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