the Lord told him.

And as Elijah stood there the Lord passed by,

and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain;

it was such a terrible blast

that the rocks were torn loose,

but

the

Lord

was

not

the wind.

After the wind,

there was an earthquake,

but

the

Lord

was

not

the

earthquake.

And after the earthquake,

there was a fire,

but

the

lord

was

not

the

fire.

And after the fire,

there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

When Elijah heard it,

he wrapped his face in his scarf

and went out

and stood at the entrance of the cave."

(1 Kings 19:11-13 The Living Bible)

Elijah knew God's voice was in the whisper.

It wasn't in the tornado,

the earthquake

or the fire.

It was in the whisper.

How well do you know the voice of God?

Do you know it so well

that above the screams and cheers

at a football game,

you'll hear His voice

in the whisper

if He chooses to speak to you?

How can I learn God's voice?

By spending time with him.

When your best friend calls,

she doesn't have to identify herself.

You know it's her as soon as you hear the first utterance of her voice.

You've spent enough time with her,

you just know.

It works the same way with God.

The more you talk with Him,

the more time you spend together,

the more you read His letter to you,

the easier it becomes to hear His voice.

As you're heading into school . . .

think about all the times

God may want to speak to you.

It may be in the middle of a teacher's lecture.

Or in a crowded hallway heading to the next class.

Or by your computer as you work on home-school lessons.

When He speaks, will you hear His voice?

Get to know the voice of God!

Love you!

Susie

2009-08-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

More thoughts on the disciples asking the wrong question

found in Matthew 18:1.

If you've missed a few blogs, please see the past three postings.

Let's do a quick recap on the scripture:

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'

"Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said,

'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.'" (NKJV)

Seems strange, doesn't it?

That Jesus would tell His disciples

they had to be converted?

I mean, they'd already accepted Him

as their Savior.

Their God.

Their reason for living.

Their hope for eternity.

They'd already left everything

to follow Him.

What was He talking about?

It's tied in with what He did.

He called a little child to Him, didn't He?

And He told the disciples to become as a child.

Notice:

Jesus didn't say "Act like a kid."

To understand what Jesus meant,

we have to step inside the sandals

of the Jews around Him.

We have to see with their eyes.

And hear what Jesus said with their ears.

When Jesus said, "Become as a little child,"

what those around Him heard was:

"Give it all up!"

You see, in Jewish culture—in those days—

children had no rights.

A child was simply a piece of property.

Need more money?

Sell the kid.

Need some work to be done?

Make a kid do it.

Children were expendable.

They had no rights.

They were nothing.

What?!?

Jesus, You want me to become expendable?

No rights?

That's it!

That's the key.

Unless there's a deep

internal

conversion

our

will . . .

a dying to self . . .

a surrender of the total essence

of me . . .

Jesus says we're not getting into heaven.

Yes, the disciples had walked away from everything

to follow Him.

But they were still full of themselves.

Each of them wanted a position of greatness

in God's Kingdom.

Jesus was saying, "It's so not about that, guys.

It's so about emptying yourselves.

Dying to your rights.

Becoming putty in My hands.

Getting yourself off the throne.

Surrendering ALL to me."

And if you're thinking,

Yeah. That's what I want.

I'm all Yours, Jesus.

I'll sing for You.

I'll dance for You.

I'll model for You . . .

then you're still not getting it.

You see I can't even be in the picture.

It's not:

I'll do this for You, Jesus.

And I'll do that.

Rather, it's

"Dear God,

where can I bleed

and

sweat

and

serve

and

die

for You?

To whom can I give

who can't give back?"

That's a surrendered life.

I have no rights, Jesus.

It's no longer, "me first."

"I deserve."

"I can . . ."

It's all about YOU.

It's YES, LORD

to whatever.

wherever.

whenever.

It's YES, LORD

to anything

anytime

anywhere.

. . . are you getting it?

This deep inner conversion

involves

death

to self

and talent

and what I want.

It's becoming converted

through dying to self

and becoming totally surrendered to

and totally saturated by

Jesus Christ.

He is Lord.

May we place ourselves

in His hands--

may we say, "Break me, Father.

Remake me in Your holy Image."

Amen.

Love,

Susie

2009-08-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

More thoughts

on asking the right question.

In Matthew 18:1,

the disciples asked Jesus

a question:

"Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (NKJV)

They were assuming the greatest spot

would go to one of them, weren't they?

It's dangerous to assume things

in our relationship with Christ.

But they assumed.

After all, the position of prestige in His kingdom

will surely go to one us,

they must have thought.

I mean, we're the Big 12.

We're the ones who have left all

to follow Him.

And we're the ones He chose!

We're the DISCIPLES.

We've been with Him for three years.

We've walked with Him.

Listened to Him.

Watched the miracles.

Even duplicated some of His miracles—

healed in His name—

and in His power.

Surely, when Jesus sets up His kingdom,

one of us will be in a really high position

of authority!

But which one of us will it be?

Peter probably assumed it would be him.

After all, He WAS the president of the group.

A natural-born leader.

He was always the first to speak.

The first to act.

He was impulsive.

Impatient.

Bold.

Outspoken.

An extrovert in every sense of the word.

And Jesus did say,

"On you I will build My church.

You're the ROCK, Peter."

And then at another time,

Jesus even said to Peter,

"I'm giving you the keys

to the kingdom of heaven and hell."

And Peter did walk on water.

Wow.

Surely, underneath Jesus,

Peter would be the greatest

in God's kingdom.

But wait a sec.

John must have assumed the

position would go to him.

And that made sense.

Think about it: Who was closest to Christ?

It was John.

Jesus had 12 disciples.

And out of the 12, He was closest to three:

James. John. Peter.

And out of those three,

He was even closer to one.

JOHN.

And remember the Last Supper?

Who sat right next to Jesus?

John.

And John was so comfortable

in His presence,

he leaned over and rested his head

on the shoulder of Christ.

So . . . surely . . . if Christ was going to

put someone in as His "vice-president"

it would be John—the one He was

closest to, right?

But hold on.

James must have felt pretty important as well.

He was one of the "inner three" closest to Christ.

And remember the Mount of Transfiguration incident?

(Jesus, James, John and Peter on a mountain

being visited by Elijah and Moses.)

James hadn't forgotten that.

He was privileged to be a part of that.

Obviously, Jesus trusted him.

So he's thinking, I'm in the running.

But Matthew was a pretty important guy as well.

He left a lucrative business to follow Jesus.

