We are the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 95:7 "For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice"

My man

My man and I have been married for 25 years. He is my life partner, my soul mate. We have a love that has overcome many obstacles. Someday I will tell you about those obstacles, but now is not the right time. He is my love. <3

Bowling with our new friends~

This year God brought a new young man into our lives via our daughter Lauren Elizabeth. She met Kevin Duque online. They are both League of Legends Video gamers. Kevin lived in Miami, a far away from our little town of New Wilmington. Lauren and Kevin fell in love online and in July of 2014, Lauren and Kevin fell in love in person when Kevin came to visit for a week. In September, Kevin moved here to get to know our daughter and our family. We welcomed him with open hearts and opened arms. It did not take long for us to also fall in love with Kevin and it already feels like his a part of our family Only God knows what the future holds but we are praying that Kevin will remain a part of our family forever. This Christmas, Kevin's mother, Ysbelia, sister Valerie and niece Victoria decided to come stay and spend the New Year with us. Kevin's Uncle Miguel and Aunt Scarlette, nieces Anabel and Margaret also came. Our two families melded together so beautifully. I can say this has been one of our best Christmas and New Years. We made new friends who will hopefully become family members.

New Years Eve 2014 in Venezuela

New Years Eve is a night of hard work for Joe and I. When you own a restaurant, certain days are busier than others, and New Years Eve Day is one of them. We work from morning until almost midnight, cooking, setting up, checking on reservations, changing reservations, mapping them out, serving, and then cleaning up. Aaaah, I got tired just typing that out. So when midnight rolls around, we are exhausted and much too tired to celebrate. Our New Year Celebration usually comes a week later, when we are rested! This year was a bit different though. This year we were introduced to Kevin Duque. Kevin entered our lives through our daughter Lauren. Kevin has moved to New Wilmington, from Miami Florida, to be closer to Lauren. We have grown to love Kevin as if he were our own son. This Christmas, we were so delighted to host Kevin's family from Miami and Virginia at our home. I feel as though we have a new family now and It has been so much fun getting to know them. Although Kevin was born in Miami, his parents are originally from Venezuela. This New Years, since Joe and I had to work, they decided to create a Venezuelan New Years celebration for us. Kevin's mom Ysbelia and sister Valerie cooked and cooked for us, causing my kitchen to smell AMAZING with the Venezuelan spices. I couldn't wait to come home and indulge in the feast and to celebrate the New Year with our new friends. We had Arapas made by Ysbelia, and elcocotes made by Kevin's aunt Escarlette. We had a delicious pork roast. We even wore Yellow Underwear which is a tradition to have good luck all year! We ate 12 grapes before the clock struck midnight and then there were lots of toasts and hugs and kisses! It was a noisy and fun celebration, unlike our usual, let's watch the ball drop and then fall into bed, New Years tradition. It is so much fun learning about new things, ideas, cultures and people. It is wonderful to watch your family grow and to add more people to your "tribe" Joe and I are both introverts, so it is not easy for us to "change" but it's good for us to "change". This is going to be a year of many changes for us but it's going to be a year of building on our solid foundation. Last year we worked on solidifying our family and our business and this is the year to build upon both. Welcome 2015! May God bring us even closer together. May we Glorify HIS name in all we do this year. May we bring Him honor and Glory and in the process may we continue to be filled with love and joy! With the love of the most amazing Savior, Susan

A lucky Bet

Joe and I hate gambling. We both feel like we work to hard for our money to gamble it away. When we go to Las Vegas, we usually can't even spend $10.00 on the slots, or another game. We go to Vegas because it's warm, when it's cold here in PA, We usually go see a show and a concert and definitely to lay by the pool and relax. This past September, we went for our anniversary. Joe wanted to do some kind of fun bet, just to say he bet. Since he loves sports and especially loves the Steelers, he decided to bet on them for something. He found the bet that was a long shot. He bet $20.00 that Ben would get the most yards passing in the NFL. The odds were 70 to 1. The man that took Joe's bet said that Joe was the only person so far that made that bet. He even laughed and said, "Bet you will be the only one making this bet period." Tonight, is the last game of the season and Ben is behind the first place quarterback by 318 yards. It's a good possibility that he could do it. We are so excited to watch the game tonight and cheer Ben and Joe on. Wow! What a lucky bet!

