A porthole into my soul..

2010-07-08T23:54:00.003-05:00

Hello friends!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Let me share with you what happened today, then I beg you to not only pray for this young woman, but also to help. I don't know how to help her, I've never dealt with this situation before, so I need advice...wisdom...whatever it is you can offer me or her, I'll take it.

Tonight, I was visited by a friend who was in trouble. She came to my restuarant and poured her heart out. I listened and comforted her and just loved on her. I tried to be a good friend and to help her with the bad situation she was in.
While she was talking, Julie, a server at the Tavern, came upstairs to tell me that there was a young woman downstairs looking for a job. I have to tell you, I get about ten to fifteen people a week looking for a job. I think I have a stack of over 100 applications just from the summer. I don't need any new help for the summer, but I told Julie, to have her fill out an application and I'll keep it in my folder. Julie knew I was involved in a private conversation, but she came back upstairs and drew me aside. "Susan, I think you should talk to this girl. I gave her an application and she sat down and started to cry."
So, I excused myself from my conversation with my friend and I headed downstairs to see why this young girl would be crying. I sat down, and she introduced herself and told me she was in desperate need of a job. *tug* (that's my heartstrings being pulled.* She told me that she currently works at two jobs and also goes to school. She said she was supposed to get her schedule today from one of her jobs, but when she called, the manager told her she wasn't on the schedule. She said that she needed the money so badly, she didn't know what she was going to do. She lives with her boyfriend, who she just met at a bar four months ago, has a two year old daughter to take care of, and her boyfriend's unemployment ran out last week. Okay..I know...you are thinking ..yeah right!! What does this girl want?? It just sounds so dramatic....
Well..you just have to know me, although I have a good heart, and I like to be giving and to help..I'm not a pushover. I tend to NOT believe people and I am very defensive and never want to be taken advantage of. So I start asking this girl many questions. She answered them all. She gave me names and phone numbers of her employers. She showed me pics of her little girl. She showed me her school schedule. The whole time she was crying, and feeling so ashamed and embarrassed but for some reason (God) she just kept sharing and pouring her heart out.
I made her look me in the eye, and I said, "I'm going to help you" I don't need anyone to work...but somehow I am going to help you" I told her that God loved her, she was His little girl, and she said, "It doesn't feel like it" The poor little thing, my heart was breaking. She is in an abusive relationship, (her second one) but has no where else to go. She loves the guy she's with, but knows that he is not good. She said she'd get out if she could. Her dad is a drug addict and her mom is addicted to prescription meds and doesn't get along with her. She told me that she has no one to help her. She's stuck. She has a friend that watches her little girl, when she goes to school, and then she goes to work, so she's never with her daughter.
Ahhhhh, I could go on and on and retell you her story.
I ended up hugging her and comforting her and telling her I would help her somehow. I gave her some money and she kept refusing it, but I knew it would help for the next few days. I didn't care at that point, if I was being taken advantage of. I gave it to God and that is what God sees. He sees me heart. But I really think this girl needs it. She needs help, but I don't know how to help her. She needs a job. She needs a mentor. She needs someone to guide her and lead her and talk to her. She needs help! How? What? Where? Tell me....what to do. Teach me. Show me how to help her. Lord, show me what to do next. I'm a mother..I kept saying that to her. If it was my daughter in this situation, I'd want someone to come along and give her a helping hand. I'm just a mother wanting to help a daughter. Send me your advice, please. How can you help? Pray! What can you give or do? What can I do that will best help her? I just don't know what to do?????
Thank you so much!! I need your wisdom!
OH and by the way.. two days ago I asked God to use me!

2010-01-15T18:41:00.001-05:00

ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

I'm a writer.

2009-08-19T17:53:00.003-05:00

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. .

The Wedding Dance!

2009-08-08T09:51:00.003-05:00

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.

Still in Love with Jesus!

2009-06-16T23:59:00.002-05:00

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!

We are in for so much trouble..this sickens me. I can not stand to sit still...and let this happen!

2009-04-11T21:12:00.002-05:00

ON haitus

2009-03-04T00:47:00.001-05:00

pssst,
check out my restaurant blog. www.thetavernonthesquare.blogspot.com

I've been blogging there..for now. My life is filled with The Tavern.

Until I have more personal time.. check me out professionally.
Susan

I'm sorry!!

2009-01-09T02:01:00.002-05:00

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

A glorious day!

2009-01-06T11:00:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-04T11:36:00.001-05:00

One more day of Holiday left...

2009-01-04T09:59:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-03T14:13:00.003-05:00

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

Want some inspiration today? Watch this video!

2009-01-02T11:50:00.003-05:00

Jesus.. is amazing. When you have Jesus Christ in your heart... honestly..you don't even know, unless you know.. You can be like Nick..and have that kind of attitude!
WOW! WoW!

Table cloths, Computers and Coke!

2009-01-02T11:38:00.004-05:00

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

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T22:00:00.002-05:00

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

I've missed you!

2008-12-29T09:14:00.004-05:00

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!

2008-11-24T09:15:00.003-05:00

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

Life in a fish Bowl

2008-11-23T08:13:00.003-05:00

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.

Susan

Guess what?

2008-11-20T22:04:00.002-05:00

Want a good laugh today?

Ready?

My dog ate my TEETH last night!

Yup!

I have a partial that I wear in my mouth to replace some teeth I lost.

I was so tired last night that I took them out and put them on my nightstand instead of the normal spot in the bathroom.

I woke up and Nikki had her tail between her legs looking at me with that dopey look she gets...

I knew

I looked on my nightstand and..

they were gone.

I said, "NIXON!!!" and she rolled on her back and closed her eyes

The partial was next to her..

The teeth ripped off

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate leaving the house with my missing teeth showing!!

I had to go to work.

I called the dentist and he said to come in and he would be able to make me a new one..by the end of the day.

I love Dr. Snow! Honestly...He is a really, really great guy and awesome dentist!

I love the girls in his office. They are so nice too!

Guess what else?

Dr. Snow's grandma invented the Tavern Sticky buns. WOAH!

Her name was Rose Roberts..she rode her horse to work everyday to make the sticky rolls... Fascinating!

Everyone seems to have a story to tell about the Tavern! I love it!

I hope you had a good day today. I hope you are keeping warm! I hope and pray that you have safe travels wherever you go!

Thank you Brenda

2008-11-20T21:54:00.004-05:00

The flowers are beautiful!! I put them near the register for everyone to admire!!

You touched my heart today. You are such a wonderful friend. I am so glad that we are living life together. I love dreaming, and sharing and praying and talking and laughing and inspiring and counseling and listening and encouraging and supporting.and understanding...and all the many other things that we do together!
The future holds something exciting girl... dare to dream it!!! *And to believe it!!* I love you,
Sue

DId you ever notice?

2008-11-20T08:53:00.005-05:00

The Daily Bible verse at the bottom of my blog page? This is today's message:

Party Planning!

2008-11-20T08:38:00.004-05:00

I am going to have a party! A celebration party! A gratitude party! A love fest! A God is Amazing and we want to glorify Him with thanksgiving party!!!
I want my friends and family with me to celebrate what God has done in our lives!
It's going to be in January. I will look for a date today. Who wants to celebrate with me?..Come on.. Let's PARTY!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

2008-11-20T08:15:00.006-05:00

Spreading the message...

2008-11-20T08:07:00.000-05:00

www.xdrtb.org

Our closing is Monday!!

2008-11-19T08:28:00.003-05:00

Many of you have emailed and asked why the Tavern blog has been made invite only. After the closing, when the Tavern is officially ours, I will open up the Tavern Blog and continue to update everyone on the happenings!

Until then I will post all I can here.

Please know that our lives will be very, very busy these next few months, so If I'm not emailing or posting as much, it is for that reason!

Yesterday Joe and I went to Boardman to do some Christmas shopping.
I'm trying to get as much done as I can now.

I talked to my Aunt Linda and David is still in ICU, but doing better. I pray that he continues to improve.

Brenda is still not feeling well, please keep her in your prayers.

Anne's cat died so please send a prayer her way too. I know how she feels, losing Sarah just a few months ago.

Lauren is doing really good without having her computer! I am so very proud of her! She is going to try to better her life, by conquering her addiction to the computer!
Go Lauren!
Ally tried out for the school play "The Music Man". I'm proud of her for trying out! Go Ally!

Nikki is much better. We truly thought she was going to die yesterday. If you didn't know..We took Nikki to a new vet Monday afternoon, and she gave her two sets of shots and a heartworm pill. The heartworm pill was too much for her, and Nikki got really sick. We read the heartworm pamplet that described what happens when a dog is over-medicated, and she had all the symptoms. She was very lethargic and had dhiarria and vomiting. It was scary.

I miss Kim! We need a girls night out my friend.

Speaking of girls night out..my mentoring group is meeting this Friday evening! I so look forward to brainstorming with these amazing women that I'm lucky enough to share ideas with!

I have been watching my diet more carefully and I am at 81 lbs lost! I would like to lose 10 lbs by Christmas!!!

Next week is a really busy week for us and it is our last week at The Neshannock Creek Inn Restaurant!! *That is so weird to think!*

I hope you have a beautiful day today! God is so good. I am so incredibly blessed. Lord thank you for your grace and mercy and love!
My friends..thank you for loving me and showing me grace and mercy too!
His Servant, Susan L. Hougelman

2008-11-18T12:10:00.006-05:00

Whenever you get close to doing something really great for God...you know..you JUST KNOW..Satan is right around the corner ready to pounce! We've been under attack this week..big time! BUT GUESS WHAT???? GOD is SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!! God is Good in good times and bad times! When the sun is shining or when a hurricane is knockin' God is ALWAYS GOOD!!! Jesus CHrist you are the ruler of my life, and I have layed it down for you. You never promised us that life would be easy but you did promise us that You'd be there with us! I love you Lord so very much! I praise your name ..I shout it from this little ole' blog..all over the internet! I love you LORD! I love you Lord! I love you Lord!

