Hi, my name is Susan Bailey.
Welcome to Be as One.
I am an author, speaker and musician. I wrote two books published in 2015: River of Grace: Creative Passages Through Difficult Times and Louisa May Alcott: Illuminated by The Message.
You can contact me at susanwbailey@gmail.com
About this blog
On Be as One I write about a variety of topics reflecting my life passions from kayaking trips to live kitten cams; from favorite books to inspiring music; from the wonders of the natural world to the challenges and joys of family and friends. And more. All viewed and brought together through a lens of faith.
Harmony
These are the many pieces of a life I can call harmonious. Even when life gets difficult. Remember the line from the song, “United We Stand”?
“For united we stand, divided we fall
and if our backs should ever be against the wall
We’ll together, together you and I.”
This is how I feel about all the pieces of my life, working together in harmony, and united with the One who created me and loves me. Even when my back is against the wall, I can feel brave, and be strong.
Secrecy and disharmony
It used to be that I kept certain pieces of my life hidden away from others. A lot of my artistic life was kept secret. Some of my passions too. I cherished all these things but was shy about sharing them. One day I woke up and realized something: if I didn’t embrace fully everything that I am, I can do nothing. Fear would rule my life.
Internal unity
Thus I created Be as One, to hold myself accountable and no longer keep parts of myself in secret, locked away places. I believe that life lived in fragments and compartments weakens the whole whereas unified within ourselves and with our God, we can be the beautiful and gifted people he created us to be.
I think of this image when I think of true unity:
Never-ending circle of love
It is an icon representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as angels, inspired by the story in Genesis 18 of Abraham and his encounter with three angels. The painter is Rublev. If you examine the icon closely you can see the loving gaze of each member towards the others. It is an unbroken circle of love and unity, a powerful symbol of how our own lives can be.
Beloved by God
God makes us as his beloved children; each of us is beautiful and gifted. Psalm 139 says so: we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
All will be revealed
Nothing is meant to be hidden away, and there is nothing that is secret that will not be revealed.
Sharing our gifts with others
We all have things we do well that will help others. And a life lived in harmony, with every piece working together for the good, is the best life to live.
A life of joy
It is a life that sees adventure ahead and lessons to be learned from suffering, thus granting it meaning. It is a life of “yes” to the prompts from God, leading to a deeply rooted joy that sustains us through the difficult periods of our lives.
Digging deeper
Writing about the many pieces of my life not only holds me accountable to embracing them openly, it motivates me to dig deeper and find out more about who I am as a beloved child of God. It gives me the courage to use those gifts God gave me even if sometimes they may not be appreciated.
Many pieces of a harmonious life–this is what will make me strong and brave.
Sharing the journey together
It is hoped that one or more of these pieces resonates with you and encourages you towards a life of harmony, unity and adventure. Hearing from you through the comments, email and on Facebook and Twitter makes for fun exchanges as we share our passions together.
This is what I hope Be as One will do for you:
Where the idea of harmony came from
Kayaking had a lot to do with recognizing the need for harmony in my life. Learn more from this video.
So did a favorite author. You can learn about her here.
Most of all, my wonderful family has always been there for me–my husband, Rich and my grown children Stephen and Meredith:
I hope you enjoy your visit to Be as One and will come back often.
Where to find me
You can find out more about my books and music here on the site; just click on the menu above. Feel free to email me at susanwbailey@gmail.com. You can also find me on your favorite Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+
I write regularly for …
Be as One 
Hi Susan –
I have been following the 7 kitties since they were 10 days old, although I did not chat, I only lurked! I understand you have pictures? I would love it if you could email them to me. I am going to miss these precious babies SO much.
Thank you.
Susan
It’s been an amazing experience. Kudos to the Kramers!
I had rotator cuff surgery the very day these kittens were born. Their epic journey from possible homelessness and trajedy to this well adjusted, healthy and very happy family of kittens has fueled my recovery. And, the people I have chatted with (Kitty Club) over the many days of watching have made me smile and look forward to getting up and running to the computer each and every day. Thank you again to Jen Kramer and her family for this blessing.
Bonnie (babysmama)
Happy to meet you formally, Bonnie. 🙂 Good luck with your healing from surgery. Are you following the Scientist Kitties too? What’s your handle on the chat (if you are)? They are one scrappy bunch, Marie has her hands full!
I am watching the Scientist Kittens – when I do post – it is with the same name (babysmama) 🙂
Cool, see you there. I finally know now what’s so special about “chickenfish” 🙂
Hi Susan, I nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award 🙂 thanks for great reads:)
Thank you! I saw on your blog how it works and when things calm down a bit, I’ll go and follow what you did. Thanks again for thinking of me!
Hi Susan-
just a head’s up-every time I try to get on the grapevine site-as shown on your site-I get a page from either China or some other Asian site.
Are you aware?
GrapeVine no longer exists and hasn’t for several years. Thanks for your interest though!