By Ann Hutchison I have an analogy that I often use when I begin to feel challenged by spiritual difference in marriage. It’s this: My husband and I are like conjoined twins. We're one flesh. Does that resonate with you? I pull in one direction, spiritually; he might say ‘No!’ and before we know it we’re yanking and straining, stretched beyond possibility. Sometimes it gets too much; then one of us will yell: “Stop it! Ouch!” Being one flesh, we are knit together intensively. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 (NKJV) Thinking about this whole 'one flesh' thing, I decided to watch a documentary on conjoined twins. It might sound bonkers, but that is genuinely how I feel in spiritual terms. He is my other half. Anyway, others’ paths are good to watch,... Read more →

By Martha Bush Oh, how I wish my husband could have helped me deal with some problems I have faced the past few months. However, it is a topic that I felt I could not talk with my unchurched spouse about. The topic? Sexual indiscretion among pastoral staff, financial ruin, division in the church body, a mass exodus of hundreds of members--all occurring at the church I have attended for the past 32 years. And, oh yes--the Harvey Flood in 2017 that almost completely destroyed the building, which still has not been fully restored. All of these things happened within a span of 5 years, bringing the average attendance on Sunday morning from 1,200 to 350. Now, I ask you. "Would you discuss those things with your unchurched spouse--you know the one you have been praying for that he would sit in the pew beside you on Sunday morning?" Honestly,... Read more →

By Martha Bush May I start off by saying, “My husband is a true southern gentleman.” He still opens doors for me when we are out, as well as other ladies. He still says, “yes ma’am” and “no ma’am” to the elderly; he stills says “thank you” and “please,” and takes care of repairs for the widow down our street. Why? Because that is the way his mama raised him in the little south Georgia town where we both grew up. If he didn’t, she would have taken him “out behind the barn,” as they used to say in Georgia, for a good old fashioned paddling. Let me hasten to say that I call him a good old southern boy for doing those things, but I am sure it happens in all geographic regions. In fact, I meet many men right here in my great state of Texas, where I... Read more →

SUMite Nation: I have a homework assignment for you. Several weeks ago, I found what I’ll call a “Dream List” tucked inside my Bible. It was written on September 14, 2015. I wrote out this list in the early dawn of Rosh Hashana that year. I apparently decided to scribble down my future hopes, prayers, and aspirations that I longed to accomplish with the Lord. Read more →

Image courtesy of BlueSuedeBallroom.com Hello, dear SUMite friends. Ian from sunny Sydney here. I returned this morning from a whirlwind trip to San Antonio to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) annual conference. This is now my fourth conference and the reason I keep returning is that each time I go I experience a significant God-moment, writing and non-writing. My first experience of this was at the 2012 event where I met our dear friend Dineen Miller who introduced me to SUM. I’ve written about our meeting a few times but in a nutshell prior to this conference I doubted I could ever have a ministry role outside my small little world as a result of being a SUM. Dineen both at the conference and, later through her contribution to SUM, clearly demonstrated otherwise and it dawned on me that I’d allowed myself to be deceived by the enemy.... Read more →

This is a short but powerful video teaching about the cycles of faith. How we join God in what He is doing and to stop fighting against Him. It's also about our current season. In fact, Rosh Hashanah begins today at sundown. I recommend to push into the Lord in prayer and ask Him to reveal what He is doing in your life in this season and the assignments that being given after Yom Kippur. Hugs, Lynn Read more →

Sunday, September 29th is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. We've talked about this Jewish holiday over the years. In fact, the first time I'd ever been made aware of it's significance was because of a blog post from either Lynn or Dineen. For those who are not familiar or are new to this holiday, a simple "Rosh Hashanah" search on this site will provide you with a wealth of information. Feel free to check out the archives! Read more →

A couple of months ago, I went to a worship and prayer night at my church. I grabbed my flags to begin to worship the Lord and I noticed something odd about how they were laying in the bag. Once they were out of the bag and I began to unwrap them, I noticed that the rods were snapped in half. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. I was devastated. In that moment, I asked God, "Why?!" (Isn't it interesting how quick we are to blame God for our misfortunes?) Read more →

Ann here again! Having shared on Monday a little about church life, I thought I’d continue, this time about church and teenagers. Many of us have older kids, I know. Well, I live in a family of males. Add to that our male Persian cat and male lizard, and it seems that males are my speciality. I'm mindful that males sometimes don’t gel with church so I have a job on my hands, especially now that my boys are teenagers. Like Moses’ mum, here’s how I feel about those two boys of mine: “She saw that he was a beautiful child” Exodus 2:2 They are my beautiful children; and as their mum I will fiercely fight for their faith. However, I have a wee problem: I’m not managing to get them to church. Aggggh! I know many of you have this too. Honestly, if I could go back, I would... Read more →

Hello SUM family, Ann here! It’s a beautiful spring day here in New Zealand and I have a testimony of God’s grace that I want to share. Some fun shifts have happened in my life, so with a bounce in my step let me tell you a fun story. I’ve written previously about my struggles with churchgoing. This, for me, has been one of the hardest parts of this walk: Churchgoing without our spouses can be so complex. You know, a few years ago if you’d been to my church and gone ‘where’s Ann?’ you’d have looked and found me contorted in a crying shape in the back row. That was if I got there at all. Well, it’s changed. No, I’m not about to announce that my hubby goes with me; but these days we have a peaceful routine. On a Sunday we share a nice coffee together before... Read more →