It's a Grand Piano

God has preserved my hearing and fingers so I can still hear and play the piano for my own enjoyment. I started out as an 8-year-old, crawling through the window of the church to play the piano. I played and made up tunes from tones I heard in my head and transferred them to my fingers. I envisioned angels taking the sounds I was creating to homeless people (we called them hobos) to make them happy. It's up to angels to do their job. Maybe one or two of them will play their harp with me! 

Now I just play for myself and to entertain Muffin. She just lays there and listens and doesn’t even care if I hit a wrong note. I had my first position as a church pianist at 12 years of age.

Through the years I have served as the church pianist for several congregations from Pentecostal Church of God to Assembly of God, Non-Denominational and Baptist. I committed to playing Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night with choir practice after the service and a revival several times a year. I was like the postal service. I was there in the rain, sleet, snow, ice, and storm.

In the sixties, I lived in Conroe, Texas, and scrimped and saved to buy a Wurlitzer Console piano in Early American Furniture style. When I married Odis, I told him I didn’t care if we lived in a tent, to just make sure there was room for my piano.

In 1979, my husband surprised me and had a Kimball black baby grand piano played by Johnny Paycheck delivered to my house for Christmas. Sometimes while sitting at the keyboard, I remember how God has blessed me and tears flow down my cheeks as I play. I don’t deserve the blessings, but I believe He remembers the gentle, tender heart of a little girl at 8 years old and her love for God.

Sometimes a tender heart can become hardened because of experiences, but we need to return to a child-like faith and let Jesus put a guard on her heart. Jesus had a special place in his heart for children, and when the disciples wanted to push them back, He said, “Forbid not the little children to come unto me.” I want to always be one of His children with a tender heart for God.

#SuzieTylerWriter, #ChildrensBooksSeries, #BeauMax, #PerfectLove, #JohnnyPaycheck, 

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My wild writing experience

I do nothing halfway!

I started out writing my story for my children to know the heart of their dad and the unconditional love he had for me. After being apart and not knowing where each other were, we met again after fifteen years. Because of an abusive marriage with my ex-husband, my emotions were in disarray. My newfound love loved me through it and was an amazing man who kept me emotionally above water. 

Even if it were only for friends and family, I wanted my writing to be the best I could make it.  There were a few articles I had written on parenting and pageants with a short story or two but no experience in writing a novel. I set out to educate myself and equip my skills in the best way possible as I took on the job of writing a book about my love story. 

After taking a few classes with local authors, I took an online class with James Patterson. The class was a videotaped lecture. My daughter teaches online vocal classes, so I understood the precept.

I was just starting my book and a review now teaches me my knowledge is more than it was then. At first, I skipped the video on character development because my true story portrayed real-life people with real names. My daughter told me to watch it anyway because I might learn from it and I did. 

We had the opportunity to ask questions and make comments during the class period but I was too intimidated to do so at the time. Getting older has emboldened me and I would comment now.

His style is different because he writes fiction novels. I admit I had read none of his books and probably need to. I love all the TV murder mysteries: Murder, She Wrote; Diagnosis Murder and Perry Mason so I am sure I would like his writing. It surprised me when he announced he was collaborating with Bill O'Reilly recently. Not sure what is up with that. 

Mr. Patterson told how he wrote for a magazine and newspaper to supplement his income until he had a best seller. I am guessing he need not do that anymore.

My daughter (a surprise born to my husband and me ten months after we married) is an actress/singer and after doing a lot of commercial work in Dallas, moved to L.A. and did more TV drama acting. In 2012, she moved to New York to pursue more theater work because there is not a lot of that available in L.A.

One of her TV writer friends in L.A. told her that love stories are not in an abundance and now would be a great time to put one on the market. She thinks it would be great for a Hallmark miniseries. During my editing class, I did a paper on that concept. Her writer friend suggested I publish the book before allowing filming.

My story will promote classic country music which played a role in our love story. The industry needs a push toward the old style of country, so maybe I am doing this at the right time. I worked for a talent agency in Dallas, and the film and music industry can be volatile.

The difficult part of writing is the research. My story went back to 1958 and in 1973. They had demolished several buildings from that time period and many people didn't remember or had died.

AGAINST ALL ODDS, We Found The Perfect Love has been almost four years in completion. At first, I felt it was because of my inexperience but I’ve read about many successful authors who took longer than that. Priscilla Presley took three years to write her story with Elvis.


