Category: Uncategorized

If You Died Tonight…

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

“We don’t have forever. 
If you died tonight where would you be? Where would your soul spend eternity?”

Big Daddy brings it home in a way no other band can. And once again, their songs help me write. Don’t skip it, today! Click play. Have a listen. 

Have a great weekend!
What will you do to make it meaningful?

Susan Tuttle: Smear It Like Peanut Butter!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Susan’s Sunday morning breakfast!
These are the kinds of texts she sends.
šŸ™‚ 

I can’t say enough how awesome Susan Tuttle is! That’s right. You heard me. Susan is an amazing prayer partner and writer whom I treasure. She writes a wonderful blog called Steps! And you’re nuts if you don’t head over there and follow her. Just sayin. Thank you for guest posting today, Susan!

So
I had a revelation the other day as I made my breakfast. It was early, so roll
with me here.  See, I LOVE peanut butter.
It is one of the most delicious things on this earth. If you donā€™t like it,
well, thereā€™s something wrong with you, and Iā€™ll add you to my prayer list.
Anyway,
every morning I toast an English muffin and when it pops up I spread my
creamy-goodness over it. Peanut butter has a heavenly fragrance to it. It is
unmistakable. You donā€™t open a jar of peanut butter and have someone ask you if
you just cut up an onion. No. You know peanut butter by its smell. Oh, and when
you spread it over your warm English muffin??? It drips into every nook and
cranny and makes every bite oh-so-delectable!
As
I made my breakfast last week I literally stopped mid-spread. I looked at my
English muffin. And then I said to God, ā€œKnow what, Lord? I want you to be just
like this peanut butter in my life. Smear yourself over me, get every nook and
cranny, until every bit of me is covered with you, and your fragrance rolls off
of me.ā€
Told
you it was early. Hadnā€™t even had my coffee yet.

But that didnā€™t make my words any less true of a statement.
Because
you know what I want most in my life? Him. In every particle of my being. I
want to look like Him. Smell like Him. My words to taste like Himā€”the words I
speak AND the words I write. Because when people interact with me, I want them
to have an encounter with the Living God.
Heā€™s
in the business of changing lives. And as much as I love peanut butter, I love
that even more.
Susan Tuttle is a homeschooling mom of three who
is crazy about coffee, dark chocolate, and wordsā€”both reading and writing them.
Combine that love of words with her passion for leading women to a
life-changing encounter with Christ, and youā€™ll find her crafting Inspirational
Contemporary Romance stories laced with humor, love, and healing
transformations. When not cheering on her Ironman hubby, chasing the family dog,
or tackling complex math problems to teach her kids (yes, even the second
grader), you can catch Susan at her blog, Steps.

Tell me, are you PB
lovers too? If not, what do you pair with jelly? 

Come by our online
facebook community where you
can be inspired daily with
devotions! Click “like”
in the sidebar.

Olivia Newport: What Happens When Values Collide?

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

I would like to welcome, Olivia Newport to the blog today! Everyone give her a big welcome! I had the privilege to read her newest novel, Accidentally Amish. Whether you are an avid reader of the Amish genre or not, I think you would enjoy this book. I know I did! 

Thank you so much for coming by today, Olivia, and sharing about values colliding! Take it away!

If we
were sitting in a quiet room together telling the truth, we would admit we have
come up against situations that challenged us to consider our values.
For
instance, a childā€™s temperament throws a parenting curve you never saw coming.
Someone you trusted makes an unkind remark about a decision you wrestled over.
Illness holds you back from attractive, even noble, opportunities. Two values
you hold deeply seem mutually exclusive. A calling on your life seems contrary
to anything you ever imagined.


What do
we do?

