My other girls..

Waiting for me to come home from my walk.

My girls..

Lauren was laying on my bed with me yesterday. We were having snuggle time. She asked, "Do you love me just a little bit more than Ally, mom?" I smiled at her, because she KNOWS I will never, ever say I love one of my girls more than the other one. I could never even choose one to win a contest over the other one. They used to get so mad at me, because they wanted a winner, but I couldn't do it.
Lauren continued, "Come on mom..you like spending more time with me, right? I'm your buddy..more your friend then Ally!"
I smiled again. I said, "Lauren.. a mom loves her children 100 percent. It's not 50 for your and 50 for Ally. It's 100 for you and 100 for Ally. If I had more children, I would love them 100 percent too. I LOVE being with you. I love your peronality. I love your creativity. I love the way God made you! I love that you are loving and caring and snuggly!"
And I love Ally for her kindness and her sweet personality. Ally's a hard worker and has a great sense of style. I love the way that God made her too!
Then I said, "What do you think? Who do you think I love more?"
She smiled and said, "me"
Do you want to know something funny?
I asked Ally the same question. Who does she think I love more.. She said, "me"

Girls.. I love you with ALL of my heart. I couldn't love you any more or any less.

A new dress can make you feel so good..

I haven't worn a dress for so long. I feel so feminine! For years, I wore my hair short, and because I was so overweight, it was hard to look and feel feminine. On the inside, I've always felt very "girly", but I didn't look that way on the outside. Now I think, I look as girly as I feel! I love my lap band! :)

How much do you know of what is going on in our world today?

I hope you're having a great weekend..

We worked, and got sunburned, and painted our bedroom and re-carpeted our back porch, and today we're going to work some more and then....we are going to go to dinner and do some shopping! I've still got some funky infection going on in my body that won't go away! I'm going to call the doctor for round 2 of antibiotics tommorow. Still having tooth trouble too... I don't feel so good .. But it WILL get better! I'm excited to be with my girls today..I love when we are all together!
Hope you're having fun...or relaxing..or spending time with family...
I hope it's all good! Love the Lord! Susan

"Take the first step in faith. You don't
have to see the whole staircase.
Just take the first step."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

Less than a week until Dave Matthews!!!

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! I am so excited!!!

Enjoy some dave today!

I am blessed.

I feel so blessed today. God is so good to me. I thank you Jesus for who you are and all you do and all you promise. Your word is truth, and you are truth and life. I can't imagine living without you. Thank you for loving me. I am so not worthy of your love..I mess up so much. I am foolish. I am a foolish child. But you still love me. How great is that? Thank you my Father in Heaven, whom I adore, worship, admire, love and respect. You Rock!!
With love from your little girl, Susan

I just want to tell you how wonderful you are. I know you are probably embarrassed, and saying "Oh, Sue!" right now, but I want you to know just how Great I think you are! You are honest and sincere, and it's weird that it works this way, but not too many people, even friends, even close friends, will tell you the truth. You tell me the truth. You do it in such a kind, loving way though. It doesn't hurt, because I know you care and have my best interests at heart. I need truth in my life, and you are the first person I'd turn to, to seek it out. You give honest opinions, you aren't fluffy and phoney. I love that so much about you!! You are also a great listener. You will listen to me ramble on and on and on..and go from one topic to another, and change my mind 100 times within one conversation, and understand when I speak in broken sentences.... *breath* whew... and you listen to it all and you still want to talk with me, even after all that!!! See.. that really is AMAZING!!!!!
It's not just your honesty..and not just your great ability to listen though..it's your heart for God that comes through in EVERYTHING you say! Christ is so in you, and He's evident in all your words of advice. They are ALWAYS Godly. Not sometimes...always. You speak Jesus into me. Do you understand how important that is to me, especially at this time in my life, when I don't have too many people speaking Jesus into me. You are truth..you are sincere..you are Christlike..you are authentic and real and solid. You don't realize how precious you are, and how important those qualities are.
You asked me yesterday, if I thought you were loving. I told you, you weren't a fluffy kind of loving, but Brenda, you show your love abundantly in many other ways, You are loyal..faithful..sincere..true..
I wish I had a picture of you to post here(next time we meet, I'm bringing my camera!!!) so everybody could see the light that lives inside of you that shines through your beautiful, stylish, cool exterior!!
You know what? We've grown so much together..haven't we? I just thought of that..you and I have grown together.. like sisters. You feel like a sister to me! Now if only we had that mentoring mother that we long for to tell us what to do, how to do it..to guide us, to PUSH us!
Anyway..Brenda, my sister, my friend, let's keep dreaming, and learning, and growing together! I want you to know that I've got your back! I'm here for you..I wish I could express it in a better way..but I want you to know..that you don't ever have to have your shield up, your gaurd up with me. I promise you. (You know what I mean with that..I am real too! : ))
I want to thank you again and again for all that you teach me, and share with me, and dream about with me..and for listening to me, and accepting me... My sister, my friend.
I love you. Sue

What are your plans for Memorial Day Weekend?