My Inspiration

For Christmas, this year the love of my life for the past 26 years, my husband Joe, gave me the best present that I have ever received. He gave me the gift of Inspiration. He has inspired me more than he probably imagined by giving me my Tavern blog made into book form, and a new iMac. Reading through my Tavern blog was just incredible. After seeing it, I knew instantly that I would begin blogging again. The gift of the iMac is the ability to blog again. I own a mobile phone, an iPad a lap top AND a computer, but hate typing on all of those devices. (The computer I have has windows 8 and has caused me so much frustration that I gave up using it). So I haven't written in so long, but I LOVE writing. Writing is pouring my heart and soul out and have it stick somewhere. It's documenting what God has done in my life, and what He continues to do. Writing is therapy. I have always been an open book, so Invite you to read. Come along on my journey with me. Let me show you who I am, and what God has done through me and will do with me. Someone said to me a few months ago, "Susan, you are almost 50. Don't you think of slowing down and your future retirement?" NO! I hope that I never have to retire. I never want God to be finished with me until I meet Him in Heaven. I will try to take care of my body and my mind, and always be open to letting God use me in whatever purpose He needs me for. I am His. I know people don't always understand, but I truly surrendered my life to the Lord and gave it to Him. That doesn't mean I am perfect....I make SO MANY mistakes and sometimes I listen to myself instead of His voice and sometimes I complain and grumble about Him taking to long, or not answering my prayers in the way I want them answered, but I do ALWAYS trust Him. I have had people say, "How can you call yourself a Christian and do ..... or say ....." I am a Christ Follower but I am also Human. I don't always do and/or say the right thing. You know what...I would say a lot of the times I don't say the right thing" I mess up, even though I don't mean to. I can be stupid, and I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I don't always have a filter...but I'm trying, and I'm learning, and I'm ALWAYS growing...AND..My faith is HUGE and I BELIEVE with ALL of who I am, that God is REAl and HE wants to show you that He is real. You have to lay down your life, and trust HIM with it. That's what I have done. I'm still flawed. I'm not perfect. I always say that I am exactly like those people in the Bible that are so messed up, but God says, "Look what I can do through them!" That's me. It's not me that is great, it is GOD! He sure does amazing work! So come on....follow this journey with me. We will see where this life goes...how it all unfolds, together. With the love of the most amazing and wonderful Savior, Susan

A New Year (2015)

