Tom and Susan with Stan and Sarah Strunc of the UK.

By Susan Shanklin

Man, it was a busy busy October … a blur! So much so, Tom and I had to sit down and review of the Harvest Conference and Mission’s conference before he left AGAIN to end the month up in Northern Minnesota.

I traveled with Tom more than usual and got a taste of living out of a suitcase and eating the American diet of sugar, fat, and salt. But I have no complaints, for sure!

What a joy to travel around and be in and around the Body of Christ. The Body is ONE body, not many bodies all chopped up into  pieces. The Body of Christ is so full of different flavors, colors, and accents. It’s like a box of yummy chocolates. You really don’t know what flavor it is, until you listen and taste what the different pieces  have to offer. Sometimes you do have to push up the bottoms of those chocolates to see if they are soft or hard. The Body box of chocolates is so tasty, and sometimes we don’t bother to enjoy the variety of the chocolates. Sometimes we can’t even eek out a smile. We find other candy that looks the same as us and is the exact same flavor. We don’t want to enjoy the assortment package. We become exclusive and brand ourselves to only certain customers, and we wonder why the sale of our candy is in the tank.

The Body of Christ is so full of different flavors, colors, and accents. It’s like a box of yummy chocolates.

I entered into the chocolate box of white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and caramels.  Some were colorful with sprinkles and shinny wrappers. Some were plain and dull. But I had variety. I chose to taste and see that the Lord is good.

The Kingsway conference in Des Moines Iowa was so yummy and colorful. I met Apostle Isaac Clossou from Benin, West Africa who Tom and I will be working with in January. 

He was so cold in the upper Midwest fall temperatures. Ha! Here was this African dressed in his native explosion of color, with a wool scarf wrapped around his neck. I had to tease him a wee bit, but we laughed together. He, too, got to have a taste of Susan in her natural silver wrapper. I don’t think when I step off the plane in January he will be shell-shocked by this exuberant piece of white chocolate. What a relief!

Oh, I met Evangelist Michael Lusk there, too. He is the minister who Tom worked with in Benin last February. I only knew of Michael from photos and stories from Tom. But to met him in person was so delicious. Now this is a piece of chocolate that fools you. As you get to know him, your taste buds squeal with peace and joy. So mellow. So subtle. So excellent. 

So many good chocolates I found in Des Moines!

Another chocolate eruption blast for me was at the Harvest Evangelism Conference right here in our own hometown of Mankato! We planned for months. We carefully chose our featured imported chocolate and home-state worship candy. We advertised our chocolates. People started to nibble a bit. We were in full production mode. Friends were Facebooking … calling all chocolate lovers. We had our busy prayer warriors pushing prayer down the line. We sent out candy promotions. Closer and closer. Phone calls made. A candy factory in town opens its doors for us. It’s time!

Bam! The box of chocolates is opened!!! People came hungry. People came looking for variety. People came open to the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. 

Our imported chocolate, Stan Strunc from England via the Czech Republic did not disappoint! He was an explosion in your mouth. He touched all your senses. He made you want to reach in the box and see what else was there for you!

We had children, teens, and adults feasting on the goodness of God. 

There was little time to digest our Harvest fare, for the next morning Tom and I, Stan, and Ella the dog were off to Shell Lake, Wisconsin for their missions conference. Ella was only going as far the Twin Cities to my daughter Heidi’s house. As we traveled, we anticipated more of God’s lip-smacking confectionery.

You know, you can never get too much Holy Ghost Chocolate, and Shell Lake had boxes and boxes of hand-wrapped delights for whoever wanted to sample.

You’ve got to be willing to at least open the box, folks. You have got to be willing to stick your hand in there and take a piece. You’ve got to stick it in your mouth and chew and let it slide down your throat.

Jesus is so tasty! The things of God are so delicious. Why do we settle for less? Why do we not go the extra mile to invite a friend or stranger into the house of the Lord? Why are we so afraid to share our candy with others? Why can’t we promote, support, and encourage other candy makers and their fare? 

Time is now to indulge ourselves to God’s goodness, and promote God’s chocolate business.