Sometimes
we struggle through the immediate circumstance and heave relief when itā€™s
overā€”without deciding what we actually believe is right. We do whatever
everyone else is doing, or what they tell us to do. We do whatever seems easiest, even if our guts tell us itā€™s
not best.
How many
examples in our culture can we point to where people of conviction nevertheless
look just like everyone else? Are they different? Are we, as people of faith, different?
The book
of Romans has long been one of my favorite parts of the Bible. Around chapter
12, Paul gets down and dirty practical. Theology is all fine and good, but what
does it have to do with how we live? Perhaps you know the opening verses about
not being conformed to the world, but transformed by Godā€™s work in you. Hereā€™s
how Eugene Peterson puts it in The
Message (emphasis mine).

ā€œSo hereā€™s what I want you
to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary lifeā€”your sleeping,
eating, going-to-work, and walking-around lifeā€”and place it before God as an
offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
Donā€™t become so well-adjusted to your
culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your
attention on God. Youā€™ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what
he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you,
always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of
you, develops well-formed maturity in you.ā€
Donā€™t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it
without even thinking. This is a constant challenge for Christians
engaging the culture around us, isnā€™t it? And itā€™s exactly the challenge that
Annie Friesen, a main character in my book Accidentally
Amish, faces. The title is playful and catches peopleā€™s attention. As they
read, though, they feel the collision of worlds in Annieā€™s life when she
realizes she has become so well-adjusted to her culture that she fits into it without thinking.
Though the Amish are no more perfect than the rest of us,
they do present us with some questions worth pondering.
ā€¢ What truly are the values that drive our decisions?
ā€¢ Are our behaviors consistent with what we say we believe?
ā€¢ Is our faith strong enough to help us buck the culture
when we ought to?
I love the promise at the end of Romans 12:2: ā€œGod brings the best out of you, develops
well-formed maturity in you.ā€
How have you collided with your
culture and seen God 
bring the best out of you? 
Olivia Newport is the author of The Pursuit of Lucy Banning (2012), Accidentally Amish (2012), and the forthcoming The Dilemma
of Charlotte Farrow (January 2013). She
lives in Colorado with her husband and two twenty-something children. Learn
more at www.olivianewport.com.

Purchase:
Amazon
Christianbook.com
Anywhere books are sold! 
Here’s a sneak peek at Accidentally Amish:
Escape the
helter-skelter of the modern culture and join software creator Annie Friesen,
hiding at the home of an Amishman. With her high-tech career in jeopardy, Annie
runs from fast-paced Colorado Springsā€”and straight into the hospitality of San
Luis Valleyā€™s Amish community. There she meets cabinetmaker Rufus Beiler, and
the more time she spends with him, the more attracted she becomes. When Annie
finds she shares a common ancestor with Rufus, she feels both cultures
colliding within her. But is her love for Rufus strong enough for her to give
up the only life sheā€™s ever known?


* photo credit: freedigtialphotos

Trunk or Treat Success!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
On Halloween, our church held our first ever Trunk or Treat! My friend Melanie and I were in charge of organizing it and at first my biggest concern was, will anyone want to participate?

We decided to shoot for a 50 car minimum, with the knowledge that 5-10 vehicles would back out for one reason or another before go-time.

64 trunks later, my concern was gone and I was thankful!

Everyone pitched in and seemed very excited about it! Almost two dozen women volunteered to bring chili. 

In just a couple weeks, we had people in charge of moon bounces, popcorn, the outdoor movie screen, parking/security, the kitchen, face painting, hayrides, and welcoming guests with gift bags!

Melanie and I bought a surplus of candy–just in case 300 pieces per car wasn’t enough. The last thing we wanted was for families to leave not receiving what they were told they’d get!

I spent years in childcare which ultimately is customer service and marketing. We don’t let customers go away unhappy.

We just don’t.

Everyone showed up and the laughing and friendly competition made my heart sing. I witnessed unity among believers and I’ll tell you, it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. I can’t imagine how God felt as He witnessed his hands and feet getting along and loving each other–loving the community! 

