Halloween and Reformation

It's All Hallos Eve, the night before All Saints Day. I am remembering my childhood of dressing up, going Trick or Treating, and then coming home to change into my 'church clothes' and rushing off to church to attend the Reformation service.

October 31st has always been a huge day for me. It was the last day of October, and that being my birthday month, I felt I had come full circle and was ready to greet November as a much older and wiser person! It was a good way to close the month.

I would always dress up and go around the neighborhood and would come back with a load of candy! I loved it!

But I also loved getting into the church clothes and going to church on Oct. 31st. For Lutherans, the rememberance of Reformation Day. I embraced the organ's loud pipes belting out " A Mighty Fortress" and sang it at the top of my lungs.

Just to get you in the spirit of things...I've attached a picture of a very excited three and a half year old grandson in his costume. Jim and I went to visit this past weekend and Nolan was thrilled to be Spiderman.

Happy Halloween, Happy Reformation Day.

Scripture Alone! Grace Alone! Faith Alone! And always: Christ alone!!

Correction!

I hurried too much on my last blog post and incorrectly stated that the Grand Canyon rim to rim occured on Sept. 13th. In fact, it was just two days ago...OCTOBER 13th.

Also, the pictures should be swapped around. The first picture of the day was the group shot, and the Greiwes are on our left ( we're in the middle!) The LAST picture taken just before hiking out was the one on the top...the glorious canyon!!

Cheers! Sue

Rim to Rim!

Greetings on this Monday morning!

The Lord has provided MORE than we ever asked for. I prayed to have good blood sugars, and they were! I prayed to have legs and feet and knees to carry me out of the canyon before dark, and He answered. I did NOT pray for any particular weather, yet He provided a picture perfect day! Blue skies, crisp temperatures in the morning followed by warm afternoon temps, and the sun to shine! Glorious!

Jim and I had the thrill of hiking the Grand Canyon on Sept. 13th, 2007. We enjoyed the company of church friends Linda and Terry Greiwe and their friends from Chicago, Brad and Karen. Our group left the North Rim, called North Kaibab Trail at 6:25 am and Jim and I were the last of the three couples out at 5:45 pm that same day. Jim stayed by my side the entire time, encouraged me, and together we worked on making sure I had good blood sugars, and stayed hydrated. Terry and Linda were also huge encouragers and fun hiking companions!

The hike was 24 miles long. We took Bright Angel Trail as our exit of the canyon, and that puts your right at Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim. What a celebration we had, thanking God for this day and for His provision. And we also celebrated with a cold beer in the Bright Angel bar and lounge!!

And that's the story of the Berson Rim to Rim...under 12 hours...to God be the glory!

I Left My Heart

Birthday weekend was the perfect opportunity to travel to one of our favourite places...San Francisco! We flew out early on the 6th of October, took the BART ( subway) in to the city, and we checked in to our hotel by 2pm. After a quick regrouping, we hit the city hard on foot.

The entire trip was one of wonder! The city never ceases to offer something old and familiar, as well as new and exciting. It was 'fleet week' and the navel ships were in port and the city was alive with sailors and energy. The weather was absolutely perfect so our exploring was all done on foot or city bus. We just had the best time walking up and down the steep hills, running along the embarcadero/ bay, and hiking a new path/trail to the base of the Golden Gate. ( picture)

New places to eat as well as finding a little coffee place that also sold Krispy Kreme donuts was so much fun. We felt that all the hills were good training for our next trip, which will begin tomorrow at the Grand Canyon!

So, watch for that upcoming blog and hopefully a picture or two!

God's blessings and JOY in Jesus to you all!

Ten Years Ago Today

For me, it was like those other tragic days in history...the ones that happen and your world sort of comes to a standstill as you absorb the event. You remember where you were and what you were doing at the time when you heard.

For me, this news was like that. I remember where I was (Gillette, WY) and what I was doing (driving to work). I remember pulling my car over so I could concentrate on the newscaster's story. Rich Mullins had died in a car accident. My world stood still and I wept.

Some of you will connect with this date, and others of you may even be saying, "Who is Rich Mullins?" For those of you who may not know the name Rich Mullins you might know some of his songs. He wrote 'Awesome God' and co-wrote 'Sometimes by Step' with his friend Breaker. That song is more commonly called 'Step by Step'.

