Bratwurst and Bridges

Bratwurst & Bridges: A Look at What Goes Into a Story and why it was written

by Susan M. Baganz

I wrote Bratwurst & Bridges two years ago. Before it released I read it again and was surprised at how much of myself was in this book. The story resonates more with me now than ever before.

I’ve been in ministry in paid and unpaid positions for years and it seemed too coincidental that as my book released I would find ministry and life to become overwhelmingly challenging. I’ve shed Dan and Skye’s tears in real life over the burdens I’ve had to carry over choices I’ve made. Even good choices have consequences and not all of them are always pleasant. So was it prophetic or is it a spiritual battle that ensued as this book was about to come out to be read by others? I don’t really need to know the answer to that. I only need to cling to Jesus and to the family I have in the body of Christ, the church.

That’s why this is the Orchard Hill Romance series. Orchard Hill is a fictional church loosely based on the churches I’ve been a part of that have been so instrumental in my spiritual and emotional growth. Every book in the series: Pesto & Potholes, Salsa & Speed Bumps, Feta & Freeways, Root Beer & Roadblocks and now Bratwurst & Bridges, take place with the church

being a touchstone for growth and support through the trials and joys of life. Each story stands on its own but characters from previous novels do appear in later ones.

For many people, the church is not a safe place and I read articles all the time about the reasons people don’t want to go to church or excuses for why the church isn’t all it should be. But the church is more than a worship style or charismatic pastor. The church is the people who attend, who seek to follow and honor God and grow in their faith—not just in spiritual knowledge either, but emotionally. If we grow in one and not the other, we are not going to have the impact on the world that God desires. Not that he can’t use us in our brokenness. All my stories prove that is false. Sometimes God uses us most in our broken places. He never wants us to stay stuck there though but shine a light for others who come along behind us, limping and bleeding from the slings and arrows life on a sinful world throws our way.

My hope and prayer is that those who read these books, no matter where they are in their walk of faith, or even if they don’t believe in God, would see the broken beauty of the church and the power of God at work in and through her members. I pray they would be encouraged, comforted and challenged to persevere in their own journey of growth in becoming more like Christ and find a healthy church to be a part of.

I think Paul summarizes the idea of our collective and individual growth in maturity in Colossians 1:9b-12: “…we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” [

NASB]

My hope and prayer is that my books will have an eternal impact on those who read them—spiritually and emotionally as they grow more to be who God created them to be. It’s what I pray for my children as well. My heart is in all my books, and I hope you find some of your own there too.

            ~Susan M. Baganz

About Susan

Susan M. Baganz chases after three Hobbits and is a native of Wisconsin. She is an Editor with Pelican Book Group’s imprint: Prism Book Group, specializing in bringing great romance novels and novellas to publication. Susan writes adventurous historical and contemporary romances with a biblical world-view.

Susan speaks, teaches and encourages others to follow God in being all He has created them to be. With her seminary degree in counseling psychology, a background in the field of mental health, and years serving in church ministry, she understands the complexities and pain of life as well as its craziness. She serves behind-the-scenes in various capacities at her church. Her favorite pastimes are lazy ones—snuggling with her dog while reading a good book, or sitting with a friend chatting over a cup of spiced chai latte.

Click on the book cover image above to view or purchase Susan's book.

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ABORTION IS NOT THE UNPARDONABLE SIN, Linda Wood Rondeau

In my upcoming release, Fiddler’s Fling, by Elk Lake Publishing, the subject of abortion is addressed.

My heroine, Jolene was raised in a loving church environment. Yet, when she thought herself in trouble, looked for solutions from secular resources rather than go to the people who should be the first to help her find the way back to God…to forgiveness and healing.

It is unfortunate that our young people are given all kinds of scripture and wisdom regarding the dangers of pre-marital sex; yet, the church refuses to acknowledge that hormones can and will get the better of a young person’s judgment and out-of-wedlock pregnancies happen to church kids, even those who are strong Christians.

We sin. And there are consequences to that sin.

Yet, young people are too ashamed and guilt ridden to come to the church for advice on how to cope with the consequence of an unwanted pregnancy. And so they seek advice from the world. Scared and uninformed…not sure of other alternatives…they are counseled that abortion is the only reasonable “out.” And so guilt is added upon guilt and it drives them further from the very source that could bring them spiritual healing.

What can and should the church do? Is it reasonable to teach birth control other than abstinence? Many church leaders fear that arming their young people with this information is tantamount to permissiveness. Is it reasonable to teach young people what to do if they do find themselves in the predicament of an unwanted pregnancy? Or again, do leaders fear this knowledge would give the wrong impression?

Some churches do reach out to the community and offer assistance to unwed mothers…providing counseling after the fact. Then why do our young people fear contacting their Sunday School teachers and pastors? And if they do make the mistake of getting an abortion, guilt drives them even further from the church?

♦If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9 NIV).

Sin is disobedience against God. That is why we are all sinners and all of us are in need of grace. The problem comes when churches, consciously or unconsciously, grade sin on a bell curve. We fail to recognize that a lie is as grievous a sin to the Lord as murder. Yet, God will forgive us any sin except the failure to ask for forgiveness…He cannot forgive if we are unwilling to receive His forgiveness.

Perhaps the message we most need to give our young people is that: we all fall short of perfection but God does not fall short on His ability to forgive.

♦My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One (1 John 1 John 2:1 NIV).

When we teach abstinence without reinforcing grace we deter our young people from seeking help from the very people who will love them through the failure.

♦What can you do?

Talk to your church leaders. Inquire as to how they manage sex education in their youth curriculum. Do they only teach abstinence? Do they encourage young people to seek counseling when confronted with a situation that has gotten out of control?

Only through awareness, openness, and forgiveness, can we help our young people afford making the abortion mistake. And if they do, the church must provide an aura of Grace and let them know that they can find healing and forgiveness within the church family.

Christians sin. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts us of sin and urges us to seek God’s face in our contrition.

~♦~♦~

ABOUT FIDDLER’S FLING:

Will be released within a few days by http://www.elklakepublishing.com/about.html

Engaged to a wealthy rising political star, a driven social worker returns to her small-town roots.

With her wedding to Robert Ashworth weeks away, Jolene Murdock receives a call from Dwight Etting, her estranged father’s junior partner and her former boyfriend. The business is crumbling and her father is dying.

Compelled to visit in spite of Robert’s objections, Jolene wonders if reconciliation is possible given her father’s hatred of all things Ashworth. And there was Dwight. How could she work side-by-side with him and not reveal her secret sin?

To complicate matters her father wants her to play a duet with him in the upcoming Essex County Fiddlers Fling; however, her fiddle was among the many things she left behind when she abandoned Brookside.

More than a romance.

Set in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, Fiddlers Fling depicts the struggle of the human spirit to find absolution in good deeds rather than accept the unconditional forgiveness God offers the repentant heart.

~♦~♦~

ABOUT LINDA WOOD RONDEAU

Winner of the 2012 Selah Award for best first novel, LINDA WOOD RONDEAU, writes blended contemporary fiction that speaks to the heart and offers hope to those with damaged lives. After a long career in human services, Linda now resides in Jacksonville, Florida. A Christmas Prayer, (aka A Father’s Prayer) was a finalist for both the 2014 Selah and Carol Awards.

The gorgeous Adirondack Mountains are a frequent setting for Rondeau’s books.

Readers may visit her web site at www.lindarondeau.com, her blog, Salt and Light, or email her at lindarondeau@gmail.com or find her on Facebook, Twitter, PInterest, Google Plus and Goodreads.

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