And then I got nervous. “What if no one shows up!” We put flyers out at our local Chick Fil A–they were so nice to stuff the bags and in house trays for us! We also had people put flyers at a local apartment complex. With a banner in our church yard, that surely was enough. After all, were we prepared enough for more than 300-400 kids?

The fire department showed up to judge the trunks! We had prizes for the top 4!

Then at 6:15, it was flooded and we didn’t even begin until 6:30. In about 10 minutes we’d given out 300 gift bags!

Candy started getting low and we pulled out the reserves and sent our Creative Arts pastor to Sam’s for more. 

And then we ran low again! And out he and my husband went for another load of candy.

We never ran dry. About 2000 peeps later we finished with a half of a tub left. Families went away happy and safe. And I think everyone who participated had a great time. 

I know I did. But I had a walkie talkie which is uber-cool so I was content. Ha! I love walkie talkies!

But what moved me most was how much people pitched in and helped run candy, clean up, pick up trash. They simply did what needed to be done even though it was late and it was getting chilly. 

Because to me, that’s the love of Jesus. Always going the extra mile with a smile. I love the people in my church and their big hearts for Jesus! Here are some fun photos from our Trunk or Treat!

This is my great niece,
Crimson. She wasn’t there,
but how cute is she? Had to post!

Wish I could have posted them all! šŸ™‚ 


If you’re a church going person, what kind of things do you and your church family do for community outreach?


Cracked Out: It Can Happen to Anyone

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

My husband and I
love to hold hands. We have a certain way we fit as our fingers lace together.
Walking in a parking lot, a store, even in bed while watching TV. We’re hand
holders.
Sometimes, his hands
feel overly rough, especially in the valleys of his fingers. He uses lotion
each night to smooth them.
We
have a running joke; when his hands are rough I’ll say, “You’ve been
unfaithful.”
“I have.”
We’ll laugh about
it.
But I can tell. He
can’t hide it. Not for long. It builds. Worsens.
And that is exactly
what can happen in your spiritual life. It starts when you’re in a valley. At
your lowest point. In Winter. When things seem upside down, uncertainty is your
middle name. You lay off the lotion–the Word of
God. You ignore the healing balm to heal wounds.
“From
the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds
and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.” Isaiah
1:6
Unfaithful to
prayer.
Unfaithful to the
Word.
Unfaithful to
actions becoming a bride of Christ.
It happens over time. A slow fade–like Casting
Crowns sing about.
And sometimes, it
happens when things are wonderful. When you’re soaring over accomplishments,
when you’re ministry is growing and thriving, your family is pulling it
together, prayers are being answered in a tangible way.
You sleep in a
little later, because God’s got it all under control. You celebrate by focusing
on your goal and leaving the One who gave it to You on the coffee table, the
night stand, the kitchen counter. After all, you need to push through–push
harder–get things done so you can soar over the  next mountainous goal.
Tiny cracks form in
your skin. Barely noticeable as you make plans and plunge toward the next step
in your life–in your purpose. The one God gave you.
The cracks widen,
harden, build up. And one day you’re exhausted. Worn slap out. You’ve opened up
opportunity for the enemy to slip in with temptations you’d been guarding in
the valleys–but hey–you were on the mountain! Nothing bad happens on the mountain
tops. You can skip early morning with God alone, because He’s in what you’ve
woken up early to do. He’s given you this ministry you’re working on. That
counts, right?
It doesn’t.
Doing
something for God’s glory doesn’t
replace spending time in God’s glory.
“…the priests could not continue ministering because
of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.”
2 Chronicles 5:14
Sometimes, you need to stop ministering and let His
glory fill your temple.
Dried up skin bleeds
when it’s cracked. It stings. It opens up areas of disease to seep in.
Inflammation and sickness can form before you’re even aware.
And all you needed was a daily dose of lotion to
lather on and stay smooth. Even. Healthy.
It’s not too late to
slather the lotion on. Itā€™s not too late to ask forgiveness for putting other
things before God, for dropping the ball, for ignoring His whispers. It’s not
too late to reorganize, reprioritize, and hit the start button again.
“If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1
John 1:9
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot
deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13
How are you at taking care of spiritual cracks? And what’s your favorite lotion? I’m a fan of Vaseline’s Cocoa Butter.