This next note is written to my enemies as well as my friends..because I love Jesus

I love you too : )
Amen

Please send some prayer our way..

2008-11-16T23:26:00.003-05:00

Pray for my Uncle David who had a heart attack this past Friday. He is doing fine, but this will be very scary for him. Please pray for his wife Linda too.

Please pray for my friend Brenda who is feeling very sick and is on her second round of antibiotics and still feeling miserable.

Please pray for Joe's dad and the situation that his family is in.

Please pray for my family. Thanksgiving is a time for families to get together and my family has been torn apart. Please pray for healing.

Please pray for Lauren, who we are trying to help her get away from her addicting behavior.

Please pray for Joe and I and the girls. Our life is going to change very dramatically in two weeks. We need strength and guidance and wisdom that can only come from our Father in Heaven. Please pray that we continue to follow and obey Him and keep Him first in our lives!

Thank you. Susan

Beautiful!

2008-11-16T10:27:00.005-05:00

I'm watching the latest video sermon from Newspring church. Clayton King is the teaching pastor and he delivered this week's message. It's from a series called "Beautiful". It's a series mainly for women.

He's talking about Mary and Martha.

The message talks about how we should be more like Mary and less like Martha.

Martha was the sister who served and prepared meals and was the hostess
while Mary sat at Jesus' feet and spent time with Him.
Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to come help do the dishes, but Jesus told Martha that Mary was right where she should be..with Jesus.

Our relationship with Jesus..should be our number one priority in life.

Clayton goes on to say this, :
Women want to be "loved unconditionally,understood patiently, and accepted completely,because of who she is, and not what she does."

I don't know about you..but that is the exact truth for me. That is what I pray for. Unconditional love, patience and acceptance for what I am, not for what I do.
If you want to view the sermon go to www.newspring.cc and click on the watch video. You will be so glad you did! IT's AWESOME!!!

2008-11-15T10:04:00.002-05:00

"To create is to potentially embarrass oneself in front of others. It is about the courage to be oneself and to be seen as oneself. Putting ink to a page, or pressing one's fingers against clay, or typing a line of computer code, or blowing glass and realizing mistake. Or success. With everyone watching. But most importantly, you.

So it dawned upon me how important it is to be creative. Because it means you have within you infinite capacity to experiment. You are unafraid to go somewhere new because you are creating a new thought process about your own creativity. You know that if you stop and no longer challenge yourself, you cease to be creative. You become still, silent, and the bow no longer connect with the strings and music is not made. And you do not exist. You show you do not have the courage to exist.

Creativity is courage. The world needs more fearless people that can influence all disciplines to challenge their very existence. Creativity is reflection aimed not at yourself, but at the world around you."

- John Maeda

2008-11-15T09:02:00.005-05:00

One of my customers wore a shirt with this saying on it yesterday. It made me chuckle.

2008-11-14T20:39:00.001-05:00

"Don't be afraid of the space between your
dreams and reality. If you can dream it,
you can make it so."
- Belva Davis

It's Dave... *sigh* In case you didn't know..I have a crush on Dave. : )

You Matter to God!

2008-11-14T20:29:00.002-05:00

God loves you.

Church Planting

2008-11-14T18:17:00.002-05:00

Church planting has taught me how to start this business. The following two posts could be written about a church or a business or even just your life! These two Christian men are so intelligent! I have learned so much from them.

Mark Batterson on Purple cows

2008-11-14T18:16:00.000-05:00

Purple Cows

At the Sticks Conference I talked about Trojan Horses, Purple Cows, and Broken Windows. Thought I'd share a few thoughts about purple cows.

One of my favorite marketing books is Purple Cow by Seth Godin. The book revolves around this metaphor: if you've seen one brown cow you've seen them all. But a purple cow, now that would catch your attention. One statement in the book has profound implications: "If you aren't remarkable you're invisible."

Every church needs to paint itself purple. I'm not talking about gimmicks. I'm not talking about being different for difference sake. I'm talking about making such a remarkable difference in our communities that we are unignorable.

I have a couple core convictions:

1) the good news ought to make the news. Brown churches sit on the sideline and invite the community to come to them. Purple churches are always going and compelling. They are making such a big difference that they become a highly visible part of their community. And people drive by the brown churches--the churches that are invisible--to go to the purple church.

2) The greatest message deserves the greatest marketing. I know that marketing is a dirty word in some church circles, but does it get anybody else riled up that Madison Avenue is far better at pedaling its worthless wares than the church is at preaching the good news? I have a problem with that. We need sanctified competitive streaks.

3) The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet. Too many churches look too much alike. We need lots of different kinds of churches because there are lots of different kinds of people. Every church has a unique churchprint and ought to be a unique expression of the gospel in their kingdom niche.

So how do we paint ourselves purple? For starters, dare to be different. You might offend some Pharisees, but that isn't who you're trying to reach. Secondly, disrupt the routine. I think it starts with your personal routine. Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective. You need to get out of your routine so you can have some purple thoughts.

As a leader, you need to cause confusion. Jesus didn't do orientations. He did disorientations. You need to find new ways of saying old things (see the Parables). You need to find new wineskins. You need to sing a new song. Neurological studies have found that familiarity stimulates the left-brain. Novelty stimulates the right-brain. We need some Spirit-inspired, right-brained ideas that capture the imagination of the church and the world

Tony Morgan's ten reason's why you're probably going to fail.

2008-11-14T18:12:00.001-05:00

10 Reasons Why You’re Probably Going to Fail

It’s not your passion. If it doesn’t make your heart beat fast or cause your mind to race when you’re trying to sleep, you’re probably doing the wrong thing.

You don’t have a plan. You need a vision, and you need to identify specific steps to make that vision become reality. That includes a financial plan. (I happen to believe you need direction from God on this.)

You’re waiting for it to be perfect. Test-drive it. Beta-test that new idea. You’ll fall into the trap of inaction if you think it has to be absolutely right from day one.

You’re not willing to work hard. Everything worth pursuing in my life has involved discipline and perseverance.

It’ll outgrow you. Keep learning. Keep growing. But more importantly, build a team of people including leaders that can be who you’re not.

You’ve had success in the past. I’ve watched organizations hang on to a good idea for too long. Time passes. Momentum fades. It’s risky to let go of the past and jump on the next wave.

You’re unwilling to stop doing something else. Complexity is easy. Simplicity takes discipline. You can’t build a healthy marriage if you’re unwilling to give up dating other women. Who/what do you need to stop dating?

You won’t build a team of friends. Anyone can hire from a resume. You need to find people you want to share life with. In the long run, great relationships will get you out of bed in the morning.

You won’t have the tough conversations. When breakdown happens (and it always does), someone needs to put on their big-boy pants and initiate the difficult conversation that leads to relational healing.

You’re afraid of failure. When fear consumes you, it will cause you to do stupid things. You’ll let negativity distract you. You’ll embrace the known, and grow comfortable with mediocrity. The more often you fail, though, the more often you’ll find success.

Here’s the deal. I don’t think this list is just about personal failure. This is about organizational failure (your ministry, your church plant, etc.). This is about business failure (your start up, your turnaround effort, etc.). This is about relational failure (your marriage, your dating relationship, etc.). The same principles apply.

Do you Christmas shop online?

2008-11-13T21:59:00.003-05:00

I heard God's voice this morning..

2008-11-13T19:34:00.004-05:00

It used to happen to me a lot. I haven't heard it for a while. I heard Him this morning. When God gives me a vision, I usually get sick to my stomach. It's a feeling that is very strong and big. I get a "knowing". THe last vision I had was a vision of my neice Victoria, one day adopting a child from overseas. That was this summer. I saw a picture of it. The one this morning was very clear. When I began building a coffee house/youth room at my church God told me to build a team to make it happen. I had never been on a team before. It was a new experience. When I had the vision to start a new church plant, God told me to build a team to help make it happen. Being a part of that team was one of the best experiences of my life.
This morning, God told me to put together a team to help get the Tavern started.
I can't do it all myself. Not if I want it to be all that it can be. Also..this is going to be a community restaurant, not just our restaurant.
I'm going to begin praying that God puts people in front of me that desire to be part of an amazing team! Let them seek me out and I will know for sure it is God's will, not my own.
Lord send them.
"I can do ALL things through CHRIST who strengthens me." Phil 4:13

How to think like Leonardo DaVinci

2008-11-12T00:15:00.004-05:00

Leonardo da Vinci was the ultimate multi-tasker: an accomplished scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. If you want to be a Renaissance Man (or Renaissance Woman), you can learn a lot from how Leonardo da Vinci lived and thought. Based on studying the life and work of this famous polymath[1] anyone can emulate da Vinci with the following steps.

] StepsCuriosità. Curiosità is an "insatiably curious approach to life and unrelenting quest for continuous learning". Great minds have one characteristic in common: they continuously ask questions throughout their lives. Leonardo's endless quest for truth and beauty clearly demonstrates this. What makes great minds different is the quality of their questions. You can increase your ability to solve problems by increasing your ability to ask good questions. Like da Vinci, you should cultivate an open mind that allows you to broaden your universe and increase your ability to explore it. Here are some ways to apply Curiosità:

Keep a journal. Bring a journal wherever you go and use it often. Write your ideas and thoughts there. Try to write several statements a day that start with "I wonder why/how..."
Observe according to a theme. Choose a theme and observe things according to the theme for a day. For example, let's say you choose "communication". For the entire day, observe every type and instance of communication you come across. You can then record your observations in your journal.
Stream of consciousness exercise. Pick a question and write the thoughts and associations that occur to you as they are. Don't edit them. The important thing is to keep writing. This is also referred to as freewriting.