Surely, Christ saw a lot worth admiring in Matthew

or He wouldn't have chosen him.

And the other disciples?

Actually, they were assuming the same thing:

This position of greatness in His kingdom

will probably go to me.

How do we know?

Because right after Mrs. Zebedee

(James and John's mom)

asked Christ if her sons could be

in the two most important positions

in His kingdom (the right and left)

of His throne . . .

the other disciples heard about it.

And Scripture tells us

"they were INDIGNANT."

They were indignant.

They were furious.

They were livid.

Why?

Because EACH ONE OF THEM

wanted the position of greatness

in Christ's kingdom.

So what do we have here?

Looks like we have 12 amazing

disciples

who

have

left

all

follow Christ.

But 12 amazing disciples

who are full of themselves.

Me.

That's what it's all about.

I deserve.

I have a right to . . .

And how does Jesus handle their question?

Matthew 18:2-3 gives us His solemn answer.

"Then Jesus called a little child to Him,

set him in the midst of them,

and said,

'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted

and become as little children,

you will by no means

enter the kingdom of heaven.'" (NKJV)

Unless you are CONVERTED?

Hey! These aren't just any people off the street, Jesus!

These are Your disciples.

Remember?

They've left everything.

What do You mean . . . converted?

You will by NO MEANS enter

the kingdom of heaven?

If You're saying the disciples may not

make it to heaven . . .

what does that say to me?

OK, Girls.

I'm stopping here for now.

I'll give you more later.

But first . . .

I want to know your thoughts.

Those are two heavy thoughts:

1. Jesus telling the DISCIPLES they had to be CONVERTED.

2. And if they weren't, they'd by no means enter heaven.

So . . . what are you thinking?

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-08-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

Hi, Girls!

I've enjoyed reading your responses to Christ's question to you.

As you know . . . we've been talking about asking the right question.

(See the past two blog entries if you're just now joining us.)

The Bible gives an amazing example of the disciples asking the

wrong question.

It's found in Matthew 18:1:

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'" (NKJV)

I'll share more on this later . . . but first I want to know what YOU'RE thinking.

Why was this the wrong question to ask?

Love,

Susie Shellenberger

2009-08-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

We've been chatting about asking the right question.

And girls, I love the way you're turning your questions

around to make them right!

That's exciting.

(If you've just joined us, read the last blog entry

so you'll be "in the know" and can comment with

us, OK?)

Jesus loves your questions.

But He wants you to ask the right questions.

And sometimes Jesus will ask you a question.

In Matthew 20:29, Jesus asked two blind men a question:

"'What do you want me to do for you?' he asked." (NIV)

The two blind men were specific in their answer.

They told Jesus they'd love to see.

Like the two blind guys, Jesus wants YOU

to be specific in your conversations

with Him.

"Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.

Immediately they received their sight and followed him."

(Matthew 20:34 NIV)

I like the way The Message paraphrases the above verse:

"Deeply moved, Jesus opened their eyes."

Wow.

Jesus is deeply moved when you respond

with the right focus.

Jesus asked the question.

The two guys responded specifically.

Honestly.

They became His followers.

Jesus was deeply moved.

Earlier, (in Matthew 20:20),

Jesus asked Mrs. Zebedee

the same question.

She was the mom of

James and John—

two of Christ's disciples.

Mama Zebedee—

like the two blind guys—

also responded to His question.

But her focus was completely off.

"'What is it you want?' he asked." (NIV)

And Mama Zebedee then asked if

her boys could have the two top

places of honor in God's kingdom.

"Can Jimmy and Johnnie sit at Your

right- and left-hand spots

when You set up your kingdom?

They'd look great on the right and left

of Your throne. You know . . .

with You being in the center of course."

Remember the last blog entry?

There's always a question behind the question.

What was she really asking?

"Can You make my boys important?

Cuz if You can elevate them to positions

of importance . . . it's gonna make me

feel really good about myself."

It was all about her.

Jesus saw through her question.

She had the same opportunity

the two blind guys had.

The Creator of the universe

walked right up to her and said,

"What do you want?"

WOW!

Talk about a loaded question!

If her focus had been right . . .

she would have asked a different question.

OK.

It's your turn.

Think about it.

Realize this.

KNOW it.

The King of kings has approached you.

And right now He's asking you a question:

"What do you want Me to do for you?"

Wow.

What's your response?

Love,

Susie

2009-08-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a book called

QBQ—

the Question Behind the Question

by John G. Miller.

Though it's really a book for

corporations and businesses,

I'm fascinated by it

because of the simple fact

that there's usually another question

behind the question we're asking.

Example: In a corporate world,

an employee might ask,

"Why doesn't our manager give us

enough budget to do a great job?"

The question that should be asked is,

"How can I do the best job possible with

the limited resources I have?"

I've been using this book to help me think

in terms of the girls in our sisterhood.

School is right around the corner,

and you're about to walk back onto your campus.

You may be tempted, after a few days,

to ask, "How come I don't have great friends?"

Let me challenge you to turn that around.

Ask instead, "What can I do to be a great friend to others?"

Instead of asking, "Why do I have such a lousy math teacher?"

Ask instead, "What can I do on my own to better understand the assignment?"

Instead of asking, "How come this jerk sits next to me in history class?"

Ask instead, "What can I do to be a positive light in his life?"

And I've also been thinking about some of the questions

the disciples asked Christ.

In John 6:16, we read about a storm.

The disciples were already in the boat.

Jesus hadn't joined them yet.

Verse 19 tells us, "When they had rowed three or three and a half miles,

they saw Jesus approaching the boat.

walking on the water;

and they were terrified."

Jesus told them not to be afraid.

He got into the boat.

And SUDDENLY

they were immediately on the shore!

(Scripture hints that Christ just PUT them

immediately where they needed to be.)

When they got to the shore, the crowds

who had been following Jesus couldn't

believe He was there.

They knew He hadn't rowed there.

In verse 25, some of the followers

asked Him HOW He got there.

WHEN He got there.

Jesus basically told them they

weren't asking the right questions.

You see, their question really revealed

the question behind it!

They weren't actually interested

in Jesus' ministry on the shore.

Rather, they were into the spectacular.

They wanted to know about the "magic-ness"

of HOW He got there and WHEN it happened.

Their focus was completely off.

And Christ told them.

In the next couple of verses (26-27), He tries

to realign their focus.

As you think about your campus,

your friends,

your part-time job,

your family,

your community,

your future . . .

what questions are you asking?

