Category: contest

And we have a winner!

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Thanks so much for the entries to win the $25 Amazon gift card! I LOVE connecting with you, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your wedding stories from the hysterical (getting left at the reception with no ride home!) to the misty-eyed (a 9/11 firefighter’s daughter wore his ring in her bridal bouquet to have him walk her down the aisle). I’m so grateful and with permission may share some of the stories with you.

The sad part is that there can only be one winner. I mean with all sincerity that each of you are winners to me!! My receptionist, Stef, picked the winning ticket, and it’s — drum roll please! — Shannon Romein! Congratulations to Shannon ~ and blessings to all of you who entered as well as those who didn’t!

Profiles in Courage

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Last night, I saw the movie “42.” It was excellent on so many levels, but mostly because it told the story of the faith and courage of two great men , Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Jackie Robinson’s story is well known in history, the first black man to play in major league baseball. His number “42” is retired on every team in baseball. Not because he had the courage to fight, but because he had the courage not to. He endured humiliation and persecution and he did not speak up against his accusers. He modeled the behavior of our Savior.

Branch Rickey‘s story was as powerful as Robinson’s. The team’s general manager was intentional in his search for a black player to integrate his team. When Jackie asked him why, Rickey told the story of a time when he was a young player and didn’t stand up for a black man. As a man of deep faith, it bothered him all his life. He was finally in a position to right a wrong he had committed.

2000 years ago, another young man persecuted followers of Jesus Christ. Paul went from town to town looking for Christians to jail and kill. On one road to Damascus, he encountered Jesus Himself. Paul’s life was transformed and he spent the rest of his life fighting FOR Christianity instead of against it.

Two years ago, a high school friend found me. We had a falling out in our senior year. She seriously hurt me and we stopped talking. I can’t remember what she did, only that I never wanted to see her again. Years later, she searched for and found me on facebook. We began to correspond and then reunited when she made a trip back to NJ. The first thing she wanted to do was right the wrong she had committed and asked for forgiveness. We’re now close friends and because she was so good at keeping in touch with people, I’ve had the joy of reconnecting with several of my long lost friends. Most importantly, we’ve discovered we’re both believers now which doubled our joy.

It’s never too late to right a wrong we have committed. In righting his wrong, Branch Rickey changed history, and not just in baseball. He was a catalyst for the entire civil rights movement.

We can change our history. If we have offended someone, we must do what we can do to make things right. Paul says in his letter to the Romans:

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.  Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God,….Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom. 12:18-20

“So far as it depends on you” – we must do what we can, but only what we can. Don’t fret about what others do or how they respond. They are responsible for their actions as we are responsible for ours.

Do you have a relationship in need of repair or a wrong that needs to be addressed? I encourage you to pray and seek what God would have you do to restore peace with all – men, women, and children.

And please leave a comment with how I can pray for you.

PS – Don’t forget to enter the contest for a $25 Amazon gift card giveaway! Click here for details. If you’re already a Blog subscriber, Twitter follower, or Facebook friend, just let me know. And if you have a wedding story to share, I’d love to hear it! 

A Celebration Contest and Giveaway!!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I’m so excited about my new blog design. Many thanks to Traci Little for her genius, creativity, and overall ease to work with.
To celebrate, I wanna have a little fun and give away a $25 Amazon gift card. You get one entry for each of the things you do on this list and THREE entries for the last one!

1. Follow or subscribe to my blog!      www.susanpanzica.com 
If you already are a follower or subscriber, just let me know in the comments under this post. 

If you’re not, to subscribe just enter your email address in the box “FOLLOW BY EMAIL.” Then go to your inbox, open the email from Feedburner, and click on the verification link. You must click the link to activate the subscription.

2. Share your email address with me. I promise not to share it with anyone else and not to bombard your inbox! In the future, I hope to send a quarterly newsletter that will bring encouragement, enthusiasm, and an eternal perspective to your day.

In sending the address, replace @ with (at) and . with (dot) to prevent spam. 


3. Follow me on Twitter @sapanzica (or let me know if you already do.) 

4.  Friend me on Facebook – susan.panzica (or let me know if you already are.) 

5. Here’s the big one! I’m looking for a wedding anecdote to include in a chapter in my WIP book. I know you have one. Everyone does! So what’s your story? It can be funny or poignant about your own wedding or someone else’s.

If chosen, your story will be included in the chapter of my book about our identity as the bride of Christ. Names can be changed to protect the innocent ;D

Please email your story & your contact info to me at: susan(at)susanpanzica(dot)com 

Please note that I reserve the right to be judge and jury in selecting the winning story. Also, limit the story to 500 words or less and if editing is required (again at my discretion), I’ll contact you with the revised copy.

