A Light in our covered passageway.

 

     Oh the alluring season of summer. It is a time when the air is filled with an astral, blissful light and the scenery looks as if it were recreated just for the child within all of us! I love the quote by Bern Williams; “If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.”

 

Can you catch one of those Fireflies      Our summers in Washington DC and Virgina were very romantic. The east coast summertide's invariably offer a bounty of enchanting thunderstorms accompanied by fanciful, magical fireflies as well as landscapes that are so abundantly green and lush,  they evoke one to kick off their shoes, saunter in the grass, pack a picnic lunch and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Yes, we had our hot and humid days, (thank the Lord for inventing air conditioners) but over all, Kit and I enjoyed our 3 months of the season and looked forward to the many gifts it offered. There is nothing quite like the promenade of the summers lighting bugs. Their dancing merrily around our windows in the evenings not only entertained us but soothed our souls to head off into slumber land. Though our storms could be fierce at times, they were always passionately welcomed as their spectacular pageantry out did any television show that the networks bestowed upon us.

      Kit and I missed our beloved Patch immensely. We began looking for a new dog about mid June as we realized we had far to much love within our hearts to not take in another 'baby,' thus our search began. By mid July the Lord granted us a blessing far beyond our expectations,Grantham, Graham for short. Answering an ad in the paper, (that was mistakenly reprinted for a second week), we happened to come upon a puppy for sale who had been returned the very night before our telephone call. The breeder, Alexis, explained that he was the first to go, the pick of the litter in fact but due to the asthmatic reaction of the couples young son from his furry hair, the little pup had to be returned. Kit and Yes he still wears the sweaterI eagerly drove out to her home located in Maryland's vast winsome countryside to meet this little 8 week old puppy. Alexis said he was a mixture of a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and black Lab. As we arrived at twilight, butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I have to say it was love at first sight. He had been named Sylvester but in my heart I knew he was much classier than that. He was definitely a Grantham. During our many trips to Pets Mart every weekend, (to socialize our new addition) it was revealed to us from a dog expert that he was not a Chessie- lab as we believed but in truth a Briard. In researching what we were told we actually saw  a photograph of his identical twin on the Internet. Our little Graham was  definitely a Briard. (Otherwise known as a 'heart wrapped in fur.")  We thanked God for this disclosure as raising a Briard is a much different venture and undertaking than a lab breed.  We tried to call Alexis to ask her about our new discovery but her phone number had been disconnected. (Go figure.) We didn't care because we got a dog that was far beyond our hopes as Graham was the dream within our hearts that we did not even know existed. (But God did.)

      Thus our summer consisted of 3 months of GRAHAM. Crate and potty training, cultivating his new skills and napping when he took his siestas. It was a lot of work but rewarding, entertaining and FUN! Our home was once again full, snug and cozy with the wondrous little life God had bestowed upon us.  

  Great Church    Another appealing summer event for us consisted of our visits to a new church on Capital Hill. One of our co-workers was a member of a charismatic church that her father often preached at. Per her invitation,  we excitedly ventured to a lovely neighborhood where a stunning, alluring and noteworthy church building stood amongst an array of magnificent and statuesque historical homes. The neighborhood looked liked something out of a Charles Dickens' tale. Talk about a small world, as we listened to the pastor teach and  I  browsed down at the church bulletin, I was amazingly surprised to see that the pastor was none other than the son of a man, Campbell McAlpine  who wrote the book Alone with God. This book changed my moms life during the time she attended a YWAM school in Hawaii. I sat there in my seat, smiling and telling the Lord that I knew it was no coincidence that my mom  17 years earlier had been introduced to the pastors father and in reading his book the Lord brought about a stupendous healing within her soul. Kit and I enjoyed our Sunday visits to this quaint church and though the Lord only called us to stay a short while, He blessed us abundantly.