For the past five or six years, God has provided a word or phrase for me to focus on for the coming year. Six years ago, my phrase came through a song and all year long I would listen to that song and it would inspire me. The song was The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns. The next phrase, that I can remember was through another song and that song was God of this City by Chris Tomlin. The next year, my word was Overcomer. I wrote out a phrase that God told me about overcoming and I kept it on my refrigerator all year long. Last year the word was Freedom. Oh my goodness, that is exactly what God brought me last year. Freedom from so many things in my life that kept me bound and unable to move. These words don't have much meaning to you, dear reader, but God and I both know how deeply important they were in my life. A few days ago, I opened my Bible and asked God to show me what to focus on this year. My word came to me immediately and my Bible fell open to the very first page of Nehemiah. I began to read the commentary and this is what I read. " What this church needs is...! " "I can't believe our government officials. If I were there I would..." "Our schools are really in bad shape. Someone ought to do something!" Gripers, complainers, self-proclaimed prophets, and armchair quarterbacks abound. It is easy to analyze, scrutinize, and talk about all the problems in the world. But what we really need are people who will not just discuss a situation but who will DO something about it! Nehemiah saw a problem and was distressed. Instead of complaining or wallowing in self-pity and grief, he took action. Nehemiah knew that God wanted him to motivate the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem's walls, so he left a responsible position in the Persian government to do what God wanted. Nehemiah knew God could use his talents to get the job done. From the moment he arrived in Jerusalem, everyone knew who was in charge. He organized, managed, supervised, encouraged, met opposition, confronted injustice, and kept going until the walls were built. Nehemiah was a man of action. My word that God provided for me, for the year 2015 is BUILDER. I am going to build this year. It made perfect sense to me, and also brought a gust of excitement. Let's Go! I can't wait! I LOVE doing new things. I LOVE building! Oh, Lord you know me so well and I feel like the Lord gave me the most amazing gift by allowing me to finally build something! Let me explain what I mean by that. Six years ago, Joe and I bought the Tavern on the Square Restaurant and have spent many, many laborious hours building that business. Because God has created me to be a visionary, after a few years of building,and creating a fantastic business, I was ready to move on to my next project. But God was not ready for me to move on to my next project and it was very frustrating for me. God knew what was best for me, although I could not see it. The Tavern foundation was not strong, and every believer knows, that you must build your house/business/life on solid rock, or it will eventually come falling down. Neither my business foundation nor my life foundation was very solid. If I would have tried to move without fixing the cracks in my life/business, disaster would have struck. So I waited (not so patiently) on the Lord, and I trusted Him. I worked hard. I labored. Joe and I tried hiring a few managers and failed. We kept trying to move forward but it didn't seem like we were going to. At one point in my business life, I wanted to quit, and anyone who knows me, knows I do not give up very easily!I was absolutely exhausted. It was a frustrating year. It wasn't fun. But guess what friends? I trusted God to get me through it and Joe and I followed Him and he brought two AMAZING managers for the Tavern that are helping Joe and I, and helping the Tavern to be the best it can be! My personal life was the same way. I did something I never would have thought I would do. I saw a Christian counselor and asked Him to help me work on some issues I have. I saw this counselor once a week for about 4 months and I am still in awe, of how much he helped me figure out how to have that freedom in my life that God desired for me to have. My personal life has changed dramatically, and I am once again filled with Joy and passion and I wake up each day excited to see what God has in store for me. My counselor told me, at the beginning of our sessions, that He would help me get closer to Christ through our discussions, and that's exactly what He did! I am so grateful Kent, if you are reading this, for how much you helped me! Thank you. So, although I will continue to lead the Tavern, and for now it will be my main focus, this is the year to build the next part of our "Simple Life" business. This year we will turn our apartment building into the Simple Life Lodge, and I will begin to add more to my Simple Life tour business. My children are also, going to begin their adventures with us, and together we are going to build The Simple Life Business that will include the Tavern on the Square, Simple Life tours, The Simple Life Lodge and many other exciting plans that we are working on. Glory to God in the Highest. It is for the Lord, that I want to create these businesses. I want people to come and be able to see the beauty of New Wilmington that God has created. I want them to experience the Simple life. I want them to see old fashioned values lived out. I want them to slow down and enjoy the journey, even if for a day or two. My life wouldn't be worth living, if I couldn't inspire people and show them my love for the Lord, and help them to get closer to Jesus. That is what I live for! So friends, come enjoy the journey with me. I will be writing and sharing with you, all that God is doing in my life. I don't know what the future holds exactly, but I now WHO holds the future, and I am letting God take the lead! I sure do love the journey that the Lord has put me on. It is the desire of my heart to follow Jesus and when i do get to meet Him, I want to know that I made Him proud! Happy New Year friends! May you also, ask God to direct your path and then go in the direction that he desires for you! With the love of the most Amazing and Wonderful Savior, Susan

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!

ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

I'm a writer.

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!

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!

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!

ON haitus

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!!

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!

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