Jesus LOVES your questions!

But He wants you to be asking the right ones.

Consider the questions you ask.

What's the REAL question behind the question you're asking?

We'll chat more about some off-beat questions

from the Bible.

But first . . . I want to know your thoughts about this.

And I want to know what kind of questions

you've been asking—that you're now beginning to realize

really weren't the right questions at all.

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-08-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

OK.

The give-aways are completed.

If the following will send me an email at:

susie@susiemag.com

and LABEL your email with the item

you won,

and give me your complete mailing address,

I'll get your prize to you.

(If I haven't heard from you by the end of

Friday, Aug. 7, your prize goes to someone else.)

I love you, Girls!

Susie

ONE YEAR DEVOTIONAL BOOK:

-Prism

-Grace B.

-Allison W.

COOL SUNGLASSES:

-Nicole

-Abby F.

-Esther

MARANATHA BIBLE:

-Quinn

OTHER BIBLES:

-Meg S.

-Rachel from MN

ROCK YOUR WORLD:

-April

-Alex P.

Olivia W.

-Kasey

2009-08-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Am feeling generous today.

So I'm giving away stuff!

• Cool sunglasses with "I love Jesus" on them. I'll be showcasing these in the "Shopping Section" of the October issue of SUSIE Magazine.

• The NIV Worship Bible

And the following books that I wrote:

• Rock Your World: How YOU can make a difference

• Secret Power for Girls: Identity, Security and Self-Respect in Troubling times

• One Year Devotions

Enter a short paragraph right here on the blog. Label your blog with the prize you want to win. Then explain WHY you want to win it. (Remember, short paragraph!)

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-08-03T01:17:00.000-07:00

I'm saying

YES, Lord

to blue skies

and warm sunshine today.

YES, Lord

to friends

and dreams,

laughter,

good health,

games of racquetball,

praise music in my heart

and

Your presence so precious and near.

But I'm also saying

YES, Lord

to gray skies . . . maybe tomorrow . . .

and rain that won't stop,

thunder so loud it smells of fear

and being alone.

I'm saying

YES, Lord

to tears

and unfulfilled dreams.

YES, Lord

when the music has stopped

and You feel more than a universe away.

You are the King of my mountaintops (Oh, thank You for these times)

but You are also

LORD of my valleys (teach me to thank You for these times as well).

"O my soul,

why be so gloomy

and discouraged?

Trust in God!

I shall again praise him for his wondrous help;

he will make me smile again,

for he is my God!"

(Psalm 43:5 The Living Bible)

2009-07-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

I've been speaking at family camps in Michigan for two weeks. Before that, I came off of our annual SUSIE Magazine international missions trip. We went to Guatemala this year.

It's easy to serve God on a missions trip

or at camp, isn't it?

Blue skies.

The sun on your back.

Giant swimming pools.

Shimmering lake.

Jet skis.

Snack shack.

The smell of a crisp campfire.

The sound of the flames crackling.

The best music.

Challenging messages from speakers.

Everyone's in worship mode.

But when the missions trip is over . . .

When everyone has packed up and gone home from camp

how can you keep the campfire burning?

God yearns for our praise

our devotion

our being sold-out and excited to serve Him

24/7.

When the skies are gray and cloudy

and you think the rain will never stop.

And the thunder is so loud you wonder if there's a message inside the crash.

God wants our devotion when there are no friends surrounding us with raised hands

and when there are no worship songs playing.

In your hallway at school . . .

or at your desk in home-school . . .

God wants YOU 24/7.

But oftentimes we use a missions trip

or a camp

as our mountain

then we go home and simply wait for the next mountain.

That won't work.

That's not what following Christ is about.

The GOD of our mountains

HAS

to be

LORD

of our valleys.

must

consistent.

Or the world won't want what we have,

So think about it, Girls.

How can YOU keep the campfire burning

long after the last smore has been eaten

and the songs have faded into the night?

I love you.

Susie Shellenberger

2009-07-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood:

Here's what I'm reading in The Message. Check it out:

"It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message

on stage in a theater

in which no one wants to buy a ticket.

We're something

everyone

stands around and stares at

like an accident in the street" (1 Corinthians 4:9).

* * *

How does that hit you?

Know this: When you truly start to live

in radical obedience

to the Lordship of Jesus Christ

you'll be made fun of.

And sometimes you'll even be made fun of

from your Christian friends!

We expect it from the world . . .

but it hurts even more when it comes

from the Body of Christ.

So as you begin preparation to head back to school,

jobs,

whatever . . .

go into it with the knowledge

that you're seen

as an "accident in the street."

Be prepared to be gawked at.

That's how they treated Christ.

By the power of His Spirit within you,

you CAN remain strong!

I love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-07-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

Will finish speaking at family camp at Indian Lake near Kalamazoo, Michigan today and will head to another family camp outside of Howell, Michigan to speak all next week.

Will write more later.

It's a beautiful God's Day on Sunday, July 19!

Susie

2009-07-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

Our missions trip to Antigua, Guatemala was literally amazing. I really hope you'll pray about coming with us next summer. We'll have the info posted on the Web site in August.

Right now I'm in Michigan for two weeks. I'm speaking at two different family camps, and it's exciting to see God moving . . . especially in the lives of teens who are so on fire and sold out to Christ!

But today, July 17, is Obie's birthday. So I'm really missing my furry little four-footed friend. He's at home in Colorado Springs. Darin and Brenna Gregg move into my home when I'm gone (so Obie can stay in his own surroundings) and take care of him and love on him and even let him sleep with them!

Even though I know he's having a great time with Darin and Brenna, I can't help but miss the little guy on his FIRST birthday. Yep. Today little Obie turns one year old!

This may sound a little emotional . . . but as much as I'd love to hold and cuddle Obie right now, God wants to hold and cuddle me even more! I've been away from home forever (it seems like . . . I mean Guatemala and now two weeks in another state) and I'm missing it. (That's the whole month of July.)

But God wants to comfort me and strengthen me and just hold me. What a Father!

Thank You, Jesus, for loving me more than I deserve.

More than I can articulate.

More than I can even comprehend.

I love You, too, Jesus!

Susie

2009-07-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I posted some thoughts about all the news coverage on Michael Jackson and the fact that his Thriller album went platinum 100 times worldwide (meaning the album sold 100 million copies).

We talked about the difference between platinum and gold (see my older blog post for the scoop), and that platinum is more precious than silver and 30 times rarer than gold.