Dimostrazione. Dimostrazione is "a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistake". Wisdom comes from experience and the principle of Dimostrazione helps you get the most out of your experience. Here are some ways to apply Dimostrazione:

Check your beliefs. Do you hold any beliefs that you haven't verified through experience?
Three points of view. First, make a strong argument against your belief. Next, take a distant view of your belief (for example, as if you live in a different culture) and review it. Finally, find friends who can give you different perspectives.
Analyze the advertisements that affect you. Look at the advertisements in your favorite magazine and analyze the strategy and tactics they use. Find the advertisements that affect you most and find out why.
Find “anti-role models” to learn from. List the names of some people whose mistakes you want to avoid. Learn from them so that you won't encounter the same pitfalls.

Sensazione. Sensazione is "the continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience". According to da Vinci, we can best practice Dimostrazione through our senses, particularly sight. That's why one of Leonardo's mottoes is saper vedere (knowing how to see) upon which he built his work in arts and science. Here are some ways to apply Sensazione:a
Write detailed description of an experience. For instance, describe your experience of watching a sunrise in your journal.
Learn how to describe a smell.
Learn to draw.
Listen to different sounds around you. Learn to listen to different intensity of sounds from the softest (e.g. your breathing) to the loudest (e.g. traffic).
Live in the moment. Practice mindfulness.
Sfumato. Sfumato is "a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty". An essential characteristic of da Vinci's genius is his ability to handle a sense of mystery. Here are two ways to apply Sfumato:

Befriend ambiguity. Find some situations in your past where you faced ambiguity (e.g. waiting to hear if your application for a job you wanted was successful). Describe how you felt.
Ask yourself questions that relate two opposites. For example, ask yourself how your happiest and saddest moments are related.
Practice the Socratic method. The goal with the Socratic method is to examine possibilities, and that is done by asking questions, not by giving answers. Socrates was known (and criticized) for asking questions to which he didn't have answers.[2] The key to using the Socratic method is to be humble. Don't assume that you or anyone knows anything for sure. Question every premise.

Arte/scienza. Arte/scienza is "the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination". This is thinking with the “whole brain”. Mind mapping is a powerful method that can help you combine logic and imagination in your work and life. The end result of mapping should be a web-like structure of words and ideas that are somehow related in the writer's mind.

Corporalità. Corporalità is "the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise". Leonardo had amazing physical ability that complemented his genius in science and arts. Here are some ways to apply Corporalità:

Develop a program for physical fitness. Your program should include three things: flexibility exercises, strength training, and aerobic conditioning.
Develop body awareness. Study anatomy. Try yoga. Dance. Do some contact juggling. Whatever strengthens the connection between body and mind, go for it.
Cultivate ambidexterity. Leonardo could work with both his right and left hand and regularly switched between them. You can cultivate ambidexterity by using your nondominant hand for relatively simple tasks like brushing your teeth or eating your breakfast. Later you can use your nondominant hand for writing.
Connessione. Connessione is "a recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena". This, in other words, is systems thinking. One main source of Leonardo's creativity is his ability to form new patterns through connections and combinations of different elements. Here are some ways to apply Connessione
Find ways to link things that seem unrelated. For example, you can try to find connections between a bear and the World Wide Web, or geology and the Mona Lisa (real name "La Joconde").
Imagine dialogues. Imagine talking with a role model to gain new perspective and insight. Or you can imagine how some role models would discuss your problem.
Think about how things originate. Take an object and think about what elements are involved in its creation and how.

2008-11-10T11:49:00.002-05:00

What dreams may come..

2008-11-10T11:12:00.005-05:00

I had a dream two nights ago that I can't stop thinking about. Has that ever happened to you? You know it's a dream..just a dream but it causes you to think about things you don't want to think about.

I try to keep negativity out of my life. I push it away. I don't want it around me. But sometimes it creeps up..and catches hold of me, and I can't get away from it. I can't run and I can't hide. It's there and it's holding me captive. I've got to deal with it.
My sister always says to me, "Don't let anyone steal your joy!"

I was going to end this post with, "I need to deal with this. I don't know how, but I need to deal with this." I went online to look for something that went with "Don't let anyone steal your joy." And I found this article.
I don't know what BBC radio is..it seems to be some kind of radical site..but I really liked what this guy wrote. Basically he says, "When you feel a conflict, an anger, a sadness, a guilt, a remorse, a fear or any other negative emotion/energy..... meet it with unconditional love." Wow. Now that is radical!

Here is the full article. Take from it what you want.

Don't let anyone steal your joy!
That is a wonderfully enlightend statement made by a heartfelt man, Paul Berlin. He is a radio host for a national radio program.

I have listened to him for years and always remember hearing those words as his closing statement to the audience after each broadcast.

Remember, how we perceive these energies around us is of utmost importance to our future (reality). When we react to these perceptions in a negative way, we are learning a lesson..... otherwise, we would not react to them. The lesson is this. Don't allow your perceptions to manifest negative energy.

Energy is either Positive, Negative or Neutral. When you feel a conflict, an anger, a sadness, a guilt, a remorse, a fear or any other negative emotion/energy..... meet it with unconditional love. This means that you must not judge it, nor compare it to your past understandings, or even try to understand it (for this is applying your past "flawed thoughts" to the present, creating a new reality that is not in the Now, but to be a part of a future aspect in a lesson that will come back to you…. in order to teach you what you so desperately want to know - MANIFESTATION). This is how Karma works in our polarized dimension of duality.

Awareness to these situations is KEY. People ask me "How can you spread such fear?" Again, I must state that awareness is key. You cannot learn your lessons by avoiding them. You Ego, that unhealthy mind, must meet each and every lesson with love and forgiveness. How else can it save you from yourself? Here is your Salvation. Forgiveness IS that salvation from those perceptions you have continually reinforced.

I look at the NWO, our government, the murderous War in Iraq, the corruption and evil that pervades our world and I realize the importance of experiencing this journey. These things are our lessons brought to our awareness. Initially we must understand those lessons until that understanding is no longer necessary. It is our choice to take responsibility for those lessons and correct our errors. Most errors are errors in judgment. Judge not lest ye be judged.

This battlefield need not be in the mind. Although the perceptions may not change until enough of us have grown beyond the pettiness of this confusion, our mind should remain at peace. We must not react to this evil with negative energy. It will ONLY reinforce the lesson.

Thus, being aware of the lessons is key. Hiding behind innocence of ignorance will get us no where. See the World we have become, and look on it with love.... for everything is exactly as it should be... right here... right now.

Happiness IS a state of mind!

So don't let anyone (or anything) steal your Joy!

It's Sunday!

2008-11-09T17:10:00.002-05:00

My favorite day of the week!! Watched Perry Noble's video sermon this morning! Then I started downloading recipes for our bakery and restaurant! I downloaded over 100 of them! I ran to wal-mart and bought some protective sheets and a notebook to create our Tavern Cookbook! WOOHOOO!

Now, I am in the middle of making dinner. Steak, Stuffed Baked Potatoes, Corn, bread, Salad, and I made a homemade peanut butter silk pie for dessert! YUMMMMMYYY!
Even though I can't eat very much.. I still get so excited over food! I guess that will never change. I love good food!

Ally and Joe are in the living room doing math homework together. Lauren is drawing on the computer.

Nikki is playing at my feet.

Life is good.

My Lauren Elizabeth

2008-11-09T12:06:00.006-05:00

My Lauren Elizabeth is 15 years old.
She is my baby.
She will ALWAYS be my baby.
She has promised to never get to old to hug and kiss me and give me lots of love and affection! (So far she's kept her word!)
Lauren is very smart!
Lauren is very beautifuL!
Lauren is an AMAZING artist!
Lauren is very creative.
Lauren is very unselfish.
Things are not important to her.
She likes to laugh.
She LOVES the show House and likes C.S.I too.
She makes animations as well as drawings.
She is a GOOD girl!
She has a heart that loves the Lord.
She is not a leader, nor a follower. She dances to the beat of her own drum and truly doesn't seem to care if people get her or not. She is who she is!
I love that about her. She has her own sense of style and although it's different from mine, I've always respected her for that. I love that she feels comfortable in her own skin. That's a great way to describe Lauren. She feels comfortable in her own skin.
Lauren is confidant!
She get's a +'s on her speeches she gives! A+'s!!!!!! WOAH!
She is giving a 15 minute speech this week and isn't sweating whatsover over it!?!?!
That's Amazing to me!
She is Amazing!
She's my baby.
She's My Lauren Elizabeth.
I love you darling! I am so proud of you!

This is her heart. It's who she is.

Please pray!

2008-11-08T21:49:00.000-05:00

Friends..

Please Pray for Crystal's dad, Dave. He has cancer and they found another tumor on his brain, and the one on his back is growing. Their family needs much prayer!
Thanks, Susan

Mike and his Amazing Ministry

2008-11-08T21:38:00.004-05:00

My friend Karen came over for dinner last week. Among many other things, we talked about the Tavern. I shared with her about receiving our very first reservation ! It's for 200 people in June for a graduation party in the Tavern Yards! I was telling her how Joe and I don't know how to cater, but we are going to learn!

She sat there for a few minutes and said something like this..."Susan, there's a guy at Solid Rock Church that runs this little restaurant on Thursday nights. He cooks steaks and Half-chickens, and homemade Eggplant Parmesean.. He's fantastic. WEll he just asked me to pray for him that he finds a job. He owns his own catering ocmpany, but he's been putting so much time in the ministry, that he let his catering company fall off."
He owns his own catering company!!!!

GOD.. GOD.. YOU .. YOU ... I can't barely believe what you continue to bring to Joe and I. What an amazing testimony we have to tell... and we will shout it from the rooftops! It is you LORD!!

So anyways.. Karen said she was going to contact Mike and see if she was interested.
She called us later that night, and said she was so excited she had to call Mike that night. But he wasn't home.
She called us the next morning..she talked to Mike. He was very interested.
Mike called us. He feels this is an aswer to prayer.

