See Patty in Chicago at Karitos!

See Patty in Chicago at the Karitos Festival of the Arts, July 31-Aug. 2!

Directions, Lodging and Food Info for Karitos 2008
How to get to Living Waters Community Church

190 Lily Cache LaneBolingbrook, IL 60440(630)759-5799From the north:
From I-355 South, get off at the Boughton Road Exit. Head West (right turn) 1.9 miles on Boughton Road to Route 53. At Route 53, make a left and proceed 1.4 miles to Lily Cache Lane.

Turn right onto Lily Cache Lane and proceed 0.2 mile. Church is on right.
From I-55 South, get off at exit 267, which is the Route 53-Bolingbrook exit. Proceed North two blocks on Route 53 to Lily Cache Lane. Turn left onto Lily Cache Lane and proceed 0.2 mile. Church is on right.
From the south: From I-55 heading North, get off at exit 267, which is the Route 53-Bolingbrook exit. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left and go to Lily Cache Lane. Turn left onto Lily Cache Lane and proceed 0.2 mile. The church is on your right.
From the east: Take I-80 West to I-55 North and follow the directions listed from the South, listed above.
From the west: Take I-80 East to I-55 North and follow directions from the South, listed above. Take I-88 or I-90 to I-355 South and follow the directions from the North, listed above.
Living Waters Community Church website
HotelsThe hotels listed below are all located within ¼ mile of the conference site. When booking rooms, ask for the Karitos rate. Some hotels offer free shuttle service to Living Waters Church (arrangements must be made in advance). Ask your hotel whether breakfast or continental breakfast is included.
AmericIinn Lodge& Suites - Phone 630/378-5300175 Remington Blvd., Bolingbrook, IL 60440.Single or Double $84 + tax
Comfort Inn - Phone 630/226-1900 1235 Lakeview Dr., Romeoville, IL 60466Two Queen beds $69 + tax
Hampton Inn & Suites - Phone 630/759-7100 165 Remington Blvd., Bolingbrook, IL 60440One King Bed $89 + tax, Two Queen Beds $94 + tax
Holiday Inn - Phone 630/679-1600 205 Remington Blvd., Bolingbrook, IL 60440One King Bed $119 + tax, Two Queen Beds $129 + tax
LaQuinta Inn - Phone 630/226-0000225 W. South Frontage Rd., Bolingbrook, IL 60440Single or Double $89 + tax
Ramada Inn - Phone 630/972-9797520 S. Bolingbrook Dr., Bolingbrook, IL 60440One King Bed $74 + tax, Two Queen Beds $80 + tax
SpringHill Suites by Marriott - Phone 630/759-0529 125 Remington Blvd., Bolingbrook, IL 60440All $89 Suites have been booked. We have a limited number of suites available at $109 + tax (Note: Ask for "The Karitos Group" rate when making your registration
MealsYou will find many of your favorite family as well as fast food restaurants just a short distance from the church, several within a five minute walk. There is also a coffee shop located in the foyer of the church.

Win Your Own Free Copy of Painted Dresses!!

Artistic Blogger is offering a chance to win a free copy of Painted Dresses! Just log on and read the blog about Painted Dresses, and then post your comment with your email addy. Good luck!

“When Patricia Hickman's new release arrived at my house, I opened up the package and kissed the cover. I love her books. She does relationship sagas with just the right touch of tension and fulfillment. . .” Read on at Artistic Blogger.

Hear Patty Talk Live About Painted Dresses

You may listen to Patty talk with radio show hosts this week, possibly in your area:

Tuesday, July 22
7:15-7:30 a.m.
Coastal Daybreak Show
Ben Ball
WTKF-107 FM
Newport, NC

KREJ/KSNS
Medicine Lodge, KS
Kelly Long
9:20-9:30 a.m.

Online Radio Show
The Steve Bonenberger Program
12:30-1:00 p.m.

Want a Free Copy of Painted Dresses? Here's How!

Would you like to earn a free copy of Painted Dresses for your very own?
This is a simple contest and campaign in support of Patty’s “Painted Dresses Road Tour” beginning early fall.

Patty will be traveling and not only promoting her critically acclaimed novel Painted Dresses, but will also be sharing the story behind her story, “Stranger Than Fiction.”
After a dark season in her life, and while in the middle of writing Painted Dresses, she embarked on her own inward journey, finding out about the pain of her childhood. This is a healing message of redemption and joy and even some laughter. Patty has been a speaker for as long as she has written books. She has been mentored by great talents such as Patsy Clairmont (Women of Faith) and Steve Arterburn (Every Man’s Battle author and Women of Faith founder)

So here’s your chance to get your own free copy of Painted Dresses. Just let your favorite conference leader or women’s ministry director know about the “Painted Dresses Road Tour” for their next event.

If Patty is scheduled for an event because of your referral, simply ask that leader to mention your name as they schedule the event with the Ambassador Agency. Patty will send you an autographed copy of Painted Dresses immediately.

If you would like for us to send you a beautiful e-announcement to email to all of your friends announcing this event. just post your request here on this blog and you'll be sent the info through email. Or we can mail you some jumbo postcards to pass out or mail.