      Another phenomena began happening that summer. This paradox not quite so convivial. As I was spending time seeking the Lord, whether writing within my journal,  worshiping, attending bible studies or church, the Lord was continuously giving me passages within the bible that were altogether a little bit scary. They were alarming in the sense that they were all about the Lord being displeased with a person or group of people who were not  carrying out His will or the purposes of His heart in which He had first called them to.  He gave warnings to these people  and words of correction saying that if they were not heeded, He would bring forth an ending to what they were doing. These passages were very disheartening.   Every time He spoke a scripture and I looked it up, it was the same type of warning. I shared it with Kit and we both began to pursue God together as to what this was all about. Of course the personality type that I am, I was thinking that God was speaking to Kit and I. Though I could not think of anything that Kit and I had done, still we checked ourselves first. I sought the Lord  searching deep within to see if I was in sin, not listening to Him or not heeding His words to me. Kit did the same. The relief we both felt when the Lord showed us that all the scriptures He'd spoken were not about us can be likened to this scenario. It is a frightfully cold night and you find yourself lost in the deep woods. In venturing in continuous endless circles, you can not, no matter how hard you try, find your way out of the thick forest of trees. Suddenly and unexpectedly  in all of your fatigue, you see the glimmering lights of your cabin before you. In just a matter of seconds  you will reach your front door and  once again be home  feeling snug, warm and secure. As the Lords children, I am sure we have all had those AHA moments with God in our spirits. The next part of His revelation blew us both away and we kept it to ourselves for quite some time. He began showing us that these passages He was revealing to us were about our news company as a whole. The leadership of the company was jeopardizing the original call of His spirit and He was not happy. He desired a unity and a love that was not operating within our midst. This saddened our hearts tremendously and we began praying and interceding. We did not take lightly what God was showing us in the spirit. Kit and I continued to pray as we tucked these entrusted  truths God gave us away in our hearts. Our news company  was still the same. Some days were filled with peace, laughter and hope, others discord, confusion, bewilderment and dolefulness.  The Lord said we were to stay at our jobs in DC, serve Him and that it was where He had us for His purposes. 

      

      Before we knew it, the wonderful season of Autumn had arrived. I adore this adage from George Cooper's “October Party.”

     October gave a party;
     The leaves by hundreds came -
     The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
     And leaves of every name.
     The Sunshine spread a carpet,
     And everything was grand,
     Miss Weather led the dancing,
     Professor Wind the band.

 Right down the street from where we lived     The fall season with all of its gorgeous ambers, golds and reds at every turn, the air changing from moist, warm, still and heavy to a new, crisp, chilly and breezy flow, revivified my soul like no other season. Each time Kit and I ventured out the front door, we had our sweaters, scarves and gloves at hand. Our quaint little town was filled with a bounty of artists of every genre and age. How did I know? Every evening as dusk  descended upon us in that special gloaming hour, Graham and I would endeavor on our jaunt around the neighborhood. All of our village cottages came alive with tiny golden and orange lights glowing amongst the trees, accompanied by spooky cobwebs, coal black bats, likable and amiable scarecrows, ominous ghosts, eerie graveyards, cheery pumpkins and capacious bales of hay.  Every home looked as if they were trying to out do the one before.  It was truly a feast for the eyes.  Some of the homes were more 'subtle' in their expression of announcing “Autumn had arrived.” I loved the creativity accompanied by the smell of fresh cut wood burning in the fireplaces, the chimneys prorating  a smoky perfume partnered by the icy wind blowing on my face. Though not the happiest camper with our jobs in DC, I could not stop praising God for the perfect home He had given Kit and I, our winning historic neighborhood, and for all of the sights and smells of the glorious fall season.

      Soon our nearly perfect community became a colony of alarm and apprehension. Everyone was cradled in a confinement of fear. It was a season where for 3 nerve-wracking weeks, our state along with Maryland and Washington DC were plagued with a serial shooting spree . The snipers were reported to be driving a capacious white van with no windows. (Can I tell you how many times I saw a white van with no windows driving around our streets?) Our time of terror lasted an elongated 21 days with11 people killed and 3 others critically wounded. When the men were ultimately caught and arrested, it turned out they were driving a 1990 Caprice Sedan and the white van report was erroneous. ( It is just like the enemy to bring forth a 'false report' to  try and cause people to be off guard.)

the said the shooters were in a white van, not this one, but a white van none the less      Much like the months surrounding September 11, Kit and I wondered why God moved us from a small, cozy (SAFE) city in Arizona to the big city life of Virginia and DC on the east coast. We never allowed the fear of the snipers to detour us from living our lives but I have to say there were a few times  where I would see a windowless white van at an intersection while walking Graham during the twilight hour, where I instantaneously turned myself around and headed home, praying I would not hear a gun shot or see an ominous face peeking out of the front seat window trying to strike up a conversation with Graham and I.

