Your Crown Slips so What Sparkle On!

By Sherry-Marie Perguson

Your Crown Slips So What Sparkle On! is the latest book written by Sherry-Marie Perguson. This new endeavor will have you laughing out loud, shaking your head in wonderment, and then digging into the Word of God. Sherry-Marie once again delights her readers with sassiness only she can conjure up. Yet, through all the humor, there is a deep thread of unwavering faith in God. She can point the way to Jesus in every situation. Your Crown Slips So What Sparkle On! is dynamic, thought-provoking, and a read you will not be able to put down. From dancing in the morning to the Macarena, to an entire chapter on her Grandmothers sassy Southern sayings, to a road trip with her girlfriends, Sherry-Marie will keep you entertained! Oh! And dont forget the one hundred plus recipes Sherry-Marie shares in the last chapter of the book. Sherry-Marie learned very early in life that it is just as important to feed the body as it is to feed the soul. She continues to serve you recipes as unique as she is . . . how about Holy Guacamole Shrimp Bites or Italian Wedding Soup. Maybe Hawaiian Chicken Cole Slaw. Or better yet, Kentucky Skillet Bread. Maybe you prefer Cheesy Cornflake Potatoes served with Sherrys Coffee Marinated Steak. And for dessert, Better Than Robert Redford Dessert. Keep this book handy. You will stay busy trying these and many more fabulous recipes. This latest adventure is not one you will be able to read once and then lay aside. This is a read you will enjoy over and over.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781973603757

Sherry-Marie Perguson

Sherry-Marie Perguson is known for her ability to entertain readers with her life stories, which are told in a sassy, southern, and humorous style. She is the author of seven fun and inspirational books: The Faith, Family, Friends and Fried Chicken trilogy Southern & Sassy … with a Side of Faith And Then God Made Chocolate God, You, and Red Ruby Shoes Your Crown Slips, So What, Sparkle On Sherry-Marie continues to spread joy and encouragement to all her readers everywhere. As a speaker, she has held women’s conferences, and she is in demand at all types of ladies’ events, such as book clubs, coffee groups, and corporate self-help seminars. Sherry-Marie resides in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. There she has been showcased on Channel 3 Arizona’s Family Morning Show and featured in the local magazine 85086. She is a songwriter and a musician. She has written over seventy songs. Many of them have been recorded on her personal and family albums. She is a businesswoman. She has owned and operated a highly successful tearoom and a mini antique mall for several years. But her passion by far is her desire to be an encourager. This explains her quest to become an author. When asked why she loves writing and speaking so much, Sherry-Marie responded, I have fallen in love with my readers. We know life is short and filled with lots of ups and downs. But if I can bring a smile to your face and chuckle from your belly, make you hungry and you get up to cook one of our recipes, and encourage you to keep your faith and know Jesus a little better, I am the most blessed of all women.

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Copyright © 2017 Sherry-Marie Perguson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

NKJV:

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-0376-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-0377-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-0375-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017915216

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/31/2017

This book is dedicated to

everyone who has ever experienced

her crown slipping…

But so what?

Sparkle on yu’all !

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 ~ Macarena in the Morning

Chapter 2 ~ Finding Diamonds in the Rain

Chapter 3 ~ Important Things in Life: Lipstick and Jesus

Chapter 4 ~ Road Trip with the Girlfriends

Chapter 5 ~ More of Grandmother’s Southern Sassiness

Chapter 6 ~ Your Crown Slips…So What? Sparkle On!

Chapter 7 ~ Mouth-Watering Recipes

Introduction

When I began to jot down notes for this new book, I began to ask myself:

"What do I want to say? What is the purpose of this book? Lord, what do You want me to say?"

The more notes I jotted down, the more I realized that this book was really going to be about God’s amazing grace and mercy.

He takes us from devastation to restoration. From distrust to belief. From struggle to strength. From tragedy to triumph. From victim to victor.

If I say only one thing in this book that speaks to your heart and makes your journey a little happier and easier, then I have obeyed the Lord, and acted as a pencil in His hand.

Now, yu’all know what to do! After all—this is our seventh journey together. Go grab your blankie and your favorite beverage, get comfy and enjoy the ride!

Chapter One

Macarena in the Morning

Macarena in the morning!

These words remind me to be spontaneous.

When my two youngest girls were still in school, every morning, without fail, I would dance into their rooms to one tune blaring throughout the entire house: the Macarena!

It was always hard getting their feet out of bed and onto the floor. So, rather than make it more of a chore, I decided to have fun every morning and encourage them to begin their day dancing. And to this day, when they hear that song, they remember waking up to the vision of their mama, hair in curlers, robe flying, singing at the top of my lungs and dancing the Macarena. At the time they would cover their heads with their pillows and groan MOM—but today, more than 20 years later, it is a happy memory.

You never know how your decision to begin your day with a dance will influence others for years to come. So, begin your day with a dance party. It doesn’t have to be the Macarena; choose a song that makes you happy and then embrace the new day with your dance.

I cannot emphasize this enough: you are always one thought, one decision away from a totally different life. Every thought leads to a decision of some sort, so make your choices count for the BEST God offers and not the limitations of the world.

God Himself designs your journey, especially for you. You do not have to be drawn in to other peoples’ desires or choices, no matter what they or the media says. You have the ability to choose to dance the Macarena on your own terms, not the terms of someone else.

I chose to dance the Macarena every day, in my girls’ bedrooms, and this decision made an impact on them. I’m sure they heard the song before I even stepped into their room. They knew it was time to get up. They knew it was another day. And they knew Mama was coming.

