Author: Susan Panzica

Your Roots Are Showing

Posted on by Susan Panzica
I hadn’t visited my hairdresser in months. I need to go regularly for my hair coloring, but I had to confess that I had been cheating on Nina. I was using a product called Root Touchup which got me through these months, but that only takes care of a small portion of my head. My roots needed real attention, and thankfully on Thursday they got it.

The Bible has something to say about our roots from a spiritual perspective. Jeremiah tells us that the woman who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him, is blessed. And it’s not just feeling blessed, it’s a blessing with tangible benefits.

Click on over to Laced With Grace and let’s chat about what the Bible has to say about “roots.” 

Why Does It Seem So Dark Sometimes?

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Whether we see it or not,  the sun never ceases to shine.


As for the Son, He never ceases to shine either. He IS the light of the world. Always IS. Present tense. Yesterday, today and forever, He shines!!


So then, why does it seem so dark sometimes?


For the answer to that, click on over to Laced With Grace where I share three reasons and solutions to this question.  

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The Distraction Attraction

Posted on by Susan Panzica
If you’re anything like me, you’ve found yourself in the kitchen holding a load of laundry and wonder how you ended up there instead of the laundry room? Or signed in in to quickly check your email and two hours later found yourself buried in facebook. My attraction to distraction (as my friend Joanne calls it) too often derails my most ardent attempts at organization and goal achievement.

I’m talking about it today over at Laced With Grace. Please click on over there and leave a comment letting me know how you keep on track.

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Two Scoops of Grace – Book Review and Giveaway!

Posted on by Susan Panzica
When I first met Jeanette Levellie, I’d already known her for years. We first became friends after she commented on my post and then I commented on hers and then emails followed as kindred spirits knit together. Finally  last August, we met in person at the Philly Writers Conference. Smiles and hugs abounded. I’m so happy to announce that Jen’s dream has come true. Her first book is published!

Now you can share with me the delight in reading Jen’s words. Her warmth, wit, and wisdom radiate through these pages. Jen puts a comical and spiritual spin on stories and events from everyday life. You’ll smile, sob, laugh, cry, and draw closer the One who scripts our lives.

Here’s the official blurb about Jeanette, the book, and her awesome giveaway. The contests ends at midnight May 10, 2012:

About the Book
What do drive-by diaper stores and God have in common? When is blabbing an acceptable habit? Why should you beware of moths and sligs? In her entertaining, uplifting style, award-winning author and humorist Jeanette Levellie weaves 72 amusing stories with affirming Biblical truths. These soul-nourishing examples of God’s favor and grace will help you:

  • Laugh when you find cow patties in your field instead of daisies
  • Discover the bottomless heart of God
  • Grow in your acceptance of yourself and others

Welcome a vacation from stress as you discover the sweetness of Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top.

You can buy the book here.

About the Author
A spunky pastor’s wife of thirty-plus years, Jeanette Levellie authors a bi-weekly humor/inspirational column, God is Bigger, a popular feature in the Paris Beacon News since 2001. She has published stories in Guideposts anthologies, stories in Love is a Verb Devotional with Gary Chapman, articles in Christian and secular magazines, greeting card verses, and poems for calendars.  She is also a prolific  speaker for both Christian and secular groups, and loves to make people laugh while sharing her love for God and life.

Jeanette is the mother of two grown children, three grandchildren, and servant to four cats. She lives in Paris (not the French one), IL. with her husband, Kevin. Her hobbies include dining out, talking baby talk to her cats, avoiding housework, reading, and watching old classic movies.

Visit Jeanette on her blog, On Wings of Mirth and Worth, at www.jeanettelevellie.com.

Jeanette’s Giveaways
You can win one of ten free downloads of my debut humor devotional, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top for your eReader. Here are the very simple rules:

For each share of this post link on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog, you will receive one entry.

For each like on Jeanette’s Author Page or my Two Scoops Book Page on Facebook, or follow on my Twitter page or this blog, you will receive one entry. If you already like and/or follow me, mention that and I will count it.

Please send me ONE comment to tell me how many times you shared, liked, or followed, so I can give you the correct amount of entries. I reserve the right to verify all information given me, and disqualify anyone from the drawing who falsifies information. (Do not leave comments here to be entered, you MUST go to Jeanette’s blog post for the giveaway.)

Contest starts today and ends midnight, May 10, 2012. Jeanette will announce the winners in a blog post Sunday, May 13, 2012.

….and a $100 Gift Card Drawing~~~WOWZA!!!