Today I write to remember. I write to remember the songwriter, the artist, the rebel, and the man of fierce faith who has impacted me, my music, and my relationship with God. Rich wasn't so much about 'doing', but more about 'being'. He just wanted to 'be God's'.

Rich was also all about praising God. And so I close with just one of his choruses of praise to the only One who is worthy of praise and I'm singing at the top of my lungs, playing on the piano, and Rich and a whole company of the Heavenly Hosts is right there with me...

Oh, God, You are my God and I will ever praise You.
Oh, God, You are my God and I will ever praise You.
I will seek You in the morning and I will learn to walk in Your ways.
And step by step You'll lead me and I will follow You all of my days.

LABOR weekend!

Greetinge to all my dear readers, wherever you may be!

After the National Youth Gathering was over I was all over my training for the half marathon that would be run on Sept. 3, 2007 in Disneyland, CA! I was up there in milage and was even getting faster! That is, up until I broke my toe! Yep, I tripped and broke a toe on Aug. 21st. It brought my training to a screeching hault.

With the permission of the doctor I started running a couple short runs just before we left on Aug. 31st. Jim was ready also, and had worked hard to do his personal best in this Half Marathon.

Labor Day weekend! It had finally come and we were in California. The beauty of this race was that it coincided with Ingrid's 26th birthday. I always thought it was humorous that I gave birth to my lovely daughter on Labor Day! ( Sept. 1st)

We had a great time with Ingrid on her birthday. In addition, we were able to spend time with Sarah, Drew and Lindsey, and Patra and her two little ones. Good times with all! Really great to see our grown up off-spring in their realm. ( Picture taken at dinner on Ingrid's birthday.)

Back to the half marathon. It was on Sept. 3 and the weather was so hot. Triple digits and humid. I later heard that there had been talk of calling it off. But, no, they did not. Jim and I both took off around 6:10 am. To make a long story short, Jim did just fine. Was a bit slower than he's hoped for, but did well. I, on the other hand, LABORED through and did finish, but by the skin of my chinny chin chin! And it was NOT blood sugar related, as I had thought.

I crossed the finish line and felt like I was going to pass out. Was taken by wheelchair to the med. tent. Afer seeing that my blood sugar was just fine, the blood pressure became the give away. LOW. I was dehydrated! I was told either I get an IV hooked up or it was off to the hospital. I took the IV! Just needed fluid. I had refused at first, trying to leave once I knew my sugar was OK. I was supposed to meet up with Jim and I knew he'd be concerned, since he had finished over an hour ahead of me. A kind lady from the med. tent went and found him for me.

The story ends as follows: Sue finished in 3 hours 9 min. with dehydration and huge blisters on the bottom of both feet. Jim finished in a bit over 2 hours.

Broken toe is almost healed. Doctor gave his blessing for me to do another half marathon, said that what I experienced had NOTHING to do with my diabetes, just unusual conditions that any human would struggle with. I am back running.

And as always, I LABOR on, with the Lord!

LCMS National Youth Gathering!

You are CHOSEN!!

We heard that over and over again while attending your Lutheran Church's National Youth Gathering. The gathering was held in Orlando, FL from July 28th to August 1st. Around 25,000 youth attended and it was fantastic! Jim and I were so blessed to be able to be a part of this magnificent gathering.

While there we experienced lots of lines and lots of waiting! Lots of walking and lots of water! Lots of laughs and lots of love! And lots of PEOPLE! CHOSEN people. A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people BELONGING TO GOD!!

Saw two youth that we haven't seen for awhile. David Segar from Iowa City, Iowa, and Kelly McMahill from Gillette, WY. Got to see Ingrid for short 5 or 10 minutes at a time several times while there. It's just hard when you've got you own group to direct/lead. She had 31 and we had 12!

Jim and I came back with tired bodies and happy hearts! We thank God for His hand on the whole trip and know that we were chosen for this special task of leading.

I will close with the theme Bible verse for NYG 2007:

But you are a CHOSEN people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. That you might declare the praises of Him who called you OUT of darkness, into His WONDERFUL LIGHT!! 1 Peter 2:9

May you know joy in your heart because this verse is talking about YOU!
Bless you all!

