Aberdeen, My Home

Thanks for finding this picture, Anika. I'm glad I'll be there next weekend!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

My beautiful sister turns 22 today. Here she is (front left) in a family photo taken on Mother's Day. Sarah is one of the most talented people I know. She dances, sings, acts and plays the piano. This summer she choreographed a children's theater production of "Frog and Toad," and played a Jet girl in "West Side Story."

Sarah is a sister and a friend. I'm constantly impressed by her heart for knowing God and her willingness to use her gifts for Him. Next May she graduates from Multnomah Bible College, and she plans to move out to Colorado. Yay!

Happy Birthday, Sarah! I love you.

See Suz Work

Last week the alumni director from my college, Multnomah Bible College, stopped by Focus. She took this picture of me "working." This is where I spend 90 percent of my work day. Exciting, isn't it? Carpe Cubicle!

Oh, the Insanity!

I just finished running for 45 minutes. I'm running a 10K next weekend and if I don't run now I'll die. My friend Jared loves to run. My friend Heidi likes to run. I hate to run. And yet, since I moved to Colorado 5 years ago, I've run half a dozen races.

"Why?" you ask. For the competition? Definitely not (10-year-olds outrun me). For the exercise? Well, I need it, but that's not enough to make me pound the pavement. For the challenge? Nope. (I don't need to prove myself to anyone, particularly myself). I attribute my insanity to...peer pressure. It's true. There is some kind of weird vibe here that tells you running is just something you do — like eating or breathing. It's true that Colorado Springs boasts some of the most beautiful running trails (I prefer using the treadmill where there's air conditioning). But it goes further than that. People, like myself, who had formally wanted nothing more than to lounge on their couches and watch reruns of "Friends" come to Colorado and...run marathons!

I know! For me it started my first year here. My boss Annette invited me to run in the St. Patrick's Day 5K. After discovering it was physically possible for a person to run 3.1 miles all at once, I agreed. That's how I got sucked in. I ran three more 5Ks before I attempted my first 10K. To give you perspective, a 10K (6.2 miles) is small potatoes around here. Most people I know have run marathons and moved on to triathalons.

As I trained for my 10K last year, a friend asked if I would consider a triathalon. Consider it? Consider it???

"Sure."

Did that word actually come out of my mouth? That's when it hit me: I'd been brainwashed. Did I really believe I couldn't be the TV-watching, theater-going, book-reading person that I am and be accepted? If so, how far was I willing to go? Marathon? Triathalon? Ironman? It was time to stop the insanity! After my 10K, I put away my running shoes and made the decision to be who I am.

I ran 4.5 miles today...but I did it while watching "Les Miserables."

Auntie Suz

I love being an Auntie. Notice how Ben looks at me adoringly as if to say, "I'm sure glad you set up my parents, so I could be born." I'm looking forward to August 4, when I'll see this cute little boy again.

Proud Papa

My brother, Matt, is a new father. I spent this past weekend with Matt, his wife, Anna, and Baby Ben. Anna is a wonderful mother and more relaxed than most new moms I've known. But it was my brother's relationship with Ben that captivated me the most. As I watched Matt hold and kiss his tiny son, I saw a tenderness and self-sacrifice that had not been there before.

Seeing a new dad reminded me of my heavenly Father. I've often thought of myself as God's "big kid." A 5-year-old holding God's hand as he guides and directs me. But how often is God's response to me more like that of a father and infant? If in Him I "live and breathe and have my being," it seems I am more like a helpless infant — uncomprehending of so much of my Father's knowledge, unable to give Him anything, dependent on Him for my very life.

And yet, despite my seeming uselessness, He scoops me up into His strong, loving arms and kisses my face and delights to call me His child. I see the face of God in a new dad. Enjoy this picture and think of your Father.

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him" —Psalm 103:13

Cutest Baby on the Planet

Benjamin Stephen was born on June 24, 2005, at 2:30 a.m. Through the miracle of modern technology I received a cell phone picture from my brother (dad Matt) moments after birth (the baby's, not his). I leave for Washington tomorrow to visit this sweet little boy.

My dad suggested we call him "BOY!" (in honor of our childhood cat, "HOY!"). Anna, my sister-in-law, firmly vetoed that idea. Still, it's funny the nicknames that stick. I've been called "Sue-eeee!" "Sueswan," "Suzanny-Danny-Banny," "the Suzinator," and a few I'll refain from sharing. Any funny nicknames out there?

Suzy-Q Out!