For scheduling info, event leaders may contact Naomi Duncan at 615-370-4700 or email Naomi at naomi@ambassadoragency.com.

To confirm your free copy of Painted Dresses, call Beth Lehman at 615-370-4700 x 236 or email Beth at beth@ambassadoragency.com .

Jeane Wynn of Wynn-Wynn Media is the contact person for publicity for Patty’s events and may be reached at 918-283-1834 or email, Jeane@Wynnwynnmedia.com.

Spread the word and get your free copy of Painted Dresses! (Free copies limited to the first 250 events, but that's a lot!!)

Faithful Reader Reviews Painted Dresses

Painted Dresses hit the bookshelves Tuesday, so be sure to run in for your copy today!

Here's a review just in this morning from Cindy Crosby at Faithful Reader:

PAINTED DRESSES

Patricia Hickman

WaterBrook PressFiction

ISBN: 9781400071999
• About the Book
Patricia Hickman shines in her novel PAINTED DRESSES, a poignant story of sisters who are drawn back together after a death in the family, only to discover a shattering secret that has changed the course of their lives.It’s a slow-paced story, but nonetheless enjoyable for this, and Hickman’s best writing since KATRINA’S WINGS. Gaylen Syler-Boatwright is a 20-something woman separated from her husband, plagued by nightmares and trying to make sense of her life. When her father dies, she returns to her home in Boiling Waters, North Carolina (population 2,972) and must deal with her scattered, one-french-fry-short-of-a-happy-meal sister, Delia Cheatham. When her sister gets a little trigger happy, events begin to unravel, and in a Thelma and Louise-like scene, they leave the scene of the crime, hole up for a bit in a relative’s cabin and then take off on a cross-country drive.As they travel, they deliver unusual works of art --- dresses dipped in paint and mounted on canvas and framed, crafted by their deceased Aunt Amity Syler --- to the family members and friends named on the back of each canvas. Each dress stands for an event in the recipient’s life. Gaylen finds that her dress helps her unlock some traumatic secrets from her past.As the symbolic journey unfolds, Gaylen’s life also unfolds to the reader in bits and pieces. Gentle faith themes are interwoven throughout as Gaylen wonders about God, and she describes in first person the odd piecemeal church experiences she and her little sister were raised on. “Mother thought of religion as something you lay in front of children like a doormat,” Gaylen recalls, and “Delia threw off my mother’s religious accouterments as fast as our little toy dog threw off the jingle-bell harness we fastened to him one Christmas.” Hickman uses conversations between Delia and Gaylen to more deeply explore their relationship with God and also with each other. In one early and telling exchange in which Delia bemoans her inability to be good, as she believes Gaylen is good, Gaylen says, “Delia, life isn’t always about being bad or good. Sometimes people get stuck in situations and no matter which way we choose, it turns out wrong.”Hickman shows that Delia may be smarter than she seems: “Maybe I’m not as dumb as you all think, but just so smart I’m just on to all of you. I know what you all say about me, that Delia’s trash. What if I’m just happy to be me? What’s the harm in that?”The author challenges the reader to grapple with the complexities of family and especially the cost of family secrets. She also explores why evil things happen to innocent children and the complex way marriages are constructed, maintained and sometimes fall apart.Occasionally, Hickman overwrites (“A band of pink dimmed on the horizon like fading influenza fever”), but more often she describes her scenes well. She shines in illuminating her characters’ motivations and internal struggles, and how the influences of upbringing, trauma and family keep us from sometimes seeing things as they really are. Fans of southern fiction and those who like a literary story with well-crafted characters should find this latest Hickman offering a thoughtful look at families and faith. --- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy at phrelanzer@aol.com.
• Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.

The Most Important Thing

There’s a lot of activity that goes into moving a group of people from scattered to unified, from loose cannons to the Body of Christ. That activity is translated differently by many Bodies that become the Local Church. One particular pastor has placed on his website a list of these activities. They are typical of what we see—children’s ministry, youth meetings, discipleship and membership classes. But then there was this one strange activity that drew my eye. It was labeled only “The Most Important Ministry.” When I clicked on that, the page opened to a gathering to pray. It had replaced the midweek service normally reserved for group studies and children’s meetings. Imagine that: the most important meeting was not ministry to the poor or to children or to one another, but ministry to God.

Oswald Chambers said:
“When a man is born from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished. Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; the Bible’s idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.”

When ministry becomes about anything else, I get sidetracked. When ministry is focused on ministering to God, then out of it springs life and fruitfulness.

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
--Jer. 33:3

RT Gives Painted Dresses 4 Stars!

RT Rating: 4 stars

Painted Dresses

Award-winning author Hickman weaves a wonderful tale of women who have triumphed over adversity in this sensitive, caring, heartfelt story. It's a story readers will remember long after they have finished the book.

Summary: Gaylen Syler-Boatwright heads to her late Aunt Amity's house to get her life back on track. She discovers a gallery of dresses in frames with the names of her relatives on them and hits the road with her sister to find some of them. Gaylen discovers long-buried family secrets and, through the grace of God, learns the hardest lesson of all -- to forgive and move into the future with a clean slate. (Waterbrook, Jul., 352 pp., $13.99)
—Patsy Glans, Romantic Times