Home > Pulpwood Queen Blog > Archives > 2006 > July > 14 > Entry
GOOD NEWS!
I use to get embarrassed thanking God aloud in person. Sum it up to my First Christian and Congregational Church upbringing back in rural Kansas. Thanking God was done privately, in silent prayer. Now that I live here in the Bible belt, I have learned that a typical greeting is a hug and a casserole with blessings before the meal. Everyone is in a prayer group, a prayer circle, Bible study, shoot I just love my Mayberry RFD inspired Sunday School Class. I have found that my prayers have been answered. I have seen the light!
I have changed from a shy, introverted girl from Kansas to a gospel loving middle-aged woman who is now not afraid to share my passions and dreams. When I put God first, family second, friends next, then work, I have changed for the better. Today, I want to shout it from the mountaintop, “THANKS BE TO THE GLORY OF GOD!� I received GOOD NEWS!
Many things have been happening that have shown me that the right priorities make things happen in a good way. This week Gary Ford of “Southern Living� Magazine e-mailed me to call him. He had something new going, concerning Texas and books, with the magazine. He told me he wanted to feature me, quote “FINALLY�. I about spilt my coffee and broke my coffee cup banging it on my side table reaching for my cell phone at the house. I could not call him fast enough.
Gary answered the call and we had a nice long chat. He explained that “Texas Livingâ€? runs six times a year in the magazine, January, March, May, June, August and November. Each time there is a new issue, he would be changing his new component of www.southernliving.com, “I Love Texas.”
Part of “I Love Texas” will be a regular feature called “Southern Living Texas Book Club.” This will be mainly reviews of books by Texas authors and/or publishers. He would like to feature “Five Questions For…” a different author each time. He also wants to include book event news, such as author appearances, festivals, and other book events (the type that I host). He would like to mention my Christian Book Festival, BOOKS ALIVE!, November 3-5, 2006 which is the event Beauty and the Book and The Pulpwood Queens are sponsoring as a total fundraiser for the First United Methodist Church to be held at the First United Methodist Church in Jefferson, Texas. In addition, he would like to mention my annual Pulpwood Queen Girlfriend Weekend to be held at The Marshall in Marshall, Texas, January 19-21, 2007 sponsored by The Marshall News Messenger.
Another part of the book section would be mine, entitled something like “What the Pulpwood Queens are Readingâ€?. He would ask me to give me a couple of lines or so about the “hot” books my Pulpwood Queen Book Club members are reading.
Hold me back Nelly, I was more excited than Sally Field accepting the Academy Award. “Yes, Yes, Yes!� I cried as one of the first things I did when I moved to Texas was subscribe to the southerner’s lifestyle Bible, “Southern Living� Magazine. I wanted to embrace all things Texas and Southern. I also signed up to take a Texas History course with Panola College because by God, I wanted to be able to say “Remember the Alamo� and mean the mission, not the car rental place.
I love everything southern, the people, the food, the music, the churches, the small town charm and hospitality, and the history! Bring it on, as I devoured chicken friend steak, hot water cornbread, turnip greens listening to southern music. Nothing beat a rousing choir in church or kids walking with cane poles, a can a worms to go fish on the banks of the bayou. If I have to cook for company, where’s my “Southern Living� magazines. My favorite bread, pie, and coconut chicken kabobs are all variations of the recipes from “Southern Living�. The most glorious thing of it all is southerners embrace being from the south.
When my daughter placed First Place in the Marion County State Fair and 4-H show for her Chicken Pot Pies we went on to competition at the Texas State Fair. One of the highlights was attending the “Southern Living� Cooking School! “Southern Living� live, no how cool was that!
“Southern Living� always gives me great ideas for decorating, gardening, great places to travel, and we even made the Top 100 Places to Go in the South one year. However, the one thing I always turn to first in the magazine is the book section that is the first thing I read.
So God has been blessing me with this GOOD NEWS! Not only am I thrilled to be in the magazine that I consider the southerner’s lifestyle Bible, I just keep thinking about all the authors that I can showcase that deserve to be read in a big way. What with something like 7 million people reading the magazine, maybe some of those folks will discover the authors that I pick which are usually first time, first book authors, or yet not discovered in a big way.