My family works all weekend..that's the perils of owning a restaurant in a tourist town.. BUT. we still make plans. Sunday, we are painting my master bedroom and our spare bedroom. That may not sound like fun to you, but Sunday's has always been our family day. We go to church, then come home and stay at home! I usually make a big meal on Sundays. The kids value this time together and of course I cherish the family time! Our kids are looking forward to getting to help paint! Ally loves anything that "cleans" up the house, and Lauren loves painting!
Monday, we are all working together at the restaurant. Ally will hostess, Lauren will do dishes, I waitress and Joe cooks! Then, as a reward for the girls hard work, we are going to take them to the Grove City outlets, for an afternoon of shopping! The girls need some summer clothes, and I am going to show them some shopping love! hehe.. No cookouts..no relaxation for us... But that's our life!
What are you Memorial Day Weekend Plans?

thought of the day,,,

If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?

"Remember there's no such thing as a small
act of kindness. Every act creates
a ripple with no logical end."
- Scott Adams

Stephen Curtis Chapman's daughter killed

This is so sad..I've heard Stephen Curtis Chapman on several Christian radio talk shows and he seems to be such a wonderful man..,,and especially an incredible father. I watched this video(posted after the article) a few months ago, and it just melted my heart. Watch it and then say a prayer for peace and comfort for this family.. Thanks.
The five-year-old daughter of Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman was killed last night when a car apparently driven by one of her older brothers hit her in the Chapman family's driveway.

In what local police are calling a "terrible accident," Maria Chapman was playing in the driveway when she was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by one of Chapman's teenage sons. The police did not identify the driver, according to The Tennessean.

A statement on Chapman's website says, "Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there." Maria was the youngest of the Chapman's six children.

I have big dreams..

1. Most of all.. I want to see a beautiful new contemporary non-denominational church planted in New Castle Pennsylvania.
I've seem the vision from God. I can see it SO CLEARLY! I just don't know how to make it happen. I believe with God all things are possible ane I believe I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me..but then why have I given up? I got tired..so what, I should have sat back and refueled.. *I'm refueled now*. I shouldn't give up..I've got to keep trying..but how, where, who..do I turn to next? How do I get it done? Oh..if only you could see what I see.. know what I know... So many lives could be changed, this whole community could be change DRASTICALLY!!! ... That's my number one dream..If I could wish for anything, that is what I'd wish for. A new church planted in this community, a new church like New Spring Church, or Buckhead, or Sandals, or Granger community.. One that is healthy and growing and teaches Jesus's love, but not only teaches it..shows it..puts action to it's words. A church that teaches people to love EVERYBODY..a church who's mission field is this community..a church that gives and gives and gives..
2. I want to baptize someone.
I want to baptize a new believer. I plant seeds, I witness, and I've even helped people become saved, I want to do the next step, I want to baptize someone.
3. I want my children to grow up to be strong Christian women who live joyfilled lives.

I want them to be doing whatever God has planned for them to do..I want them to LOVE their lives. I want them to be happy.
4. My fourth biggest dream is to Make the name of Jesus famous.
I want to be an evangelist. I want to speak about Jesus. I want to motivate people. I want to encourage people. To tell them and show them how much God loves them. I want to love people. I want to genuinely make people feel loved and good about themselves. I want to spread Jesus's love all over the world. That brings me to my fifth dream:
5. I want to change the world. I want to make it a better place!

What are your dreams? Does anybody else know what they are? Come on..share them with someone. Share them with me!

Mark Twain's top 9 tips for living a great life!

“It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.”


“Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”


“When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it’s a sure sign you’re getting old.”


You may know Mark Twain for some of his very popular books like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He was a writer and also a humorist, satirist and lecturer.


Twain is known for his many – and often funny – quotes. Here are a few of my favourite tips from him.


1. Approve of yourself.


“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”


If you don’t approve of yourself, of your behaviour and actions then you’ll probably walk around most of the day with a sort of uncomfortable feeling. If you, on the other hand, approve of yourself then you tend to become relaxed and gain inner freedom to do more of what you really want.


This can, in a related way, be a big obstacle in personal growth. You may have all the right tools to grow in some way but you feel an inner resistance. You can’t get there.


What you may be bumping into there are success barriers. You are putting up barriers in your own mind of what you may or may not deserve. Or barriers that tell you what you are capable of. They might tell you that you aren’t really that kind of person that could this thing that you’re attempting.


Or if you make some headway in the direction you want to go you may start to sabotage for yourself. To keep yourself in a place that is familiar for you.