     The very day that this sniper fiasco ended our dear friend Margo arrived at Dulles airport from Orange County California. The snipers spree almost delayed her visit but the Lord assured her she would be safe.Thus she kept her plane reservations and arrived as planned.

 Old Town Alexandria     With all that was going on at work as well as the stress from the 'sniper days', Margo's arrival was an invitation from the Lord to relax, get refreshed and have some good old fashioned FUN! That is just what we did. I had scheduled my days at work so that the 5 days she was with us I had off. We spent our days fulfilling all of the desires of our hearts. Shopping on King Street in Old Town Alexandria, lunch at Le Madeline's cafe and bakery, antiquing, metro rides to DC, stopping off at the unique Trader Joes to delight ourselves in an abundance of special delicacies and fine wines, watching all of our favorite movies accompanied by our best-loved meals and many a night staying up until the wee hours reminiscing of old times. On the weekend, Kit, Margo and I gladdened our hearts with being 'DC Tourists' journeying through the Smithsonian museums until our feet ached and visiting the many breathtaking monuments. To top off her stay with us, we had a special dinner with her dear friend and one of our bosses, Scott. They recollected many a memory of their times together in sunny California as we all shared a wondrous meal together, (my mom's beef stroganoff),  Caesar salad, French bread and a delicious Merlot from Trader Joe's.

      Saying goodbye to Margo was hard as we knew we would not see her again for awhile. The Lord always brought us special treasures from our past at the very moments we needed a lift, hug or bit of encouragement. It was great to have those days with her to regroup and focus again on the goodness of the Lord.

      During the autumn season the most consequential happening at our news company was  the dilemma of whether or not the Lord wanted us to move out of the National Press Building to a new office downtown in the heart of DC. The owner formulated many gatherings for prayer as well as conference calls to prophets and board members from around the world. Though not a unanimous decision, it was announced to our staff that the move was a “GO” and we needed to begin preparing to proceed during the holiday season.

      Okay, you know by now that Kit and I learned to stop shaking our heads in bewilderment at the office...we waited until we were in the parking lot, or sitting safely within our jeep!

 

      It seemed that every board member, prophet and Christian adviser that replied to our staff after prayer, delivered contrasting and divergent answers. This baffled us. God is not a God of confusion thus it was hard as  employees of this company to understand why the decision to move was in place. Many of our co-workers as well as bosses did not have a peace but ultimately  it was the owners decision. We all complied and began preparing. As Kit and I continued to submit to God in our service at work  and not to the circumstances or what we did not understand, we began to see God maturing us in new ways. He was daily molding us into the vessels He wanted us to be though nothing made sense at times. We allowed His peace to be our compass, our guide and knew the outcome would be a blessing.

     Thanksgiving had arrived.  The one day of the year where the word “DIET” does not exist!     I love this quote , the author anonymous...

      May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey plump.
      May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump.
      May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize,
      And may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!

 
Hmm, that looks good...    The Lord blessed us with a marvelous Thanksgiving holiday as our dear friend Elizabeth joined us for a scrumptious feast! She was away from her family in Australia and adopted Kit and I as her 'Kids'. My preparation lasted for days. Taking out my treasured inheritance, (my moms Haviland Lamoges china) , our finest silver, linen napkins and crystal goblets was just the start. I soon began creating in my kitchen every cherished dish my mom made for our families holiday gala from years gone by. Our menu for the day was, A Butterball Turkey, sage sausage dressing, sweet potato soufflé, mashed potatoes and gravy, cheesy squash casserole, fresh home made bread, whipped butter, a relish tray and our grand finale (drum roll please) pumpkin pie topped with a dollop or two of real whipped cream. We all sat on the couch sipping the last of our robust Merlot as well as French Roast Coffee, thanking the Lord that our waistbands were expandable.

 

      As we began packing up at the National Press building and prepared for our move, it was sad in many ways to leave the office we were first introduced to for it held some special memories. In our new dwelling place  we would no longer have our separate offices but would be nestled close in cubicles as we would share this office space with many other people.

