Seven Quick Takes--Giveaway Winners!!!!

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It has been BUSY here this week! First there was the book giveaway—and the winners are….

Christy Thomas and Rachel Anna!

Congratulations!! I hope you love the book! I I have emailed you to get your information. :)

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered! If you’d like your own signed copy, email me—they are $20 and include a bookmark and prayer card! (And shipping!)

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I also wrote this: No, you cannot cure ALL THE THINGS with diet….

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Speaking of health stuff….this vaccine rollout has been sort of nuts.

First, the state decided that my group of people—people with “congenital” issues, which CF is, but it’s weird to call it that—can begin getting the vaccine on Monday. Ok. Fine.

I talked to my transplant clinic (OSUMC) and they said, well check with the Department of Health.

Oooookay.

So I register with my county’s health department. Fine.

Then I hear that OSUMC is doing a big vaccination clinic for their patients, even turning the basketball arena into a vaccine clinic. Yay!

Oh wait. I’m not eligible for that, because…….health departments are taking care of me? Huh? OSUMC is only doing their elderly patients? (Which makes zero sense given that I am a transplant patient and they see adult CF patients?!)

This makes no sense to me. OSU is doing elderly people, which, OK, obviously they need it. But health departments aren’t getting a ton of vaccines, especially in a county like mine which has a smaller population and is mostly rural. They’re getting a few hundred doses and they have thousands of people signed up.

So. I have no idea when I’m getting the vaccine or where, but I’m really annoyed that the place where I get my healthcare isn’t making an effort to put its patients in their clinic.

This sort of dovetails into something else I’ve been wanting to talk about….

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Adult hospitals really don’t care about making your life easier. They don’t. Children’s hospitals do.

The Resort had everything there. Radiology. Labs. Clinics. ER. Hospital. EVERYTHING. All under one roof. I drove, I parked once, I got everything done. It was easy.

At OSUMC, nope. I have to drive to one building to get my tests done before clinic. Because we can’t use the radiology department in the hospital. And there’s no pulmonary function testing lab at the hospital. REALLY? They do lung transplants. And there isn’t a PFT lab at the hospital itself?

So I have to go to this place, register twice, and then drive to the hospital itself for my appointment.

At the hospital, they do not take you early. They did at the Resort. At the Resort, my day started with an 8:0 lab draw in infusion. I was often out the door by 11 am. I’d seen everyone.

Here? NOPE. I’ve got labs at 9, then PFTs, then X-ray, then I have hours to wait before my 2:00 appt., because they won’t take me early. Seriously?

So I have to find ways to amuse myself between these two things, and I waste an entire day. This annoys the crap out of me.

Ad finally, the free parking is only good for a few hours. So there’s that.

Adult hospitals, quite frankly, suck at this stuff. They’re so awful. And if it wasn’t COVID-tide this would be somewhat better because I could go to cute cafes nearby, or go shopping or something. With COVID, this all becomes a massive pain in the butt because places are either closed to indoor seating, or I’m sitting around wearing a mask in all these places for hours, which is annoying.

ADULT HOSPITALS! DO BETTER.

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OK after that you deserve some Patty. Here you go

She just had her six month check-up and she has gotten taller and heavier so yayyy! And then she got her six month shots, poor bebe. :(

That’s one reason I want the vaccine NOW—I want to see Patty!!!!!!!!! I want to travel!

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This weeknight bolognese recipe is EPIC and you need to make it….I didn’t use ground sirloin, I used regular old ground beef. :) Also left out the cream. But SO GOOD.

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And finally, I read The Lost Man this week and really liked it. If you like mysteries, this is a really good one!

WIN a Signed Copy of Living Memento Mori!

In honor of Living Memento Mori turning one on the 24th, I’m doing a giveaway!

I’m giving away two signed copies of my book, which includes a prayer card and bookmark specially designed for the book. So there are two winners!

I will inscribe the book to you, a friend, a relative—whoever. So if you already have a copy and you win, you can give this one to someone you love! It makes perfect reading for Lent! (Really, anytime, but especially Lent!)

So, here you go! Winner will be announced in a blog post, so keep your eyes peeled!

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GOOD LUCK!

The Giveaway winner

is….

ALISSA!!!!

Yay! I will mail that out to you today!

If you didn’t win, you can still order the book, and join our study which begins October 14! (And it’s currently on sale!)

Thank you so much for entering! I see a lot of people love my favorite books of the Bible—John is my favorite Gospel, I think Isaiah is my favorite OT book, and I really love a lot of the Epistles.

#19 A Fan (and some retreat notes)

(Don’t forget the Flourish giveaway, which ends at midnight!)

I went on retreat last weekend, and usually I write up my retreat notes here, so I think I’ll do that over the next few days. But also continuing with the journal entries, I was SUPER grateful for a desk fan in my room.