Mike runs this little restaurant..on Thursday nights. SO Joe and I went to visit him at the SOlid Rock Cafe! We feel Mike is an answer to prayer!

Mike cooks meals for about 40 people. Most of them are narcotic anonymous members. They love eating Mike's food and hanging out at the cafe'. Mike has an amazing ministry. We heard these guys thank him for the food, and he resonded with, "I love you Man"
Mikes mom and dad help him out by taking orders and doing dishes while he cooks.
I am so proud of him. He loves the Lord so much. He loves cooking so much too.
We all will make a good team I think!

So.. we have someone to help us cater! Just..amazing.. isn't HE???

a beautiful act of kindess (for Emily and Karen)

2008-11-08T09:30:00.007-05:00

I can't help but to share this beautiful event that has touched my heart. It might not seem like a big deal.. but to me, it was beautiful. I find it hard sometimes to be a "boss" at my restaurant. Because I love my employees, they have become friends and family to me, sometimes it's hard to correct mistakes, or say anything negative. We truly are like a family. We love and care for each other.
I came to work this week and saw a bag sitting on the counter in my waitress station. It was a bag from Liz Claiborne. It had a note attached to it. "Susan, Karen and I bought you these shirts to wear for our Christmas celebration. They are a gift. We love you. Emily"
My employees... bought me two shirts. I was so humbled. I was so heartsick. I felt so unworthy. It is hard for me to accept gifts. I don't know why..but it is. It makes me feel embarrassed. Why would my employees buy my work shirts for me????? I should be buying their shirts for them!!!!! I am the one who gives!!

But I stopped and I thought.. they are not my employees that bought my shirts. They are my friends.
My tears flowed. I feel so unworthy. Why would anybody love me? Especially the people that work with me? I don't deserve their goodness and kindness. I am meant to give...it is hard for me to receive. It is really hard for me.
Emily and Karen..you touched my heart in a HUGE way! That was a beautiful act of kindness you showed to me! That was Jesus! I love you both so very much. You are a gift from God to me. Thank you. Your friend, Susan

Christmas in Volant!

2008-11-08T09:22:00.004-05:00

Today is Christmas in Volant! It's the the celebration that begins the Christmas season in Volant, Pa. Each shop decorates their stores so beautifully and are filled with Christmas items that are hard to resist! Joe made homecooked Chicken-n-Biscuits, Pot Roast, and Oven-roasted Turkey. For dessert we made Pumpkin Pie and Coconut Cream Pie and Of course the Blackberry Cobbler! If you are in the area come by and see us! We are going to fill your bellies with wonderful treats today!
I hope you have a magical day today! I hope God pours love and joy and peace into your hearts and you feel fulfilled with His love! I hope you get lots of smiles and are able to smile in return! Let Jesus's love shine!
With His AMAZING and NEVERENDING LOVE,
In Jesus's Name, Susan L. Hougelman
(The daughter of a King)

2008-11-06T19:56:00.001-05:00

"Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the
world. It beats money and power and
influence. It is no more or less
than faith in action."
- Henry Chester

ALLY'S BLOGPOST :)

2008-11-06T09:52:00.005-05:00

I am off today!! *YEAH*
My kids are sick and home from school today. *BOO*

But it is wonderful that I can be at home with them while they are sick. Poor babies!
Ally is laying in bed with me and she has asked if she can make a guest blog post!

So here's Ally. *Be good Ally!!*

Hello World!
I'm sick today :(... Home from school :) (yay!) Usually when I wake up I come downstairs, and see my mom laying in bed on her laptop writing on her blog. I find some of her blogposts interesting, so I decide to read what she has to say :) I asked her if I could write a blogpost, and of course.. she said yes! (whoohoo)
My mom and I have many similarities. I love writing as much as she does. I can explain things much better through writing. So I thought it might be funny if I shared with you an inncodent that happened to me yesterday with my puppy Nikki.
I stayed home from school yesterday too, my throat has been so sore and I have the worst headache ever! :( When I'm sick, I usually enjoy taking a nice, relaxing bubble bath. Well... Since my mom was at work, and my sister Lauren was at school. I was home alone.. well, not actually alone, alone. My dog Nikki (Nixon) was there by my side. everywhere I went. She was there.. This started to get REALLY annoying. I was sick, I didn't feel good, and I had a little dog bugging me. (ughh) So back to the bubble bath. I lit some good ole' Yankee Candles and jumped into the relaxing bubble bath. OF COURSE. Nikki ran into the bathroom and just sat down by the tub and watched me. THEN... Nikki started to whimper, and whimper, and cry, and cry!! I was getting so frustrated. "NIKKI, LEAVE ME ALONEEEEEE!!!" I shouted. But that didnt help, she still kept crying. I tried to ingore her by putting my ears under the water, and closing my eyes. About 5 minutes later a big THUMP hit my stomach. I opened my eyes and Nikki was standing right on my stomach. I figured she didn't realize if she took another step, she would land right in the water, so I picked her up, and took her out of the bathtub.. Sure enough, she jumped right back in! This time, she landed right in the water. I thought she was going to start panicking, but I was wrong! She started to swim around the tub, she seemed like she was enjoying it!
She swam for about 30 seconds and I said "Nikki, thats enough! GET OUT!" So as I went to pick her up... SHE GROWLED AT ME! She wanted to keep swimming! I laughed to myself, but then my throat started feeling worse and I needed some privacy. So I took her out once again, and I wouldn't let her back in. She started to cry and cry and even tried getting back into the tub... I think I was going to be the one crying.
So I shut the shower curtain, and waited for the crying to stop. WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE?!?!? Finally, the crying stopped, and I was relieved. So I closed my eyes, and soaked in a nice, hot, relaxing bubble bath. all to myself :)
I always think about this everytime I watch my mom write a blogpost. I think about how awesome she is, and every little word she says really means something to me. When she writes about me, my sister, my dad. Jesus Christ, The Tavern. It makes me so proud to have a wonderfull mom like her. :) (AWEEE) <3 HAHA. I believe her blog will be a keepsake that my sister and I will have in the future.. When my mom is no longer with us. I belive her blog will be a story, that I will read every single day when I'm older and away from her. CONTINUE TO WRITE MOM!!! CONTINUE "A PORTHOLE INTO MY SOUL" FOREVER!! :)
Love,
Ally :)

Pray!

2008-11-05T08:57:00.004-05:00

Pray for President Obama. Pray for our country. Pray for each other. Pray that God heals us and forgives us for our sins. God hears our prayers.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

God's Love

2008-11-05T08:09:00.003-05:00

My sister Dianna is a beautiful woman. She is so very intelligent, and witty and kind hearted. She is clever. She is giving, of her time, her posessions, her heart, her life. She is beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside.

My sister Dianna has been hurt so deeply by her past, so deeply within her soul, that it causes her to feel rejected and unloveable.She doesn't feel worthy of love. She is scarred. Because of this she pushes people away so they can not hurt her. Because the hurt of rejection is so very painful, it is hard to bear. Because of this, she has incredibly strong emotions that are like tidal waves. Some are more calm then others. Some wreck havoc in her life. She can't control these waves all of the time. It causes sadness in her heart, that I'd give just about anything to take away.

It breaks my heart for my sister, because she can not see herself the way God sees her. She is his child. His baby girl. His princess. God thinks she is so beautiful and delightful and so very worthy of His Love. It's not her actions that He loves. She doesn't have to do anything. He loves her because she is his daughter. He loves her because of who she is, not what she does. It's the same way we love our children. Think when they were born, they didn't have to smile at us, they didn't have to do anything to gain our love, We just fell deeply, head over heels in love with them. Our love is unconditional. God's love is a million times stronger for us.
AND...

He WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER, REJECT YOU DIANNA! No matter what you do, what you think, what you say, how unworthy you feel.. HE WILL NEVER REJECT YOU!!! And my beautiful sister, God's love is all you really need. We all want the love of friends and family. That is something we must earn. Sometimes it is given freely, but unfortunately sometimes it is not..BUT THE LOVE OF GOD, doesn't have to be earned. It is given to us freely and can never be taken away. AND.. It is really all we need. You know that. Because you have CHrist in your heart.

Dianna, and anyone else who has felt lonely, rejected, unloveable, or just insecure. Look in the mirror, but see yourself the way God sees you this time. You are beautiful. You are a supermodel, a ballerina, a star... honestly. God sees you that way. YOU ARE THAT BEAUTIFUL!!! Now.. believe it. See yourself that way too.
Then go out and change the world. : ) Peace to you ALL MY SISTERS. I love you with the love of Christ! That is AMAZING LOVE!!! Susan

Free Coffee at Starbucks if you Vote Today!

2008-11-04T00:10:00.001-05:00

The Leadership America Needs

2008-11-04T00:06:00.000-05:00

by Rick Warren

America needs leadership. As we head into one of the most talked-about elections in American history, we’ve heard about a lot of different issues. But we’ve talked very little about one of the defining issues of elected government – leadership.

I don’t know a lot about politics. But I do know a lot about leadership. I’ve been studying leadership for 35 years. I’ve read hundreds of books about it. I’ve been training leaders for 28 years. Saddleback teams have trained well over 500,000 leaders in business, government, and the church in 160 countries in the last 28 years.

Sure, I’ve been a leader. But the biggest reason I know something about leadership is the Bible. It is the greatest book ever written on leadership. The kind of leadership America needs right now is the kind of leadership God blesses. The Bible says a lot about the kind of leadership God blesses, but let’s focus on three primary characteristics: integrity, humility, and generosity. If you read the last issue of the Toolbox, you’ll recognize those three characteristics. In the last issue, I focused on the need to develop those characteristics when we find success in our ministries. This time, I want to look at the upcoming U.S. election through the lens of those characteristics.

1. God blesses leaders who live with integrity.

The Message paraphrase says, “Love and truth form a good leader. Sound leadership is founded on loving integrity” (Proverbs 20:28).Above all else, a leader needs his or her credibility. If you have no credibility, you have no trust. If you have no trust, you have no leadership. All leadership is built on trust. If people trust you, they follow you. If they don’t trust you, they don’t follow you.