Sydney and Singapore!! Cold to Hot!

Greetings from Arizona!

June has come and gone and I thought I would do a quick recap. Since I last wrote Jim and I have literally traveled the world! The last two weeks of June were spent in Sydney, Australia and then on to Singapore. Jim had work in both locations, and I got to tag along!

The weather in Sydney was cold and wet. Well, it is winter there and even though we lived there for 3 winters I don't remember a string of days quite like the 6 that we were there. The weather did, however, lend itself to lots of indoor time and the chance to catch up with dear friends! Wonderful times with church friends and even a chance to see Stuart, one of the 'blokes' who had worked on the renovation of our flat. Just good to catch up with the many people who have 'caught' our hearts!!

After Australia we made our way to Singapore. We landed around 9:30 at night and walked out of the airport into the tropics! Oh so humid! Even though the temperature was in the 80's it felt like it does here when it's 115! But the scents and the sights were absolutely lovely! Such a welcoming place. I asked our taxi driver why it is so very clean. In a lengthy explanation he said something like this: "There are plain clothes police. The are laws against littering. If you litter even a small amount...even a cigarette butt, you will be fined $500."

While Jim was in his meetings I was able to scout around the city and did my travel by public transport. I bought one magnetic card the size of a credit card, loaded it up with a whole $15 Sing. dollars and off I went. It worked on the bus, the train ( underground) and even McDonalds!! Yes, you could swipe it for a coke or anything on the menu! I stayed entertained for two days that way. Saw lots and probably the most fun for me is just 'being' in the areas where tourists are not.

We are officially over the jet lag...going from Singapore back home was pretty rough. The other direction is always easier for us. But we're doing just fine and are enjoying the summer in Scottsdale. Yes, we are some of the few who do enjoy it here in the summer! Call us crazy, but we like the fact that the roads are not congested, there is only a 5 min. wait for a table at a restaurant, and the pool is very close by! Jim even golfs in the heat...the tee times are usually $15 to $20 and you never have to wait to get on! There is always something to be thankful for!

I'm thankful for you! And may God bless you all richly this summer. Jesus is Lord!

Correction!!

In my haste I misspelled Ivadelle's name. Her last name is Repschlaeger. ( Schlachter is Jim's sister and hubby's last name...both good German names!)

Also, I posted the same picture of Nolan twice. I did not intend to do that.

Thanks for your patience with this less than savvy blogger!! Time to pack!

3,125 Mile Road Trip!

Greetings from my computer at home!

I did not think that I'd have a chance to post a blog. But, if all goes well I can get this one up and running and catch you up a bit. I have discovered that I have MORE than two faithful readers! Whoo Hoo!!

Jim and I left home very early on June 3rd and in the following list you will see our stops. Some were just for a night, and the most consecutive nights were in Lincoln at a Fairfield Inn. ( I would NOT recommend that motel is you are ever staying in Lincoln, NE> We got it for free with Marriott Rewards Points. It's a good thing it was free!)

1. Albuquerque ( Stayed with Eric and Beth and the wonderful Nolan)
2. Lincoln, NE
3. Lyons, NE ( Stayed with Dave and Kathy Friedli and their two kids.)
4. Guyman, OK
5. Albuquerque ( Stayed with Eric, and Beth, and the wonderful Nolan)

People that we saw:

1. Eric, Beth, and the wonderful Nolan
2. Mom, Sister Sandy and husband Bob, niece Sarah, nephew John and wife LeAnne, Denise Munderloh, friend.
3. Bob Widener ( and many of his family members including Mary Snow), Dave and Kathy Friedli, kids Corey and Calvin. Farm friends: Vernon and Leanna Munderloh, Lauren and Delores Wegner, Ivadelle Repschlachter, Donna Reppert.

Our trip was blessed with good weather, good food, good family and friends, and safe travel. Jim and I had a blast playing silly games in the car...some we made up and then there was the old standby; 20 Questions. We arrived home mid day on Wed., June 13th.

After doing laundry, playing last night for our midweek church service, running many errands, and Jim going to work today I'm about ready to pack my suitcase for the next destination: Sydney, Australia and then on to Singapore. I'm tagging along with Jim on a business trip.

