The Grand Ball

I welcome words of life will go back to the Salvation Army's words of life. It's nice to have you back. Cheryl blessing to be here. Can't wait for listeners to hear what we have to share with them today, so if you're new to our theories, barefoot, Cinderella, as we are now in our fifth episode as we follow along with Susie Erickson's new book of the same name to hear the rest of this series purchased the book and read the companion blog visit Salvation Army sound cast.org/words of life today.

Susie was joined by her friend Heather Dobie.

She and her husband Rob have joined us more than once to hear more of Heather's powerful testimony got an interview we did with adobes in November of last year will have links to those two episodes on our site. In this episode chapter 4 of the book Susie talks about how the enemy can use shame to distract us from our purpose. Let us know what you think of the serious Borchert lesson God has taught you over the years. Send us an email. radio@uss.salvationarmy.org or call 1-800-229-9965. Love to hear from you. Welcome major Susie Erickson with the Salvation Army and today I'm in the studio with Capt. Heather Dobie had their back and I think in 2016 at an event for women and when I saw her speaking I thought to myself I need to get to know her, because I think that together see and I could change the world's you today were going to talk about a subject that people really like to talk about. We don't like to talk about it in the church and that's the topic of shame that we see that Shane was one of the first emotions that was experienced in the garden of Eden when on Adam and Eve fell and as soon as they took that bite that first bite of the apple.

What did they experience they experience shame. Have you experienced a similar shame in your journey. I have spent some time really reflecting on what is the right thing to share here because shame covers over lots of places I didn't come to know the Lord until I was in my mid-20s he can imagine. I learned a lot of life in that time and comfortably wild and free. So I thought. And so there were a lot of opportunities for shame to enter in and I do have something that I did want to share about because this is a piece of my story that for those who know me might be a bit surprised by and even I didn't grow up going to church and doing all the tricky stuff that a lot of kids do.

I did come from a house. I do come from a family where the phrase will always have a place to come home to. You can always come home like you belong here like that was our family and I and my preaching Jesus days before I had met Jesus. But I was going to church because that's the thing go, but have not yet encountered the living Jesus Christ right like at least eight years of that's where I attended the Salvation Army in Canada where I'm from where I was again just welcomes had a place where I felt I belonged even know I did not fit in. People made me feel welcome and that my Early Discipleship Which Took Pl. in Vancouver at 614 corn at the war College. Again was just grounded in this belief that there is a place for you you belong. You are accepted your embrace to your family and Rob and I were married in 2005 and we had this unique opportunity in 2006 to come down to the southern territory and start a new ministry in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I believe it's a work of the Lord because when we first arrived in 2006. It was the first time I had ever shown up and bid myself and not felt welcome, it was some of the first times in my and my Jesus journey as a believer that I felt like I didn't fit in and I believe that the enemy used a few voices and their opinions and their snide comments in the ways that we were led and he made it seem to me as though that's what everyone thought right you could have 100 people tell you what they love about you and the one person that says hello when you speak you speak so fast as a northerner.

We miss half of what you say and that's all I'm to remember to try and imagine even a comment like that giving kindness is difficult things that are said that are intentionally unkind or intentionally meant to be harmful.

Those go deep. I felt and Shane whispered this is not your home. These are not your people. This is not your culture.

You are accepted here and you don't belong. Now Eileen knew that we knew that we knew that God had called us, but because those whispers of the enemy season shame that who I was and how I love God and how I loved others. While there wasn't room for that here, we were always just get to be outsiders deep Susie. Oh I'm sure you know that's how the enemy works and he does that he uses shame to distract us from what her purpose says I do have a very different narrative today all these years later, but it took me a long time to walk out into that truth. The enemy would love nothing more than to keep us isolated in those moments of shame.

I wanted to tell you about this pinnacle moment in my story where God did this beautiful, merciful work of grace and is revealed to me how that Shane narrative was informing my ability to be a part of what he's doing here in the southern territory. I remember in 2011 we were cadets of the training college and Allie were coming up to the coordination of the ambassadors of holiness, and I am one of the things that was planned for that weekend was a big musical was a huge production.