Come by our facebook
community and let’s
chat! 


*photocredit: freedigitalphotos

Dear Teenage Girl,

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Fill in the blank:


If I could offer only one piece of advice to a teenage girl, I would say________________________. 

Tonight, my daughter is having a slumber party for her 14th birthday. Ten teenage girls will be crowding my house with giggles, shrieks, and who knows what else. My husband and Myles rented a hotel room–they’re not sticking around for it, but my friend “Jane” is coming (with her daughter) to spend the night. 

We did the same thing last year, only Tim went to Thailand. LOL On a missions trip–not to escape. At least he said it was a missions trip. šŸ˜‰ 

I blogged about my daughter getting lost on our street in the subdivision on that night and the hoopla that went on. You can read it for fun HERE! 

Have a great weekend! Can’t wait to share the advice you leave in the comments with her. 

*Photo credit: Freedigitalphotos

Patty Wysong: As Beautiful as Hephzibah

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Today, I’m honored to host the amazing, Patty Wysong who is sharing about beauty. Thank you, Patty for being here today!

As women, we have a natural bent for beauty. We love it and long for it. As Christian women we are very aware of the two kinds of beauty–physical beauty and inner beauty. How many times have we seen a beautiful woman and admired her beautyā€”until she took off her sunglasses or opened her mouth? And other times we’ve met a woman whose inner beauty shined so brightly that it far surpassed her outer beauty. 

Those women made an impression on us and we remembered their inner beauty much longer than their lack of physical beauty.

What makes a woman beautiful even when her hair is snarly and she’s wearing a plaid polyester pantsuit? A heart that’s full of her Savior and Lord. A heart that’s glowing for God. A heart that’s overflowing with praise. 

The Bible tells us what is beautiful:

Praise is becoming to the upright. ~Psalm 33:1b
Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.
~Psalm 147:1

Praise! It’s something everyone can do. It’s a matter of making the choice to praise rather than complain. Praising God takes our eyes off ourselves and puts them on the One we are praising. Self-absorbed people are not happy people, they’re miserable. God-absorbed people are able to praise even when life stinks. It gives them a measure of joy even during the unhappy times.

We work hard at beauty–our own beauty and the beauty that surrounds us, whether it’s our home or work place. But do we put as much time and thought and effort into our inner beauty? Sometimes that inner beauty is as simple as choosing to praise Godā€”whether we feel like it or not. That praise shines through us and God rejoices.

And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so your God will rejoice over you. ~Isaiah 62:5b

God rejoices in us, His bride, and He has a special name for us: Hephzibah. It’s found in Isaiah 62:4. But you will be called, ā€œMy delight is in her,ā€ and the margin note says Hephzibah. My baby name book agrees with the margin note, too. Proverbs assures us that a good name Proverbs 22:1 is more desirable than great wealth. ā€œMy delight is in her.ā€ Sounds to me like a pretty cool name to be called! Hephzibah. It has quite a ring to it.

Let’s be sure to beautify our lives with praise for our great God so we can live up to the name He has given us.


Hephzibah

My delight is in her.

Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. ~Psalm 22:3



Since Patty quit running from God’s call on
her life and surrendered her pen to Him, she’s been happy. Life is never dull
as she juggles being a wife, a homeschooling mom of five, a Bible study
facilitator, an online blogging class teacher, a blog designer, a website
manager, and a writer. As long as she’s obeying God’s leading, she figures that
sanity is a novelty and not a necessity. Patty clings to the promise that God
will enable her to do what He asks of her, otherwise you would find her living
with the scaredy cats at the Funny Farm and not just occasionally visiting.

She would love to visit with you online on her blog, Patterings, Facebook, and Twitter.

Name one thing you find 
beautiful in a woman?