DEADLINE FOR THE CONTEST IS MAY 8 – a week from today! 

Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

.

Tell Me About Yourself

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Thanks Jeanette Levellie for sharing this award with me. Jeanette is a gifted writer whose humor devotional book is coming out in April 2012. Look for “Mirth and Worth in the Real Lane” for a certain blessing.

Here’s the rules of the award – I need to share 7 things about me, and then pass this award along to 5 other bloggers who will do the same, and so on and so on   ;D

Jeanette’s challenge is to share the “messy” and not just “cutesy little tidbits.”

So here goes:

1. I don’t drink coffee. Gasp! Yes, most unusual I know. Especially since my blog header shows two lovely ladies enjoying their coffee at a place called Eternity Cafe. I do love coffee dates with friends, but I just enjoy some other beverage while I enjoy their company.

2. I may not look it, but I am the pickiest eater alive. For example, I order a Greek salad without cucumbers, onions, or olives. And I can do without the anchovies and peppers, but I am willing to pick those out, whereas the cukes, etc. leave their taste on the lettuce. My mom says I place my food order in a restaurant like this scene in When Harry Met Sally:




3. I am a procrastinating perfectionist. Mostly procrastinating. I found I can live with clutter or unfinished  projects if I keep the future perfection firmly in my mind. And yet I’m conflicted about this. Hmmm, I might be slightly schizophrenic too. 

4. My favorite ice cream is Haagen-Dazs. I don’t eat any other brand of ice cream (see #2), so I buy other brands for my family to enjoy and then I’m not tempted! I don’t like anything frozen in my ice cream such as nuts or chips. Must be smooth, and my favorite ice cream flavor is – coffee. Very weird since I don’t drink coffee (#1).

5. I’m beginning to think schizophrenic people are very interesting.

6. I am a reformed disco dancer. Now a big fan of classic rock – especially my husband’s Solid Rock Band.

7. I love football. Especially the NY Giants! But I’ll root for the Jets too. I like the baseball Mets, but I’ll root for the Yankees too. Some (like my son) find this impossible to do. It’s either one or the other. But I guess it’s easy for schizophrenics like me.

8. I would much rather hear about you than talk about me. 

So – would you share with me an interesting tidbit about yourself? I want to know more about you, what you like or dislike, something funny or not. What makes you tick? 

And I’m passing this award on to these 5 excellent bloggers: 

.

Just Too Busy

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Just Too Busy is for anyone who is… well, just too busy! And since I don’t know anyone who isn’t too busy, I guess this book is for you, especially if you are the chief cook, chauffer, maid, nurse, sideline coach, and/or tutor in your household.



For me, this book is more than just a good read. It is the culmination of a dream of a dear friend. Joanne Kraft and I met at my first writers’ conference. We shared a lunch, a prayer, and the beginning of a cherished friendship. At that conference, a master discourager tried to convince Joanne to abandon writing her book, devastating news for any writer. After buckets of tears, hugs, prayers, and a phone call home, wise words from her husband Paul [“Remember Who told you to write this book…”] brought clarity and peace to both of us.



In her ‘day’ job, Joanne is a 911 operator, and she has saved me from disaster on more than one occasion. We may live a continent apart, but when we talk, it’s as if we’re sitting across the table from each other.
And when you read her book, it’s as if she’s sitting across the table from you, sharing her personal experience of her family’s victory over busyness. Joanne speaks and writes with sidesplitting humor. She’ll make you laugh, and make you cry, but mostly laugh.
Here’s the official blurb about her book:
  • Just Too Busy is the true story of the Kraft family’s head-on collision with busyness and the twelve-month experiment that changed their lives. When their children could recite the dollar value meals at McDonalds faster than their times-tables, they knew something was very wrong. So, instead of continuing their bad habits and fitting more into their schedules, they took a year off from all activities and learned how to be a family again. 
  • In this book, readers will laugh their way to learning the ten tell-tale signs that they are too busy and discover the symptoms for a common disorder known to moms today: A.D.D. (Activity Denial Disorder). Families will find simple ways to guard themselves from the temptation of constant distraction.