Less than two hours until our departure!! ( It's Thursday, June 14th.) We'll be back in the States on June 27th.

Bless you all and may you know the JOY of JESUS!

Where did May go?

Greetings to all my faithful readers! It's been over a month since I've written a blog and to tell you the truth, I'm having a bit of difficulty now getting two pictures to post. I guess I'm one who just has to use this technology more often for it to sink in. With hope and a prayer I'm going to attempt to add two pictures to this post. They will both be of Jim's mom's 80th birthday celebration. I would include pictures from Sarah's graduation, but I'm sad to say that they were somehow deleted from our memory stick so they're gone. Bummer!

Our highlights from May included two trips. The first trip was a road trip to Califonia to be a part of Sarah's graduation from college! Yes! She completed her BA in English and will be credentialed in Secondary Education as well. She did graduate, but in CA student teaching occurs after all the course work, so Sarah is scheduled to do 90 days of student teaching in the fall. Her student teaching will take place in a Lutheran school as well as a public middle school in Orange County. It was a wonderful weekend with Sarah and Ingrid. Much to celebrate and be thankful for!

The second trip was just this past weekend. Jim and I flew to Denver to spend the Memorial weekend with Jim's parents, sister and husband, other relatives and friends, as well as Sarah and Ingrid once again! As I mentioned, Carole celebrated her 80th birthday. It was quite the gathering with lots of good cheer! Peg, Jim's sister, made beautiful plans and all came off seamlessly. We praise God for Carole's life.

Well, that's May in a nutshell. Of course, there were many other happenings, including last night when my 6th grade class from Shepherd of the Desert graduated from 8th grade. Jim and I were the musicians. What a joy!

Looking ahead in June...two trips once again. The first begins on June 3rd, a roadtrip to Nebraska. After returning from that trip we'll have just 24 hours at home and leave on a business trip to Australia and Singapore. Hopefully I'll get another chance to blog the end of June.

Grace and Peace to you all, in the wonderful name of Jesus. JOY!!

Guatemala's Heart

This is the heart and soul of Guatemala, the faces. The faces of children and adults are the very core of what makes Guatemala so amazingly wonderful. The grace of a loving God can be seen on the faces of the ones who touched us this past week. Young faces, old faces, it made no difference. Literally, the JOY of the Lord IS their strength. I will write more about our week in Guatemala another day, but for now, I'll close with a quote from a prayer warrior for God, an elderly woman named Margaritia. Our trip can be summed up with one word..."ALLELUIA!"

Celebrate Numbers 84 and 6.8

On April 7th there will be a celebration of 84 years of life! Yes, my dear mom, Marian Prellwitz, will be turning 84! She lives in Lincoln, Nebraska in the house that she and my dad bought in 1981. She's alone now, as my dad passed away in December of 2005.

But those of you who know my mom know that she's seldom alone. She enjoys people! She thrives on them! Mom loves to go out to the stores just to see people. She calls it, "plowing around". She's also still keeping up with her bridge friends and spends time up at church putting the bult. tog. most Fridays. Her slow days are when she stays home and gets caught up in a book. Mom certainly has been a trooper about finding joy in daily life even without my dad.

The best way to sum her up is to reiterate something Ingrid said recently. Ingrid had called Grandma Prellwitz and when Grandma picked up the phone Ingrid said, " How are you?" Her reply..." I'm WILD!" So there you have it in a nutshell. Happy 84th Birthday Wild Thing!!!

The next celebration is an achievement I recently accomplished. I've been working on this for almost 20 years now and it has finally happened. As you know, I'm a Type 1 diabetic and have to take insulin either by shot or the past 5 years, by the pump. I am careful about watching my blood sugar levels and yet my hemoglobin A1C ( It's like a summary of sugar levels over a long period of time) has never been below the magic number of 7. The closest I've come in the past has been a 7.1. I was so thrilled by that number that I went out and bought a new pair of shoes! I call them my '7.1 shoes'! Even though it's advised to be below a 7, my health is still quite good all things considered and my doctor was fine with my number in the low sevens.