So in order for us to "Go Platinum" in our relationship with Christ, what would that entail?

Here are a few of my ideas:

1. Welcome Him in right now! When Jesus visited Mary and Martha in Bethany, they immediately welcomed Him in. They were excited to let Him use anything and everything they had. It's as if they were saying, "Our house is Yours, Jesus. Come right inside and get comfy. Whatever You want. We're simply here to serve."

They DIDN'T leave Him standing on the porch. So many Christians have simply left Christ on the porch . . . keeping Him at an arms length . . . never experiencing true intimacy with Him.

Jesus wants to come inside and bring us into genuine intimacy with Him. He doesn't want us to settle for being close to Him; He wants us to become part OF Him.

2. Sit at His feet. Mary sat wide-eyed like a child at Christ's feet just soaking up everything He had to say. Think back to when YOU were a little child. Remember how excited you were to have a parent watch every new thing you tried? "Watch Mom! Watch me jump over this log! OK, now watch me run. Are you watching?"

Jesus doesn't want us to lose that wide-eyed excitement of a child when we're with Him. Just as we want to show off for a parent, God wants to show off for YOU! If you're faithful, He'll show Himself to you in ways you can't even imagine. But be willing to sit at His feet.

Be willing to soak in His teaching. Read the Word. Become saturated with Him. Get obsessed with becoming all He calls you to be.

3. Define yourself in Him. I can quickly think of three people who have defined themselves so closely with what they do, that the person and their career have become synonymous. For example:

Michael Jordan is synonymous with basketball.

Tiger Woods is synonymous with golf.

Michael Jackson is synonymous with king of pop.

What if YOU could become synonymous with Christianity? When people hear your name, they automatically think of Jesus.

Wouldn't that be amazing?

Define yourself in Him.

I'm striving to do these three things in my platinum relationship with Christ.

Will you do the same?

GO PLATINUM with Jesus!

(For more spiritual growth vitamins, subscribe to the printed, monthly magazine SUSIE Mag. You can call 1-888-81-SUSIE or you can subscribe at: susiemag.com)

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-07-04T22:03:00.001-07:00

WOW!

God is doing amazing things here in Antigua, Guatemala on our SUSIE Mag "Never the Same" missions trip. Today one of our teams presented the Gospel to a crippled man in a wheelchair. He accepted Christ and began walking.

Two girls and their leaders from another team led a prostitute to Christ. So far in our two days of ministry, we've seen more than 300 people give their lives to Jesus.

Tonight in FUAGNEM--our evening service (Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute!), I spoke on Judas, the progression of sin, and obedience. Students died to self and committed to become 100% obedient.

As they decided to live in radical obedience to the Lordship of Christ, several came forward to testify about how living in total obedience specifically will unpack itself in their lives.

• Aaron said he's ready to physically die for Christ.

• One girl shared that she's going to start respecting her family.

• Another said she would start a Bible study at her school.

• Someone else said, "I'm going to start seeing myself through God's eyes instead of thinking I'm worthless."

Probably 75 students came forward to testify specifically about what they'll now do differently because of their commitment to living in total obedience to Christ.

A few days ago, I asked you to think about how we can "Go Platinum" in our relationship with Christ. (See earlier blog entry.) I've enjoyed reading your comments, and I'll share in an upcoming blog my ideas on going platinum.

I'd LOVE for each one of you to begin praying NOW about being a part of our SUSIE Mag missions trip next summer. We'll be coming right back here to Antigua, Guatemala the first two weeks of July.

We'll begin posting information in our August issue of SUSIE Mag about the trip, and will continue with information each month from August through March.

It's beyond words what God is doing! I truly yearn for you to be a part of something so amazing! I promise you'll never be the same.

Love,

Susie Shellenberger

2009-07-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

Have you been watching all the stuff about Michael Jackson on the news? It has me thinking about some things I want to share:

—We know his Thriller album went platinum 100 times. (That means it sold 100 million copies worldwide. When a record goes gold, it has sold over 500,000 copies. That's good, but it's not great . . . like platinum.)

Because I've always thought gold was great, I did some research on platinum and have discovered that platinum is waaaay better than gold!

• Platinum is one of the most precious metals known to man. It's more precious than silver, and it's rarer than gold!

• King Louis XV of 18th century France, declared that platinum was the only metal fit for a king. And now . . . a thousand years later, platinum is still considered the most exclusive of all jewelry metals.

• Platinum is rare; 30 times rarer than gold! And it's found in very few places throughout the world.

• Platinum is really tough to mine. Get this: It's a difficult and extremely time-consuming process. In fact, 10 tons of ore have to be mined and processed to get one single ounce of finished platinum!

WOW.

So here's what I'm thinking: I don't want to settle for a gold relationship with Jesus Christ. Many folks have gold. Though it's beautiful and worth some money, imagine how richer their lives would be if they had platinum instead.

Let's challenge ourselves to GO PLATINUM in our relationship with Christ. How do we GET a platinum relationship with Him? It may be a difficult and time-consuming process.

I have a few ideas, but I'd like to hear what you're thinking first. After hearing from you, I'll post how I believe we can GO PLATINUM with Christ!

Loving you!

Susie Shellenberger, Editor

SUSIE Mag

2009-07-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

Am in Ft. Lauderdale, FL doing missions training for our 500 participants for this summer's missions trip. And I'd LOVE for you to start praying NOW about joining us next summer!

That's right! Through SUSIE Mag, we'll continue our annual summer missions trip. Next summer's dates are: June 28 to July 11, 2010 and we'll be going back to Antigua, Guatemala.

Anyhoo . . . yesterday I broke away from missions training for an hour to head to the mall with one of the leaders who needed a pair of shoes. So we go into the shoe store, and I'm waiting for her as she's trying on a variety of shoes.

Suddenly, the sales gal started screaming (she saw my name badge that I still had on from missions training) and said she used to get Brio magazine. So I got to tell her about SUSIE Mag.

She's 21 now, and when we told her we were here for missions training and getting ready to leave for Guatemala on Thursday. And she said her cousin was on the trip WITH us. So I invited her to FUAGNEM (Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute--our evening service at the hotel), and she came.

Fun time! Great to meet her.

Bottom line: Even though we're not all wearing a name badge each day . . . we DO wear the badge of Christ. And we never know who's watching our actions and reactions.

Here's the challenge: Live up to His badge!

Love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

PS: Are you enjoying the July issue of SUSIE Mag? If so, pass on the word! Get your gal pals to subscribe at: susiemag.com or by calling: 1-888-81-SUSIE

2009-06-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

It's a must.

