Hey you bloggers....

Hi Blog Friends
(if there's anybody left visiting me here! :)

I appreciate you all, and hope you'll come see me at my new blog space! My fastidious daughter helped me to make more sense of it :P
~These new blogger options were making my head spin a little too fast :(

This "fright" of an old blog (i was trying to change it for the better and missed the mark a bit!!!) has now been refurbished and moved to a home where it is much more organized and esthetically pleasing!
Please come see and let me know what you think :)

www.sojourner-sister.blogspot.com

The Lord has been putting some heavy ( and some... controversial) issues on my heart that I feel compelled to share... I am hoping to see you all there and hoping for any feedback you might have...
Thanks in advance,
~Suz

Life: and how we look at it...

~This is a picture my daughter Noelle did when she was nine or ten.

This is the kind of art she liked to do, colorful and from her heart.. she was never much for copying ... (something that as an "artist) :( I felt was necessary for a great sketch)...
...looking at a guide, a piece of clip art, a photo a magazine picture, etc, for an exact representation, so as to "get it just right"...

But (thankfully) not her :)

Still yet, and typically so, she was never satisfied by her work.
...I was awed.
I just adored the honesty in her simple lines and her colorful representations.

I have kept almost all of her work, though she is a tried and true writer now... I hope she writes a book someday and includes her sketches!

About this attitude she held about art, well, it has me thinking. I would love to live the way she drew pictures. Simply, honesty, definitely colorful... and most gracious, and never copying

Her original art was always very gracious.

I love my daughter's art, and her heart...

...I would like to recapture that innocence, now tainted by the harshness life.

The reality is that this kind of life can be lived...only be lived by sticking closely to Jesus for inspriation and guidance, and every thought word and deed...

It is then that my (and anyone's for that matter) life will my life come closer to being a Masterpiece -- Fit for the Masters use., reflecting all the Color, Joy and Grace He intends all our lives to reflect.

~Lord help me to find my life in You, every day... Help me to remember that each day of this life is a gift... and to live it to the full.

Help me to keep Your message for life, uppermost in my thoughts throughout my days,and remembering that I have to live it from the heart, (that "new" heart, that You freely gave when I accepted Your sacrifice on my behalf at Calvary's cross... Thank you Lord for life, for hope, for second chances, for mercy and for grace...

~and for colorful hearts and the pictures they inspire!

grace and peace, mercy and joy, and comfort to you all...

In His Precious Name

Grandkiddos~A Day at the Park, Working Things Out...

The Light Meets The Dark: A Must Listen!

Tenth Avenue North - "Healing Begins" Video Journal:

~ This generation... The one in which my peers begat... are THE VOICE of OUR TIMES, I believe! :)
It is exciting to me to watch what God will do. Am I mistaken, or are the zealous younger people much more outspoken and in greater numbers than those of two decades ago?

As Paul entreated Timothy. a young follower of Christ in his day in 1st Timothy 4:12--to Timothy--young disciple and bringer of God's Truths...His Holy Word:
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers, in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
Wow, This is what I hear now, coming forth .. I would have to say, more-so in the "young believers" camp than the older... who it seems have sold out to the milquetoast gospel of ease and fire insurance... period. Yuch. But He will raise up a remnant... and though we have failed to a degree...we have somehow , someway, despite ourselves, inspired the youngers... Praise you Lord!

This is where the healing begins....
His Truths.. Where the Light Meets the Dark

Me (Suz) and Tom (Thoms) during the summer of 91

I loved him then, I love him still... maybe more than ever... Yep, I'm sure, it's more than ever...
Thanks babe for almost 18 interesting.adventurous.courageous.terrifying.life-giving.reality-promoting.zealous.devoted.hilarious.nurturing.educational.tender.love-filled years

"We Preach Best What We Need To Hear Most" ...unknown

Oxygen is what all mortal humans breathe.
Faith and Love are what all Spiritual beings breathe.
As a human—stop breathing oxygen and see how weak and powerless and foolish you are, in only a matter of moments.
Spiritually—walk in doubt and fear and self-love, or in rebellion and jealousy and bitterness, or in arrogance... or in self-pity and whining... and the results in your Spirit-life will be just as real and just as devastating as suffocating for lack of oxygen to the physical body.

Cultivate a life of Faith, and Trust, and Love—Believing Him in all things without reservation!
Crush the fear, self-love, self-hate, doubt, and disputes with His Promises and His Ways.
Reject all thoughts of how you are being cheated, or your so-called “rights violated” or that something is not “fair” or that God is not AWESOMELY good and wonderful in ALL His Decisions and Ways.
Step into the OXYGEN of Spiritual LIFE and LOVE: THIS is the victory that overcomes the world, sin, and death: even our Faith.

