Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary!
I took this quiz on facebook. I think those quizzes are so silly. How can your character be summed up from a series of 10 to 15 questions? But I took one..and honestly..it was so accurate. When I read the results, my eyebrow shot up..how on earth did you get this from those questions? They weren't "Do you like to write?" kind of questions.. I dunno..maybe it's coincidental..but anyway..here is the quiz and the results.
Susan completed the quiz "Which Famous or Infamous Woman In History Are You?" with the result Emily Bronte.
You are the writer Emily Bronte. You seem to keep to yourself most of the time, and only have few close friends. Though you are beautiful, you dont find yourself attractive. Other people in your life, wether they are your friends or your family, always come before you, and you work hard to please others. You are very educated and intelligent and school was always extremely important to you. You care mostly for writing, reading, and other arts, and people tend to think of you as a loner, and don't take the time to get to know you very well. You have a dark, lonely side to you, and though you put on a happy face, you are often very sad. .
Most of you..have probably seen this video! So far it's gotten over 17 million views! That is AMAZING! This video touched me so much, I just had to post it here to my blog and write about it. It inspired me : )
If you look at the phrase at the top of this page right above my picture, it says this: Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary! I love to live a life that is anything but ordinary. I LOVE what this couple did. They changed the rules of a wedding. I've said this phrase soso many times, when talking about church or my restaurant. Why do we always have to do everything the same way? Why is a wedding always the same? How many weddings have you been to in your life? How many stick out in your mind..they are beautiful..oh a wedding is such a beautiful thing..but ..hmm let's be honest, if you've seen one, you've seen them all! It's a wedding. It's a funeral. It's a church. It's a restaurant. Do you understand what I mean? How many weddings do you remember as being extraordinary? Amazing? One you'll never forget? *BESIDES YOUR OWN!! : ) * And, if your wedding was like mine..mine wasn't really incredible. It was kind of ordinary.. I'm being honest. After 20 years of marriage..it was a nice wedding, but nothing amazing! But the people at this wedding... they will remember it for the rest of their lives! And they will probably smile every single time they think about it. I bet you they will think about it often, for a long, long time. Jill and Kevin did something extraordinary. They colored outside of the lines..they thought outside of the box..they strayed from the mundane! They had fun! They celebrated! Did you listen to the song that was playing? "It's you and me, moving at the speed of light into eternity. Tonight is the night, you join me in the middle of ecstacy." Oh I just loved it! That was INCREDIBLE!!! It made me cry. Because..BECAUSE..this is how life should be! This is how we should make our lives and other people's lives. AMAZING! I say it all of the time. It's how I want my restaurant to be. It's how I want my church to be. I want it to be different. I want it to be so darn full of love and joy and fun and laughter..That's what I want to give to my customers and to people..in my life. I want life to be BETTER..AMAZING.. INCREDIBLE! Why should it be dull? I've always felt that way about church....Oh it drove me crazy! It's why I tried to get a new church planted. I wanted one that was fun, and so outside of the box, but one that would make people CRAZY in LOVE with Jesus. I want a church that gives and gives to people in their own community. I want a church that is just like Jill and Kevin's wedding. One that is different, that makes living exciting, that makes loving Jesus fun and not a chore. I want my restaurant to be the same way. I'm telling you the truth...I could care less about making money. We have to make enough to support ourselves and our children, but I want to give meals away to people..I want to be able to say, "lunch is on me" I want to be able to give free sticky buns to people on their birthdays..I want to do anything I can to make someone feel good! Oh you can't even know the burning desire of my heart..it is like a fire..that consumes me. I want to change lives, I want people to know just how good life can be..Oh..I can barely stand it. I want it so bad. I want my restaurant to make people feel good, but it's so not enough for me. Those who know my soul..who know my passion...this is where I am now..making the Tavern successful and wonderful..but my true heart burns and desires, and it has for more than three years now, to build a church that is contemporary, non denominational..one that ROCKS! One that thinks outside of the box! One that is fun to go to! One that will make people want to clap their hands and dance and celebrate and laugh! Just like the wedding entrance did..to the wedding guests. One that is different then all the rest. I know I'm not expressing myself right..my fingers won't type my words fast enough. I wish you could read my mind and look into my heart and see what lies inside there. The picture that I see...I wish you could see. Think about it! Why can't we have a church service like this? Why can't every Sunday, every time we gather together to celebrate life and Jesus, be fun, hand clapping, laughing, dancing.. I'm not talking just about the worship service. I want a church that is fun and exciting, and I also want a church that pours everything they have into their community. It's what I want to do with the Tavern, but my resources are so far less, than that of a church. It's only Joe and I bringing in money to give back to the community. A church..well that's a whole group of people. Imagine what we could give and do, with a whole group of people giving and doing together! We could be a community, very much like the group of people in this wedding party. We could make our community so much brighter, different, fun, loving, exciting, giving, helping, ...EXTRAORDINARY! One more little piece of my heart.. My daughter asked me the other day, if I won the lottery what I would do. She knew my answer but I said it anyway.