#JamesPatterson, #Writing, #LoveStory, #AGAINSTALLODDS, #ThePerfectLove, #Beau-Max #BoMax

My make-up tip for the day

This is cheaper than the ones you buy and works as well.

Carefully wash a small jar container with a lid and fill with 1/4 T Castor Oil, 1/4 T Aloe Vera Gel and 1/2 T Vitamin E Oil. Mix the concoction together thoroughly. Buy a new mascara brush and apply a light layer to lashes or brows every night before bed. Castor oil thickens your lashes while aloe vera gel lengthens. Vitamin E speeds up the length. After one month, you'll notice stronger, longer, more beautiful eyelashes.

#Suzietyler, #Beau-Max, #AGAINSTALLODDS, #ThePerfectLove

It's Complicated

Am I the only one whose life gets complicated at times?  I remember thinking when I first met Odis, I was trying to figure out if this handsome, compassionate, loving man was for real and why he loved me. I made the statement, "Geezz, this being single and dating thingy is becoming complicated."

I see people's FB status that says: "It's complicated." What does that mean? Is their life complicated or their relationship? Either you are single, engaged or married! Of course, social media has opened up a whole new "can of worms" for couples today. People can carry on a relationship on their Facebook page and no one is the wiser. Maybe that's what "complicated" means. Webster's defines it as "no longer simple and straightforward." Now that I understand.

What happened to Truth, Justice, and the American way? We need more men like Superman. Not the red cape but tells the truth, is loyal and has integrity. He never said he loved Jesus but Dean Cain, who played Superman does.  Maybe it was written on the cape and we never saw it.

I miss the days when your word was your bond and people had character and integrity.
#Suzietylerwriter #Beau-max #AGAINSTALLODDS  #ThePerfectLove

My Fishing Story.

I guess everyone in the south has a fish story. Mine is a little different from most.

My first fishing experience was in a boat with my daddy and Grandpa Bud and one I never forgot. He was a perfectionist. He unloaded the boat and checked it fifty-eleven times to make sure every little iota was in place. He made me wear a life jacket, which made me feel awkward and clumsy. How could I fish and relax wearing that? They wanted complete silence, and I made too much noise for them. I did not have an abundance of patience and became bored waiting for the fish to bite.

When Odis and I dated in 1958, he wanted to take me fishing. I pushed my dull fishing outing to the back of my mind and loved being with him whatever we were doing.

Not being fond of the live worms that wiggled, I let Odis put them on the hook for me. I did not know that when the red and white bobber bobbled; it was a sign of a nibble and I needed to yank the line so I could hook the fish. The fish gobbled up my bait, and I only fed them. I learned that I am a better observer than a participant, and Odis realized fishing was not my thing.

When I met the boys fifteen years later, they excitedly told me about their fishing experiences. I told them my story about their dad taking me when I was not too much older than them. They laughed as I explained, "He never asked me to go fishing again."
From AGAINST ALL ODDS, We Found The Perfect Love
Copyright ©2019 Suzie Tyler

Miss Louisiana Pageant Drama

Last week during the live telecast of the Miss Louisiana Pageant, Karmyn was a backup singer with the band in the opening number. She left the stage to get dressed to emcee. 

She was on her way to the dressing room to change to her gown and heard something pop. When she looked down, the whole bottom had come off a brand new pair of shoes! She had not taken any backup shoes.

I'm sitting in the audience and get this text:

      My shoes broke. Seriously! Trying to find some I can wear.

I'm trying not to get panicked but there is absolutely nothing I could do during a live event.

Then I get this text:

      Amanda let me wear hers.

It relieved me to see her come out dressed with shoes and a gown to emcee the talent portion of the top ten. 

   

She wore the shoes for the finale and I'm so glad it didn't happen then as she walked down several steps and danced in the final number. That would have been disastrous on live TV.  God is good!

Thank you #Amanda Joseph May, Miss Louisiana 2007

Who Am I?

What is the difference between an author and a writer? One person describes it as "Authors are self-oriented, while writers are service-oriented."

I write what pops in my head! Makes my girls nervous! I started out writing a blog.  Then I wrote my love story of the love of my life. I do nothing halfway so I took online classes and connected with local writers and read a lot of information on how to write! Now I am writing short stories on growing up in the sixties and seventies. (Beau Max series available on Amazon.)