I am so pleased to report that when I saw my doctor on Monday, April 2, I was given the great news that my A1C was a 6.8! He smiled the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face, and I cried. In fact, I'm tearing up now as I type because it's just that big of a deal to me. I think this is one of the hardest things I've worked this long on, and tried so hard to do! 6.8!!! Praise God!

The numbers 84 and 6.8 are being celebrated on April 7th. Now I just have to figure out what my 6.8 purchase will be. Perhaps a new car? NAW! Let me know if you have any suggestions, and in the meantime, maybe I'll start looking in the shoe department.

GOOD Friday

Tomorrow is Good Friday. When I was a child I often wondered why it was called good. It just didn't make any sense why the day that Jesus died was good.

As an adult, I now understand that what wasn't good for Him WAS good for us. In fact, 'good' doesn't begin to describe it. Perhaps we should rename it to....GREAT Friday, or The Day Jesus Defeated Satan Friday, or how about It is Finished Friday?

I went into our sanctuary at Shepherd of the Desert today with the intent of taking a stunning picture of this cross to post on my blog. The result isn't exactly stunning but rather pale and lifeless. But the one thing that does show up are the outstretched arms. The arms that answer the question, " How much do you love me?" " I love you THIS MUCH!"

Christ died so that we might LIVE. He came to give life, and to give it to us ABUNDANTLY!

And if that's not good, I don't know what is!

Romans 5:8

"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Added Blessings!

Drum roll, please!



With great joy I introduce you to Drew's wife, Lindsey, and reacquaint you with Eric's wife, Beth. They are such an important part of our family, and I wanted you to see their beautiful smiles for yourselves.

In my last post I talked about being the mother of four adult children. Now I can add these two wonderful women to that group and say I am the mother of SIX adult children! Mom, step-mom, mother-in-law, and you might as well throw in GRANDmother...it's a role I truly cherish. I am blessed by each relationship. I thank God for you all!

Beth and Lindsey, you are valued and loved. I close with some verses from Proverb 31:

"A wife of noble character , who can find? She is worth far more than rubies."
"She is clothed with strength and dignity' she can laugh at the days to come."
"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."


Note: Eric and Beth were married June 7, 2003 and reside in Albuquerque with son Nolan.
Drew and Lindsey were married December 16, 2006 and are currently serving a mission
Guatemala City, Guatemala. They will return to the states this summer and move to CA
for Drew to return to his university studies.

Now it's four ADULTS!!

Today marks a landmark event. I am now the mother of four ADULTS! Drew, the youngest of the four, turns twenty-one today!!! Happy Birthday, Drew!

Here's a bit of history to help you understand this blog posting.

The year was 1999 and Drew was turning thirteen years old on March 11th. It was a big deal. The other amazing thing was that with Drew marking the beginning of his teens, Eric was winding down. Eric was still nineteen at that time, but would have his July birthday that year and turn twenty, leaving the teens behind.

The kids presented us with buttons that said, " I am the mother of four teenagers!" for me, and the one for Jim read, "I'm married to the mother of four teenagers!" We laughed and laughed and I wore mine not only on that day, but for a long time afterwards. I was thrilled to be the mom of four teenagers.

I continue to be thrilled to be their mom. Mom, or step-mom, to me they are all four children of my heart! I thank God and praise Him for the gift of four remarkable, no longer teenager, ADULTS!! May God bless you and keep you, Eric, Ingrid, Sarah, and birthday 'boy' Drew! I love you!

On My Own!

Greetings from Sue, the blogger!

Here we go, this is the 'solo' flight of Sue the Blogger. There is no one around to help me and I've gotten up the nerve to try this without any of my grown up kids... On my own!

The part I've enjoyed the most about the blog aspect is the ability to attach pictures. I never mastered that on the emails, so hopefully when I finish writing this brief note I'll be successful in posting a couple of pictures. That's the goal, at least.

I really am on my own for the next week, as Jim had to make another trip to Colombia and left late Sunday morning. After considering the choice of being bummed that he wasn't here, I gave up on that idea and decided to go for a long walk and see what was outside my four walls. What I found was wonderful! I saw many beautiful plants and spring starting to bloom here in the desert. I saw things that I normally don't see because it's usually dark outside when I run, and when I run I'm using up every bit of energy on the activity itself. So walking was great.