      The month of December had come quickly! Even though we had not moved over to our new home, the owner of the company held our annual Christmas party in the new building. I remember arriving to the staff holiday gala in downtown DC.   No longer was it just our small staff  but many others  from our new building sauntering around to meet and greet people they knew as well as new acquaintances. The cuisine was superb and it seemed as if everyone was having a great time. I enjoyed the party but was preoccupied and filled with elation as within just a few short days, my father, his wife and my brother James were going to arrive for Christmas to our east coast abode, all the way from sunny California.

     Busily I began to do what all women do as they are expecting important guests! Gathering all of our best linens, baking all of my specialty cakes and breads, buying groceries, wrapping gifts, gallivanting around the house listening to Nat King Cole and Harry Belafonte's Christmas tunes, planning each meal to a 'T' and thanking the Lord for our guests that would be arriving soon, dreaming about all the wondrous things we would do!

      My father and his wife arrived first. Kit and I had not seen them for several years. They both looked wonderful and after we settled them into their room and gave them a tour of our home, we all got snug and enjoyed some savory hors d'oeuvres  along with a delightful fruity, oak and floral bottle of Cabernet. The hours passed like minutes as we caught up on all the events that had transpired in our lives over the past 2 years. The next morning  on our jaunt to take Kit to work, we picked my brother James up at Dulles airport. I didn't think I could stay in such an elated state but it was never ending as my family was actually there in our neck of the woods. (As Al Roker from the Today show would say.) It was wonderful, magical and my heart was filled to the brim with bliss and euphoria, feeling like I was on cloud 9.

 I think these guys were in a dream I had    Christmas in Washington DC was entrancing and extraordinary with the fabulous National Christmas tree , the Willard Intercontinental tree accompanied by the infamous gingerbread house, The Corcoran Gallery of Art as well as the gates of the white house adorned majestically for the  holidays. For the child in all of us, the invitation to come and see the miniature train in Georgetown park, the old Ebbitt grill toy soldiers and the Union Station Christmas tree could not be denied.

      If I could have sat down and created a bill of fare for the perfect Christmas season and make a list of every impeccable meal, blissful activity, classic movie, heart felt gift exchange and wondrous magical sights to behold I could not have planned or delivered a more grandiose and memorable Christmas than the one the Lord so freely and abundantly graced us all with.

      Our days together consisted of delicious brunches, riveting shopping sprees for last minute gifts, wintry storms, long talks over exotic cheeses and fine wines, jaunts into the big city of DC, a visit to our offices at the National Press Building to show my family our prominent work abode for the previous 15 months and to meet my co-workers. We delighted ourselves with a piquant lunch at our favorite eatery, the Soho Cafe. Sitting there with my dad, his wife, my brother and kit seemed utterly surreal. There were so many warm memories flooding my soul of all the wondrous times Kit and I had shared a lunch, dinner or breakfast at this smörgåsbord of exquisite cuisine. The five of us enjoyed many a special dinner at some of the best eateries in I didn't think they delivered trees like this any moreDC as well as Alexandria. We watched our favorite Christmas classics, (With Old Ebenezer Scrooge frightening me as much as an adult as he did  when I was a little girl.) We all patiently took our turns passionately jaunting up the stairway to the bedrooms to wrap our treasures for one another then excitingly brought our festive bags and adorned packages and placed them beneath the tree. We all prayed that the Lord would give us a snowfall for Christmas day. (Being from California it was my dads, his wife and James' dream to have a white Christmas.) Can you guess what happened? As we were sipping our coffee and snacking on our scrumptious pastries opening our gifts, James looked out of our window and in wonderment  proclaimed;   "Look y'all, it is snowing.” God had answered our prayers. We enjoyed Prime Rib for dinner accompanied with all of the trimmings; asparagus topped with Hollandaise sauce, mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, home baked bread, sauteed mushrooms, pumpkin and mincemeat pie topped with hard sauce and real whipped cream. Our Christmas was perfect.

      The Lord had brought about many changes in this year of 2002  ending it with the anticipation of a new office, new adventures in Washington DC  as well as the warmth, camaraderie and love of my family.

