Welcome!

I’m Susie, and I’m really excited you found your way here. My hope is this space will bring real encouragement to your heart and surprises of joy to you and to the littles in your life.

I am passionate about Jesus, people, and words. I believe simple words can help us connect with each other and with Jesus in our hardest times, our best days, and our ordinary moments.

Teaching and Learning

I have been teaching in public elementary schools for over 35 years. I’ve taught 3rd grade, elementary Physical Education, alternative middle school, preschool, and kindergarten. Kids bring so much joy and energy to life, and I’m pretty sure that I have learned more from them than they could ever learn from me.

Learning—that’s another thing I love. As a child, I had so many questions about church, the Bible, rules, suffering, heaven, and more. I still do. I’m always trying to discover more about everything–especially Jesus. Everything that happens in life is a learning opportunity, and I’m here for it.

Writing

Journals–I started journaling my questions and prayers in college-ruled spiral notebooks when I was very young. Looking back through 40+ years of these journals reminds me that God absolutely hears our prayers…and answers them. I’m convinced that he is with us always–loving and pursuing us through every part of our crazy lives.

“Susie” Cards–Several years ago, I began writing cards to encourage people in my life. Time after time, people would tell me the words I wrote were just what they needed to hear. I started to realize that the Holy Spirit was bringing these people to my mind and helping me write exactly what they needed. God was up to something. (I’m learning that he usually is!)

Books–Writing cards turned into a blog which led to two published devotional books for adults and a Bible study co-authored with friends. Now I’m writing devotions and books for kids, too. It’s a dream come true to be able to write in ways that help hearts of all ages grow closer to him.

Family Fun

My husband Bob and I live in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. We love to hike, kayak, discover new coffee shops, and cheer for Seattle sports teams.

Most of all, we enjoy spending time with our two adult sons. We’re lucky–Ty lives in Washington, and Andy lives in Hawaii, which is one of our favorite places in the whole world. Some of our other favorite vacation spots are Orcas Island (we got married there in 1991), Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast, and Disneyland.