You GOTTA do it!

Go to the Website and sign the Secret Keeper Girl Bod Squad petition.

This is being spear-headed by my friend (and one of your fave authors and speakers) Dannah Gresh.

If you care at all about modesty, purity and what really matters—sign it NOW!

Go to: susiemag.com and you'll see it in big, bold, bright letters on the home page.

This is your chance to make your voice count for something that truly matters!

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

Order Your SUSIE T-Shirt!

2009-06-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

See the following post for more details!

2009-06-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

Guess what I'm doing! Ordering a bunch of T-shirts that say:

I READ SUSIE Mag on the front. And on the back it says:

susiemag.com

a global sisterhood for teen girls

They're adult uni-sex thick white shirts with bright blue and bright green lettering.

They'll sell for $15. I need to know as soon as possible if you want to order one.

If you do, send me an e-mail at: susie@susiemag.com and give me your name, address and size. (And remember these aren't junior-cut shirts; they're adult T-shirts. They may be a little bigger than you're used to.)

You can order S, M, L, XL or XXL.

After you send me your size, then send a check or cash to:

Susie Shellenberger Ministeries

3741 Bloomington Street #4

Colorado Springs, CO 80922

(If you're in Canada, you'll need to send $18 U.S. -- sorry, but it just costs a lot to mail stuff to Canada.)

Let's show the WORLD we're part of a global sisterhood and proud of it!

I love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-06-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hi, Girls in the Sisterhood!

I just have to vent for a second, OK?

My dog Obie and I are reallyreallyreally tired of the rain. See, I can't take him to the dog park when it's wet, and he gets bored and does stuff he shouldn't . . . like tearing my wallet apart.

Yes, I'm serious.

He actually climbed on top of the table (does he think he's a cat?), took my wallet, tore it in half—completely separating it into two pieces—took out the credit cards AND the dollar bills AND opened the zipper pouch and removed the coins!

I'm scared I'm going to get a delivery from Petsmart that he snuck out and purchased.

And today he decided whatever was in the trash bag smelled better than his dog food, so he pulled open the bag and sorted through the trash (if you call "sorting" spreading it all over the living room floor).

And where are you, Susie? you're probably thinking.

I'm usually downstairs working on SUSIE Mag.

Sigh.

He had to go to "Time-Out."

(I wish I could go to "Time-Out" and take a nap.)

Oh, Obie dog.

Will you ever learn?

Hmmm.

I wonder if my heavenly Father ever asks that about me?

Chances are, He probably does . . . maybe even every day.

But He never gives up on me.

He just keeps loving and guiding me.

So I'll take my cues from Him.

And I'll keep loving and guiding Obie-dog.

There.

Felt good to vent.

Love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-06-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hi, Girls in the Sisterhood!

Want to help me with something FUN? OK, you know how each month in SUSIE Mag we have "Susie's Shopping List"? Well, I'm featuring a bunch of really cool photo frames in the November issue. (Yes, we work that far ahead!)

Anyway, instead of just showing empty photo frames, I thought it would be really FUN to put some of YOUR photos inside the frames!

I can't promise it'll work, because I don't know the quality of photos you'll send, and I can't accept all photos that come in. So I'll go with the first ones I get.

Select only ONE category, and send me a photo to:

susie@susiemag.com

Label your e-mail: PHOTOS INSIDE FRAMES

and be sure and include your name, your pet's name—whatever information is needed for the photo you're sending. ALSO include your city and state! A

• CATS: I'll need a photo of you and your cat.

Photo Hints: Your photo has a better chance of being selected if it's high quality and extremely clear. Photos that are simple (not a lot going on; not much activity in the picture) also have a better chance of being chosen.

Photos will not be returned, so make sure you have a copy of the photo you send me.

Thanks, Girls!

You are so loved.

Susie Shellenberger

2009-05-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hi, Girls in the Sisterhood!

Here are some more winners from the May issue. Remember to try again if you didn't win anything, because we're giving away free stuff in every single issue of SUSIE Mag!

Silver-bronzed watch:

--Alannah Pass, Nova Scotia, Canada

"Girl Talk With God" by Susie Shellenberger

--Malissa Moniz, Surrey, British Columbia

--Melissa Childs, Palmer Texas

"So Not Happening" by Jenny B. Jones

--Lydia Cote, Fayetteville, NC

--Katie Patchell, Belleville, PA

--Jennifer Poole, Forest Park, OK

2009-05-24T19:49:00.001-07:00

Hey, Girls in the Sisterhood!

Congrats to these readers who have won some amazing prizes through SUSIE Mag. I'll post more winners later in the week.

Every single month we're giving away TONS OF FREE STUFF through the magazine. If you haven't subscribed yet, you gotta do it now! See, here's the cool deal: If you subscribe in the next few weeks, you'll not only get the printed SUSIE Mag delivered to your house each month, but you'll also get a FREE membership to the online global Sisterhood we're in the process of setting up!

Once we get it fully running, it will cost $13 to join the global Sisterhood. And then it will also cost the $23 for the yearly subscription of 12 issues of the printed magazine.

You really want BOTH. And I'm guessing you don't want to have to pay the extra $13. So subscribe to SUSIE Mag in the next few weeks, and you'll get the membership to the global Sisterhood thrown in for FREE!

And look for some of the June issue of SUSIE Mag on the Web site June 1. Go to: susiemag.com

OK, here are the winners. Check back in a few days for more winner announcements.

We love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

"So Not Happening" (Book by Jenny B. Jones)

• Patty Hamilton, Bellevue, WA

• Leah Kochersperger, Dublin, PA

• Sara Sprinkle, Lee's Summit, MO

• Laura Chun, Eagle River, AK

• Adrienne Killick, Alberta, Canada

• Nicole Pannasch, Jackson, NJ

• Leah Naegeli, Kokomo, IN

• Jennifer Rodrigues, Oregon City, OR

• Alexis Aakre, Karlstad, MN

"Girl Talk With God" (Book by Susie Shellenberger)

• Faith Lambert. Kentwood, MI

• Amanda Rowe, Simpsonville, SC

• Elise Topazian, Rochester, MN

• Mili Rich, Cumbria, England

Audio Bible

• Rebekah Lewis, Petersburg, AK

• Catherine Jackson

Summer Bag

Chloe Smiley

Cross watch (red)

Annalise Schroeder, Fremont, WI

Multi-colored wristband watch

Megan Smith, Fenton, MO

Nick & Nora Slippers

Michelle Thorpe, Takaka, New Zealand

Towel

Kaylee Harned, Prince George, British Columbia

2009-05-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Sisterhood secret:

On page 5 of the May issue of SUSIE Mag, we featured three watches that we're giving away.