The retreat center was built in the 1950s, and in the “old” part, there is no A/C. In the “new” wing, there is air conditioning. Now, normally this isn’t an issue, because all the rooms have windows that open, so I figured I wouldn’t specifically request a room with A/C, because, it’s October.

I should’ve remembered that October in Ohio can be punishingly warm—as in, summer temps—or we can have snow on the first weekend.

We have been in a heat wave that should break later this week. But in the meantime, I had been assigned to a small room, on the second floor of the old retreat house, that had no A/C.

As I trudged up the stairs with my bags I kept thinking, if it gets too bad, I can just go home.

(As a reminder: High temps and CF do not mix. The way we sweat means that we’re much more susceptible to high temperatures as opposed to regular people. Also, the skin graft I have? Doesn’t sweat. So my body doesn’t regulate temperature very well, anyway, in part. So A/C isn’t just “I’m a first world softie.” It’s, “Emily’s body doesn’t work that well on its own.”)

When I got into the room, I saw that there was a small desk fan on the table.

I was very, very grateful.

I was also grateful that the rest of the house—the lounge, the dining room, the chapel—were all abundantly air conditioned, and the doors to these spaces were left open so the A/C could sort of spill out all over the house.

So, desk fans. Don’t leave home without ‘em when it’s hot.

The chapel, Friday night.

FLOURISH giveaway!

Everyone! I’m so excited to show you the new Take Up & Read Fall study:

This study has a lot of firsts for us.

• It’s our first book that focuses exclusively on one book of the bible; in this case, it’s St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.

• We have a fresh design from our amazing designer, Kristin Foss

• recipes are included in the book, so that you can bring Rome to your table or study group

• A timeline of St. Paul’s life, so you can learn more about this amazing saint!

Flourish does look different from our other studies, and even with all these first, it still has the content that you know and love.

• Daily Scripture verses to ponder for lectio divina

• A devotional essay from our fabulous writers (yes, I wrote two. No, I’m not calling myself fabulous)

• Memory verses for each week, as well as “Selah” days, to catch up on days you missed, or just look over your notes from the previous week

• A study guide (found on the website) for groups who want to do Flourish together!

Here’s a look at the inside pages:

So, I’m giving you a chance to WIN a copy of our study!

To enter, all you have to do is a leave a comment below, talking about your favorite book of the Bible. That’s it! (If you don’t have a favorite, that’s OK, too! Mention that!)

Giveaway will close on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9 at midnight, and the winner will be drawn on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, so that the winner can receive his/her copy before the study starts on the fourteenth!

All you have to do is leave a comment. Go!

Giveaway: A copy of "Cultivate"!

In honor of my twelve year transplant anniversary, which is tomorrow (holy cow, that sounds amazing to write--incredible to believe), I'm giving away a copy of Lara Casey's new book, Cultivate, which you've all heard me babble on about for months now. It's so good, folks. I'm so excited to share it with you! 

(You can read my review here, and my preview here)

What do you want to cultivate in your life? Share it in the comments! It can be anything, big or small! 

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We have a winner!!

The winner of the 2015 Powersheets set is.....

Rebekah Peterson!!!!

Yay! Rebecca, if you could shoot me an email with your address, I will send them off to you! 

Thanks to everyone who entered! We'll be doing this again with a 2016 set. :) 

Let's Make Things Happen: GIVEAWAY!

Guys! I am so excited to share my first giveaway with you, and for a product that I love so much. 

I wrote about this a few months ago, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that without Lara's amazing product, I'd never have gotten the memoir even close to where it is now. 

Power sheets are Lara Casey's fantastic goal setting sheets. They are undated and can be used ANY TIME at a six month stretch so you can work on what matters in your life. Anyone can use them--students, stay-at-home moms, teachers, entrepreneurs. Whoever you are, these are amazing goal setting tools. 

Goal setting used to overwhelm me. I had no idea where to begin, and I always felt like I was falling behind and not making progress on the big things in life. I always had vague ideas about things I wanted to do. But I read about the Power Sheets and I've used them now for almost two years. They are excellent for making things happen. 

I know--you're probably thinking, are these things magical? Surely you jest!

Guys, I'm not. The way Lara has these set up, you work through what really matters to you. Then you set goals from that place. You're basically distilling down your life to its essence. And your goals don't have to be huge! Some of mine are "clean the house" sorts of goals! I've used them to help deepen my prayer life, my writing, my blogging, and even friendships. You can use them for anything, and I guarantee they will help you reach your goals. 

So, to celebrate the new site and the book proposals being sent it, Giveaway time!!! 

The giveaway will run for a week. The rafflecopter below has all the details and ways you can enter. Also, be sure to check out Lara's amazing shop. 

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