Where do leaders get that trust? All trust comes from integrity. All of our leaders used to be known for integrity. We talk about the honesty of Abe Lincoln. Today, many leaders are much more interested in image than they are in integrity. Image is what people think you are. Character is what you really are. Character is what you are in the dark.

Some people say that it doesn’t really matter what a leader does in his private life. It matters if you want God’s blessing. What you do in your private life always affects your public life. In fact, that’s the definition of integrity – your public and private life is the same.

Integrity does not mean perfection because nobody’s perfect. God has never used a perfect person – except Jesus. God only uses imperfect people. You don’t have to be perfect to have integrity. You have to be honest.

We don’t need more visionaries in America. We don’t need more smart leaders. We need leaders with character. We need leaders who aren’t interested in image, but are willing to say: “What you see is what you get.”

2. God blesses leaders who serve with humility.

Jesus gave us a whole new standard for leadership. In Mark 10:43b (NLT) Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.”

Jesus said you measure a leader’s effectiveness not by how many people serve him, but by how many are served by him. Most people genuinely start off wanting to make a difference with their lives – that includes government leaders. But slowly service becomes serve us. It becomes how do I feather my nest? How do I consolidate my power? How do I get re-elected? How do I get people to serve me instead of them being served by me?

Why is humility important? The Bible says in James 4:6b (NIV), “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Grace comes through humility, and disgrace comes through pride. The fundamental problem with pride is that it makes everything all about us. It’s the root of every other problem in our lives – and it’s the antithesis to good leadership.

The Bible tells us that God opposes the proud. That means every time a leader thinks he’s “hot stuff,” God opposes him. Every time. And when God opposes a leader, he’ll lose the battle. Every time. The Bible says be humble or you’ll stumble.

We need leaders in our country who’ll be humble.

3. God blesses leaders who share generously.

Generosity matters to God because it makes us like him. Everything you have is because of the generosity of God. You would have nothing if it weren’t for the generosity of God. You cannot say I’m a loving person and not be a generous person. They are synonymous. Generosity is love in action.

Psalm 112:9 discusses generous leaders: “They give generously to those in need. So their good deeds will never be forgotten. They will have influence and honor.”If you want to be a leader of influence and honor, you must learn the principle of generosity.

Jesus said it like this: “Much is required from those to whom much is given, for their responsibility is greater”(Luke 12:48b TLB). A few months back when I interviewed John McCain and Barack Obama, I talked to them about this. America has been the most blessed nation in the world. I believe we have to be a blessing to other people. It is our responsibility. We have not been blessed just so we can enjoy it. We have been blessed to bless the rest of the world. We need leaders who understand the principle of generosity – we’re blessed to be a blessing to others.

We need to be generous with our money, but we also need to be generous with our influence as well. The kind of leader we need for America will do what Proverbs 31: 8-9 says: “Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and the helpless, and see that they get justice.”We need a leader in America who sees how much we’ve been blessed as a country and wants to use our influence to speak for those who have none.

The purpose of influence is not to build one person – or one nation’s power – it’s to speak up for those who have no influence. We are to judge our leaders on what they do with the influence they are given.

Tomorrow we’ll have an opportunity to pick a whole slate of leaders in our country. I’m not just talking about the presidency. We’ll have a chance to pick local, state, and national leaders. How can we prepare for that election?

First, we need to pray, and we need to encourage others to pray. I hope you’ve been doing this already. Pray for the candidates. Pray for yourself. Ask God for wisdom.

Second, check the candidates out. Check out their character and competence. Know where they stand on the issues that are important to you as a Christian.

Then you need to vote. And make sure as many of your church members as possible get out and vote. If you don’t vote, you are giving up the privilege that people died to make possible. I’ve been all around the world. There are many places around the world where the people would die to have the freedom to vote. We need to take advantage of the freedom we have.

The Tavern Blog!

2008-11-03T23:46:00.004-05:00

Sweet! I finally got our Tavern Blog set up today. It's not finished yet, but if you get the chance check it out! Tommorow I will write more about the journey that God has taken us on..to the Tavern and also add some links to other New Wilmington web sites. I LOVE BLOGGING!
www.thetavernonthesquare.blogspot.com

My loves..

2008-11-03T10:28:00.002-05:00

Found this forgotten picture in my cache'. This was from Joe's birthday in July. I love these three beautiful individual people. Together we make an awesome family! We are much better together..than we are apart!

Spreadin' the Love..to Jackie!!!!

2008-11-03T10:00:00.006-05:00

So I've been thinking soooooo much..trying to spread the love! (See previous post on spreadin' the love) Honestly..I've been trying...I couldn't find anyone to be a blessing too. I was going to pay for someone's meal at my restaurant..I've done this before..feeling God's nudge.. I write "Paid in Full" and then tell them someone paid for their meal.. People LOVE it!! They will probably always remember it. That's so Jesus isn't it?? It's so much fun.. I love to see people's faces..watch them look around..wondering who on earth paid for their meal! What a great feeling!
But anyways..I've been looking..I want to pass on the blessings! Well, I finally discovered a way to spread the love, last night (at about 4:00 in the morning!) (I guess that makes it today and not last night!)
Jackie Nicklas (Well that's her maiden name) used to go to my church. She also worked for me for a summer. She's so sweet. I love her inner beauty so very much. She blogs..actually she Xanga's and I have read her Xanga for geez..probably a few years! I don't read it daily..maybe just once a month or every other month..to see how she's doing. She's good at sharing her heart. Well, Jackie got married a few months ago, and she moved to Italy with her husband, who is a graduate student.
I'm thinking..woah..that is so cool. She's living in Italy..that is an amazing adventure and huge blessing!
But Jackie is really homesick. You can just feel it in her Xanga posts... She misses American food. I'm going to send her a care package!!!! I haven't talked to Jackie since she worked for me. It's been ...about two or three years now! So she will think it's really, really random that I would send her a package...But isn't that what it's all about! A RANDOM act of kindness!!
haha!! I love this!!!!! I am going to go shopping this weekend and send it out to her next week! She will get it in time for Thanksgiving! Click on the link to read about Jackie and her experiences and woes in Italy! If you can think of anything fun that I could add in this care package..feel free to let me know!! Give me some ideas!!! Here is Jackies Xanga site address. (For some reason I can not get my links to work!!!) grrr.
http://www.xanga.com/jackieshmacky
Just copy and paste this into your browser!

WOoooHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

listening to..

2008-11-03T09:55:00.003-05:00

Gravity! I love this song!! I've always liked John Mayer but all of a sudden I'm really diggin' his music! hmmm...interesting!

Good Morning!!

2008-11-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

I couldn't sleep last night... AGAIN! I was up all night. This is happening a lot to me lately! My mind is spinning..in a good way! I have so many thoughts and ideas and the excitement inside me is MASSIVE!! Last night, I looked up recipes for baked goods. I am going to get a notebook together and start printing out my favorite recipes for the restaurant/bakery! It's getting closer! It happens this month!!!!! This is our last month in Volant. This is our last month of being the owners of the Neshannock Creek Inn.
Our lives are about to change..drastically!!!! This is such an adrenaline rush!

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )

P.S. I am off today. I am spending the day catching up on emails and blogs. Today I am creating the Tavern on the square Blog! I want to publicly keep track of our journey! I also created an email address for people to send us their recipes!!

2008-11-02T21:30:00.005-05:00

On our way to school this week, we saw a horse running on the road in the opposite direction which we were driving. The horse had it's reigns and stuff on, so we figured it must have escaped from a buggy. A police car was following the horse with it's lights on. I said, "oh poor horse.." Lauren said, "What???? Poor horse?? That horse is probably having the time of his life...screaming..catch me..go ahead try to catch me cops!!!!" I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe!! Lauren was probably right!!

My weekend!

2008-11-02T21:18:00.003-05:00

Friday morning, I sat down and talked to Frank and Darlinda from our local newspaper. We talked for about two hours about the Tavern, our church plant, pastoring, Christianity, people in general and a whole lot more!! Friday afternoon Ally and I stopped at The Pointe's ribbon cutting ceremony and congratulated Suzy and Dean Ligo on their accomplishment! Then we headed over to the Wilmington Greyhound football game and watched the Hounds get hammered by the Gremlins.. Ack...it was their first loss of the season. Afterwards we went out with friends to Rachaels Roadhouse! Joe and I got home after 1:00 am and I was up at 6:00 am cleaning the house! I couldn't stand the messiness any longer! Then I went grocery shopping at 7:30 in the morning on Saturday...picked Ally up at her girlfriends house in New Wilmington and took her home and then went to work and worked 10 hours!!! Whew! Sunday... We had a huge breakfast in the morning! Then we all helped finish cleaning the house and went to visit Joe's dad. We went out to dinner at the Hickory Grille afterwards. Oh..before we went to visit Joe's Dad, we stopped at the Tavern to unload a new oven that we bought from Dunkin' Donuts!
It's been a whirlwind weekend! I feel so fulfilled : )

Cheeseman's Fright Farm!

2008-11-02T21:08:00.004-05:00

Thursday night we took the kids to Cheeseman's Fright Farm in Portersville! WOAH! That was soooo scary and soooo much fun!! We had such a great time! Ally got put in a coffin...I was forced to go through a dark maze alone... and we all screamed ALOT!!! We can't wait to go again next year! I highly recommend Cheesemans' Fright Farm unless you are a scaredy cat!!

Perry Noble's thoughts on this election.

2008-10-29T20:05:00.003-05:00

Many of my friends are political radicals. It is unbelievable to me, how far our country has swayed from God. BUT..I keep proclaiming that It's okay..no matter who wins.. GOD IS IN CONTROL! Read Romans 13: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience (vv. 1-5).

Here's Perry's thoughts.. I agree with them! Don't worry ya'll!

