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Books for Your Inspiration and Spiritual Journey
Inspiring reads for lasting personal growth.
A Change of Habit: Spiritual Journey From Sister Mary Kateri To Sister Mary Vodka
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 of 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, which takes place over forty years, shows that it’s never too late to change one’s future.
Goodreads Reviews for a Change of Habit
June 24, 2015
A CHANGE OF HABIT: A Spiritual Journey from Sister Mary Kateri to Sister Mary Vodka
By Patty Ptak Kogutek ...more
Isabel
June 07, 2013
I bought this book at the San Francisco Book Festival in May 2013. I really enjoyed meeting the author. Since I've been into reading memoirs lately, I got the book. First of all, I found out that being a nun is not like the TV show, "The Flying Nun" or "The Sound of Music"...more
Tiffany
September 25, 2012
I'm not Catholic but I LOVED this book.
An incredible journey and one of the finest books I've read. ...more
An incredible journey and one of the finest books I've read. ...more
Leslie
· July 28, 2020
I really liked this book. An unusually good companion to your spirituality as an elder. Inspired by this book, I have also written a blog on Spiritual Habits. You must also read my blog, it is very interesting Visit Here ...more
Sarah
August 12, 2016
When I first saw this author's book being advertised somewhere, I knew I just had to read it. I did not want to read it because of the funky-sexy nun on the cover or for the title... ...more
M.M.
January 06, 2014
This is an autobiographical story of Ptak’s experiences struggling to find inner happiness through becoming a nun and then a wife all the while looking for her answers outside herself...more
Glen
February 15, 2015
This book is a heart wrenching journey of a young girl and her faith as she matures in to womanhood. I felt a kin to her although my experiences were very different...more
Patricia
January 21, 2013
I liked A Change of Habit. Patty takes the reader on a journey of her life, starting in adolescence, by joining the convent, to discovering happiness outside of being a nun. ...more
Elisabeth
September 20, 2013
Just love lesson two and three! Whole book was a great read! ...more
Courtney
G-vites ~ Everyday Invitations From God: A Handbook for Practical Spirituality
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 everyday 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!
What Readers Are Saying
I Can't Wait To Read It Again!
Susan Bissell
5 out of 5 stars
Every chapter in G-vites has a special meaning to me, almost like the author was sitting on my couch talking with me, helping me through so many different situations, being helpful and suggestive for so many ways to find and bring God into my life. Her ideas for working through life's everyday encounters have given me courage to see God in many more ways than I had before. I can't wait to re-read this book and bookmark my favorite pages.
Looking for Subtle Signs in Everyday Life for Guidance Versus Divine Intervention
Jill Baker
5 out of 5 stars
G-vites Everyday Invitations from God offers a look at the author’s path to understanding that she could build a life connected to God in ordinary moments, not just during church on a Sunday. Kogutek has a unique life path, once having been part of a Catholic convent in her search for God, and later leaving and struggling to understand her place in the world. She relates that many of her big moments of connection have been ones she may have missed earlier in life. She shows that finding one’s place and understanding God comes during events big and small if you are open and paying attention. The author breaks down the book into three 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, with chapters focusing on different ideas like creating hope or creating resilience. Her writing is relatable and approachable, and her own experiences are interesting and help give concrete events that tie to the lessons and work that can bring a stronger self and connection to God.
Outstanding Book - I Highly Recommend for Everyone
Laurie L Copmann
5 out of 5 stars
Award winning author Patty Ptak Kogutek 's book G-vites is an amazingly engaging read. I found myself smiling and laughing out loud from several of her stories in which I could relate in so many ways. The wisdom and depth of experience that Patty writes in her book is so impressive. This book is really a handbook of sorts that shares numerous ideas for personal self improvement. G-vites is one of those books that can be read again and again due to the powerful messages in each chapter. I honestly do not recall enjoying any book more than this particular book. I still find myself pondering certain messages as I move through my day. Patty has the special gift of touching people's inner self with her writing. I actually feel blessed that I had the opportunity to be exposed to this book. I highly recommend this book for everyone. I felt like the book with written just for me, due to Patty's ability to be so honest and in tune with human behavior. It is not surprising this book won a grand prize award at the San Francisco Book Festival. I will continue to follow and read books written by this amazing author.
See the good in every situation
Serafina Mezzanotte
4 out of 5 stars
This book is a great way for people to see someone else's example of how they can have a more meaningful relationship with God, no matter what is going on each day. The author helps you see all the ways God is working in your life. When you are able to see more clearly the many ways you have a connection to the spiritual throughout the day, you can be happier, more fulfilled and less stressed.
The author was raised Catholic but I don't think that means this book is just for people who are Catholic. She went through the Catholic school system and became a nun, and to do that you have to really believe, no matter what religion you are. She left the nunnery to work in education, which is another deep calling. Each chapter ends with a prayer about the topic.
There are discussions of what everyone has probably heard of: "Catholic guilt." She talks about ways to not get caught up in that. Basically, it's allowing experiences to happen to us and not be so judgemental about them. Techniques like journaling are suggested to help with this. She's teaching self love in a way that doesn't reject personal responsibility but shows us there are ways to make the most out of every situation.