I love to paint -- but didn't. ;)

I love to paint. But haven't painted in a long while... therefore, am not very "practiced" any longer. I wish I could paint like this... but with digi software from picnik.... look-y what I can do!... turn my daughter's pretty face into what looks like a painting... maybe a little?
Anyway.. I liked it a lot... so I thought I'd post it up!
Happy Spring all!

A Heart From Dad's Heart

okay...Beside being a really neat shot of Noelle as well as sweet pics of Noelle with Ava and Jada Lynn, the little sweethearts we babysat for a long while (and whom we miss terribly)-- this is an exquisite photo of Noelle's love gift from her Pa... a lovely birthstone ring .. an authentic heart (kinda like a rounded triangle--like a real heart) shaped garnet stone with a lovely yellow gold setting...
{SHE LOVED IT}
Tom presented it to her in February,... to commemorate her Birthday as well as Valentine's Day... but mainly to say "I love You.. and you mean the world to your mom and I"

Father's and daughters can have a tough go of it at times... But Noelle and her dad have striven through ups and downs and are reaping the fruit of forgiveness and working through... striving with one another.

We are excited to watch what the Lord is gonna do in her life as the next couple of years fly by...

She has so much on her heart to do and be... and become...

...and if I know my daughter, (and I do :) I know the Lord is smiling

Our Sweet Daughter, a Young Adult Now...

No longer a little girl, dressed up for a portrait shoot (in the photo
shown here), Our Noelle is becoming a young woman of grace and glory.
I am humbled by what the Lord is doing in her life... at the tender age of fifteen. She exudes wisdom and maturity that many adults never even know exist for them...

and yet she longs to be "not about herself", striving to reach higher than the temporal sphere where she is still, as much a young woman who yet cares what is thought of her.

Any yet, we distinctly see the Lord working that out, and her desire matching His, to where, her flesh is diminishing and her spirit is gaining pre-eminence.

I am honored and as I shared, humbled... and so thankful to the Lord for, despite us, allowing her to grow into who she has ... as well as who her father and I prayed for and so terribly desired for her to be.

Noelle wants to serve in missions... as well as aspiring to pursue excellence in all things concerning her womanly calling and role in marriage... including, but not limited to... serving her family and her man in the kitchen... (one sure route to his heart!) by preparing meals with flair, making poignant memories... learning about gardening, herbs and healthy lifestyle enhancements,honing her skills as she prepares to be a homemaker/nest builder... for gracious hospitality where all manner of folks are ushered in and
welcomed to stay on..sharing their tales of their adventures or their
hearts travail ~~whatever it may be...

We are so excited to see how this
all plays out in the Lord's overall plan for the life that awaits her in
the near future, no matter how soon or how far....

Above all, Noelle is set on continuing to develop a servant's heart and is
preparing to be a missionary on the home-front as well as listening for the Lord's call to her to serve abroad... and yet, eventually desiring to
raise up children who are nurtured and marinated in love... yet with discipline, a firm and loving consistency, with a passionate heart for Jesus as well...

I wish I would have had a mind and a heart at
such a tender age to be about the Father's business as she has been over
the years.

It is most certainly true that the fear of God is the
Beginning of Wisdom.. (fear as in reverence)... for she is wise.

I foresee her as a true blessing to her husband to be...

It is certainly exciting to see what the Lord will do... in Noelle's life, as she continues to seek His will.

Her father and I can scarce believe she is ours... (and in reality she is not ours, but only on loan, as a blessing :) -- to help raise, in co-operation with the Lord Jesus-- who has helped us to parent her as He has parented us!

It has been quite a journey...and I wouldn't trade a minute of it...

Thank you Dear Lord for giving us a child who, it seems, embodies.... the best of the both of us..
or stated another way...
a picture of who it was that we were to be... had things been different for us!...
She is a gift ... and I give humble thanks for this young woman who was such a short time ago.. just a child...
definitely, always mature beyond her years...
yet still a child.
She is gaining on us here... so fast.. Lord, Please, just keep her in the palm of your hand as she continues to prepare and seek You for her future and what You have for her...
and Lord, please, make certain that she is hearing directly from You in the decisions that will truly change her life.
We want Your best for her as much as we know You do...
Keep her Lord, and Thanks You again..
forever and for always...
Come what May...

In the Rain

I held the dream fast, upon my windswept brow...

As a storm threatened it's approach,

I held it with a fervor...

...so as to not forget it's depth or how it touched me now.

