Kris Kandel Schwambach - Get on Your Knee Replacements and Pray!: If Youre Not Dead, Youre Not Done

There are four of us writing this book, and its pretty obvious when were together that we are sisters. We look quite a bit alike. We like the same things. Our voices sound alike; we often move alike; we even sometimes laugh alike.

Three of us four sisters were born as a group. Kris entered the world first, followed by Karen six minutes later, and twenty minutes after that Kathie made her appearance. We three were wombmates who then became roommates. Yep, as triplets we started out as a herd and then increased. Linda was born four years later, so she is younger. She loves to emphasize the younger part.

We can finish each others sentences and often respond in unison. We definitely have a herd mentality. It appears that we have some type of internal radar. We cant help it. We think alike. For example: We all love purses. Kathie lives a hundred miles from where we other sisters live. She went shopping and bought a new handbag. The next time Kathie came to visit, two of the same purses were sitting on the table. Karen and Kris had bought the exact same one! It was orange. Linda didnt need to buy that one. She already owns four orange purses.

Yes, we think alike.

Three of us started singing almost before we could talk. There was a good reason for that. When we sang, people gave us money. At family reunions, church picnics, and potlucks, we were asked to sing. Pennies, nickels, and dimes followed. We liked money. Our dad thought it was a good idea to make Linda the accompanist to our childhood singing group. People thought it was adorable that these sisters were bold enough to be in front of an audience and perform. Because we were singers, we practiced together and traveled together. As we got older we did more concerts, bigger performances. It meant more being together.

We all attended the same elementary and high school and all graduated from the same university with teaching degrees. We have over one hundred years of combined teaching experience.

After college each of us married: Kris to Dave, a pastor; Karen to John, a sales rep; Kathie married but was divorced after twenty-eight years; and Linda to Roger, a mental health counselor for school and a marriage and family counselor for church.

We all have children and currently the combined count of grandchildren is twenty-one.

Most important, we all love Jesus. We know that He is our Sustainer, Healer, Redeemer, Savior, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

We are all Bible teachers at our own churches. We speak together at Christian gatherings, womens events, senior adult ministries, youth meetings, and schools.

Kris has taught every age group at church, has held the role of childrens director and womens ministry leader, and has been involved in mission teams and on numerous mission trips. She has written Bible studies and curriculum as well as devotionals.

Karen has led womens Bible studies, has been a womens ministry leader, and has written Bible studies and devotionals. She has served on both mission and prayer teams.

Linda has worked in prayer ministry, written puppet scripts, and worked with childrens productions. She has written a prayer curriculum for her church, worked with incarcerated youth, and taught Bible studies for children and adults.

Kathie has taught Bible classes for all ages, sung on worship teams, written scripts for childrens programs as well as devotionals, and she has worked in singles ministry.

About five years ago we began sharing our faith through the written word. When we started to write books, we found our voices very naturally morphed into a single I and it was almost impossible to tell in our narrative where one sisters voice began and anothers ended. Did we already say the four of us sometimes say exactly the same words at the same time? Yes, we really are a lot alike.

As you read our words in this book, imagine us all speaking in unisonor at least, all at once. The I could be Kris, Karen, Kathie, or Linda. You guess who. Often, rereading our words, we honestly cant remember who said what. We hope you wont be confused. But if you are confused, well, as four sisters, were used to confusing people!