Perry Noble
I’ve just about had enough…and am so glad I left the country yesterday…that way I don’t have to listen to this crap anymore.

And no, I’m not talking about the politicians and their crazy adds on television that are right in line with a middle school “yo mama” fight!

I’m talking about the Christians who have prostituted themselves with the political process and taken their eyes off of Jesus as their Savior and put them on either McCain or Obama as their Savior.

It’s STUPID!

Should we have a political opinion as Christians? HECK YES! Should we vote? ABSOLUTELY! I think a Christian who doesn’t vote is completely missing an opportunity that God has blessed us with as citizens of this country.

BUT…we can’t actually think that the salvation process is tied to who happens to be in the White House!

In reading through the Gospels the other day something HIT ME like a ton of bricks…the Jews missed the fact that Jesus was the Messiah because they were looking for someone to deliver them from the politics of Rome.

Let me say it more clearly–they missed Jesus because of politics!!! (And religion as well…but that’s another post!)
For a Christian to claim that the world is going to be doomed to hell because a particular party happens to “control” the White House is a slap in the face of a Sovereign God.

He reigns! Read through Scripture & it is so clear…God has used kings and princes that were sold out to Him…and He’s also used those who had no love for Him at all…all for HIS glory!

So…next Tuesday…go vote! “For who,” you ask…well, here’s an idea…ask Jesus who to vote for…and then do what He says. (Yes, it REALLY is that simple.)

Then…whoever gets elected…PRAY FOR THAT MAN OFTEN! Even if the guy you want to win doesn’t…all the more reason to pray!

One more time…YES, we should have political opinions…and YES, it is OK if they are strong AND we believe in the cause…BUT PLEASE let’s not make the mistake of thinking that God is somehow limited by the policies and philosophies of a particular party!

The Silk Road Fair Trade Market!

2008-10-28T21:07:00.007-05:00

I found a new favorite... YOU'VE GOT TO CHECK OUT THIS PLACE!!

WWW.SILKROADMKT.COM

One of the women in my mastermind group is named Wendy Farmerie. She is the owner of the Silk Road Fair Trade Market. I LOVE..LOVE..LOVE Wendy's store! It is wonderful! Not only does the store carry beautiful things from all over the world but when you buy an item, it helps people in impoverished countries! This is not a plug by the way..this is what I truly feel! Not only am I going to buy most of my CHristmas gifts at The Silk Road, but I really..really want some things for my Christmas gifts from Wendy's store! *Joe* and *Girls* HINT HINT!!!!!!!
Wendy carries Nativity sets from all over the world! I am in love with these Nativity sets. I don't collect anything...I'm not one that likes things..but I have fallen in love with these Nativity sets!! I want to collect them..and some day I want my grandchildren to come to my house and look at these little Nativity sets and I will be able to tell them the nativity story. I can just see their little hands touching the little figures..and asking questions...*SIGH* I desire!

These are some pictures of the Nativity sets I love the most! I am going to buy myself two of them! The Zulu ones from South Africa and the coconut shell from Haiti! THe rest are on my wish list *cough* *cough* Joe Hougelman!! :

Listening to..

2008-10-28T20:45:00.005-05:00

I love Michael W. Smith's music! My neighbor knows him personally and said he is truly the nicest and most down to earth musician he's ever met!

Now reading..

2008-10-28T07:54:00.004-05:00

This book called "A New Kind of Christian" by Brian McClaren. Brenda and I often share books after we've read a good one! She and I both share a passion for bringing others to Christ's Kingdom! We also love learning about the post-modern generation and their thoughts and ideas about Christianity! I definitely find myself agreeing with the post-modern thoughts on church! Which is why I want to plant a church in my community! I was telling someone the other day about my dreams for the future and they said, "Susan, the Tavern is going to be your church. You can bring people to Christ wherever you are at. Perhaps you'll have Bible Studies, or small groups, or whatever God leads at the Tavern." SO true!!! God has enabled this to take place! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH He is AMAZING! I am shouting it from the rooftops. Okay..shouting it inside of my mind.. DANCING..Jumping for Joy..in the little coffee house in New Wilmington... GOD IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A banana Cream pie!

2008-10-28T07:49:00.003-05:00

EMILY is an incredible Pie Maker! She's been baking us some delicious pies for the restaurant this fall! OUr customers have been raving about them! Yesterday Emily baked us a Banana Cream Pie to bring home! Emily.. YOU ARE AMAZING and so GIVING and GENEROUS and THOUGHTFUL!!! WE LOVED YOUR PIE! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!! Thank you for ALL you do for me and my family! You are another person that God has put in our lives that has blessed us in many, many ways! Too many to count! Suzy

Nikki and Ally playing in the leaves!

2008-10-27T23:26:00.000-05:00

My friend Karen

2008-10-27T23:11:00.002-05:00

Karen came over for dinner tonight! Karen is one of the most Godly women I've ever known. She is also like a surrogate grandmother to my girls. She loves us. She loves me. I love her too. : ) Karen ministers to a lot of people. She is a Christian counselor and always has good advice. She is a great listener! I know that I can call her any time of the day and she will listen and give advice that is full of Godly wisdom! Karen also leads a Bible Study at Jameson Health place once every other week, teaches sunday school, occasionally preaches, leads a discipleship class... *phew* She's dedicated her life to the Lord!
Karen..thank you for your friendship and your love for me and my family! You are loved and appreciated so very much! Sue

Just finished reading...

2008-10-25T17:21:00.004-05:00

Do you watch Jon&Kate plus eight? I am one of the many people who have fallen in love with that family! I bought the book for my niece Amanda who loves the show too but ended up reading it myself! Kate praises and gives glory to God all through the book! It's a beautiful testimony and praise to the Lord! It's also a great book! Go Kate! You and Jon rock!

Vote your Values!

2008-10-24T18:18:00.002-05:00

A Radio Interview

2008-10-24T17:37:00.004-05:00

I was interviewed by Titan Radio today! They are interested in our story about buying the Tavern. It is so much fun to share our story! There's a lot of buzz going on around town! : ) The New Wilmington boro employees came in to our restaurant for lunch today. They have been so kind to us! I feel so much pleasure and excitement being a part of this venture! Everyone around us is seems so excited too! I also made an appointment to be interviewed by the Globe newspaper in New Wilmington. They are going to tell our story! In the newspaper, I am going to not only share our testimony, but ask people to write to us about what they loved about the Tavern, What they didn't love about the Tavern, what kind of food they'd like to see us have, what kind of baked goods are they interested in..any stories..critiques.. anything they'd like to know...we are going to set up a blog, to share our story, a web site, and an email address! We want this restaurant to be LOVED by the town of New Wilmington! We want to exist for the purpose of serving good food, at a reasonable price in a friendly and clean environment! We want people to feel like they are HOME at our restaurant! We want to fall in love with people and have them fall in love with us! We want to make everyone feel loved and respected and fed well when they come through the doors of the Tavern! But most of all..Most of all, we want to give Glory and Honor to God in EVERYTHING we do with the Tavern!!! OOOOOOOOOH! I'm sooooooooooo excited!!

Anne

2008-10-24T07:28:00.005-05:00

I had lunch with Anne last Tuesday. Anne is beautiful and intelligent and witty. Anne is creative and talented. Anne is kind and generous. Anne is giving! Anne loves Jesus : ) Anne is a leader. She is able to lead groups of people very well. She organizes the New Wilmington Business Expo each year. She leads the Bell Choir for Westminster College and for her church. She also leads the choir. Anne owns her own business and is successful. When you have a free minute please check out her site! She has beautiful floral works of art for sale!
www.annebrueningoriginals.com I am really attracted to Anne's leadership skills. I am learning from her. There is a lot more to learn..we've just touched the surface. We've been having so much fun getting to know each other through emails, through our lunches and through our mastermind group! I like how Anne lives. She doesn't need things. She's had to be dependent on God for so many things..and she will tell you that God has always provided! Anne wants to gain her financial freedom so she can give back to God what has been given to her! Anne's spreadin the love!
Today I am praying especially for you Anne! I pray that God sets you free financially. I pray that He continues to provide for you, but not only for your needs, I pray that He abundantly blesses you! Did you ever read the prayer of Jabez? I pray that He expands your territory!!! IN Jesus's name, Amen!

Spread the Love!

2008-10-23T17:45:00.003-05:00

I'm going to go one step beyond my previous post...

SPREAD THE LOVE! You do it too! I have an average of 13 readers a day at my blog. That's thirteen on average of you who can also spread some love around! Come on..choose one act of kindness that you can do this week for someone, and then send me an email of what you did, and I will post it in my blog! It will be fun to think of something you can do, and I promise you..it will feel sooooo good, for you to something for someone else! Come on readers....let's do it!!! Join with me to create A Love Movement!!!

Spreadin' the Love!

2008-10-23T17:26:00.006-05:00

I call my neighbor Jim, Santa Clause. He works for the largest Christian Record Label in the country. Jim likes to give us presents from his supplier. He gives us many presents!! Last week he gave us about 20 of the latest cds, even before they were released to the public. Last night we found a box sitting on our porch. It contained 35..YES THIRTY FIVE Instrumental, and worshipful praise and inspirational Christian CD's for us to use at the Tavern! We like to play Christian Music at our restaurant. Today Jim calls over from across the street.. "Susan did you hear the latest Michael W. Smith Cd?" "no, but I'd love to!!!" He brings it over..here ya go You can have it! I said, "Thanks Santa Clause." He is so wonderful. It's the love of Christ inside of people that pour out onto others... That's what I'm talking about. Do you know what I mean? That's how I felt when Terri showed up at my restaurant to help out!! So now it's my turn.. I've had so many blessing bestowed upon me lately it's time for me to pass it on...
Hmmmmm.. I am going to try to do two acts of kindness this week. Something unexpected..something above and beyond the norm.. It's going to be fun thinking of what I can do!! I'll keep ya'll posted when I spread the love!!