The secret is that NO ONE has tried to win them yet! I'm guessing most of you just skimmed over that page. Each month, we'll feature three watches that we'll give away for FREE.

If you want to try and win a watch, follow the directions in that paragraph! I'll be watching for your entry.

We love you, girls!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, Girls in the Sisterhood!

Our very first issue (May) of SUSIE Mag is out! If you've subscribed, you've probably already received it at your house.

Part of the magazine is now on our Web site: susiemag.com

Each month, we'll have lots of stuff in the magazine that's NOT on the Web, and we'll have stuff on the Web that's NOT in the magazine. So you really need to be plugged in to both!

We're anxious to know what you think, so please shoot us an email at: susie@susiemag.com

We'll also feature tons of stuff each month that you can win!

We love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

Au Revoir from the Interns

2009-04-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

2009-04-18T19:45:00.001-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

Wanna be in the July issue of SUSIE Mag?

Send me your favorite Bible verse and tell me WHY it's important to you (in one short paragraph!), and we'll select some to be placed on the SUSIE Mag Web site to complement our July issue!

So here's the scoop:

• Send your fave Scripture, along with your ONE paragraph only, and a high-rez photo of yourself to: susie@susiemag.com by May 4.

• Label your e-mail JULY Bible Verse.

• Give your first name, your age, your city and state (or province, country).

• You can only send in one.

• Do it NOW!

If you haven't scrolled down to watch the funny video clips, be sure you do that. And if you have questions about the magazine, read the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.

Love you, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger, Editor

2009-04-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood:

If you'll scroll down, you can read FAQs (frequently asked questions) I'm getting about SUSIE Mag. And here's the latest for our Canadian readers:

• I used to get Brio. How can I get my money back?

I just talked with Focus Canada and guess what? They're one step ahead of you. They're already sending a refund to every single person who had a current subscription to Brio or to Brio & Beyond. (If you didn't pay for it, it will go to whomever DID pay for it. For example, if your grandma bought your subscription, she'll get the refund.) So watch your mail!

If you're in the U.S. and were getting Brio and would like a refund, you'll need to call: 1-800-232-6459. Focus will be glad to send it to you, but you won't automatically get it. You DO have to ask for it.

Scroll on down to see the funny video clips and to read other FAQs about SUSIE Mag.

You are loved, Girls!

Susie Shellenberger

Wonder what it's like working with SUSIE!?!

2009-04-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

"Whatever you do, whether word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus!" Col. 3:17

2009-04-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

WOW!

Our first issue of SUSIE Mag went to the printer yesterday (April 2).

I saw the electronic color files, and it looks great!

I can't wait for you girls in the SISTERHOOD to get your first issue (May).

I'm getting a lot of the same questions, so I'll answer them right now:

• Will I automatically get SUSIE Mag if I was getting Brio?

No, you won't. You have to actually subscribe to SUSIE Mag to receive it. That's because Brio was published by Focus on the Family. They decided to stop publishing teen magazines, so SUSIE Mag isn't connected with Focus. But you CAN call Focus at 1-800-232-6459 and ask for a Brio refund. They'll be glad to refund your money. But you DO have to ask for it. Your refund won't be automatically sent to you.

• I was getting Brio & Beyond. Will SUSIE Mag meet my needs as an older girl?

Yes. SUSIE Mag is combining all teen girls into one sisterhood. It's geared for girls 13 to 19. It will cover ALL the teen years. If you're a college student, you'll see some stuff inside specifically geared for you—stuff about college, relationships and more. If you're a younger reader, you'll love the stuff geared more to your age group—stuff like crafts, quizzes and fiction.

• How come it's called SUSIE Mag?

To be honest, I felt really weird about that. But before launching this new magazine, I met with lots of professional people who are experts at marketing and branding. Guess what? Every single one of them advised me to name it SUSIE Mag. I kept saying, "No. That's weird." And they explained that when starting something new, you want to begin with familiarity. Because lots of Christian girls used to read Brio and know my name from that, they would recognize my name and quickly make the connection. They explained this way we'd be starting with a strong, recognizable factor. I still hesitated. But after praying and finally deciding to listen to the professionals who make a living at marketing this kind of stuff, I gave in. And it's funny . . . only about three people have asked me about it. And just so you know: Unlike Oprah, you'll never see me on the cover! ha

• How do we subscribe?

You can subscribe with a credit card at: susiemag.com

• I live outside of North America. I tried to subscribe, but the Web site looks like it only takes subscriptions from the U.S. and Canada. How can I get the new mag?

Unfortunately, right now our Web site is only set up to take North American subscriptions. BUT . . . we want the new mag to go anywhere anyone wants it. You CAN still subscribe, and we've received subscriptions from Spain, France, England, Mexico, India. But you have to actually send a U.S. check or money order or even U.S. cash to sign up. And believe it: I've actually received cash safely! Send it to: Susie Shellenberger Ministries

3741 Bloomington Street #4

Colorado Springs, CO 80922

And I'll personally sign you up!

• We love the hilarious video clips of you and the SUSIE Mag interns with your dog. What kind is he? And what happened to your other dog, Bosco?

Ah, my beloved Bosco! He was a 160-lb. Saint Bernard and truly a gentle giant! He died of a heart attack in September. I love big dogs, and I really wanted another one. But I was afraid if I got another big dog, I'd always be comparing him to Bosco. So I decided to go the opposite direction and get a little guy. He's a mini-Schnauzer, and I named him Obadiah (but I call him Obie). He's only 15 lbs. and he's really a sweetie. I love him. The video clips are still on here. I think you probably have to scroll down, but they're here.

Girls, if you have more questions, please feel free to ask! But if you haven't yet subscribed to the mag, you need to do it NOW! Our first issue is already at the printer.

And what a GREAT gift this would be for a friend. Consider signing up one of your gal pals to show her how much you care!

I love you!

Susie Shellenberger, Editor

SUSIE Mag

2009-03-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

Congrats to Kathleen for her fun title suggestion for our culture column dealing with music, movies and youth culture. Her title was Encyclomedia. We decided to go with something a little less trendy: Media Matters, but we still love her suggestion. Kathleen, email me with your mailing address so I can send you the Bible you've won!