I’m hosting at
Living By Grace and
I’d love for you to come by
and chat!

To Celebrate Halloween or Not To

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Halloween is an interesting holiday. 

Some refuse to participate in it for religious reasons–the origin involves evil; you can read about it here. Scary costumes do not honor God or holiness. Some refuse to participate because they simply feel it isn’t safe. You teach your kids not to take candy from strangers and then designate a day to turn the tables and spend the evening doing just that.

Others join in but refuse to wear scary costumes. They visit only the  homes of friends and family.

And then some attend alternative events like Fall Festivals and Trunk or Treats in a way to let their children have fun along with all the other kids.

I think it boils down to your convictions. I don’t think one is wrong for doing it while the other is right. Or vice versa. 

For the record, we trick or treat with a group of friends and have since our kids were little. After eating hot dogs and chili by the fire, we head out through the neighborhood and hope for the good stuff–by good stuff I mean candy not PCP on bubble gum wrappers. 

But this year me and my friend Melanie are over our church’s first ever Trunk or Treat, so we’ll be doing that instead. We have face painting, a huge outdoor movie screen that will play, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown along with popcorn. Sixty vehicles have committed to decorating non-scary trunks. Moon bounces will be set and ready to go and if that’s not enough, we’re also offering hayrides. The event is free to the public. I’m pretty excited about it. 

What do you think? Do you Trick or Treat? Why or why not? 

*photo credit: freedigitalphotos

Top 5 Things I Hate About Fall

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
photocredit: freedigitalphotos

Fall is my favorite season. Seems like it’s a favorite of many. I’m sure I’ve commented on dozens of things I love about Fall. 

But what about the things I don’t? I think they should be voiced. So here they are:

5. Dew

photocredit: freedigitalphotos

I do not like Dew because my annoying rat of a dog won’t go outside. It’s like she wakes up and knows it’s going to be wet, therefore some mornings she won’t even come out from under the bed. I know when I get back from dropping my kids off at school, she’s going to have dropped a load on my floor. I’d say I just don’t like my dog in Fall, but I don’t really like her all year round so…

4. Confusion

photocredit: freedigitalphotos

It’s cold in the morning but by afternoon it’s sunny. How are we supposed to dress? Flip-flops and Hoodies? What if my feet get cold and my torso gets hot? I can’t hang my flip-flops… well anyway…

3. The lazy sun

photo credit: freedigitalphotos

I think it’s unfair that the sun gets a break from shining a full day’s work. I don’t like that it gets dark at 2 in the afternoon. I have to keep going, I think the sun should too. I don’t care if it’s all part of some lunar/planety kind of we-would-fall-off-the-earth kind of thing. “Where there’s lack of vision, the people perish.” Just sayin.

2. Possessed People

photo credit: freedigitalphotos



I do not like flipping on the TV or changing a channel to see the Exorcist kid’s head turning like an owl’s or children crawling along the ceiling and walls only to shriek and cock their head to the side. Children with wide eyes that do that cocking-head-thing freak. me. the. crap. out. Down with the scary children and possessed teenagers who live in a creepy house!

And the number one thing (I almost thought possessed people were the worst, but no…)

1. Trick or Treaters (bet you thought I was gonna say Candy Corn didn’t you? Blech!)

photo credit: freedigitalphotos



Not just any trick or treater. I love the cute little chubby kids with dog noses and puppy ears. I grin at princesses and tiny little knights. I’m talking about those bratty tweens that are technically too old and they know it, so they show up in NO COSTUME AT ALL and expect a treat. 

Okay, so maybe not no costume at all, but they wear Camouflage pants and shirts. Really? That’s not a costume. I live in the south. That’s day-wear, night-wear, date-wear, wedding-wear, school-wear, and even church-wear down here. It doesn’t count. And they know it. They just want the candy.

Yeah, I got their treats this year. 

Have a great weekend, ya’ll! 
What’s your favorite Halloween treat?