I would build a church that is AMAZING! I would make it's worship service be like a concert. People would sing to Jesus and want to clap and smile and laugh and feel the most incredible joy! The kids building would be like a chuckee cheese area. When their parents ask them where they'd like to go for fun...I don't want them to say Chuckee Cheese. I want them to say CHURCH! I want it to be THAT good! I want a youth center to be the place where teenagers want to hang out! I don't want my teenagers going to parties or anywhere else. I want them to have a Blast at church! I want to open a youth center every night of the week, with mentors.. a place where kids feel safe, and loved. A place where kids who are lacking families can come and talk to someone and not be put down..or critisized. I want them to be filled with love that comes from loving Jesus. not sex..or drugs..or alcohol. Where do young people in their twenties and thirties go to meet other people around this area??? They have nowhere to go except a bar?? I want a place that gets filled with singles and young people that want to meet other people without having to sleep with each other or drink!! Do you know what I mean?? We're missing that in our society!! We're missing it!!! I want the kind of church that people want to come, not just to do a duty..but because they LOVE it! Oh...I have a picture in my mind, and I know it's possible to do. I just don't know how to do it. Once it's built, I know beyond ANY ..ANY..shadow of a doubt that it would be successful and amazing! God put the picture in my mind and heart, and I've proved that when God gives me a vision, I can make it happen. I built the UNDERGROUND in my old church..I built up the Tavern.... But where my heart lies...is building a church for God! A church that would bring thousands and thousands of people to know Him. I want to increase His Kingdom with as many people as I can possibly bring there! My fingers are tired...my heart is heavy...the passion will not die inside of me. It only gets stronger each day that I live! I only wish I knew how to make it happen.
Hey you! I'm glad you found me..if you were searching for me! I am now blogging on my professional site www.thetavernonthesquare.blogspot.com and because we are soooo crazy busy with our new restaurant, I don't have time to blog personally! BUT..if you googled me and came upon this website..HELLO! I'm still here..still crazy head over heels in love with Jesus....still wanting to make the world a better place...still passionately in love with my husband and my daughters! I love being a mom and a wife and a restaurant owner and a New Wilmington Resident..
Oh...God is so good! Jesus is my hero! Please, if you come across this blog post..just keep praying for me and for my family! Pray that God keeps us safe and healthy and that He keeps us close to Him! Pray that the world doesn't snatch my family away from HIM! Pray that Jesus is always number one in our lives!!! It's late...and I'm going to bed... goodnight! Thanks again! Goodnight Jesus, my hero! I love you soooooooooo much. Thank you for EVERYTHING you give me and do for me and...wow..just thank you for creating me! Your girl, Susan!