After you have read/reviewed Two Scoops, check out my blog at www.jeanettelevellie.com for a contest to win a $100 gift card by answering ten easy questions about the book! After I receive your entry, your name will go into the hat for a $100 gift card to one of the following places (your choice): Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, Wal-Mart, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, or Ruby Tuesday. This giveaway will run until August 10, 2012 so there is PLENTY of time for you to enter!

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Dark Shadows vs. Blinded By The Light

Posted on by Susan Panzica

First take – Dark Shadows
Take 2 – Blinded By The Light

At Yankee Stadium last week, my hubby wanted a photo to share on facebook. I offered to take it, but he wanted me in it. That was the last thing I wanted as I sat in the drizzle, sensing my hair frizzle.Grumbling, I  asked a man seated nearby to take our picture. With some consternation of his own, he snapped the photo on the left.

As the shutter snapped, another man rushed over, practically leaping over fans seated in the row. “Wait! Let ME take your picture!!”

He grabbed my iPhone and showed us the picture just taken. “Will anyone know where you are?” he asked.

“Ummm, it does show the blue YANKEE STADIUM letters. There on the left.”

“Oh…… Humph….Well, that’s not what I was talking about. Go back there and let me take your picture. I’m a professional photographer.”

Really? Is that what I need? A professional photographer for a facebook photo? A photo I am only begrudingly agreeing to?

Not to be rude, we returned to our spots in front of the railing, forced a smile, and snap!

Mr. Photographer handed me back my phone and strode away up the stairs, never to be seen again.

One look at the picture he took told us he indeed was a pro. Not only did he get the Yankee emblem behind home plate (his intention), he also captured us swathed in light. And what a difference that made.

Tony and I stood in the same place for both pictures. The difference was the direction we were looking.

Same truth applies to life.

No matter our situation (where we are), we choose what direction to focus on. We can lurk in the shadows of self-pity, complaints, judgmental attitudes, discouragement, need I go on? Or we can face the Light. Seek Him in His Word, in the fellowship of believers, in praise and worship, in serving Him. The choice is ours.

What will you choose today? 

This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5


For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Eph. 5:8


For times when it seems that there is no light to be found, read “When The Son Don’t Shine.” 


This cannot be the end….

Posted on by Susan Panzica
This poem, written by Maude Carolan Pych, a truly gifted poet of the North Jersey Christian Writers Group, is so powerful I couldn’t NOT share it with you.
May this minister to you this Good Friday.

THE PIETA
After the earthquake
the peals of thunder
the flashes of lightening across the sky
After the curious crowds dispersed
Mary sat in ominous dimness
upon a mound of earth
at the base of The Cross
holding the body
of her Son
She cradled Him
in the hollow of her lap
close to her bosom
as she had
when he was
her baby boy
Mary removed
thorns of mockery
that encircled His forehead
and tossed it to the side
Straining to see in the shadows
she carefully picked
fragments of thorn needles
still stuck in His lifeless flesh
although they couldn’t hurt Him
any longer
With her fingertips
she tenderly closed the lids
over His dark, vacant eyes
and smoothed
the disheveled, matted hair
…then she kissed Him
O my beautiful Son…
Tears flowed
down her face onto His cheeks
mingling with dried blood
With the edge of her garment
she wiped some blood away
John came
and rested his hand
upon her trembling shoulder
He was now her son
She was now his mother
Mysteries
too deep to comprehend
swirled in her mind
like the flap and flutter
of wings and overshadowing
Son of the Most High
and David’s throne
like pregnant Elizabeth’s joy
when the baby leapt in her womb
and the Baptizer himself, when grown
proclaiming his younger cousin
“The Lamb of God, Who
takes away the sin of the world”
and Simeon’s prophesy
that Jesus would be
a Light of revelation
to the Gentiles and the glory
of the people of Israel
Where is the Light?
Where is the glory?
Where is the throne?
Overwhelmed by sorrow
so intense it stabbed her
deep, deep in her inner parts
Mary cried out in anguish
and rent her robe
Was this what old Simeon meant
long ago in the Temple
when he held Jesus in his arms
and said a sword would pierce
my very soul?
O my Son, my beautiful Son…
I cannot fathom the ways of God, but
I do know this cannot be the end
Maude Carolan Pych

Thank God ~ that was not the end!

Wishing a blessed Resurrection Day to all!

Choose Greatness!

Posted on by Susan Panzica

“Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them.” Luke 22:24

My usual response when I read that verse is to shake my head and cluck something like this – “Oh those crazy disciples, arguing over who’s the greatest – right in the presence of Jesus! Oh the pride! The nerve! The foolishness!”