I let the dream slide softly away…

It was meant to be embraced for a time,

~ then shared as a Testament to live by;

An offering to Him who held all of what would come to pass.

I awakened... waves of recognition gentled through my consciousness

~Then, the rain.

It began to fall... quietly at first, like a lamb's first breath in the spring...

I had to choose...

...and so I did.

I stood unyielding, as Intensity built ...

I was purified, you could say, by the torrent:

As it beat down drenching me...

...then rolling from my skin, without a sound...

leaving me lighter somehow,

cleaner it would seem.

continuing to wash over me.

~Let it melt away the dross...

of disregard, ill-content... full of fear... and on...

so full of me...

--not any of Him--

I decide to stay here,

with He;

With He who paid for

my life -- with His own...

In it all, a promise... to wash all away...

...I stood mute, without wavering...

in the rain.

~An offering for Him who loved me;

Who makes all things new...

Even in my disheveled state of being,

in my life;

so bleak...

He made it shine

So here I will stand, with Him...

... in the rain.

by Suz 1010

Matthew 24:42 "Therefore Keep Watch"

Therefore keep watch , because you do not know on what day the Lord will come. Matthew 24:42

I honestly do not keep tight with the daily news... I catch the headlines on my facebook posts... and I catch a bit more from what my husband shares from the news radio from work or the newspaper.

It is not that I am not concerned... I just don't feel the need to keep up with all of the "other" stuff in the news. The "other" stuff I refer is is the extraneous and a many times gratuitous " hi-lights" that sensationalize the very thing Jesus speaks of when He shares with us, why He must return.

The world cannot keep going on as it is... waxing worse and worse... indefinitely. There will come a day... and it could be soon, when he will be back to Judge His own from the lost.

My heart aches for the lost. It hurts so badly.. and I so relate to the pain that people go through in their sagas, and travails, so many times emblazened shamelessly on the front page of the papers or the tabloid covers...

...like so many vultures, feasting on others scandals... and percieved pain and loss. As it is.. I relate enough to the scenes of every day life that I see play out as I watch people interact, here and there, out and about.

I can read between the lines because we are, none of us, all that different. We are all cut from the same cloth. We all carry burdens and pain, regrets and loss in varying degrees.

We all deal with these realities differently as well. I guess that is why the 'keeping up with the news' is so painful to me. To me it is overkill. There is nothing new under the sun, and in my 48 years, I have seen so much pain and destruction.

There is nothing that I see that can be too far from what I have already seen, experienced or read about, learned of, or heard God share about in His word what will go down in the last days... etc.

These are no doubt those {the last days} I have no idea how close or far we are from the end.. but I know it is drawing closer and closer... things are lining up with His Word of Prophecy at an alarming rate.. It is only a matter of time and only He knows how much time that is.

Again, we are all cut from the same cloth. The Lord wants to Redeem us .. He wants us to reach out.. to cry out to Him for forgiveness! We are all lawbreakers... just by the very nature of comparrison with His Holiness.

He is without blemish or fault. He is Love Personified, as well as Justice and Mercy.

He is only true to His nature to desire to "forgive us" of our debauched ways and means to live life... OUR way..and certainly not His Way...

But, it is also His nature, that He does not give us what we dererve!

Here we are, truly, whether we acknowledge it or not... helpless, blind, dirty and needing mercy in the hands of a Rightous and Holy Judge...

NOTE: Please read this next paragraph 'very carefully' because first of all, I am not the best writer... my thoughts do not always some out as clear and concise as I would like... and ALSO: Because it is so vital that if you haven't heard this {in your spirit yet}... but only heard it {with your ears}... you need to have it come to life for you....and please know I am praying for anyone who might read it ...

We truly deserve, by the very nature of all that we are and all that we are not... deserving of judgement. "death"

~ That's our just due, as we are all murderers, thieves, idolators, fornicators, blasphemors... and on and on... Yet He (God The Father) sent his Son (Who is and consequently, Who was, here on earth, as much GOD as He was a man when He was sent here to die in our stead as the punishment for our peace and the propitiation for our sins..., to make a Righteous Path, a go-between, between us and {Himself-- God}
God came to earth and died for US!
He came to earth and died for us!
My mind reels at the implications of such love.

Blessed be The Name of Our God, Who Was and Is and Is to Come

A Post and A Prayer and Plea for Freedom

I'm posting this forward from my email... who forwared it to me... because it is a "must-see-must-take-action sort of thing, I believe ,and believe many would agree...

