Thanksgiving Blessings from My House to Yours — Thanks be to the Lord for His Provision!

 

Dear Friends & Family,

 

The last annual letter that I did was in 2005 so I think today would be a good day to write one and update everyone on recent years also.  I do hope this letter finds you doing well and serving the Lord and walking in your calling.  I would love to hear from you whenever that is possible~

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In 2013 some very sad news with the loss of Peaches, my female green eyed calico rescue cat.  I miss her terribly as she was my main talker and surveillance/security monitor.  She loved running water to drink.  A real delight!  Ivory, my female Siamesish blue eyed cat, is hanging in there with me and is a lot of entertainment too.

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Paula, my sister, and Tim, her husband, came to visit recently and I loved every minute of having them here including some redecorating ideas and some very clever suggestions to make my life a little easier!

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I have been publishing some books for lifetime friend and mentor, Jesse Jones and also sharing some of my own documents online via Scribd.  You can find them here: http://scribd.com/scrosnoe

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The latest book released there is about how my folks and Jesse met Jesus and the special bible teacher sent their way many years ago.  Some of you will remember Brother Earle Frid.  The story is here:  A Man of God by Jesse C. Jones

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In April of 2012, Paula gave me an awesome 60th birthday party at Sterlings in Bartlesville.  For that event I prepared an online presentation of life events for those able to be there in person.  It is available here:  Celebration Birthday for Sandra Crosnoe — April 2012

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Another highlight of the year (and a lowlight all in one) was being an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention in Tampa Florida.  It was the partial fulfillment of a lifetime dream to get to attend with delegate status, but the shattering of the dream of a party operating in any sense according to the rules.  My observation is that the grassroots are not really wanted until time to go vote for the media manufactured darling.  The Ron Paul party & events for his delegates were a lot of fun and some great networking opportunities as well.  The pool/beach time on the way with Ryan and Julia made it all worthwhile.  We stayed beachfront at the Margueritaville Hotel and had a marvelous time and some great food too.

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In 2011 the most wonderful memorable event of the year was a trip to Las Vegas with my sister Paula and my good friend Donna.  Paula arranged a birthday trip for us where we stayed at the Bellagio with the dancing fountains, went to not one not two, but THREE shows, had fabulous meals and a spa day and a helicopter ride over Hoover Dam!  Great pics from the trip here (probably more than you want to see but suffice it to say we had a great time.  I have a video of the helicopter ride somewhere if you ever want to see it!):  sandiec99’s photosets on Flickr

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Saddest event of the year was the loss of my good friend David Hall.  Shelli Dawdy wrote an article for me while I made the trip to Texas with Donna Gustafson, to be with family and friends there. Here is her tribute online to David Hall our belladier http://grassrootsne.com/on-loss-of-belladier-david-hall-bells-must-be-ringing-in-heaven/  I also lost Ebony my golden eyed black male cat this year.  He was a love bug for sure.  It was a sad sudden event and I miss him dearly!

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In 2010  I helped a bit with Nathan Dahm’s race for Congress and although he did not win, he laid the groundwork then for his election to the Oklahoma Senate subsequently where he is now serving.  I believe that he busted up the turf for Jim Bridenstine’s subsequent election to Congress in District 1.  A real win/win and progress!  Senator Dahm and Congressman Bridenstine are both bright spots on our Oklahoma political landscape in my opinion.  I created a book for my family of recipe treasures and ultimately shared it online here:  Recipe Treasures – Crosnoe to Caswell

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2009 – Somewhere in this time I started blogging and social networking and did some radio broadcasts with Shelli called the Constitutional Liberty Coalition Gets Grizzly.   We also worked with a team of people on the original Tea Party efforts.  It is worth more than a paragraph, but suffice it to say it was grassroots and co-opted almost all in the same breath.  My blogging began as https://scrosnoe.wordpress.com Finding Gems & Sharing Them (but it began on blogger if you ever want to explore the old archives (for a good laugh I am sure).  Out of these early efforts some networks grew and prospered (online websites and on facebook and twitter):

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R3publicans — Republicans Restoring the Republic http://r3publican.wordpress.com

OKGrassroots – Oklahoma Grassroots Network (syndicated) http://okgrassroots.com

CLibertyC – Constitutional Liberty Coalition (syndicated multi-state) http://clibertyc.com

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In November, my nephew, Byron married his sweetheart Tracy.  They had a marvelous wedding and I was glad to be able to attend and be a part of the festivities.  They are now all settled in their own home in DC.

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In 2008 I made the trip to Minneapolis with Deborah and some of my Okie buddies for the RNC and the parallel Ron Paul Convention which was way ‘funner’ than the other one and well attended too!  That was the first time I ever heard the ‘END the FED’ cheer by thousands of people.  It was inspiring to say the least!  Special thanks to Matt for getting me a guest pass for the other convention.  It was the first time to hear Sarah Palin in person and observe the police state at conventions too (again experienced in 2012 – ask me about it sometime for details!).