When I started playing music, I did the same thing. There was no internet, so I got books and read anything I could find on the structure of music. It wasn’t enough for me to just play what I heard in my head, but I wanted to know what I was playing! I learned there were 3 diminished chords with the name of the root note inverted and called that. The same was true for augmented chords. As I studied more, it became an in-depth training with major and minor chords with 7ths and 9ths! By the time I learned all this, I had ended up with the beginning of a music degree but was too old and set in my ways to go to a liberal arts college which is probably a good thing with the current liberal curriculum. 

I consider myself self-oriented in music but service-oriented in my writing. I pour out the thoughts in my head as words on a computer keyboard like I poured out the sounds I heard to the piano keyboard!  

Now, if you are lucky enough to read what I write, you get to know what I know!  That may be a little scary but stay tuned while I try to find out who I am, which may be even more frightening!!

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Sex has become a commodity to sell an item to the public.

In my first marriage, I think the worst thing was everyone in town knowing my husband was cheating ... except me!

We were both too young to get married, but in the fifties and sixties; it was just what you did. If you had not married by the time you were twenty, they considered you an old maid and snickered behind your back! Therefore, girls got married young! Far too often immature and TOO young!

When you are deceived, it is the most difficult emotion to handle. You are angry at the cheating spouse and mad at yourself for being so blind.

In today's world, with social media, the integrity of a person being faithful has gone from ten to zero overnight. It is easier to cheat but also easier to get caught. In yesterday's world, the woman stayed home, did not know what was going on around her and always the last to know.

Now, more women are working in the real world, and computer literate. With the internet, they can google and quickly find answers. We live in a fake, throwaway world. We use paper cups, paper plates, plastic eating utensils, and even our appliances are dispensable. When they quit working, it is cheaper to replace than to find a repairman to fix them. Sadly, that mentality has bled over into our relationships and so easy to toss aside a mate and get another someone to make the same mistake with.

Marriage is an institution and a commitment with God, as a husband and wife which makes it a threesome. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (KJV) says: And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him, and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken.

The proverb, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link," has a literal meaning. The 'weakest link' is a symbolic reference and applies to a person rather than the link of a chain.  The strong link is the character and integrity of the husband and wife. Infidelity breaks the strength of the marriage.

Man has distorted what God meant to be holy. Sex has become a commodity to sell an item to the public. God made intimate love to be blessed in the marriage bed but sex outside of marriage is a sin against your body. Discern the difference between love and lust. Pure, true love will wait with respect. We have become so politically correct; we won’t take a stand against sin. Someday, God will ask us why.

Separate the essential qualities of true love from a surface love and DON’T SETTLE. Pray for your future husband or wife before you date. Ask God to help you choose the right one and then listen to His direction. If you want to have perfect love and a near-perfect marriage, love your spouse as Jesus loved the church and gave His life for them!

The Accident

©2019 Suzie Tyler  

We had gotten engaged on October 13th. 

Just before Halloween, Odis had to be home several days after an accident at work, Some metal had splashed in his right eye, and he had to go to the hospital. His eye was burned pretty severely on the white of the eyeball. It wasn’t expected to affect his vision but would leave a scar. The doctor deadened it and dilated the pupil and taped a bandage across his eye, nose, jaw, and forehead. When he wrote to me about it, he said,

It feels like a big rock is in it and sure hurts. I have to go back tomorrow to see the doctor again. He said I would have to be careful of infection. One of the ladies at work got the metal out of my eyelashes, and a pretty nurse held my hand at the hospital, is that ok? She did not turn on my switch. Only you can do that. You’ve got the touch that turns me on.

I wish you were with me now. I would hold you tight, and you could kiss my eye, and it would get well real quick. I have to keep the bandage on to keep me from blinking my eye. He said if I blinked, it would irritate my eye. If you need me for anything, call, ok? I love you, little girl, more than life. Gonna take a pain pill and lay down and close my other eye.

When I got the letter at noon, I called him immediately. “Why didn’t you call me when this happened?”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

“So, I am worried now.”

After talking with him, I drove to see him after work. I wanted to make sure he was okay. As he walked to the car to greet me, I could see the bandage over his right eye. He was so glad to see me and hugged me so tight it was difficult to breathe, but I didn’t care. I was just happy to see him. He said, “You shouldn’t have driven up here, but I’m glad you did. You are sweet. I love you and have missed you.”

I said, “Well, I had to protect my interest from the nurses.”

“Honey, you had no reason to be concerned. None of them could compare to you. I love you, and there is no one else for me but you.”