Now you are going to have to put a rock on my head to keep me from floating up to the ceiling. I swainee that my co-worker, Marla has had to bat me down several times in my salon with a broom this week to get me back to the task of doing hair and putting good books in to the hands of all who grace my doors!
Sometimes we only pray to God when things go really, really wrong. I realize since I have become a “southerner� that you pray big time when things go really, really right too! So I am praying and I want to thank Gary Ford “Southern Living� Magazine for this amazing opportunity AND all my literacy promoting friends in the media for helping us on our mission to get the world reading good books!
Get ready as their will be a teaser in the November 2006 issue. I always think to myself that Margaret Mitchell pitched her book like 38 times before her book got published, what if she hadn’t perservered? That’s why I select the books I do, as they could be the next Harper Lee, Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, William Faulkner! So get read to read “Southern Living� and the read the books I recommend!
Tiara wearing, Book and “Southern Living� sharing,
Kathy L. Patrick
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Deborah Smith
July 14, 2006 9:48 AM | Link to this
I, too, love Southern Living! A great magazine, and some of the best recipes around. Their cold black-eyed-pea salad has become a tradition on New Year’s in our house.
I’d like to share a bit of good news, myself. My next novel, THE CROSSROADS CAFE, will receive a “starred” review in the August Library Journal (which is read by librarians nationwide)A starred review means not only “good,” but “great.” Such a thrill! I just switched from the big New YOrk publishers to my own small press, so it’s such an honor to see that the major reviewers still take my books seriously! www.bellebooks.com.
By Kathy L. Patrick
July 14, 2006 9:04 PM | Link to this
Can’t wait to check out your book Deb. In the meantime, Southern Living salads will get us through the hot days of summer. Yours sounds dee-lish! kat
By Nelson Collier
July 14, 2006 11:36 PM | Link to this
Kathy, I was elated when John called me to let me know that you had been choosen to do a bi-monthly column in Southern Living. You have got that right! It is definately the Southern Bible. My mother always subscribed to it when I was a kid. We dare not throw her back issues away as she would keep them for the recipes. It is obvious that you put God first in your life. You are always putting others first and yourself last. If everyone believed in a higher power, what a wonderful world it would be.
By Kathy L. Patrick
July 15, 2006 6:10 AM | Link to this
Nelson, Growing up in Kansas I did not discover Southern Living until I became an adult. Our only reading material in our house was Reader’s Digest, our Golden Book Encyclopedia set, and our Reader’s Digest Condensed books. Then I discovered the wonderful world of the Eureka Carnegie Library which my childhood friend and classmate, Constance Doeden now is Head Librarian. She also runs a chapter, The PUlpwood Queens of Eureka! See where the wonderful world of reading takes you and for me it reconnecting Connie and I since our days at Eureka schools. And God first, certainly is working for me so onward and upward I say. In fact, onward book soldiers has become my mantra whether the “good book” or other great reads. Thanks for commenting and until I see you again. Love, kat
By Vickie Phelps
July 15, 2006 1:53 PM | Link to this
Kathy,
Didn’t Sally Field say something like “You like me, you really, really like me when she received her Oscar. Well, sounds like they really, really like you too. :)
Enjoyed your blog and glad you’ve discovered the Good News. In my own life, I’ve found you can’t just pray when things are good or real bad, but it’s daily communication with God. I need it. Keeps me out of trouble. (Most of the time anyway.)
I Love what you’re doing with literacy and books and excited about the Southern Living project. It’s my favorite magazine too.
Vickie
By Kathy L. Patrick
July 16, 2006 9:23 AM | Link to this
I could not agree more Vickie. My lastest breath of fresh air is now that my book is finished I have started walking again. I call it my “Walk and Worship” as it is my time to get everything right in my world for my body, mind, and spirit. And yes, that was what I was refering to when Sally Field cried out, “You like me, you really, really like me!” or something like that. Right now we are in the throes of checking out a baby grey kitten that Jay rescued last night from our two outdoor dogs who found it. Slightly slobbered on and exhausted, not hurt, we gave it droppers of water then a kitten chow broth to gain its strength back. It’s all bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning purring for the girls. Now if we don’t hurry we are going to be late for Sunday School. Make that #4 kitten to the rescue in our household. You know how I love cats and really most animals with legs. Thanks for writing and I really, really love you for writing, he he! kat