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In 2007 I began working with a few others to create the Ron Paul network and convince him to run for President.  He did and although he lost, I believe we made a difference and opened many eyes in the process.  We tried!  This work was the foundation for many things that transpired later in teaparty efforts and communications networks and campaigns on issues and on leadership too.  Shared a wonderful New Year’s Eve Cruise with my good friend Jim Boulet and awfully glad for the good memories as he went to be with the Lord just a few years after that.

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In 2006 for part of the year, Hannah Dudkiewicz, a foreign exchange student from Germany, lived with me.  We traveled a great deal and I had a wonderful time showing her a little bit of our way of life.  Last I heard she was in college in Berlin.  She certainly was artistically gifted and she remains in my prayers.

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That should bring you up to date with the highlights, but YOU are in the details or you would not be reading this.  I thank you for your part in making my life rich and full.  Thank you for your prayers and your presence online and in person making a difference wherever and whenever possible.  I look forward to seeing you in person as the Lord leads our paths to cross again.  Let us keep blessing as many as we can as we learn to walk in His ways as we go.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

 

Some scriptures about Thanksgiving to share and proclaim:

 

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

—Psalm 9:1

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”

—Psalm 50:23

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

—Psalm 92:1

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

—Psalm 97:12

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

—Psalm 100:4

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!

—Psalm 105:1-2

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Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

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—Philippians 4:6

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More scriptures and references here:

Thanksgiving Bible Verses: 15 Great Scripture Quotes

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Blessings to you and yours,

Sandie

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Posted by Sandra Crosnoe for

Finding Gems and Sharing Them

original post here >>>

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Photo credit:  Century Greetings card available here for purchase — Autumn Bridge Card

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A Blast from the Past – Mirroring the Republican Party then (2007) to Be the Republican Party now (2012)!

Fast forward to 2012 and on the road to Tampa — It is time for us to be the Republican Party.  We want to make sure our principles move forward, our people are elected, and our policies are implemented into action.  Look how far we have come and press on.  We are building the base now and will continue to do so step by step.

For Life and Liberty,

Sandra Crosnoe for R3publicans

June 15, 2012

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Mirroring the Republican Party – a campaign strategy piece

Mirroring the Republican Party
&
Winning the Nomination for Ron Paul

(a campaign strategy overview by Sandra Crosnoe – posted October 16, 2007)

A summary sheet of action items only is provided at the end of this article.

As the briefest of backgrounds, I have been a Republican activist for over 30 years and have known Ron Paul since his first congressional race. I serve on the board for Associated Conservatives of America (originally only in Texas and best known there). Most of what I am going to share with you is based on Texas experiences over many years and Oklahoma experience since 2005. That is important because the details may be different for your state, but the general idea is applicable nationwide.

Soon we will all go to the polls and vote in the Presidential Primary and the first item of note is that in some states you must be registered with the Republican Party to vote in the Republican Party. Action Item #1 is to find out if you are in an open state or a closed state and take appropriate action (i.e. if are in a closed state – register Republican to be able to vote for Ron Paul immediately!). [ed note: check here for state deadlines]

Winning at the polls is important, because it will in many states help determine the delegate count for your candidate for the nomination process. But it is not everything and in a race with as many candidates as we have the odds of a brokered convention are extremely high. That means that the delegates who may/may not be bound to the vote in their state on the first round of voting at the National Convention (depending on the rules of the State parties) will ultimately be able to vote their conscience and determine the party nominee.

Obviously the best outcome is a landslide at the polls and we sweep all delegates and take the nomination at the first round at the convention. But even if we could assure that and we cannot, we still should do the things I am about to tell you to build a firm foundation for getting the work done through a Ron Paul administration!

So the Republican party convention process becomes paramount for all that we are about to do and you simply must take some steps immediately to take this ground and hold this ground and elect people of principle at all levels of our government. I hope that we can together return the Republican Party to the wisdom of our founding fathers and constitutional principles throughout the land.

Here is the plan in a nutshell. Action Item #2 is to embed ourselves in the Republican Party, those who have not already done so long ago. We become involved in leadership and meetings and create a Ron Paul presence there. It really isn’t that hard. Find out who the leaders are in your county and ask if you can help. One way to do that is to see if your state party has a website and lists the county leaders there. If not call them and ask them who your leaders like county chair, precinct chair and your committeemen and committeewomen are. Ask by phone or email how best to get in touch with them and let them know you want to be more involved. Keep trying until you get an answer.