“If something like this happens again and you don’t call me, I will be so mad at you.”

All the while he is kissing on me and saying, “I love you. Stay with me, okay?”

“I love you too. I can stay for a little while. Does your eye hurt?”

“Yes, but much better now that you are here. You’ve got the magic touch.”

I left Diane with Margaret so she could do her homework. The boys had a ballgame, and his dad was at the gym with them, but I enjoyed visiting with his mom. I asked her, “Is he okay?”

She said, “The doctor said it should not affect his vision.”

I said, “Thank the Lord for that.”

The T.V. was on, but I don’t think anyone was watching. I was sitting on the couch by the side of his mother, and Odis was seated at the dining table across from me. He was mouthing to me, “I love you.” I would smile at him, wondering if his mom could see him and what she might be thinking. She recognized our love and was pleased. I showed her my ring, and she said it was beautiful. As I got up to leave, Odis walked out to the car with me. I said, “Please take care of yourself. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Don’t worry about me. I will be fine as long as you are with me.”

“I know you will, but I love you, and I worry about you. It isn’t fair for this to happen. I pray God will protect you and keep you safe. Please don’t strain your eye when you go back to work, okay?”

“I’m so glad you came. I’ll let you spend the night with me.”

“I wish I could. One day soon I can. I sure love you.”

“I love you the most.” He kept kissing me and holding on to me. “I know you have to go but don’t want you to. I love you. Please drive carefully.”

I opened the car door to get in and turned to look at him. “Get some rest.” I carefully kissed his eye bandage. “Now. That should make it all well.”

He grinned. “It already feels better.”

I hugged him, “I love you.” I kissed him goodbye and got in the car to drive back home. A few days later, he wrote the sweetest letter to me. 

Thank you for coming to see me. I know you really, really love me. When I touch your hand and look into your eyes, I see pure love. You don’t have to say anything I feel your heart beating love for me when I hold you tight against my chest. I see the smile on your face, the look in your eyes and I know you love me and will never leave me. Your heart can speak to my heart without saying a word from across the room. Don’t ever doubt my love because it is real. Your sweet love gives me hope and faith in us. You are the only one for me. Please believe me.

I miss you, darling, more all the time, and I feel lost when I am not with you. I love you more than anything on the earth, and I will continue forever. Please never stop loving me, please darling. No one can ever love me like you do. It was wonderful being with you this weekend. I fall more in love with you the longer I’m with you. I just hope you never get tired of me. I love you more every day. I would not want to live if I lost your love. You are part of me, and you are so very precious to me, and the most wonderful girl in the world.

New City, New Job, New Home.

In 1978, we moved to Texarkana from Lonsdale. I didn't really plan to move back to my hometown. The printing industry was changing, and the opportunity became available for Odis to work as director of Public Works for the City of Nash.

All we could find was an upstairs two bedroom apartment available at Woodbridge Apartments on Belt Road. Odis knew I was not moving without my piano. He said, "Sweetheart, we will get that piano in there if I have to get a forklift." That was the right answer!

Six months later, we found a house in Nash on 989. We had lived there for about a year and had been looking for a house to buy. One Sunday evening when I came home from playing for Marejohn, Odis told me I needed to pray for a place to live because our landlord's son was moving back and wanted her house. 

I had all my Christian friends at church and Aglow praying for us a house. God gave me the scripture in First Chronicles 14:1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters to build him an house.

Odis was driving down Post Street and saw a man building on a house and stopped to ask him if it was for sale. He told him he had just built himself a new home and was fixing his old house to rent, but might sell it later. Odis said, "I want it either way." That evening when I got off work, we went to look at it. It was like it was specially built for us. It had a master bedroom with a huge bathroom and walk-in closet, double oven, garbage disposal, fireplace and a room that was added on with a private entrance that I could teach piano. 

It was just one of the many miracles God supplied in our years of marriage beginning with how we found each other after being separated for fifteen years.  God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. Just trust Him to make all things work out for your best!

Beau-Max

Just finished my second fiction short story called Beau-Max and will be a series as my character grows up and experiences life. Available on Amazon.com 
https://www.amazon.com/Beau-Max-Suzie-Tyler-ebook/dp/B07R9LTBTP/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1558240960&sr=8-1-fkmr0

This fiction short story is based on my experience as a thirty-year-old after inheriting three sons from my husbands first marriage. When we married, he had full custody, and I accepted the responsibility of raising his sons and my daughter.  Never having been around boys, I had a big surprise learning the behavior of boys versus girls. I found out first hand the ways of boys involved in dirt, grease, and coon hunting while girls were made of buttons and bows and frills. It is dedicated to the memory of my youngest son, Tim Tyler.

