Suzanne Schaffer

My dad was a victim of divorce. In the early 1950's as a young teen his parents separated and he was sent off to boarding school to avoid the shuffling between homes. He was left to grieve the loss of his family on his own. He spent several years adjusting to this life but still felt something was missing. During his senior year of high school, at eighteen years old, he sat outside one dark night on the lawn of Wilbraham Academy in Massachusetts. He took in the stars as if for the first time, thousands visible to the naked eye left him feeling small in the vastness. "What is the point of all this?" he asked into the night. "Someday you'll understand," a voice replied. The experience filled him with wonder. Who spoke to him as if right next to him while he was sitting alone in the field? One evening many years later, now married and with a family of his own, he took out his Bible as he'd gotten into the habit of doing since finding faith in God and ...

I admit, I've never been a trendy girl. Getting dressed has never been a favorite task. I'm happy in a tee shirt and jeans. Sweat pants that move with my every breath make me feel cozy. The 90's were a dream with the cotton knit matching pants and tops for one price. They even had their own bling so accessorizing didn't have to happen. Along came my daughter, the fashionista.  "Mom, get a different shirt," is now a common phrase in our home. She's generally right, one change makes all the difference. I go from being presentable to being dressed. Because what we put on says something about us whether we admit it or not.  I am a people-watcher. It's my thing. I'm also a conversation-listener but that is another post for another day. When I watch I notice everything from hair to clothing decisions to shoes. I've wondered why the mullet is still alive in Pennsylvania. Pondered why pajama pants are worn in public. Debated with my friends o...

Fifty Shades of Whatever I’ll admit I’m pretty tired of the brouhaha regarding the Fifty Shades series. I have seen posts from Christian women on social media praising the storyline and its romantic tones, yet pornography, in any form, has no place in the life of a Christian. Period. I’ve heard murmurings of a second film set to release in the upcoming months and while I haven’t seen the movie or read the books I did take a recent trip to Barnes and Noble to read a few random pages so I could comment with a bit of knowledge. I don’t need to watch the films or read the books in full to know this is not something I should be entertaining. What I saw on those few pages was appalling and it broke my heart for my friends who are entranced with the writings. My own past is littered with some novels I shouldn’t have read, things that awakened feelings in me physically that should have been saved for my marriage bed. I’ve always been a vigorous reader and as a teen I read anythi...

I've never been one to be impressed by what the world finds important. I don't care what kind of car you drive. I don't care how big your house is. Your sparkly jewels don't make me envious. I don't care who you know or who you've met (I find name-dropping one of the worst things imaginable). Your accomplishments, or the letters after your name, don't change my perception of who you are. Your designer handbag doesn't impress me one bit. You're either nice or you're not. Kindness is impressive. Your ability to forgive is admirable. Your work ethic that motivates you to get up early every day and get the job done is what I'll remember about you. What I find impressive is when you reach down to tie the shoe of a toddler who isn't yours. When you give your shirt to someone. Receiving a thank-you note impresses me. When your kids ask for more vegetables at dinner (seriously, I had a family over for dinner not long ago ...

I have a hummingbird feeder on my porch. It's one of my favorite things about summer. I'm entranced with the little birds who come to feed on the sugar water I prepare for them. At times they buzz around the feeder, trying to figure out whether or not I'm safe, and have even flown within two feet of where I'm seated. They're skittish in general and will fly away if I look at them too long. They don't realize I'm the one providing for them and that I'd never do anything to hurt them. God cares for us in the same way. He's watching out for us, giving us what we need, yet we spend most of our time flitting about without much thought to His presence in our lives. What He wants most is to spend time with us without us shying away from His strength. He's proven Himself faithful, has proven His intentions toward us, and has proven that He will never hurt us but we tend to put up walls in an attempt to keep Him in one spot as if we can control Him...

When my husband took his first youth pastor position the senior pastor’s wife gave me some advice I never forgot, “Just be you.” Those three words were a relief to my twenty-three year old self. They gave me freedom to find my way in this new life of ministry. Everything changed when I became a mother. No longer did I have time, desire, or energy to go to every youth event. I was now responsible for a little person who relied on me for everything day and night. I decided then that my children would come before any ministry or church related activity. As I continued on this path I observed other ministry families lose their children to the world because mom and dad were consumed with the work of the church. My biggest fear was that my children would be sacrificed for the opinions and expectations of others. We’ve ministered in five separate churches over the past twenty-four years and I’m sure some of the people in the congregations wouldn’t even remember us. Things were dif...