Amazing

that God wants to do

in

and

through

me

(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)

So

what's holding Him back

from doing just that?

Ask Him.

Susie

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

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

or

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

"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)