This is a small clip from the first edition:

After supper, dad said he needed to talk with me. I thought, oh, no. He is going to give me a father to son talk about girls. My dad is quiet but very smart. When he talks, I listen. We sat down on the couch, and he looked at me and said, “Son, you know you shouldn’t scare girls like that.” I explained to him that Earl had told them that, and I scolded him for lying to them, but we just wanted to fish without silly girls. Dad chuckled. Then he smiled at me and said, “Beau-Max, someday you will grow up and look at girls differently. You will fall in love, and your life will change. You will get married and have children, and they will make you happy just like you make me happy.”

“I understand, dad.” I told him that I understood, but I really didn’t. Girls are a nuisance. They are okay to be moms who belong to dads, but Earl and I had other things to do that didn’t include girls.

#Beau-Max,#SuzieTylerWriter, #AGAINSTALLODDS, #ThePerfectLove

Why does Jesus love us?

This is a question older than time and I have never heard anyone explain it. Who would want to send their Son from a mansion and wealth to a world who would not appreciate your gift and actually mock him as he died a horrible death so they could have eternal life?

Remembering Mel Gibson's movie, Jesus, with the scenes of the flogging and thinking about all the pain of the cross, it is even more of a mystery why God loved humanity that much. And even more puzzling, "What did I do to deserve His love?" The answer is, I didn't deserve His kind of love, but I'm glad He made it available for me.

I attended the eighty-first Easter Sunrise service at Camp Preston Hunt yesterday as we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was my first time to attend since I was 12 or 14 years of age. I saw several families there with their children about that age and I hope they will always remember the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is the best gift they will ever receive. 

So, there is not a reasonable explanation for God's Love, but God is not logical. We did nothing to deserve it but He gave it anyway!  

Have a great day and thank God for your blessings!

Divorce

Talking with a friend the other night about divorce and the scripture's allowance of it.  When you make a vow in marriage to another person before God, you promise and pledge a covenant to love each other as Christ loves the church and gave his life for it. When that vow is broken, you are loosed from it. You may choose to stay in the marriage if the cheating spouse is repentant and you are positive it won't be repeated. Only you can make that assessment.

For me, with physical abuse and a safety issue in my first marriage, I searched for a biblical reason. I had kept my head in the sand and did not look for the truth until I felt I was in danger. In the seventies, divorce was looked down on, and women were at a disadvantage.  Salaries were nowhere near what men were paid. Today, a lot of women make more than their husbands and can be self-sufficient on their own and don't have to accept abuse, physical or emotional. Both are the same. One affects the body, the other the spirit. Not sure which is worse because I had both. I was cursed for even going to church and threatened to be physically yanked out if I stayed too long. 

In today's terminology, we were toxic for each other. He liked going to bars and drinking, and I loved God, and the church became my life away from the strife. Back then society AND the church frowned on you if you were divorced. I was the first of my eight siblings to get one and put it off because of fear and shame.  I wasn't sure if I could make it on my own and figured I wouldn't get child support and didn't.

It was a struggle financially and emotionally. For me, God sent a loving Christian man who helped stabilize my life. I don't recommend that for most. My situation was unusual. It is best to find your own identity for a year or so before getting into another relationship. I had prayed for a Christian man for 9 years and thought it would be the one I was married to, but he edged away from Godly things more the longer we were married. God answered my prayer for a Christian husband in a way I had not expected. I had been mysteriously separated from my first love, but God brought him back in an unusual manner.  

I had been reading a book, Fascinating Womanhood by Helen Andelin when I met Odis and I highly recommend it.  It is still in print and has a workbook. It teaches a young woman how to be a Godly woman and wife with a celestial relationship. That is what God gave me, and He can do the same for you. The key is putting God first in your life. 

If you find yourself in divorce circumstances without biblical reason or unsure if you do, don't despair. God's forgiveness is never exhausted.  Your credit line of forgiveness is unlimited. The bottom line is don't make another mistake which will compound your life. It would be better to stay single than be unequally yoked if you are a Christian. If you are not ready to give yourself to God totally, then don't get married again. Or at least that is my advice.  As my mom always said, "advice is like armpits, everyone has two."