Lauri Mackaness

2008-10-23T17:01:00.006-05:00

Lauri is the real estate agent who handled the sale of The Tavern to us. She wasn't our real estate agent. She was the sellers agent. But.. we spent a lot of time together, and Lauri spent a lot of time taking care of us..talking to us..explaining things to us, and walking us through this whole journey of buying our new restaurant. It felt like she became an advocate for us...maybe not an advocate..but I don't know...friend? Helper? In our corner? She didn't just help us..she was definitely *in my opinion* fair to both parties! She helped the seller get his real estate sold!
Lauri is an INCREDIBLE woman. Not just an amazing real estate agent, which she is..but she is also a wonderful mother and a loving wife. She is a community leader and a beautiful, beautiful Christian woman. I have so much respect for her not only as a business woman, but as a person. Lauri, I hope you see this post someday if you google yourself. : ) You have been so wonderful to us. Thank you so very much. I pray that God pours His blessings all over you and your family. I know He has already and I know that He surrounds you with His love because He lives inside of your heart! Remember to always seek and trust Him in EVERYTHING you do! Don't second guess yourself. Trust your instinct which comes from the Lord!
God Bless You and Thank you Lauri! Susan

Should we have a huge menu with many choices or a smaller menu with fewer choices?

2008-10-23T16:51:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, a professor from Columbia University completed a series of studies that resulted in an article “When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?” In one experiment, they set up a tasting booth at a grocery store. They offered 24 different exotic flavors of jams for people to taste in one instance. In a separate instance, they only offered 6 varieties. Customers who stopped by the booth received a coupon for a dollar off the purchase of a jar. In this experiment:

More people stopped at the booth that offered more choices; however, folks tasted the same number of jams in both locations.
More importantly, 30% of the people with a choice of 6 jams actually purchased a jar. Only 3% of the people with a choice of 24 jams made a purchase. Fewer choices generated more purchases.
Barry Schwartz wrote in his book The Paradox of Choice:

When people have no choice, life is almost unbearable. As the number of available choices increases, as it has in our consumer culture, the autonomy, control, and liberation this variety brings are powerful and positive. But as the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. As the number of choices grows further, the negatives escalate until we become overloaded. At this point, choice no longer liberates, but debilitates.

We will be working on the menu soon. This is something that is going to be very difficult for me. How do we choose what goes on the menu when we have so many good items? I want to have everything..but I know that's impossible! We changed something on our Neshannock Creek Inn Menu this year. Instead of having sandwiches listed by themselves, we now have them come with a choice of fries, slaw or soup. Some people seem to get exhausted having to make the choice. What kind of soup? They usually get two or sometimes three choices? I'm finding that a lot of people like the choice to be made for them. For example if they are getting a battered Cod Dinner, they like it when it says Battered Cod with homemade macaroni and cheese and a side of slaw.. instead of this.. Cod? Would you like it baked or Battered? Battered? okay.. how about scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, baked potato, sweet potato, fries or potato wedges? hmmmm can you repeat those? *I say them again* ummm are your fries homemade? no.. okay sweet potato. Salad, slaw or cup of soup? What kind of soup? Wedding or French Onion. Salad. What kind of dressing on your salad? Argghhhhh!! See what I mean? It gets frustrating for the customer to have to make all those choices sometimes! What do you think? Do you like having lots of choices or do you trust an expert to make the choice for you?

Emily's Halloween Party!

2008-10-22T23:11:00.005-05:00

We love you Emily! Thank you for loving us so much and giving so much of yourself to everyone! You are the most generous, loving Lady I have ever known! My family is blessed to have you in our life!

g

It's official..

2008-10-22T15:52:00.002-05:00

Today we finalized negotiations. : ) Our closing date is November 30th. We plan on opening in January 2009! There is such a testimony to tell. I will begin sharing with you the whole journey as soon as I have some time to write. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. Joe and I are in awe of our God! IN AWE! Please keep praying for us, and for our future home and restaurant. Please ask God to surround us with his love and care and protection. Please pray for my family. We COVET your prayers! They are very valuable to us. We love you all. S,J,A,L

She's so beautiful.

2008-10-21T00:07:00.002-05:00

Alexandra Nicole

2008-10-20T23:53:00.001-05:00

"Every day you either live by priorities or you live by pressures. You either decide what is important in your life or else you let other people tell you what is most important in your life." - Rick Warren

"In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us." - Titus 2:7-8 (NIV)

Nikki

2008-10-20T23:38:00.000-05:00

Neshannock Creek Inn Record!

2008-10-20T23:09:00.002-05:00

We broke a record at our restaurant this weekend. Without any special events going on we had over 700 customers Fri, Sat & Sunday. Friday was the best Friday we've ever had in 18 years. God is AMAZING! I Praise you Lord for what you are doing in our lives. I tell everyone..in these times of economic woes.. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding!
Our restaurant is the busiest it's ever been. People are coming from all over. I am living a miracle. I feel that. I feel like I am living a miracle!
Thank you Jesus.

MasterMind Meeting Friday!

2008-10-20T22:54:00.002-05:00

Had another great mm meeting this past Friday. Anne, Terri and I shared life stories with each other. It was wonderful learning more about these two Godly and business saavy women. I know that God has brought us together and we are going to grow and produce wonderful fruit as a group!
I have to share something that came from this group that truly Rocked my World! Anne and I are starting to grow a friendship. It is in it's early stages, but I feel a deep connection to Anne that I want to cultivate. Terri and I just met two times, but after hearing her speak..hearing her "story", I can't wait to get to know her even more, as well.
After our dinner and story telling, Friday night, I told them about a potential problem that I might encounter at work on Saturday. This is a very busy time of year for us at the restaurant, and we need as many employees to work as possible. Two of my employees are high school students. They called me up Friday and told me that their soccer coach called a surprise practice session for Saturday and they wouldn't be able to work.
I told them that they HAD to work!!!! ACK!! This would have been a disaster, if they didn't work..we needed them desperately.
I even called their coach up and begged him to release the girls to work.. (He wouldn't).
So, I told this to Anne and Terri.. Terri, who owns her own florist shop in New Wilmington (Flowers on the Vine)..said, "I'll come help you if you need me to.) I didn't take her seriously..just laughed her off. She was telling me earlier that she was busy because it was homecoming, and she had homecoming flowers to get ready. As a matter of fact, she had to leave our dinner, and go back to work after 10:ooPm!!
Saturday rolls around..and about 12:00...Terri shows up at my restaurant and asked if I needed her to help out!! I was blown away. She hardly knows me. She was willing to be put to work?? That is of God! That is a Godly witness..that is an incredible woman!! Who would do that???? I mean..it's one thing to ask..to offer help..but to really show up!!!! WOAH! Honestly..it rocked my world. It spoke a billion words of that woman's character!
Terri.. thank you for your kindness. You blew me away..and that doesn't happen very often! I am so looking forward to seeing what this group will accomplish!! : ) Susan

David and Linda

2008-10-20T22:33:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday we had dinner with my Aunt Linda and Uncle David. We had a wonderful time. David and Linda often came to dinner's at my parent's house, while I was growing up. I always loved to hear David and my Dad talk in a way that only brothers talk to each other. What I remember most of all though, was David bringing my dad snacks, every time He and Linda came to visit. My dad loved food and he loved to snack!
Last night, they came to visit My family and...... brought snacks. It honestly made me want to cry. It was a memory...a tradition..being carried on.
I made a traditional Roast Beef and mashed potatoes dinner, and they were so very appreciative. I can not tell you the joy that it brought me to hear them compare my cooking to my mom's or grandmothers. My mom is the BEST cook ..and she always said she learned from my dad's mom. She taught me how to make a good roast, and I will carry on the tradition to my daughters.
David and Linda are so funny! The way they interact with each other is very unique..They are playful together! I watched them. I watched how they interacted with each other, and they may not admit it..but they are deeply in love with one another. They seem to fit together perfectly! They are a good team!
I loved having a family dinner with them. I loved that my kids got to hear another Christian couple talk about Jesus..and their Christian values. My kids listened and got involved in some of the discussion too.
I also loved listening to David and Linda talk about business. They are smart business people. I wish I would have had more time to listen to their advice and wisdom.
Linda, you told me you read my blog, so THANK YOU for sharing yourselves with my family! I love you and David dearly! Susan

God is in Charge.

2008-10-17T08:07:00.003-05:00

I know I've posted a lot this morning. I feel like there's so many thoughts going on inside of my head, I just can't get all of them out quickly enough! I did want to say this though.. In less than three weeks there will be an election. The two presidential candidates have extremely different values. It is mind numbing, to know that more than 1/2 of our country shares similar values to one of the candidates. Joe said yesterday, "Christians have become the minority." It is true. Most people believe the things Obama believes in. Socialism. Abortion. Homosexual rights. Spreading the Wealth. Ending the war. Gun control. More Government..less independence.

I remember God saying in the Bible.. "Give the people what they want." I believe He is doing that now. Leaving us up to our own devices. Many people feel we dont' need God. We don't need prayer. They are taking God out of everything we do and stand for in the country. You can bet...God will let us have our way.

But..as I told you in a previous post..I read Romans. In Romans, it says that God puts people in charge in the government. You MUST remember that GOD is in control of everything! He hears our cries, He knows who is good and evil. He lets us have our free will..to do things our way, but that doesn't mean He isn't still in control!
What ever happens in our future.. remember, we are to be in the world, but not of the world. Keep following God! Keep crying out to Him, keep begging him for mercy and Grace, keep loving Him and trusting in Him. Don't give up fighting for what you believe in. Fight for Jesus Christ! Become a warrior. Do you notice that there are many people saying we are living in the last days..the end times? I think all generations think that. Becausee it's true. Remember, time is different to God, then it is to us. With each generation that passes, I do believe we are closer to the end times. I think prophesizers can see it coming. We are getting closer as each generation passes. Have we ever gotten better morally? Doesn't it seem like as each generation comes we get farther and farther away from God? Do we ever get closer as a society?
THink about clothes, language..sex..drugs.. morals..just keep getting worse..and worse..and worse... Imagine what our forefathers would think, if they were alive today? Wow..what a different nation we have become. So far from God..so far from good.........