Sisterhood, it's getting closer and closer to the launch date of our first issue! YAHOO!

I just finished putting together the May issue this week, and you're gonna love it.

Lots of fun.

Lots of spiritual encouragement.

Lots of answers to your questions about skin care, your period, family, broken hearts and more!

Anybody know who Cody Linley is?

He plays Miley's on-screen boyfriend, Jake Ryan.

We have an interview with him talking about his relationship with Christ!

It's a great issue!

Will you do me a favor? Try to get five of your friends to sign up THIS WEEK!

Every single girl who can get FIVE friends to sign up, will get this fun fiction book pictured here. (You'll need to send me each of their names and addresses so I can check and make sure their subscriptions came through.)

How long do you have?

Contest is over on April 2!

So get going. I know you have even MORE than five friends.

Love you, girls!

Susie

2009-03-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

2009-02-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

Girls in the Sisterhood!

It's time to announce the top five winners from our recent contest. You gave tons of great names for our glamour column. And we're giving these five winners a brand-new CD of a hot new contemporary Christian artist named Lanae Hale! You're gonna love her!

• Girlamorous by Summer H.

• Fun & Fabulous by Michelle

• Mystique by Caitlyn

• Style Spot by Ashley M., MO

• ibeauty by Meg

The above five girls need to email me with your addresses so I can get your prize to you! (susieshell@comcast.net)

The actual name we've decided to use for the glamour column wasn't submitted. After going through all the fantastic names that were given, they helped us spark another title: Stylin'

So that's it. That's what we're calling your new glamour column. And it's being written by fashion and beauty expert: Shari Braendel. She travels all over the nation doing "What Not To Wear" seminars that are totally fun! She's also part of an amazing ministry called Proverbs 31. You're gonna love her sense of humor and her expertise on how to look your best!

OK.

Ready for the next contest?

We need your creative ideas on our column formerly known in BRIO as "High Voltage." This is the monthly column that answers your questions on anything media-related: Artists, CDs, movies . . . anything related to teen culture.

So go ahead.

Give us your best titles.

The winner gets this cool Bible we've pictured at the top of the page.

And girls, if you haven't told your friends about SUSIE mag yet, what are you waiting for? The first issue debuts in May! Remember, this is a real printed magazine that will actually come to your HOME. We'll also have a Web site with amazing interactive stuff so that once you've joined the sisterhood, you'll be able to communicate with other girls in the sisterhood. In fact, there'll be a special online section only for girls in the sisterhood!

But back to the printed mag: To ensure you (and your gal pals) get the very first issue, we need your subscription in NOW. You can subscribe with a credit card through susiemag.com (Rough Web will be up by March 2) or you can send a check for $23 (one year--12 issues) to:

Susie Shellenberger Ministries

3741 Bloomington Street #4

Colorado Springs, CO 80922

Hey, Girls! I'm so excited about this new venture that I can hardly sleep at night! Do you realize you're getting in on the ground floor of creating the world's greatest sisterhood?

I love you.

Susie Shellenberger, Editor

SUSIE Mag

2009-02-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

2009-02-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

2009-02-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

Hello sisterhood girls!

Brand-new contest! Remember the La Gamour column in BRIO? We'll also have this same column in SUSIEmag, but we want to give it a new name.

So you tell US!

What in the world should we call it?

It will take your questions on skin care, fashion, beauty products, etc.

Go ahead and start submitting as many names for this column as you want! We'll have FIVE winners. (But we'll only choose one title!)

Not telling what the prizes are yet, but you KNOW it's gonna be good! Just look at the cool stuff we've given away so far right here!

Love you!

Susie Shellenberger

2009-02-13T07:38:00.000-08:00

2009-02-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

Hey, Girls in the Sisterhood!

Big congrats to TWO winners: Danielle Shoemaker from Ohio for winning the Secret Power Bible study! And to Michaela D. from Nebraska. (Danielle and Michaela, I need you to email me and give me your mailing addresses so I can send you the books.)

OK, ready for this week's blog prize? I'm giving away TWO prizes (for two different winners). A set of two fiction books (so you and your BFF can read them together) and a set of cool greeting cards I published for daughters to write on and give their mom.

Here's how you can enter to win this week's prizes: Post questions on the blog that we can answer in our beauty column. Questions about skin care, makeup, zits, etc.

Girls, I gotta tell you I'm so excited about our new sisterhood, I can barely sleep!

What new sisterhood?

The new sisterhood through SUSIE magazine. Here's what I see happening: I envision thousands of girls . . . like YOU . . . bonding together and standing in unity through Christ to scream for stuff that truly matters.

Like what?

Like modesty. And intimacy with Jesus. And purity.

I need that, Susie, because I don't really have a youth group.

I know! But get this: Thousands of other girls through SUSIE mag will be standing with you in this giant sisterhood. So when you think you're alone . . .and when you're wondering if anyone else on the entire planet still believes in things like standards . . . you'll be hugged and encouraged and prayed for and--

I get it! This sisterhood is about coming together and screaming for what's important!

Yeah, but it's also about you never having to stand alone again. Ever. Never. Ever. Never!

But I do feel alone SO MUCH OF THE TIME.

And when you're feeling that, you'll be able to converse with other girls in the sisterhood who can encourage you and feed you cool Scripture and pray for you.

But how will I actually talk with other gal-pals in the sisterhood?

Ooooh. Good question. So glad you asked. When the Susie mag website is finally up (we're shooting for April), you'll be able to talk directly with me and with other girls who are getting Susie magazine--girls who are in the sisterhood.

So this sisterhood is kinda like the world's largest youth group!

You nailed it! That's exactly what it is. And I can't wait for you and your friends to join. So please help me get the word out, OK?

How?

Tell your gal-pals to get their subscriptions in NOW so they'll get the very first issue of SUSIE mag.

How much? And where? And all that stuff.

Tell them they can send a check for $23 (one year--12 issues) to: Susie Shellenberger Ministries, 3741 Bloomington Street #4, Colorado Springs, CO 80922

Gotcha.

And if their parents have questions about the new mag, they can email me at: susieshell@comcast.net

I haven't signed up yet.

Girl, I am totally watching for your subscription. Seriously. I'm waiting right here by the mailbox for it to come in. So go!

I love you, Girls!

Susie . . . of Susie's Sisterhood (ha!)

Tell me what you think about all this . . . right here on the blogspot!

2009-02-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

Susie's Blog for first week of FEBRUARY!

