Today is The Day!

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

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?

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

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?

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

Party Planning!

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!!!!

Spreading the message...

www.xdrtb.org

Our closing is Monday!!

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

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..

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!

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!!!

"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

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

"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!

God loves you.

Church Planting

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

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.

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?