Hey friends! I just want to apologize for not responding to your emails recently. I owe many emails! Please don't think I have forgotten about you. I do read your emails and I do think about you often and pray for you when I think of you! If you haven't gotten a response, or an email from me lately, please don't give up on me. I will write when I have more time! Please keep praying for Joe and the girls and I. Pray that we keep the Lord first, and not try to do this by our own will. Please pray that the Lord keeps providing for us and we will get through this tough part of pre-opening! Thanks you guys! I love you so much. More than you even realize! Friends are gifts from God! NO DOUBT! Sue
I woke up early this morning and walked to Jimmy's restaurant on the corner in New Wilmington. I met three really wonderful women. We had breakfast together and talked business. I'm loving life. This is short. I'm working on the menu. It needs to be done by tommorow. Pray for me. It's important to get this done and done right. Pray for God's wisdom and guidance Thanks you friends! I love and value you! Susan
My girls go back to school tommorow. Vacation is over. They are feeling down in the dumps. I'm taking the day off today to take them out to eat and to the mall to exchange some Christmas gifts. It's a free day today. They've been so good. So understanding and patient with us. I am so proud of them. Ally & Lauren's mom
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Psst, Hey! How are you? What's going on? How's life? I am taking a few minutes out (I've been working on our menu) to shout out a praise. Thank you Father God, for my husband. He works from early in the morning to seriously..early in the morning. 18 hour days..getting this restaurant together. He is such a man of character. He is a hard worker. He is a good man. I am blessed. Joe..thank you for helping to make this vision a reality. Thank you for your labor. You will see the fruits one day... God promises. No need to worry,., my partner in life,..no need to worry! Keeping the Faith, Susan
Many meetings today for the Tavern. Linens, computers, and coca-cola. Working on the menu. It's harder than cleaning that basement... But it needs to get done. Looking for lots of input, ideas and suggestions.. If you have any, send them our way. It's so good. SLH
May our Lord and Savior fill all of your days of 2009 with joy and peace and love. May you have a healthy and prosperous year. Let this be the year that you realize just how much Jesus loves you. Let your hearts be filled with His love and I pray that you pass that love on to others. Love makes the world go round, ya know? : ) Thank you for being a part of my life. Thank you for coming along in this journey of mine. I love you all. Susan L. Hougelman
Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Hello my friends and family! I'm back : ) Did you miss me? I sure missed blogging! I have so much to tell you about this past month! I will begin by saying, Joe and I have been working 16-18 hour days at our new Restaurant, scrubbing and cleaning and washing and painting! We've been working very vigorously trying to get it ready for it's January opening! We took Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off to celebrate Christ's Birth with our family and right after that it was back to work! I wake up each morning exhausted..my body aching, my hands rough and chapped, my back hurting..but with a huge smile on my face and incredible joy in my heart! I am falling so deeply in love with this beautiful old building that my heart races to get downstairs and work inside of it. We are making it clean and beautiful for people! Oh friends..I can't wait for you to see it! The Tavern on the Square..there is no doubt in my mind that God has prepared me for this adventure. The road I've been on has led me here and this is just the beginning of this leg of the race! It is early morning now and I must get up and prepare for the day. Today is a day filled with errands and mental work. My body will appreciate the rest and I will enjoy talking on the phone and running errands. Do you know what I've missed most this month? SOCIALIZING! I have been a shut in. I haven't been able to communicate with my friends and family and bloggers! I haven't been outside enough. I MISS PEOPLE!!!! It will all come soon enough though.. I realize that! Please know, if you are reading this that I love you dearly and I miss you. Please don't feel shut out of my world if you haven't heard from me..we truly have had to work this much in order to open. We have not had an income for the past month, and we have to open as soon as possible or we will run out of money! See you soon! With Christ's amazing and neverending love, Susan
Today is the day of our closing. I am so very nervous. I have such cold feet, and my entire body is filled with butterflies. I want to run the other way...I want to cry. I'm scared. I'm so scared. Where did my confidance go? Noooooooooooooo. What have I done?
Brenda said it's like giving birth.
Labor pains hurt.
But in the end...
It's so worth it.