2009-02-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

YAHOO! It's February. And it's also time for me to announce the winner of last week's blog prize: Joanna Rutter from New Jersey--you've won the One-Minute Bible for Students! (Joanna, you need to email me and give me your regular mailing address so I can send you the prize!)

This week's blog prize is: Secret Power to Treasures, Purity and a Good Complexion: A Personal Bible Study on the Book of Colossians by Susie Shellenberger. (I heard it's a good book . . . but I haven't read it yet. Just kidding.)

Anyhoo, whoever wins this book will actually get TWO because we want you to be able to do this fun Bible study with a friend.

How can you win? You get one entry each time you jump onto the blog and ask a question about guys. Not a specific guy . . . but guys in general. We'll then take these questions and actually ask guys to answer them and put the results in SUSIE mag.

Here's an example:

--How come guys say they'll call you, but they don't?

So your question should only be one line! And each time you enter a separate question about guys, you get another entry for the blog prize!

If you get a friend to come onto the blog site who hasn't been on yet, you get three entries. (But you have to email me and tell me who the friend is and provide her email.) And how are you gonna email me if you don't know my email? Ask no further: susieshell@comcast.net

(See, now there's no excuse.)

And if you come babysit my dog, Obie while I'm in Mexico this week, you'll get five entries. OK, I'm kidding.

But toss us every question you have about the opposite sex, and we'll go find the guys who are brave enough to give you their answers!

And who knows? YOU may be the winner of two Bible study books! We'll announce the winner next Toooosday instead of next Monday, because I'm in Mexico from Wednesday thru next Monday. Comprende me el-schedulo?

OK. I'll stick with English.

Remember, the first issue of SUSIE mag comes out in May. If you're wanting to subscribe, we need to get your subscription in el pronto. (Oh, yeah. I said I wasn't going to attempt Spanish, didn't I?) OK, we need it el-quicko. (See, I just can't help myself.) You gotta get it in NOW.

Here's how:

Send a check for $23 to:

Susie Shellenberger Ministries
3741 Bloomington Street #4
Colorado Springs, CO 80922

And please pray for me while I'm in Mexico!

I love you, Girls! Keep looking to Christ.

Susie

2009-01-29T17:33:00.001-08:00

Hey, Girls!

I'm giving away the ONE-MINUTE STUDENT BIBLE this week. How can you win? By entering a "Dear Susie" question for our May issue of the new SUSIE mag.

One entry will be randomly drawn for the Bible.

Enter your question now, and the winner will be announced on Monday. What else is happening on Monday? I'll post a brand-new prize for next week's activity.

And if you're wanting to get the very first issue of SUSIE mag, we need to get your subscription in NOW.

You can send a check for $23 (one year=12 issues) to:

Susie Shellenberger Ministries

3741 Bloomington Street #4

Colorado Springs, CO 80922

Can't wait!

Your Friend,

Susie Shellenbergr

New BLOG CANDY (Jan 26-31)

2009-01-26T06:00:00.001-08:00

Hi, Girls!

I'm so excited about our new magazine, I could just spit. OK, maybe not spit . . . but I'm reallyreallyreally excited!

I believe teen girls still want a magazine in print; you know . . . something you can hold or stuff in your backpack or pass on to a friend or go back and read again five months later. So the new SUSIE magazine will certainly fill that need.

We're hard at work on the May issue and beginning plans for the June issue. After that, we'll begin working about 4 months in advance to meet press deadlines and all that stuff.

You're gonna love this week's blog candy. The Student One-Minute Bible is awesome! And the way to get entered to win is to post a "Dear Susie" question. If you're familiar with BRIO, you know this as the section where I answer letters from teen girls about anything and everything.

Nothing's off limits. Nothing's too silly. Nothing's too embarrassing. I'll use some of these questions in our first issue of the magazine (the May issue). If you want a personal answer, you need to send it directly to my email.

I can't promise every single question will get answered, but I'll try my best. Remember to give your name and state when leaving a comment. If you aren't a registered user, just click on Anonymous.

(If this is the first time you've visited this site, you probably need to know that I created BRIO magazine several years ago. But when it was recently discontinued and given away, I began to seek God's direction for His next adventure for me. He kept telling me to create another magazine--something brand-new and even more relevant for Christian teen girls today. So that's why I'm launching SUSIE magazine.)

I love you, Sisses!

Susie

And the WINNER is.....

2009-01-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

The winner of Susie's first ever blog candy is...(insert drum roll here)...

Alannah Pass! Alannah won The Word in Life Study Bible.

Congratulations Alannah and thank you for your comment! Just send me an email with your address and I'll get your prize in the mail this week.

And thanks to every one who participated in this week's blog candy, sent great comments, and helped spread the word about my blog.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow morning and find out about this week's blog candy.

Susie's Blog Candy Kick Off!

2009-01-17T10:20:00.000-08:00

Hey, Girlfriends!

God helped me create Brio magazine several years ago, and I totally loved getting to know many of you through its pages. When it was discontinued and given away . . . I asked God what was next in His adventure for me.

He reminded me that just as He helped me create Brio, He'd like to help me create something brand-new . . . a magazine for teen girls that's more relevant, more spiritually engaging and custom-made just for you! And to help you identify with the one who answers all your questions, we decided to make the name really easy.

Your new mag is simply: SUSIE.

It's a new season.
A new era.
A new beginning.
An exciting adventure.
And YOU can be part of creation from the ground floor!

I gotta tell ya . . . I'm so excited, I'm giggling out loud as I write this!

Here's where the FUN starts: You tell me what you want in your brand-new mag. And to celebrate, I'm tossing out lots of blog candy. And I do mean lots!

Once a week for the next 16 weeks (Yes! Believe it! You really did read that right—the next 16 weeks!) I'm giving away Bibles, books and cards.

Here's what to watch for:

Every Sunday evening the winner will be announced. Be watching so you can contact me for your prize if you win.
Every Monday morning new blog candy will be posted.
Each post will specify how to be entered into the drawing.
The more you help spread the word about this blog, the more chances you have to win.

Here's how to win this week's blog candy:

Get one entry for leaving a comment on this blog telling me exactly what you want and need in this new magazine. (You don't need to be a registered blog user to comment. Just click on "Anonymous" when leaving your comment, but make sure you include your full name and the state where you live.)
Get one entry for mentioning this blog candy on your Facebook page.
Get two entries for posting a link to my blog on your own blog.

This week's blog candy is: The Word in Life Study Bible