I would have posted it on my facebook profile , but thought better of it. I don't think this one post would have changed the mind of anyone who was already adamantly for this travesty callled a "reform bill" so, in lieu of looking as if I am trying to shove my political convictions down anyones throat, I would rather give an option for anyone to come here and read of the tyranny and injustice for all that is coming covertly to pass... with an overt spin on it to make it look like it's all for our good... again, of course.

Please, if any are concerned for our rights being systematically stripped away, as if all is well with the world..., Remember, to do nothing speaks of condoning it all. It is a farce and and a dangerous political play that will have dire consequenses if allowed to remain unchallenged...
We are gonna lose our prescious , hard won rights...
fast and furiously...
Read on....


Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

What do you call it when a radical minority forces
its will on the law-abiding majority? The
Obama/Pelosi/Reid power axis would have us call
it "progressive leadership." The Founders called
it "tyranny." Read below - Mat.

(I took the liberty to change the name in the post to concerned citizen where applicable and hope I haven't missed it down through the document ... along the way.)

Dear Concerned Citizen,

I am not surprised that socialist leaders Obama, Pelosi and
Reid found a convoluted way to get their tyrannical
healthcare "reform" bill through Congress. And there is
no doubt that evidence of vote buying and extreme coercion,
both legal and illegal, will surface for weeks to come.

But this is not the time to rehash the tragic
spectacle we saw unfold over the weekend.
Now is the time to TAKE ACTION to stop ObamaCare
and its anti-life, anti-family, and anti-economy
provisions IN A COURT OF LAW.

++Americans have lost confidence in the legislative process.

At every step of the way in ObamaCare's long march through
Congress, the liberal Democrat leaders used trickery, overt
manipulation, and out-and-out vote buying to thwart the
American people's clearly expressed opposition to their
socialist takeover of our medical system.

Now, on the brink of this hugely unpopular bill being presented
to President Obama for signature, we are facing the brutal
reality of what the 111th Congress has forced down our throats:

* Abortion coverage Americans don't want
* Exorbitant costs Americans don't want
* Mandatory participation Americans don't want
* New federal bureaucracies Americans don't want
* A vast expansion of IRS power Americans don't want

++Our Constitution is being subverted right before our eyes.

Catherine, the "checks and balances" our Founders gave
us are being systematically overpowered and dismantled by the
Obama/Pelosi/Reid power axis. Never before has the will of
the people been so completely ignored and marginalized.

ObamaCare is unconstitutional! If Congress has the
power to FORCE each person to have health insurance,
then individual liberty is totally meaningless.

Because the bill that passed Sunday night mandates individual
coverage and requires private employers to provide coverage,
Liberty Counsel is FILING SUIT IN FEDERAL COURT THIS WEEK to
challenge the bill's constitutionality!

We need hundreds of thousands of Americans to sign our Statement
of Support for this litigation. Given the sad spectacle we
saw play out in the House of Representatives this weekend,
we must now win this battle in a courtroom.

Please go here to sign your official Statement of Support:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=26419&RID=23553947

++ ObamaCare was unlawful from the beginning.

There were MANY reasons why Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi allowed
no one but their closest insiders - and the White House arm
twisters, of course - to participate in developing and managing
ObamaCare. For one thing, its "Tooth Fairy" accounting can't
stand up to even mild scrutiny.

But the biggest reason was that Congress had NO AUTHORITY to
force its socialist healthcare agenda on citizens and
businesses in the first place!

The bill that passed the House of Representatives on Sunday
night is unconstitutional because:

1) Congress has NO authority to force every American to
carry insurance coverage, and,
2) Congress has NO authority to fine employers whose
policies do not have the mandated coverage.

No matter the desires of certain elected officials, there are
some things Congress just cannot do! And the threat to our
liberty posed by ObamaCare goes FAR beyond healthcare. If
Congress can get away with this expansive power grab, then
individual liberty and state sovereignty will soon vanish.

Nancy Pelosi said as much last week when she told reporters
that after "kicking down the door" with ObamaCare, her
Congress will push through the rest of their ultraliberal
agenda.

EVERY version of the "healthcare reform" bill this Congress
produced - even considering whatever "reconciliation" issues
are eventually appended to the Senate version - is patently
unconstitutional!

Citizen, this monstrous, anti-life, anti-family healthcare
bill MUST now be strongly challenged in the federal judiciary.
With your help, Liberty Counsel is doing exactly that!

++The battle over ObamaCare has just begun.

Americans nationwide are expressing OUTRAGE at the overt
manipulation and total lack of integrity that characterized
the final vote on ObamaCare. Reid, Pelosi and Obama proved
they were willing to do ANYTHING to get this government
takeover of our medical system.

