Occasional Notes From Suzanne - A weekly audio-essay on faith, a book recommendation, and a recipe

The other day, I took this picture on my morning walk, the colorful autumn leaves now gone reveal the sky and draw attention to the little noticed, because they are plain and not colorful, stalwart pine trees facing them.

LORD,

Help me to notice not what I don’t have, but to praise You for every good thing that I do have.

Because my natural tendency is to worry about the future. Will I have enough to last for the decades to come? But with that mindset, there would never be enough for every eventuality my anxious mind could create.

Without remembering that we are never promised any more days than the one we have today.

And yes, somehow, there has always been enough.

My heart rests in gratitude.

Not because I am wealthy, I am not. But because I am content with this simple life. And that is true wealth.

We recognize that our relationships cannot be weighed, except by the emotional wealth they bring our lives.

And the length of days they add.

The time we spent striving for something more can now be used for building something good and helping those who are our neighbors.

When striving becomes creating, beauty follows, feeding follows, building follows. And God’s ultimate purpose for our lives, follows.

What if we don’t need more stuff this year, but more space? What if instead of buying more things, we made an effort to see what we could give away to those who are in need?

What if we strove to do what good we could in our communities. And if we helped within our communities, there would be no community without help. 

When autumn leaves fall, instead of mourning the loss of their beauty, what if we felt gratitude for noticing the boundless sky anew?

Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Life without Facebook?

Earlier this week, my Facebook account was hacked. Unfortunately, Facebook will not allow me to access my account or create a new one. To be honest, I don’t miss Facebook.

But I miss my Facebook friends.

Strangely, my Instagram account is still working. So if you are on Instagram, and until Facebook allows me to return, you can find me at @suzanneelizabethanderson on Instagram.

I believe it’s not until you begin spending time with your own thoughts that you realize how many of your thoughts are usually not your own.

Generally, my day would begin with coming downstairs to the living room turning on the morning news while I made my coffee, then going out for my morning walk while I listen to a podcast, then returning home to spend the day working at my computer, with the news chattering in the background, and then in the evening some YouTube videos on this or that project, before ending the day listening to a podcast of evening prayers before I finally fell asleep.

And that might be why it was initially so uncomfortable  to sit in silence even for 10 minutes. But I’ve gotten better at it.

Now I frequently go for walks without listening to a podcast or a book and I’m learning to sit in my big chair and look out the window and just allow my mind to wander. I’ve even begun working at my computer in silence .

I’ve been cultivating silence for a specific purpose. I want to know what to do next with my writing. Turning off the endless chatter that usually fills the space of my home, allows me to hear my own thoughts, and not expect an answer right away, but acknowledge that I am listening.

I think we spend too much time worrying about our productivity. Counting the number of books we’ve read, the miles we’ve walked, the calories we’ve eaten, the money we’ve spent.

We fill every minute counting things. Of course these are good things to count. But I’m beginning to think that there is something very useful to be accomplished in just sitting and thinking or not thinking, but listening to our own thoughts, listening to our body, listening to our mind.  

Listening to our heart, to our breathing, and yes, in that quietness listening to God.

And maybe that’s how God gets our attention when we feel this overwhelming desire to be quiet. Maybe that is God telling us, Hush, I have some thing I want to share with you . 

I busy not myself with great things,

nor with things too sublime for me.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted

my soul like a weaned child.

Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,

so is my soul within me.

Psalm 131: 2,3

What I’m reading now…

Poem from Wendell Berry, Sabbath Poems

I haven’t narrowed it down to a single book, so I’ve been dipping into several books by Wendell Berry.

I welcome suggestions of where to begin reading work of his.

I was so excited when my big chair was delivered. I positioned in front of the sliding glass doors so I could enjoy the distant mountain views. Next to the sliding glass doors, I have an icon of Jesus. I placed my Bible and a book of prayers on the ottoman and I imagined I would spend every day there meditating or praying.

You can guess what happened .

It was the same thing that happened at first when I bought my fantastic Hokka sneakers for walking.

What keeps us from taking action and creating new habits that will become a natural part of our day?

For instance, I make my bed every morning without even thinking about it. Sometimes I’ll start my morning and come back to my bedroom and see my bed and I wonder who made it because I have completely forgotten that I did. It has become that unconscious to me, because I’ve been doing it daily, for years.

My walking habit is nearly as natural a part of my morning now. Bear, my Newife dog, will come up to me at the same time each morning and bark to let me know it’s time for our walk. And off we go.

I kneel to pray every night and it too has become such a natural part of my day that I do it without thinking. One of my daily bedtime prayers is asking God to draw me closer.

This morning I finally sat down in my big chair and said to myself, just sit here for 15 minutes.

And I did. I meditated on the beautiful icon of Jesus and rested in prayer with God.

I realized this was the answer to that prayer of Lord, bring me into a closer relationship with You.

God is always inviting us into a closer relationship. The only thing stopping us is our own ability to make time in our daily life.

That big chair sits right next to my computer. How many times a day do I walk by it and promise myself to sit down?

Can I find 15 minutes? Of course.