What I did realize is that I wasn't on my own. I was walking with the Lord and He was showing me that He loved me in so many ways. He just had to slow me down and get me off by myself. It was like water to the parched soul in the desert...a refreshing time and even better yet, a much better option than the pity party I was headed for. I even carried my water bottle with me, which I don't do when I run.

The thirst was quenched, and it was my thirsty spirit that was filled. And to be perfectly candid, I enjoyed being on my own! I highly recommend it!

Hoping to find a couple of pictures of water...representing the water of LIFE! Drink up! Cheers!

ps. Picture on left is in the desert/sand dunes of Namibia, Africa in June 2006. Picture on right is the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA in August 2006. Nalgene bottles have high milage on them!

Nolan's birthday trip

It's wonderful to be back on the blog! I ran into trouble after writing only one blog and needed help. Jim and I are here in Albuquerque for a quick 'Third Birthday' trip and Beth has patiently worked with me to publish a second blog complete with a couple of pictures! Thank you, Beth!

Nolan turns three on Feb. 26th and Jim and I have been enjoying playing with this precious grandson of ours. He's full of energy and smart as a whip and we cherish this time we've had to hang out with him and play! The great news is that his most recent screen for cancer came back clear! We thank God!

It's my goal to be able to continue making additional posts when I'm on my own, so watch for them. If you don't see anything until the end of March you'll know I wasn't successful, and needed to wait until Ingrid visited us the last weekend of March so she could attend a good friend's wedding. I rely on those wonderful tech/computer savvy kids of mine for help.

That's all for now. There are many more pictures I'd like to share, so watch for more in the near future.

JOY in Jesus!
Sue

Sue Berson is blogging!

This is funny to me. I actually have no idea what I'm doing creating this blog. Most of you know that I am not 'gifted' in the world of technology and therefore I am really out of my personal comfort zone.

Nevertheless, I shall try to get started in this world of the 'blog' and see where it leads.

My inspiration has come from my kids. Beth, Ingrid, Sarah, and Drew all have blogs. Some are a bit out of date, but still they do exist. I do find reading their blogs very enjoyable, and many times informative! I love seeing the pictures that Ingrid and Beth attach frequently and I hope to be able to do the same. Perhaps not in this first blog. ( So if you don't know what I look like, you can find me in Ingrid's blog!)

The one thing that I thought I could write about was the P.F. Chang Rock 'n' Roll marathon and half marathon that occured here in beautiful Arizona yesterday. It's quite a huge event, this being the fourth one. It gets bigger every year, and I believe there were close to 40,000 runners/walkers this year.

Cold temperatures were not exactly good for running, but at least there was no rain ( or snow) as many of you are experiencing. Jim and I got there very early, around 6:20am. Our Team Diabetes met for a group photo at 7am and then Jim had to get going for the marathon start. My half marathon was later.

We both finished our races and felt we had accomplished a goal that we had worked towards for five months. Jim's was his second marathon, the first being the P.F. Chang in 2005. He was a little bit slower than the first time,( by just a couple of minutes) but overall ran a better race. He came through with a lot less pain and felt strong the entire way. I have only run one other half marathon, and this second one was much improved over my first one. I did well, finishing one minute under my targeted goal. My official posted time was 2 hours 39 min. and 12 seconds! I thank God for running with me every step of the way! I praised and prayed, and in the end gave thanks!

Jim and I both raised money for Team Diabetes, and together we raised almost $6,500.00. My thanks to the many of you who donated to ADA. There might be another opportunity for you to donate next year, as Jim and I are planning to do this again, Lord willin'!

Since I'm not even sure if this will become a real blog, I'll stop writing now. As you read this blog, if indeed I'm successful, keep in mind that I won't have any pictures on this first blog, since I don't know how to attach photos at all. I've never emailed anyone a picture from our digital camera. But, hey, I guess then there's something to look forward to, as I get better.

One of my goals for 2007 was to create a blog, learn how to attach pictures, and learn how to use my ipod and download songs. I have gotten much better with my ipod, so there's still hope.

Yes, there's always HOPE! May you be filled with hope for 2007 in Christ, who makes all things NEW!

Blessings in 2007 and I'll try to improve my blogging skills.
Sue