Now more than ever, the socialists and abortion advocates need
to understand that WE HAVE NOT GIVEN UP and will resist
implementation of ObamaCare to the very end. Now WE'LL SEE
THEM IN COURT! And we have an excellent chance of winning
our federal lawsuit.

Here's what I'm asking you to do...

#1 - Sign the Statement of Support for our lawsuit.

We want to deliver hundreds of thousands of these Statements
to all the key plotters behind ObamaCare. Reid, Pelosi, Obama
and all their confederates need to know they're not going
to get away with this travesty! Go here right now:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=26419&RID=23553947

#2 - Call your Representative's and your Senators' offices.

Please
take a moment to call your Representative and your two
Senators and let them know you are OUTRAGED by the way ObamaCare
was handled. Then let them know you will be supporting
litigation against this unconstitutional bill.

Sen. Kohl 202-224-5653

Sen. Feingold 202-224-5323

Rep. Kind 202-225-5506

#3 - Pray that this bill will be derailed in court. Pray for
God's deliverance from being forced to pay for abortions and
from the overt deceit and trickery that has become the norm
from the Obama/Pelosi/Reid power axis. PLEASE keep the heat
on, especially now that the socialists have finally played
their hand.

And, of course, this litigation is going to be very expensive.
Please prayerfully consider a significant gift to help offset
Liberty Counsel's expenses to mount a major constitutional
challenge to ObamaCare.

I have appended a copy of Liberty Counsel's official News
Release about our lawsuit next to your Statement of Support.
You can see it and sign your Statement of Support for
litigation against ObamaCare by going here:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=26419&RID=23553947

Now is NOT the time to be silent! Join like-minded Americans
who will be putting the plotters on notice that we are filing
a federal lawsuit this week to stop this power grab once and for all.

God bless you,

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

P.S. This battle is NOT over, no matter how much the
Pelosi/Reid/Obama power axis wants us to think that it is.
Sign your Statement of Support for our lawsuit so we can
win this phase of the battle in court and in the court of
public opinion!

And please pray! There is always hope in God! Also, let your
Senators and Representative know that you WILL hold them
accountable for their decisions on ObamaCare and its outrageous
handling. WE MUST NOT SUBMIT to this tyranny! Once again,
thank you for praying and speaking out.

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Note: Please do not "reply" directly to this e-mail message.
This e-mail address is not designed to receive your personal
messages. To contact Liberty Counsel with comments, questions
or to change your status, see the link at the end of this e-mail.)
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+ + Comments? Questions?

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=26418&CID=310&RID=23553947

Liberty Counsel, with offices in Florida, Virginia and
Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit litigation, education and
policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom,
the sanctity of human life and the traditional family.
Liberty Counsel . PO Box 540774 . Orlando, FL 32854 .800-671-1776

wishing for spring

My tennies are ready but the slush bids me stay...
I wish and I ponder a warm dryer day


















I'll wait with God's patience, He'll keep me content,
The Spring will soon dawn nigh
...and with it:
Colors, Passions, Breezes and New
Life Sent

Who's coming to visit?--Maybe The Sweet Tooth Fairy??

Ha Ha!

Funny one Tom :D

He (Tom-- aka, dh--dear husband, aka hubby and once in a while "Thoms" is a bone-fide hoot. This is not one of his funniest comments... and that being said, I kick myself for not, over the years , keeping track of his comments, statements and remarks by writing them down... humorous witticisms.... (His biological name is Witt for petes sake :)

--As I would, by now, have a plethora of raw, hilarious material worthy of any demanding comedian's critical employ...

In any case, I'm savin this one ;) 'n in doing so, thought i'd share it with you...

if it brings a smile, great!, a chuckle... better ;), an eye roll... ;( oh well, sorry, maybe next time.

Anyway... We, (Noelle , Tom & I) were sitting around the bedroom as Tom fastened on his boots readying himself for trudging through the slush at work tonight... when I told Noelle to fetch the ground beef from the downstairs freezer for tomorrow's dinner...
when, on second thought I yelled for to grab a bag of donuts too... in case we have company over this evening.

(I have been meaning to have Lisa or Melissa over -- both neighbors that I want to get to know better... and with the big storm coming through our area tonight, not many will be venturing very far from home in their vehicles.. so it could be a good night to do just that.)

Tom, knowing my propensity for procrastination and the work load I have and how much of it is backed up (and how stressed I have been about all that lately--and probably doubting I would get to the inviatation phone call any time soon, curtly responded with " Who's gonna end up coming for a visit tonight?--"The Sweet Tooth Fairy?"

Well,

I still have time... I may just get to that call this evening! :)

if not, well, it'll be soon.