When I wanted to start a daily walking habit, I said to myself just 15 minutes that’s all you need and eventually that 15 minutes became an hour that I look forward to every morning.

Why can’t I give myself the gift of 15 minutes every morning with God? Yes, I have morning devotions. Every morning. But to simply sit in silence is something I rarely do because it feels like a waste of time.

Yet, what could be a more precious use of my time than 15 minutes of silence with God? This morning I felt a sense of peace and calm. And yes, I did feel closer to God.

So this needs to be another habit to build because I dearly want a closer relationship with God, and God is always there waiting. All I have to do is sit down and be quiet. 

What I’m reading now…

Psalms of peace:

Psalm 130

Psalm 10

Psalm 46

Psalm 34

What I’m cooking now…

Another week, another soup!

And another un-recipe. Which means that this delicious fish stew is made by adding a handful of ingredients I had on hand to create a quick soup that is worthy of being called a stew and more than worthy of being your next dinner.

Ingredients:

1 pound firm white fish, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 leek, 2 potatoes, 1 15 ounce can of corn, 1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock, 1 cup of half and half, salt, pepper, ground nutmeg, paprika.

To make:

Dice vegetables and sauté for 3 minutes in extra virgin olive oil.

Add chicken or vegetable stock, then gently add the fish and allow the fish to cook in the stock. Add the corn. Whisk 1 Tablespoon of corn starch into the half and half and add a ladel-full of hot soup, to temper the half and half before then adding to the rest of the soup.

Season to taste with suggested seasonings. Once soup has thickened a little, gently break up the fish into bite-sized pieces.

Serve with garlic croutons. Enjoy!

Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

I took care of the paperwork to make my move to North Carolina final. And I couldn't be happier. What's next?

Are you are Martha or a Mary? Does that question make you bristle as much as it does me? Well, listen to this 10 minute inspirational message to find out how I finally put that sore point to an end!

I visit the Ashe County Farmers Market in West Jefferson, North Carolina and the most interesting discovery are the people on the other side of the table.

Let the Spirit move you!

My mother was raised in the Pentecostal church. She experienced the Holy Spirit as a physical manifestation, speaking in tongues. She often said  that she wished that I could experience Holy Spirit as she had. I have not spoken in tongues, but I have experienced the Holy Spirit as inspiration to be better and do better in the face of my own selfishness, because God’s Love was stronger than my weakness. That must be the Holy Spirit.

Click the pink arrow to listen to the audio version of this week’s essay on re-thinking going where we don’t belong. And then keep scrolling for a donut recipe and a book recommendation.

Baked Cinnamon and Sugar Donuts

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled

2/3 cup sugar2 splashes of vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Cinnamon-sugar coating

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Spray or lightly grease a donut pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until well combined. Whisk in the egg, vanilla, and milk.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl and stir into the wet ingredients, until just combined.

Careful spoon the batter into the six donut molds.

Bake for 15 -20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

While the donuts are cooling, prepare two small shallow bowls, one with the melted butter, one with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Gently brush (or spoon) the donuts with the melted butter and then dip them into the cinnamon and sugar bowl, repeat for both side of the donut.

Enjoy!

What I’m reading now…

Most mornings, after I’ve have my coffee and morning devotions, I head out on a walk around the neighborhood before I sit down at my desk to write. On these walks, I like to listen to podcasts or audiobooks. This week I started listening to Falling Upward by Richard Rohr.

I first tried reading this book a few years ago and didn’t make headway. But as proof that sometimes books have to be read at the right time in our lives to be appreciated, this time the book is resonating with me…

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr.

Here’s how the publisher describes it:

In the first half of life, we are naturally preoccupied with establishing ourselves; climbing, achieving, and performing. But as we grow older and encounter challenges and mistakes, we need to see ourselves in a different and more life-giving way. This message of falling down - that is in fact moving upward - is the most resisted and counterintuitive of messages in the world's religions.

Falling Upward offers a new paradigm for understanding one of the most profound of life's mysteries: how those who have fallen down are the only ones who understand "up". We grow spiritually more by doing it wrong than by doing it right, and the disappointments of life are actually stepping stones to the spiritual joys in the second half of life.

Here's the latest audio version of my newsletter, plus a recipe and a what I'm reading now.

I'm calling it Sundays with Suzanne.

Oven Roasted Ratatouille - A Hearty Vegetable Stew

Ingredients:

1 eggplant

2 zucchini

1 red onion

2 bell peppers

3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

1 - 28 oz can of stewed tomatoes

1 - 15 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 - 8 oz can of tomato sauce

splash of red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

EVOO - extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Chop vegetables into 1 inch chunks, toss together with EVOO, season with salt and pepper. Add to a large Dutch oven or enameled cast iron pot.

Pour the tomatoes over the vegetables, gently toss to coat all the vegetables.

Cover the pot with a lid or aluminum foil. Roast in the middle of the oven for 2 hours.

Remove from oven add a splash of red wine vinegar, stir gently, taste, and season if necessary. Serve with a warm loaf of crusty sourdough bread.

Makes 4 hearty portions.

What I’m reading now…

The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus by Dorothy Day

the common place a newsletter from Tsh Oxenreider