It was so fun to be a part of so many memories, but I remember it was my first time ever being a commissioning in southern territory and it's a big celebration like you have thousands of people coming to celebrate and to bear witness to the ordination and then the commissioning of the giving of the first church or parsonage to these newly commissioned salvation officers and I remember it was the Saturday night of that weekend and we had just finished the musical and was it was epic and Rob and I were keenly aware that being from Canada. All of our families in Canada. We had come from a core that once we left since it was a church plant. It mostly dissolved. There was no one there waiting for us. There were no family members waiting for us in the audience. There was no folks waiting to take us out for a meal and after the does the musical was over and the meeting was done and we said the benedictions and everyone rushed to get changed and go out to the foyer to meet those that were waiting for them. Rob and I stayed back.

We help clean we help pack up all the equipment we help pack the van and we just went home to the training college because we we were like there's nothing to be anyone waiting there for us because that was the narrative that we don't belong that there would be nobody there because our eyes couldn't see it in her mind can conceive it, and so we just submitted ourselves the narrative and we didn't even go out to the foyer just to see if there was someone I had remembered I had thought to say you know what were waiting for Rob and Heather because they are our family and we woke up the next morning to email from dear dear friends of ours who said we missed you last night we wait for you for two hours. Everyone got home. We didn't know what he will be couldn't wait to celebrate with you to share a meal with you to talk about all that God is doing and moment Susie. I promise you, God used what could've been a terrible thing and he flipped the script. He said it is a lie from the pit. Now that you don't belong that you don't fit in, and there isn't a home for you here and that is where so many people live in their Christian journey. They settle for crimes at the orphan table when God has a banquet table set before them and their seat is waiting their seat is waiting, and they don't show up because the enemy whispers you're not good enough for that seat there's nobody out there for you. You know in that moment the Lord did something enemy. He broke the power of that narrative. And that was very like that changed everything that I still had to walk out of that place because I had a lot of beliefs and I had built a lot of relationships around the fact that people liked me in some ways but not the whole of who I am that they liked me for what I could do for them, or how I could serve the Salvation Army or how to make things look good, but that was about what I did not about who I am Dr. Ray Brown who you reference in your work. She talks about how guilt is I did something wrong but shame is by him something wrong, like a variety like something intrinsically in me theirs is not worthy, M. And so for me it took a time of walking out of that narrative of shame and feeling like I do.

I'm not worthy of belonging into the freedom of being openly embraced by the family that God given me and God did not just set me free from the narrative of shame. He gave me the freedom to believe that people are for me right that he gave me the faith to believe that when some Christian brother or sister says to me, affirmation and edification that they really need right now all their money folks is this a wall.

You know sometimes people say things don't really mean yeah yeah I know that happens, but I was in the habit of believing everyone was like that and that is not from the Lord. And so I believe that in moment and this is where I try to live my life in this place now is that when the spirit of God says to me, Heather.

I need you to reach out to that person and say this thing share the Scripture share this song pray this prayer I do it could mean anything to that person. I want to be part of that kind of work here on earth partnering with the father, a man of the Prince waited in the shadows. Yes, expecting to find the benefits and around was in his kindness. It dismantled their fears and he wiped away the remnant of shame from their faces with the hem of his garment. He exchange their ashes for bouquets of roses and he does the same for me and for you and for anyone who's listening today who has struggled through shame he can do that for you. The Salvation Army's mission doing the most good means helping people with material and spiritual needs to become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army visit Salvation Army USA.org to offer your support and love to hear from you. Email us@radiouss.salvationarmy.org. Call 1-800-229-9965, write us at PO Box 29972, Atlanta, GA 30359 tell us how we can help share prayer request or share your testimony. Would love to your story here. You can also subscribe to our short-lived favorite podcast store and surely give us a rated search for the Salvation Army's life. Follow us on social media for the latest episode extended and if you don't have a church home.

We invite you to visit your local sub worship center will be glad to see you this is Brian join us next time for the Salvation Army