Action item #3 is to volunteer to be a precinct chair* in your area if there is not one already and make friends with the one who is if there is one. Attend the meetings and the clubs and help in any way possible. Make sure they all get flyers and information about Ron Paul at the same time. Register people to vote and make calls and mention your efforts for Ron Paul at the first opportunity.

If for some reason, your county is closed to the idea of your assistance and your efforts for Ron Paul then that is where you move into the ‘Mirroring the Republican Party’ phase. Action Item #3A is to simply organize the area for Ron Paul as a county leader and finding precinct captains and block walkers as fast as possible! When the numbers are great enough in your area, the existing Republican leadership will embrace you and say they were friends all along in most cases!

The delegate selection process will start occurring near the presidential primary vote in 2008 at various times in various states. It will start with precinct meetings, and then county meetings, and on up to state meetings. At each level, we must have enough Ron Paul people present to control the vote and determine who is elected to represent us. In some cases, there will be committees that recommend and we must impact that committee process according to the rules of our states. Action Item #4 is to plan now to attend your Republican Party Convention process at the precinct level on up to the state and national level to send as many Ron Paul delegates as possible to the National Convention. **

It is both a numbers game and a perception effort. If you knew how few Republicans are currently attending meetings of any kind, then you would think this will be easy. However, I must warn you, it will not be easy, but it is doable if you can produce more people than the other candidates at every level across the nation. The good news is that if you can do it for Ron Paul, you can do it for local sheriff. So how many of you would consider filing for office in your area – especially if there is an open seat or an opportunity to replace someone supporting illegal immigration in a county office? Action Item #5 is to recruit candidates to file for local office in your area who support the constitution and our national sovereignty. Do not attempt this until you have achieved a base of support in your area! (Filing deadlines vary(updated 6/15/12)).

*A precinct chair takes care of a geographical area representing approx 3000 voters for the party. That can include finding block walkers, hosting coffees, and serving as point of information from the party to the people in that area. It can be as much or as little as the person wants. In some states it is an elected position (on the ballot). [In Oklahoma, for example, it is typically handled at the precinct meetings if anyone shows up and/or appointed by the county chairs if it is done at all. The executive committee for the state is comprised of county chairs and state committee men and women for each county meeting approx quarterly in OKC.]

**more details later on the convention process and rules and dates

Summary of Action Items:

Action Item #1 is to find out if you are in an open state or a closed state and take appropriate action (I e if are in a closed state – register Republican to be able to vote for Ron Paul immediately!).

Action Item #2 is to embed ourselves in the Republican Party, those who have not already done so long ago.

Action item #3 is to volunteer to be a precinct chair* in your area if there is not one already and make friends with the one who is if there is one.

Action Item #3A is to simply organize the area for Ron Paul as a county leader and find precinct captains and block walkers as fast as possible! When the numbers are great enough in your area, the existing Republican leadership will embrace you and say they were friends all along in most cases!

Action Item #4 is to plan now to attend your Republican Party Convention process at the precinct level on up to the state and national level to send as many Ron Paul delegates as possible to the National Convention.

Action Item #5 is to recruit candidates to file for local office in your area who support the constitution and our national sovereignty. Do not attempt this until you have achieved a base of support in your area! [updated 6/15/12 (Filing deadlines vary)]

Originally posted here >>>

Posted by Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Lovely Weather We Are Having — Practically Perfect for Meeting Neighbors!

Might I be so bold as to suggest that campaigns are not won on the internet? I am glad we have it because my mobility is challenged to say the least and it is a way for me to keep in touch and help out the only way that I can. But my greatest offerings to the movement have been some personal insight into the way the Republican party works and how campaigns are won. To that end in the last cycle, I published a strategic piece about us becoming the Republican party here if you want to read for background.

This cycle we are ahead in some ways and behind in others. We are still raising money and have a rather sophisticated internet presence. We are not significantly and effectively taking leadership roles in the Republican party and organizing our own precincts and counties for the long haul.  Yes I mean during and beyond a Republican administration. It takes consistent plodding focused efforts to be a precinct chair, organize block captains, make phone calls, and get out important timely information to people who will show up on election days and at precinct and caucus meetings.  Let’s get out there and meet our neighbors and build the Republican party with fiscal and social conservatives all blended together and working for limited Constitutional government with a grassroots orientation.

