A Change of Habit recounts a spiritual journey that started when a religious eddy hurls seventeen-year-old Patty into a convent in the 1960s. Her deeply embedded guilt drives her to obey the Catholic Church, please her earthly father, and say yes to her heavenly Father. But in the convent, she fails to find happiness in religious rites and rules. Her time in the convent parallels changes wrought in religious life by Vatican II, including changes of names and attire. After leaving the convent following seven years of service, she assumes she can pick up her life and move on. But once the religious habit comes off , long-practiced habits of poverty, chastity, and obedience dog her into married life. Finally facing the reality mirror, she breaks out the debilitating patterns learned in the convent. In finding true spirituality and finally listening to the God within, she shakes the destructive habit of guilt. Her story speaks to like-minded “guilt sponges,” offering hope on their personal spiritual quests. She shares the seven secrets to guilt-free living learned on her journey. A Change of Habit is not the story of a girl breaking from the convent to live happily ever after; the story’s uniqueness hinges on how ingrained duty lodges. This story of personal reinvention and empowerment that takes place over forty years shows that it’s never to late to change one’s future.

G-vites: Everyday Invitations from God, by Patty Kogutek, is a handbook for practical spirituality to establish a relationship with the Creator through a progression of 27 ordinary invitations from God to find our why, survive adversity, and celebrate happiness connecting the sacred with the secular. In this book Patty shares how she found God in ordinary circumstances after living as a religious nun for seven years. You will learn how to listen to your talking soul, calling you to your true life’s purpose. You will identify the Divine, dwelling in your every day life. You will discover how to interpret these lessons to give purpose and meaning to your life.

For each lesson, practical steps will help you implement these G-vites. The book is divided into three main sections: Recognizing G-vites to Find Your Why, Trusting G-vites to Find Hope Through Hardship, and Honoring G-vites to Find Happiness in Celebration. Each chapter gives readers a takeaway or a practice to help weave spirituality into their lives. These 27 invitations aid readers in connecting with the Divine, but without going to church, stepping away from the traditional path. We are made for connection with our Creator. Here is your personal invitation. Let’s learn to RSVP!