God, please lead us. Guide us. Fill us with wisdom. Please breath your Holy Breath into this restaurant, and all around it. Please Lord, let us be able to use this place for your Glory and your praise! These are times of economic uncertainty, and I know we can't do this without you. There is no doubt that you have given Joe and I incredible blessings. We know that. We are unworthy of all that you have done for us, yet you continue to give us grace and mercy and patience. Lord, I am so grateful. My words can't even express how much I appreciate what you've done and are doing for Joe and I. Lord I dedicate the Tavern on the Square to YOU Father God! I WANT TO USE OUR RESTAURANT FOR YOUR KINGDOM! THANK YOU FATHER! THANK YOU. Your daughter who loves you so very much, Susan
I have been traveling along this bumpy path of life and another stumbling stone got in my way. It has caused me to have to change direction slightly. As I've told you many times before, I have layed my life down and given it over to Jesus, so I believe that He knows best. He speaks to me..sometimes in whispers and sometimes in shouts..sometimes through His word, and sometimes through a song. Sometimes He speaks when I am praying, sometimes when I am not. Sometime He speaks while I am laying in bed, sometimes while I am walking. Sometimes He speaks through others, and I know..I just know He sends people in my to help me to hear His voice and to help me along this journey and to live this life. I have such amazing friends. Godly friends. Some of those friends speak truth to me, and in this world there are not many people who will tell you the truth, especially if it's not pleasant.
These couple of weeks really have been rocky. Some people haven't been very kind to Joe and I. It's hard for me to understand why people aren't kind. My lawyer told me this. He said, "Susan, your a good Christian woman, but your problem is that you think every one is good, but they're not." People are mean and nasty and even evil. And I know myself, I know it's true, but I forget. You see, I'm so weird. I know I am. I'm not naive, not stupid...maybe I am stupid..but I live in this kind of bubble world ..I just want to be myself, and I want to love people, and I want to do good, and I really want people to be happy, and I want to change the world, I want to make it a better place for others. I want to bring light and love to the world! I want to bring happiness to other people's lives..it is what I live for. But..I have such a hard time seeing other people's points of view. I go through life with blinders on. I don't have perephial vision! I see things from my view!! That's bad!!!!!!! It's burned me many times before!!! I hate that I'm like that! I can't see how other's might feel about something! I write so many of my feelings here. I am real and honest. I am truthful. I tell people that i'm sinful and dirty and I am sooooooooo far from perfect. I fail so many times. See..but I'm okay with that because I know that I am human, and all of us are dirty, and ugly, and sinful..but God loves me anyway..God loves us anyway, and honestly.....when your eyes focus on God, who cares what the rest of the world thinks of you...I ONLY want to please my Father in HEaven! That's how I live. But once again..that's me. There's the rest of the world out there!
BUT... as my lawyer said..not everybody lives like that. And those people who aren't good, they will hurt you. And maybe even people who won't mean to hurt you, will hurt you.
Am I being ambiguous? sorry..
It has been brough to my attention, that my life is going to more public now. My blog has been getting more attention then usual. I've seen that in the numbers of visitors I get each day. A friend, who I love because they are not afraid to tell me the truth, has told me that my blog exposes myself to much. I say things that people shouldn't know about me. I talk about private things and I shouldn't in a public way.
When this friend told me this, I was shocked. I mean..really shocked. For those that know me deeply, know I would NEVER EVER do anything to hurt anyone intentionally. NEVER!! If I wrote a post that hurt someone's feelings, I would want to cry. I try to be so encouraging and positive and uplifting to everyone! As I said earlier, I want everyone to be happy and filled with love and happiness etc..
But my friend pointed out examples..and she was right. They were very personal blog posts. I just didn't realize..I didn't think..I was stupid, naive, thinking everyone is good and they won't think bad thoughts.. they just love me and want the best for me etc..etc...
My mistake. I was corrected. I thank God for this friend who loves me enough to tell me the truth and to correct me.
So..I called a few others up and got some advice. They agreed with the friend. They didn't think I should take my blog off entirely..they told me they enjoyed reading it..but said I shouldn't post such private thoughts..