      With a  sadness in saying our goodbyes, yet hearts full of gratitude to Jesus for bringing our family to the east coast, we  all hugged, cried and promised to call or e-mail one another soon. Within a short while our little cozy haven was back to normal with Kit, Graham and I back to our daily life  routines. We were excited once again to see what the Lord had for the new year ahead. With all of the revelations of His heart God had given Kit and I, we believed we would see some big changes at work, though not sure when or how they would come about. We thanked God for another wonderful year of growing  us up in His grace and for all He had done within our lives. Our New Years was quiet and our hearts were filled with peace as we knew we were safely under God's perfect umbrella of protection and that He had everything under His control and reign.     

 

 

 



Intro Before beginning on our journey with us, here is a little bit of our history!

Born a twin, I grew up in a loving family with five brothers and one sister. Much of my.......

CH 1 - The Vision In the year of 1997, the Lord gave Kit and I a vision for our future that would begin to change and reshape our lives forever.  ...
CH 2 - Confirmations will come!

     God is a God of confirmation!

CH 3 - Decorating and Hospitality 101  The Lord began showing me how to create.....
CH 4 - Our training continued God continued to train us up.....
CH 5 - The Call within the call I will never forget the day....
CH 6 - Quite the comical moment

  It was a funny moment in time..... 

CH 7 - More confirmations will come! Thank you Lord for always confirming....
CH 8 - Our Journey to the east coast begins... A new year, a New President and a new home.......
CH 9 - On our way to New Beginnings The first step of a journey is 'loosing your way.'
CH 10 - An unexpected turn Kit and I were taken aback by what transpired next..... 
CH 11 - Never question if God answers your prayers!    Just when things looked as if they were not going to happen...BOOM!
CH 12 - A New Chapter Begins Kit and I felt as if we were living in a dream world....
CH 13 - Finally....Virginia! The Lord had spoken over a year ago, He was moving us to Virginia....
CH 14 - A time of Transformations. There were some days Kit and I would leave the morning worship, shaking our heads....
CH 16 - Though the sail may tear, the Anchor holds. The Lord began speaking as my pen composed His words upon my paper....Change was coming....
CH 17 - A New Itinerary from the Lord He began to give me visions, a welcoming and peaceful scene before my eyes......
CH 18 - A New Haven The mystery of God was finally being revealed...we were elated......
CH 19 - A Land to win ~ Aquire in My Name. "Are you ready to go back to Mystic? This time your trip will be different as I....."
CH 20 - Counting Down, Before Blasting Off! Kit and I really did feel like we were ready to begin creating and "breaking ground" for the Kings Tavern.....
CH 21 - Standing By Night in the House of The Lord. The Lord surprised us with what He had in mind...
CH 22 - A Magical Return We were surprised when the Lords said; "How would you two  like to journey with Me to Connecticut  tonight?" 
CH 23 - Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread. With grins on our faces, Kit and I asked each other; "What do you think the miracles will be?"
CH 24 - Majestically , A Golden thread is woven. It was a dark, stormy night when....
CH 25 - An Unexpected Turn in the Road As we were crossing one of those scary bridges, our mobile phone rang..it was Tina
CH 26 - To Everything there is a Season It was a time we wished there was a phone line to Heaven so we could call them up and ask......
CH 27 - Befuddled, Bedraggled but Blessed. While enjoying our delicious dinner at On the Border, our phone rang and it was Miranda....
CH 28 - A Respite, A Miracle and A Detour If you do loose everything, you will not need to find the Lord in all of your pain...He will find you...
CH 29 - Chapter 29 ~ Be still and know that I am God.  Part Two of Journey to my Fathers heart is up and running. To read chapter 29, click on the new link ( part 2 of our journey) at the top or bottom of the home page or inside Chapter 29. Thank you and God bless you, Susan
CH 30 - The new Chapters 29,30, 31,32,33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, and 42 and 5 new Rabbit Trails stories have been published. Chapter 43 is in the making. God bless you, Susan

 As of April 30, 2017, Journey, Part Two  has 5 Rabbit trails story and I am currently working on Chapter 43. I hope you are enjoying The second  part of our Journey with the Lord. Bless you, Susan