John McCain brings down the house with this speech at the Al Smith Dinner!

2008-10-17T08:06:00.000-05:00

Proverbs and Romans

2008-10-17T07:45:00.003-05:00

I read through Proverbs the beginning of the week. I could probably read Proverbs every single day and not grasp it all! That one book alone is so full of wisdom, it's hard to grasp.
Tony Morgan has the absolute best summaries when he writes about his Bible Studies, so I found his summary for the book of Proverbs to post for you! He took one proverb from each chapter and put it in his own words. Enjoy :)

"When you grab all you can get, that’s what happens: the more you get, the less you are."
"Join the company of good men and women, keep your feet on the tried and true paths."
"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own."
"Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart!"
"Enjoy the wife you married as a young man! Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose–don’t ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted!"
"Sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path."
"Treasure my careful instructions."
"Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth."
"Don’t waste your time on a scoffer; all you’ll get for your pains is abuse."
"Sloth makes you poor; diligence brings wealth."
"Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances."
"Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up."
"A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them."
"The mark of a good leader is loyal followers; leadership is nothing without a following."
"God can’t stand pious poses, but he delights in genuine prayers."
"We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it."
"A cheerful disposition is good for your health."
"Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights."
"People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?"
"After careful scrutiny, a wise leader makes a clean sweep of rebels and dolts."
"Do your best, prepare for the worst–then trust God to bring victory."
"A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered."
"Don’t drink too much wine and get drunk; don’t eat too much food and get fat."
"Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help."
"Patient persistence pierces through indifference; gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses."
"Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool; you’ll only look foolish yourself."
"Don’t call attention to yourself; let others do that for you."
"Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions."
"If you let people treat you like a doormat, you’ll be quite forgotten in the end."
"Don’t curse your father or fail to bless your mother."
"A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it."

Also.. yesterday I read through the book of Romans. One of my waitresses Camille, grew up in a catholic home. She has been asking a lot of questions about Chritianity, and I even told her how to ask Christ into her heart. Yesterday I brought her a life application Bible to read. I didn't get the right chance to give it to her, but I will try again next week. Please keep praying for Camille. She needs Jesus. So..I chose Romans to read, because Romans explains so much about Christianity. I think it's also true about Romans, the way I feel about Proverbs. I could read it again and again and again...and still not wrap my brain around it! Paul reveals so much about theology in Romans. Thank you Jesus for the gift of your words to help us get through life. Without them, we would be so lost.
Here are Tony Morgan's summaries on Romans. He's good, isn't he? : )

We receive two gifts in Christ: 1) the "generous gift of his life," and 2) the "urgent task of passing it on to others." We sometimes forget that urgent part.
"Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors." Amen.
"God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change."
"Recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics." Wouldn’t it be something if Christians considered "am I a legalistic critic?" and then did something about that? Of course, we might have fewer blogs to read if that happened.
"Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade." I confess–I’m pretty sure God wrote that verse just for me.
The troubles and challenges I face build passion and patience.
I think it’s interesting that God offered his Son to die on the cross for us, "while we were of no use whatever to him." It’s confirmation that God loves us and wants us just as we are. We don’t have to be perfect to know God. He just wants us to turn directions and begin to follow him wherever we are.
Baptism represents what Jesus did for us. "When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus."
"Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time [not just on Sunday]…into God’s way of doing things."
"…you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!" Some people think following Christ is about following rules that restrict our freedoms. That’s not what the Bible says.
God doesn’t want me to experience a "timid, grave-tending life." He wants me to be "adventurously expectant." I love the adventure part of my faith.
Nothing can separate me from God’s love. He has embraced me.
"Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help." I’ve tested that. It works.
"Unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to." The corollary is unless people are present, no one hears the preaching. "How can they hear if nobody tells them?" I believe part of our "urgent task" is to figure out how we can tell as many people as possible.
Paul focused on reaching the "outsiders." Most churches are only focused on reaching the insiders–those that are already convinced about the claims of Jesus Christ.
I firmly believe God wants our churches to be grow and reach more people. He wants us to create churches that "open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house."
There are mysteries of the faith that I will never understand. I’m OK with that.
"Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God." Who is influencing whom? Am I influencing the culture or is the culture influencing me? If I’m not influencing the culture, I think that’s also sin.
"The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him." True that.
"Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder." I have responsibility in this.
God wants me to be a good citizen of Indiana. Rats.
"Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with… If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help." Again, why do certain blog sites come to mind when I read this? "So let’s agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don’t drag them down by finding fault." Funny how we’re quick to point out Bible passages to fix other people, and we ignore the Bible passages that indicate we’re being idiots.

Where are you going?

2008-10-17T07:27:00.003-05:00

Both my girls are going with friends tonight! Ally with old friends..Lauren with new! The girls have been doing well in their new school. Lauren is adjusting very well. She fits in there beautifully. Ally still wants to go back to New Castle. We don't know what we will do. If she can hold out until next year, we will probably let her go to New Castle and graduate with her friends. She will be driving, so she can drive herself to and from school.

Life is a journey. It's not an easy ride. Along the way there are potholes, bumps, bends, hurdles, barriers and many other obstacles. There are also other people on the journey to spur you on, to make the ride more enjoyable, to keep you company. There is a destination we are driving to.We have a road map and an instruction manual to help us arrive at the right place!
Which Road are you on? What kind of music are you listening to? Who are your companions? What are your obstacles? Have you encountered many potholes? Has it been a good journey? Have you spent enough time laughing? Do you have enough fuel? Are you going fast or slow?
Think about it ...

Meeting of the Minds!

2008-10-17T07:14:00.003-05:00

Tonight..I have a MasterMind Group Meeting! Once or twice a month I meet with a group of women business owners to share information, give and receive advice, brainstorm and to give and lend support. I think this Mastermind group will be like fuel for my business soul.

Your Story

2008-10-17T07:07:00.003-05:00

Last night Joe and I went out to dinner at the New Castle Country Club. I love social events. I love sitting at a table with people I've never met before. I love to hear people's stories. One of the men that sat at my table, told me about himself and ended his long talk with... "And that's my story." We all have a story to tell don't we? What's your story? Where do you come from? Where are you going?

Jesus doesn't just LIVE inside of my heart! He's in there DANCING!

2008-10-15T22:00:00.004-05:00

Food Show @ Seven Springs!

2008-10-15T15:41:00.004-05:00

Joe and I spent Monday night @ Seven Springs Resort and attended a food show on Tuesday. We had a fantastic time! We sampled so many different foods, honestly my stomach became bloated!! Reinhardt rolls out the red carpet for it's clients and we always enjoy ourselves. We came back with some great ideas for the Tavern! : )
I love spending time alone with my husband. After 19 years, I love holding hands while we walk, and giggling over silly things. I love riding in the car with him and singing 80's songs together. He's still my man : )
Here's what we liked the most.

FRIED GREEN BEANS! Some of you might have tried these at T.G.I.Fridays! We never have. But we tried them at the food show and loved them!! WHo would have thought??FRIED GREEN BEANS????
We also found some great new side dishes and sampled a lot of meats. We've got to start working on our new menu!!!!!!WOOHOOO!

2008-10-14T20:50:00.002-05:00

I am exhausted! I am bloated! I will tell you why.. next time I post! Off to bed!
zzzzzzzz

2008-10-13T10:04:00.005-05:00

I feel like this today

2008-10-13T09:58:00.002-05:00

Love Feels So Good!

2008-10-13T09:54:00.002-05:00

A Winner is A DREAMER who NEVER quits!

2008-10-13T09:42:00.001-05:00

2008-10-13T09:32:00.002-05:00

Wisdom is the sharing of wise experiences and knowledge, but a lot of it is common sense. The difference is how we apply this common sense - we all have the ability to keep going even when we face challenges in our lives - basically it comes down to your attitude. We can have a positive attitude towards life, or a negative attitude. We can focus on the good or we can focus on the bad. Keeping a positive mental attitude is one of the keys to success.
The choice is always up to you!

Visit

2008-10-12T22:13:00.004-05:00

Nikki's has a best friend. Her name is Visit. She is a cat that comes to our house occasionally to... Visit! They have the sweetest relationship! They rub up against each other and chase each other all around the house. We'd never let visit come in, with Sarah here..but now that Sarah's gone..we let visit inside to play! She stays about ten minutes and then goes back home!

Bringing someone to Christ!

2008-10-12T21:25:00.008-05:00

Everyone..Please pray for a friend of mine! Her name is Camille, and she comes from a Catholic Background. She was asking lots of questions today and I got to share the gospel with her!I am soooo excited!!! I told her how to go home and ask Jesus Christ into her heart. I told her that she has to tell God that she's messed up and needs forgiven for her sins! Please everybody who reads this... Please pray for Camille. She needs Jesus. She is looking for Jesus but didn't know how to find Him! Wednesday, I will bring her some books to read. She is searching! I know just what she is looking for!!Iknow WHO she is looking for!!! WOOHOOOOOOOO! GO CAMILLE!! She is about to have a life changing experience! JESUS..I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! Thank-you for Camille! Oh Father, please draw her to You Lord! She needs you! She can touch sooooo many lives and bring so many other poeple to Your Kingdom!!!! Please give Emily and Brenda the right words tommorow to help her along in her journey. Please help me find the right books for her to read..the right words to tell her too Father! Oh God, I want to see Camille in Heaven!! Please help us all help Camille! Thank you LoRD!! And Thank you friends for praying! Don't stop praying!!!

My life is my message. -Mahatma Gandhi.

2008-10-11T18:58:00.001-05:00