But this morning, my finger-pointing aimed right at myself. God lovingly convicted me of how I do exactly the same thing. “Aren’t I always in your presence?” He asked, “How about when you argue with someone, so convinced that you are right. Or when you judge, so sure you’re the better driver, the better mom, the better servant of Mine.”

Muhammad Ali boldly declared, “I am the greatest!” But don’t we often think the same thing in subtler ways? Every time we think our ways are better, we are subconsciously reinforcing our opinion of our own greatness.

Jesus responded to His disciples (and to us), “But among you it will be different. … Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.” Luke 22:26-27

“But not here!” Jesus said. Here, in God’s kingdom, the greatest is the one who seeks to take after Jesus. After washing His disciples feet, Jesus said, “I have given an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” Jn 13:15 Just the opposite of the world where people clamor to assert their greatness. “Among you it will be different.”

Even as Jesus taught and corrected, He encouraged. “Just as my Father has granted Me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in the Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Luke 22:29-30 

So it’s our choice. 
We can can be filled with our own temporary “greatness” for our short time here on earth. 
Or we can be a servant here and then rule with Him for all eternity.







“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: … taking the very nature of a servant.” “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” Phil. 2:5-7, Romans 12:4



How To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted on by Susan Panzica
What did you first think when you read the title of today’s post?
– Leprechauns? Shamrocks? Pot of gold?
– Drunken revelry? Celebrations out of control?
– Green bagels? Green beer? Green painted people?

After working in NYC for years, I’ve seen it all. I find it most curious the way that people “honor” St. Patrick on March 17th. I once witnessed a near-fatal showdown between mounted police and carousing, green-faced partygoers who spilled out of a bar and blocked 33rd St. and nearly became a casualty myself!

Since St. Patricks Day in Ireland is a religious holiday, I wondered how these American traditions developed. MSN.com provided a few answers:

Leprechauns 
-In Irish folklore, leprechauns were cranky tricksters who you wouldn’t want to mess with. The cheerful, friendly ‘lil fairy most Americans associate with St. Paddy’s Day stems from a 1959 Walt Disney film called Darby O’Gill & the Little People. The Americanized, good-natured leprechaun soon became a symbol of St. Patrick’s Day and Ireland in general.

Shamrocks
– You may have worn a shamrock tattoo or donned a clover-covered necklace on some St. Patrick’s Day past. According to Irish legend, St. Patrick used a three-leaved clover, or shamrock, to illustrate the idea of the Holy Trinity, versus the good luck associated with the four-leaved variety, a mistake many Americans make.

Green Milk Shake
– Introduced in 1970, and discontinued in 1990, the deliciously minty McDonald’s Shamrock Shake returned to select stores in 2008. Only available for the month of March, the shake has received rave reviews by milkshake connoisseurs, who have entire websites dedicated to finding all of the shake-selling McDonald’s outposts.

Chicago’s Green River
– Chicago has dyed its river green for St. Patrick’s Day every year since 1962, when city workers realized that the dye they used to trace illegal dumping would provide a fun way to celebrate the holiday. They released 100 pounds of dye into the river, which kept it green for an entire week. Chicago now uses just enough dye to last one day in order to be kinder to Mother Earth.

Parades
– The First St. Paddy’s Parade didn’t take place in Ireland but in the U.S. in 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the British military marched through the New York City streets playing music. In America today, New York, Boston and Chicago boast the biggest St. Paddy’s Day parades, with New York being the longest-running civilian parade in the world. (Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is a wee 75 years old.)

Drinking … a Lot
– While Americans associate St. Paddy’s with binge drinking, the Irish consider it a religious holiday. Until the 1970s, a law required all Irish pubs to close every March 17th. Drinking on St. Paddy’s really only became popular in Ireland post-1995, with the start of a national campaign to attract tourists for the holiday. It worked — over a million people now attend Dublin’s five-day festival.

Corned Beef
– Those who celebrate old-school by eating a meal of corned beef and cabbage are only really getting it partly right: The dish was originally eaten with bacon, not corned beef. Irish immigrants in America couldn’t afford the traditional bacon, so they substituted it with corned beef, a cheaper option they picked up from their Jewish neighbors. (Too bad they didn’t grab some bagels while they were at it!)


The prayer of St. Patrick adds the right perspective to this celebratory day. After reading the words and sensing the heart of this godly man, it grieves me to see the misunderstanding that the celebration of his life has become.
I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear for me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
Christ be with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise.
Christ in the heart of everyone thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me.
Christ in every eye that sees me.
Christ in every ear that hears me.


“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

Prayer of St Patrick

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