Even though my children are young adults now, I found myself relating to the busyness that Joanne describes. Overcommitment is something that I regularly have to guard against. In the first chapter, Joanne says, “even the good things in life can become the enemy of the best things in life.”
To combat what she calls the “captivity of activity,” Joanne and her family took a year-long “radical sabbatical.” They stopped almost all extracurricular activity and learned what it means to spend time together as a family. Just Too Busy takes us through their experiences, high and low, and provides insight and advice to anyone looking to simplify life. You don’t need to go on a radical sabbatical yourself to enjoy and apply the principles in this book.
Because I know you’ll love it, I’m giving away a copy of Just Too Busy! To enter the drawing, share a comment with me – either here on the blog, on facebook, or in an email reply. Let me know why you’d like to read it or share your funniest busy story.
  

.

100th Follower Giveaway Contest!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

You’re invited to my 100th follower party! I’m having a giveaway contest celebrating that there are now 100 followers of Eternity Cafe. Thanks to Carolyne of Lady on a Roof for being my 100th follower. Well, at least 100th in the blogworld. I’m also most grateful to the 100+ subscribers who receive my blogposts via email.
I’m giving away the bestselling book, The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns. This book, awarded the 2010 Christian Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, is a compelling account of how a CEO struggled to obey God at all costs. It challenges us to do the same. This book is a life-changer.
To enter the contest, simply leave a comment and share either why you want to receive this book OR how something you read on Eternity Cafe has impacted you. Each comment, either here on the blog OR on facebook, will count as an entry. Commenting in both places will count for two entries.


Okay, here’s how you enter:
1) To enter: Leave a comment with your email address. Entries without an email address are not eligible. (If you are commenting on facebook, you can send your email address privately via message.)
2) To enter you must either be a current Follower or Subscriber OR become a Follower or Subscriber. (Please let me know if you have been or just became a Follower/Subscriber.)
3) Receive a bonus entry by posting about this giveaway on your blog, facebook and/or Twitter. Please be sure to let me know you did so in your comment.
3) The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and is void where prohibited.
4) Deadline: Saturday, 2/26/11, at midnight. Winners will be notified via email, and an announcement will be posted on the blog.

Disclaimer: Neither the publisher nor the author provides this book or requested this giveaway.

I thank you for being a part of my world. You have blessed me greatly. It is my prayer that this blog will bless you in some way and encourage you to walk strong for God, providing bits of humor along the way. And if you have been blessed, please share it with a friend.




 
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Thanks AND Book Giveaway

Posted on by Susan Panzica
What a joy to spend a day with the women of Calvary Chapel North Jersey on Saturday. It was a special day dedicated to the beauty of the Lord, and the beauty that He instills in us.

How good and pleasant it is when sisters live together in unity! Ps. 133:1
My first thought was how good it was to be there, to be in the company of such lovely women.  And I remembered someone else who said,”It is good for us to be here.”
One day, Jesus took His inner circle, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain. Miraculously, Jesus was transformed into a figure of blazing white, and He was joined by Elijah and Moses. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here…” Matt. 17:4
Peter also suggested building 3 shelters so that they could stay on the mountaintop. But that wasn’t God’s plan then, nor is it now. In His grace, He provides us spiritual mountaintop experiences, but He doesn’t want us to set up camp and stay there. Were we to stay permanently up on the mountain, the people in the valley would never get to hear the good news. Also, fruit doesn’t grow on mountaintops. Fruit grows in the valley.
So thankfully, we get glimmers of glory, and then we are  commissioned to share what He has shared with us. We enjoy brief periods of R + R before we head back to the struggle, back to the valley. Yet whether on the mountaintop or in the valley, He is with us.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Ps. 23:4 NLT
So as much as I would love to stay on a retreat, experiencing the sweet joy and fellowship with God and His people, it is necessary to take what I’ve gleaned and return to the frontlines. To continue the blessing and as a thank-you to the women of Calvary Chapel, I am giving away the book “Who Calls Me Beautiful” by Regina Frankin. I will make 2 copies available.

Who Calls Me Beautiful?—Finding Our True Image in the Mirror of God


Who Calls Me Beautiful? helps you to identify the forces that influence your life and affect how you understand “beauty,” and encourages you to embrace a biblical and spiritual balance that honors the God who created you.

“I am an ordinary woman who has faced the same struggles that other women face,” says Regina Franklin. “But we have an extraordinary God who sees us as His beautiful vessels.”

Contest Rules:

1. For the Calvary gals, if you sign up to be a follower or subscriber to Eternity Cafe, and leave a comment with your email address, you will be entered to win.


2. If you already follow or subscribe to Eternity Cafe and leave a comment with your email address, you will be entered to win.

Contest ends Wednesday, May 5th