No the conservatives didn't win in Oklahoma in 2010, but we haven't given up either! Originally published by Shelli Dawdy on http://stubbornfacts1776.com/?p=2382

So step by step here is the plan of action:

1. Register to vote Republican
2. Sign up for email with your county/state Republican party efforts
3. Volunteer to help and find out your precinct chair
4. Contact your precinct chair and ask if you can be a block captain (or volunteer to be a precinct chair if there is not one already)
5. Get to know the people on your block and get phone numbers and emails of people who want to keep in touch/share information
6. When you complete your block, then ask your precinct chair if he/she neesd help with another one nearby
7. Expand your efforts until precinct/county/state is done and you have a network for keeping in touch with people who care about issues that matter
8. Keep your network informed about important hearings and meetings
9. Recruit candidates who share your values from your community (people with moral values and constitutional understanding that you know)
10. Help elect said candidates to office and keep challenging them to reduce government

This is very simply how we win by returning to limited Constitutional government!  It is how we restore the Republic!

[PS This is also how you build your network to the point that your precinct/county friends will make you a delegate
because you built the party from the grassroots up with people of principle and you treated everyone fairly in the process]

Note:  As most of you know and in the spirit of full disclosure, I support Ron Paul for president.  I have published this recommendation on the Ron Paul Forums here with slightly different wording.  If he is not the parties nominee this cycle, it will not change this plan and in fact makes it all the more important.  We must do the work of the party in order to get to pick the leaders of the party and set the policy aright for the party.  We must support people who support truly limited government concepts and people who actually have moral values in order to get the job done.

Other articles on political activism:

Mad As Hell? Make Sure They’re Not Going To Take YOU Anymore « Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Political Emails: Sign this Petition! It Will Save the Country! « Facts Are Stubborn Things

Political Emails: WHY Do People Forward This Stuff? « Facts Are Stubborn Things

» Ten-Minutemen

Tasks « Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Published by Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Crossposted on OKgrassroots

Grassroots Republicans Welcome Victories!

…But Urge Continued Action Following Elections

Tuesday began with many people wondering whether it would be a “good night” and exactly how the elections would turn out. The results were generally as expected, with Republicans winning back the U.S. House of Representatives and sweeping the state offices in Oklahoma.

The 2009 Tea Party movement occurred well before the primary season, vocalizing the general sentiment to “throw the bums out”. The initial battle cry was to start over with a new crop of elected officials. However, this election resulted in an expulsion of many Democrat incumbents while a majority of Republican incumbents retained their seats or moved onto higher office. In Oklahoma, for example, Tea Party groups decried stimulus packages and bailout votes, yet TARP supporter Rep. Mary Fallin won the Oklahoma Governor’s race by a wide margin on Tuesday.

Republicans have been presented with a double-edged sword of opportunity with Tuesday’s victories. Republican officials have been presented with a historic mandate to reverse policies and return to basic Constitutional principles. The Republican grassroots have shown their ability to get out the vote, make their voices heard, and effect a sea-change in government.

Although Tuesday may seem at first glance to have been a major victory, the potential exists for voters to sit back trusting the new Republican majority to take up the fight in defense of the Constitution.

“The nation is at a tipping point,” R3publicans’ board member Porter Davis explained. The fact that so many incumbent Republicans were returned to office presents the real possibility that they will not make good on their campaign promises, that their votes will be similar to their records when they were in power during President Bush’s term.

“R3publicans urges all Oklahomans interested in a limited, Constitutional government to maintain vigilance over their elected officials and prepare to hold their feet to the fire once they take office in January,” noted R3publican co-founder Sandra Crosnoe.

About R3publicans:  R3publicans is a grassroots network of activists working together to restore the Republic.  The group is based in Oklahoma and networked around the country.  The group’s focus is limited government, Constitutional principles and free market ideas. R3publican’s most recent project in Oklahoma was working with the organization, OK-SAFE,  to distribute their election summary guide “Positions On Oklahoma State Questions”.

Website: http://www.r3publican.com

Contact: R3 Press Spokesman Nathan Dahm

Email: info[at]nathandahm[dot]com

Proclaim Liberty – Ring the Bell and thank David Hall and his family!

I salute you from afar David Hall! I especially thank God for placing the bell in your hands so that many could ring the bell and learn about what real freedom is indeed! Thank you for placing the bell between the Ten Commandments right where it should be.

To be free from the bondage of sin and death; what liberty is that?

Almost incomprehensible to our human minds, but our spirits soar with the knowledge of His rescue and Life in our midst. May you know Him and His resurrection power and His Life everlasting!

The Cost of War: The Texas Toll

Proclaim Liberty – Ring the Bell for more information and to contact David Hall

At the time of this post over 46,000 people have viewed this video. Countless more have actually seen and rung the bell as David Hall and his family have made an effort to honor our fallen heroes whenever he could be there with the Liberty Bell. Please thank him in person or online and help him in this important calling where your paths cross with his.

I mourn with David at the recent loss of his mother, Vivian Hall, a lady who knew and loved the Lord and her family well. Vivian raised them to walk in His footsteps and do great things and touch many in His service. I celebrate with David the blessing of her life and treasure moments with the entire Hall family through the years.

Blessings,
Sandie