Lewis - Cant make this stuff up!: finding the upside to lifes downs

Contents

Susannah Lewiss book is a girlfriends call to live better, freer, and like someone loved you enough to die for you. Susannah doesnt yell at you, or shame you... she nudges you through humor and sarcasm and storytelling, which is pretty much the only way a person can get through to me anyway. So I love her!

Melissa Radke, author of Eat Cake. Be Brave.

Cant Make This Stuff Up! is like a warm homemade biscuit with some apple butter on top for the soul. Susanna delivers practical Southern wisdom with her signature hilarious twist in every chapter. Her transparency and honesty are unfiltered, which is refreshing in a world where so much is!

Autumn Miles, author of I Am Rahab

Have mercy, yall. This book. I absolutely adore it, and you will too. You will laugh, you will nod your head, you will laugh, you will talk back, and you will laugh some more. But let me assure you of this: underneath the funny stories and the entertaining cast-of-characters (and oh, are there ever some characters), there is so much substance in these pages. This is a book youll read and reread and read out loudone that youll go back to when you need encouragement, when you need to smile, and when you need to remember that God is in every detail of this beautiful life. Susannah is honest, shes hilarious, and she wouldnt recognize pretense if it walked up to her in the middle of the grocery store and tried to hug her neck. More than anything, though, she has a knack for finding Jesus way deep down in the ordinary, and by the end of this book, youll not only know Susannah betteryoull want to know Him more.

Sophie Hudson, author of Giddy Up, Eunice, and cohost of The Big Boo Cast

Reads like a trip down memory lane with an old friend. You know those songs, movies, or even smells that bring back a warm and joyful memory from your past? Thats what Susannahs stories are like. If I wasnt giggling through the chapters, I was smiling ear to ear as her memories and experiences had me right back in my own Southern childhood home. Such a well-written, enjoyable, relatable read start to finish!

Carolanne Miljavac, author of Odd(ly) Enough

2019 Susannah B. Lewis

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Published in association with Jessica Kirkland and the literary agency of Kirkland Media Management, LLC, P.O. Box 1539, Liberty, TX 77575.

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked AMPC are from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition. Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 978-1-4002-0802-9 (eBook)

Epub Edition February 2019 9781400208029

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lewis, Susannah B., 1981- author.

Title: Cant make this stuff up! : finding the upside to lifes downs / Susannah B. Lewis.

Description: Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 2019. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2018036135 (print) | LCCN 2018054106 (ebook) | ISBN 9781400208029 (e-book) | ISBN 9781400208012 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Lewis, Susannah B., 1981- | Christian biography--United States. | Christian life--Anecdotes.

Classification: LCC BR1725.L4355 (ebook) | LCC BR1725.L4355 A3 2019 (print) | DDC 277.3/083092 [B] --dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018036135

Printed in the United States of America

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To my parents in heaven who are making angels laugh.

To my children, NA and BB, who make me laugh.

To the mean girls in middle school who

pointed at me and laughed.

Thank you.

The Souththe place where mud pies are a neighborhood delicacy and sweet tea keeps dentists in business for the duration. It is the place where I learned how to drive a 4x4, use a crockpot, and most importantly, where I learned the word aint. Growing up in the country is simple living at its best, and if you havent been, quite frankly, you havent lived.

Susannah and I grew up just a few miles apart, but it wasnt until adulthood that we became partners in crime. Even though our growing-up years had us in separate circles I can promise you this, the stories in this book are as accurate as a Sunday morning tithe-and-offering count. You know why? Because shes rightyou cant make this stuff up! When I read these pages I was immediately taken back to my Southern childhood and I found my own little-girl self inside the stories of this book. She transported me back in time and reminded me of the goodness that is Southern living.

Susannah Lewis... she just has a way. Her ability to story-tell draws you in and sits you down at the table of her liferight there beside her mamas casserole dishes and stained Tupperware bowls. Her endearing honesty, sassy wit, and tender heart give you a glimpse into her Tennessee upbringingthe beauty and the heartacheand leave you with all the Southern feels. The life stories she tells and life lessons shes learned will bring a smile to your face and tears to your eyes. By the end of this read, if you havent made a pecan pie or bought a monogrammed decal for the back window of your vehicle, I question your salvation.

Happy reading, everyone.

And welcome home.

Welcome to the South.

Heather Land

I Aint Doin It

Welcome to the South.

(Yes, I capitalize South, and by golly I always will.)