When you choose to dance your dance, do it with determination. You will invariably impact someone. Make it an impact for the better. Seek God’s plan for the dance, and allow Him to choregraph it for you. You can only dance your dance with power if you pray and learn from the choreographer Himself, the Lord.

I once heard a saying: "The enemy will try to limit your praying because He knows your praying will limit him. Oh, so true! Well known author Lisa Bevere always says if your prayers don’t scare you, they don’t scare the devil." Get serious, my friend, and think about it: we pray for two minutes. Then we pick up what we prayed about, carry it, and we worry about it for 23 hours and 58 minutes! When you pray, pray decisively. Read the Word, stand upon it. Look the enemy square in the face, and speak the Word out loud. Then let go of the worry and begin to PRAISE the Lord for the answer! I cannot say it enough, peeps—PRAISE WINS!

Worry is probably the most senseless act we can engage in. Do yourself a favor, and when worrisome thoughts begin to take hold, practice letting go. Take a deep breath, whisper a prayer committing the situation to God, smile (smiling is a great stress-release valve, right up there with laughing), and take another deep breath. Then, when worry comes again (it always will, since it is one of our enemy’s favorite tools of torment), then begin to PRAISE the Lord for the victory and answered prayer. Can you worry and praise at the same time? Uh—no.

Whenever you realize you are beginning to worry about that situation you prayed about, stop—and turn your worry into worship! Worship limits the enemy!

What distinguishes a warrior from a worrier?

A warrior is defined in Merriam-Webster dictionary as "a person engaged or experienced in warfare."

A worrier, on the other hand, is defined as "person who is inclined to worry (defeatist, fatalist, pessimist)."

Seriously? Now, since we have established the vast difference between being a warrior and a worrier, let us always be reminded of WHO we are. Not a defeatist, fatalist, or pessimist! We are a person engaged and experienced in warfare! Whoo hoo!

I am a warrior, not a worrier. I choose to surround myself with individuals who are warriors, not worriers. How about you?

Charles H. Spurgeon once said this in 1894 (don’t get this confused with 1984). I think he may have been on to something, so I will repeat it in 2017: "A rejoicing heart soon makes a praising tongue."

"In this life we are all just walking up the mountain, and we can sing as we climb or we can complain about our sore feet and the height of the mountain. Whichever we chose, we still gotta’ do the hike! I decided a long time ago singing made a lot more sense" ~ unknown. While I do not know who said this quote, I certainly like the message.

"What you speak has power to either interrupt or partner with God in what He is doing. Watch your words. Don’t talk your way out of God’s blessing." ~ Lance Walnau

This is something that, as a child of God yet an imperfect human, I work on every day. From the moment I wake, until I close my eyes in the evening. I forget from time to time what God says in His word, about our tongue and our words. I definitely do not want what comes out of my mouth to interrupt what God is doing in my life—rather I want to speak words that line up His plan for me. In this way, I am able to receive His blessing and favor every day, all day, and in every situation.

There are many quotes on how our words affect our lives, and it’s a fact that everyone knows. We hold amazing power within one little member of our body: our tongue. We can use it for good and blessing, or we can use it for bad and corruption. It is always our personal choice.

I have heard friends and family remark, so-and-so made me do it. Really? No they didn’t. So-and-so may have made you mad or hurt your feelings, but it was your choice in how you reacted to what so-and-so did. Am I right?

Choose to use your words for happiness. Choose to line your words up with the Word of God. Choose to use your words to obtain faith. The word of God says, "So then Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

Speaking the word of God, out loud, increases our faith! Your words do have power!

As a matter of fact, I even speak to my plants. Seriously! I have been told all my life that living plants respond to your words. So I talk to them when I’m watering them. I tell them how beautiful they are, and how much they have grown. I don’t really have a green thumb, but I still love talking to these green living objects! I speak life, and they respond. If that truly is the case, then your circumstances respond to your words as well. Speak life.

"Your words determine your success." ~ Sherry-Marie Perguson

Don’t forget to praise. When we praise, we open ourselves up for victory and blessings we could never imagine! Something as simple as genuine, deep-hearted praise and worship is the key to getting God’s attention. Praise and worship drowns out the ever-present noises of everyday life. Even though God knows where we are, what we are going through, and our needs, He still desires to hear our praise and worship. When He hears it, He bends down to listen.

I liken praise to the squeaky wheel—if you really want to get God’s attention, begin to praise and never let up! Squeak, for goodness sakes!

There is a little cartoon making its rounds on the internet. Its message is, I’m not interested in whether you’ve stood with the great. I’m interested in whether you’ve sat with the broken. – source unknown

I have to agree that the status of this world doesn’t impress me. What does is this: Is my soul okay? Does my heart feel love and empathy? What do my words really say? Do they lift up or tear down? Do I sit with the broken?

Because if I don’t, then I have no business standing. I am to see, reach, sit, and encourage. If I stand, it’s not to stand alone; I lift someone else to stand with me.

I seem to write with mostly women in mind, I mean, seriously, look at the titles of my last few books: Southern & Sassy…with a Side of Faith (I don’t think I’ve known a sassy man); And Then God Made Chocolate! (didn’t say, And then God made a man! … just sayin’); God, You and Red Ruby Shoes! (hmm … don’t even go there).

However, in this book I do want to give some pearls of wisdom to the men who dare to read my books. In all seriousness, there are some incredible men out there who are loyal readers, and I thank God for you every day!

Throughout this book, you will find little gems meant only for you. One of them is a lesson my husband learned almost 30 years ago, and he still lives by it today, bless his heart:

After being married for only six months, it was our first Christmas