So you need give yourself approval and allow yourself to be who you want to be. Not look for the approval from others. But from yourself. To dissolve that inner barrier or let go of that self-sabotaging tendency. This is no easy task and it can take time.


2. Your limitations may just be in your mind.


“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”




So many limitations are mostly in our minds. We may for instance think that people will disapprove because we are too tall, too old or balding. But these things mostly matter when you think they matter. Because you become self-conscious and worried about what people may think.


And people pick up on that and may react in negative ways. Or you may interpret anything they do as a negative reaction because you are so fearful of a bad reaction and so focused inward on yourself.


If you, on the other hand, don’t mind then people tend to not mind that much either. And if you don’t mind then you won’t let that part of yourself become a self-imposed roadblock in your life.


It is, for instance, seldom too late to do what you want to do.


3. Lighten up and have some fun.


“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.”


“Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”


Humor and laughter are amazing tools. They can turn any serious situation into something to laugh about. They can lighten the mood just about anywhere.


And a lighter mood is often a better space to work in because now your body and mind isn’t filled to the brim with negative emotions. When you are more light-hearted and relaxed then the solution to a situation is often easier to both come up with and implement. Have a look at Lighten Up! for more on this topic.


4. Let go of anger.


“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”


Anger is most of the time pretty pointless. It can cause situations to get out of hand. And from a selfish perspective it often more hurtful for the one being angry then the person s/he’s angry at.


So even if you feel angry at someone for days recognize that you are mostly just hurting yourself. The other person may not even be aware that you are angry at him or her. So either talking to the person and resolving the conflict or letting go of anger as quickly as possible are pretty good tips to make your life more pleasurable.


5. Release yourself from entitlement.


“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”


When you are young your mom and dad may give a lot of things. As you grow older you may have a sort of entitlement. You may feel like the world should just give you what you want or that it owes you something.


This belief can cause a lot of anger and frustration in your life. Because the world may not give you what expect it to. On the other hand, this can be liberating too. You realize that it is up to you to shape your own life and for you to work towards what you want. You are not a kid anymore, waiting for your parents or the world to give you something.


You are in the driver’s seat now. And you can go pretty much wherever you want.


6. If you’re taking a different path, prepare for reactions.

“A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”

I think this has quite a bit of relevance to self-improvement.

If you start to change or do something different than you usually do then people may react in different ways. Some may be happy for you. Some may be indifferent. Some may be puzzled or react in negative and discouraging ways.

Much of these reactions are probably not so much about you but about the person who said it and his/her life. How they feel about themselves is coming through in the words they use and judgements they make.

And that’s OK. I think it’s pretty likely that they won’t react as negatively as you may imagine. Or they will probably at least go back to focusing on their own challenges pretty soon.

So what other people may say and think and letting that hold you back is probably just fantasy and barrier you build in your mind.

You may find that when you finally cross that inner threshold you created then people around you may not shun you or go chasing after you with pitchforks. They might just go: “OK”.

7. Keep you focus steadily on what you want.


“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.”


What you focus your mind on greatly determines how things play out. You can focus on your problems and dwell in suffering and a victim mentality. Or you can focus on the positive in situation, what you can learn from that situation or just focus your mind on something entirely else.


It may be “normal” to dwell on problems and swim around in a sea of negativity. But that is a choice. And a thought habit. You may reflexively start to dwell on problems instead of refocusing your mind on something more useful. But you can also start to build a habit of learning to gain more and more control of where you put your focus.


8. Don’t focus so much on making yourself feel good.



“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”


This may be a bit of a counter-intuitive tip. But as I wrote yesterday, one of the best ways to feel good about yourself is to make someone else feel good or to help them in some way.


This is a great way to look at things to create an upward spiral of positivity and exchange of value between people. You help someone and both of you feel good. The person you helped feels inclined to give you a hand later on since people tend to want to reciprocate. And so the both of you are feeling good and helping each other.


Those positive feelings are contagious to other people and so you may end up making them feel good too. And the help you received from your friend may inspire you to go and help another friend. And so the upward spiral grows and continues.


9. Do want you want to do.


“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”


Awesome quote. And I really don’t have much to add to that one. Well, maybe to write it down and keep it as a daily reminder - on your fridge or bathroom door - of what you can actually do with your life.by Henrik Edberg May 16th, 2008 in Relaxation, Personal Development, People Skills, Career & Work and Success.
“It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.”


******************************************************************************
Published by Henrik Edberg May 16th, 2008 in Relaxation, Personal Development, People Skills, Career & Work and Success.

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.The other is as though everything is a miracle."

- Albert Einstein, physicist and Nobel laureate

Guess the Google

A fun and addicting game!


guessthegoogle.com

The History of Mobile Phones!

A lovely night..