Susan J. Hetrick lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband David, and their four teenage children.
Susan earned her B.A. in English Literature and Humanities from the University of Arizona, and her M.Div. in Counseling and Family Ministry from Phoenix Seminary. Her book, Advice From The Blender: What to know before you blend so nobody gets creamed, was awarded 1st Place in the 2008 Christian Choice Book Awards for parenting.
With more than sixteen years of experience as a mom and more than five years of experience as a stepmom, Susan has a unique understanding of the challenges facing Christian stepfamilies today. She is a sought-after speaker and continues to write and blog on the topic of Blending Families. She is currently at work on her first novel. When she's not writing Susan enjoys painting, scuba diving, going to the ballet and watching ice hockey. Her website is: www.advicefromtheblender.com, and her blog is: http://blog.advicefromtheblender.com.
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When thinking about the question, “Apart from the Bible, what book has impacted you the most?” I knew I had to narrow the focus. I was an English Literature & Humanities major in college – to me, reading is like breathing; I need it to live yet I rarely think about it, and I have read so many books over my lifetime, I couldn’t possibly even begin to list them. I decided that I would focus on books that made me see the world in a completely different way. I even managed to narrow the list down to three!
The first book I remember really impacting my worldview was:
Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret, by Judy Blume. (I know what you’re thinking, but hear me out). I was about eleven years old at the time, and after reading this book, it occurred to me that God might actually listen to
my prayers! What a concept! I had grown up in a somewhat legalistic church tradition, where prayers were scripted and said in unison, without feeling. To think that the God of the universe could be interested in
my little life, and want to hear from
me was…wow! This book changed how I prayed, and to some extent, changed how I viewed God.
The next book on my list is TrueFaced, by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John Lynch. I read this while I was in Seminary, and I was blown away by the authors’ clarity and insights. I had never met these gentlemen, yet they seemed to know me! They articulated what I was afraid to admit about myself – that I had lived behind a mask. (In fact, for years I collected porcelain masks. When I realized that said more about me as a person than it did about my decorating taste, I threw them all away). Living authentically as a child of God is much easier and more freeing than trying to keep up appearances – because, really: who are we trying to impress? This book will help anyone unsure of who they are, questioning their identity in Christ, or struggling to believe that God really does love them.
The final book I recommend is Beyond the Cosmos, by Dr. Hugh Ross. This book is somewhat complex. While it discusses astrophysics, theories of general and special relativity, and other scientific conundrums, it also deals with God – and how to balance belief in Him with the principles of science. Dr. Ross’ diagrams alone are worth the price of this book - I’m a visual learner, and sometimes I need to see something before I can grasp it. Through this book, I learned an awful lot about string theory, but even more about the extra-dimensionality of God and how God exists outside of time. It changed my view (yet again!) of God and gave me a new appreciation of how He interacts with, listens to, and loves us.
I am all about reading everything I can get my hands on, especially if it helps me grow closer to our Creator Father. Enjoy!
This morning as I was spending time with God I was overwhelmed with a sense of His goodness to me. I am so blessed and yet I forget WAY to often to thank and praise God for His incredible blessings. I deserve NOTHING yet God richly blesses me because He is good. Here are some of the blessings that I am thankful for today (in no particular order):
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