But I love posting my private thoughts. I am real and I can't be any different. I won't be any different.
So what do I do?
Thinking...thinking...thinking...Lord help me to discern. Give me wisdom. I will keep blogging, because both of my girls LOVE reading my blog. It will be my legacy to them one day. They will always be able to feel me through here, when I am gone. So should I make my blog private, should I share it with only a few close family and friends? Or should I stop writing so intimately?
I still haven't decided. My thoughts are going towards, doing two different blogs. One private..one public. But that will take even more time, and my free time is getting smaller and smaller.
So..which direction will i go? Where will it take me? Who will come with me? Who will cause me to stumble? Who will hold my hand and help me? Who will walk beside me and listen to me and talk to me and be my friend? Who will I encounter along the way? What will I do? I don't know these answers but I do know who will lead me and I do know where I'll end up.
Hello and welcome to my blog. I am Susan Hougelman. I am a child of God. I am a wife to one, a mother to two, a sister to four, an aunt to 18, and a friend to many. I am a restaurant owner and an evangelist. I am a student and a teacher. I'm a lover. : ) I love God and I love people. I'm grateful for all I have and for all that I am, because of Jesus Christ and the people who love me.
This is my personality DNA
I am an encouraging visionary!
Do you want to see what your personality DNA is? Take this test! It's very revealing.
click here to take the personality testYou are a Visionary
Your imagination, self-assuredness, and knowledge of the world combine to make you a VISIONARY.
You have clear notions of how things could be, and the confidence to try to make them that way.
You enjoy having a routine, and prefer comfort and familiarity to risk and adventure.
Not needing others' approval to forge ahead, you are confident in your designs for the future.
Your imagination allows you to envision the world as a better place.
You're better at thinking of the big picture than you are with details, and you can see wonder in abstract things.
Style and appearances are important to you, and you have a good eye for beauty.
You are somewhat rigid in your beliefs, which comes from both confidence and an aversion to change.
You are good at creating works of art in forms with which you're familiar.
You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.
Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.
how you relate to others
You are Encouraging
Your outgoing nature, understanding of others, and directness make you ENCOURAGING.
You want others to do well for themselves, and you generally believe in their abilities.
You often know what's good for people because of your caring nature and your worldview.
When you care about someone, you don't keep it to yourself: you are good at letting people know that you're thinking of them.
Because you trust people, you take violations of that trust very seriously.
You thrive in social situations, and even though you know who you like and who you don't like, you can interact well with many different types of people.
You have a healthy respect for people who have earned what they have, and you strive to be similar to successful others.
You are a loyal friend and a good listener
I love...
Jesus
I love...
My family : )
I love... US
I love...
Nikki & Sarah!
I love...
Him
I love...
My girls : )
I love...
reading my Bible before the sun comes up.
I love...
his hands when he plays his guitar.
i love..
these two chicks!
I love and miss..
My Dad
I love...
Sarah and Honey
I love...
Cross Current Church
I love...
Dave Matthews
I love...
Beauty! *sigh*
I love..
words
I love...
His words
I love...
listening to my ipod
I love..
My friends!
I love...
Volant
I love...
The Pennsylvania Pussy Cats! My Fantasy Football team! 2005 Superbowl champions!!
I love..
Third Day!
I love...
reality tv shows
I love...
Sharing the view from the HAPPY HOUR balcony, with my sister in Ocean City, Md!
I love...
these steamed veggies
I love...
This book
I love...
Blogging
I love...
The Stewarts!
I love..
Bono and all he's doing to make the world a better place.
I love...
dunkin donuts coffee
I love...
The Steelers!
I love..
This book by Wally lamb. I wrote him a letter to tell him how much I loved his book and he emailed me back with some nice comments. .
I love...
The David Crowder Band
I love...
Yankee Candles!
I love...
Steel City Church
I love...
Old soul and R&B music like Ray Charles, Etta James, Marvin Gaye,Aaron Neville, Billie Holiday, & the temptations
What"s in my bookshelf
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day (Mark Batterson)
