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Authors: Susanna Foth Aughtmon
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All I Need Is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans: The Tired Supergirl's Search for Grace
ALL I NEED IS
JESUS
& A GOOD PAIR OF JEANS
ALL I NEED IS
JESUS
& A GOOD PAIR OF JEANS
the tired supergirl ’s search for grace
susanna foth aughtmon
© 2009 by Susanna Foth Aughtmon
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287,
Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Aughtmon, Susanna Foth, 1970–
All I need is Jesus and a good pair of jeans : the tired supergirl’s search for grace Susanna Foth Aughtmon.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8007-3172-4 (pbk.)
1. Aughtmon, Susanna Foth, 1970– 2. Christian biography—United States.
3. Women—Religious life. I. Title.
BR1725.A863A3 2009
248.8′43—dc22
2008032507
Scripture is taken from the
Holy Bible
, New Living Translation, copyright
1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
For my supersisters—Erica, Jenny, Traci, and Chéri
You inspire me. I see Jesus in the ways you love the people around you. May the laughs be endless and the chocolate plentiful as you keep following the One who loves you the most.
contents
5. I forget there is no more condemnation in Christ
6. I want chocolate to solve my problems
16. I don’t like to admit I am wrong
17. I am not sure of my purpose in life
20. I covet things . . . lots of them
21. I am not great at sharing my faith
The best writers make you feel as though they are your best friend. And I have a feeling you’re about to make a new best friend. Susanna Aughtmon is one of the most gifted and likable writers I’ve ever read. And the truth is, Sue was a friend before I even picked up the book. A few years ago, I had the privilege of doing ministry with Sue and her husband, Scott. They were part of our team at National Community Church in Washington, DC, before they left to plant Pathway Church in Palo Alto, California. It was awfully hard to let them go, because they are some of the nicest and funniest people I know.
While
All I Need Is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans
is intended primarily for women, I found it awfully enlightening as a man. In fact, I think husbands should read it before giving it to their wives! How would I describe my experience reading this book? In a word, fun! And that is a supreme compliment. So many books lose me in the second paragraph.
But you aren’t going to want to put this book down!
Here’s what I experienced as I read
All I Need Is Jesus
and a Good Pair of Jeans.
It is almost as if Sue walks into a confessional booth and invites us as readers to go in with her. She shares personal struggles that take tremendous courage to reveal. At times, I found myself thinking,
Did
she really write that?
But I also found myself identifying with the same struggles. It was so refreshing and encouraging to know that I’m not alone. And I think that is the true reason for confession. It’s not just to get something off our shoulders. It’s so the hearer, or in this case the reader, knows they aren’t alone.
One other warning. You’re going to laugh. Hard. Sue has a way of looking at life that will make you laugh and make you think. It will also give you a greater appreciation for the little things we take for granted.
I have a simple theory as a reader and writer: good writers are far less impressive than good people. Sue is both. So without delay, time to go into the confessional booth and begin your own journey toward authentic wholeness.
Mark Batterson lead pastor, National Community Church, author,
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day
Super thanks to . . .
Jesus. Because without him there would be no book.
Scott. I love your care of me, your belief in me, your encouragement. Maybe you made me a little funny. ILUTM.
Jack, Will, and Addison. You are my heart. I could squeeze you forever.
Mom and Dad. You always believed in me. Your love shaped me. I am grateful.
Chris. I love your generous heart. You always make me laugh.
Dave and Lola. For priceless hours of babysitting. You are the best in-laws ever.
Clements, Moodys, Foths, and Bondonnos. You are the best.
Rene. Hilarious friend and writing mentor. This book is as much yours as it is mine. At long last, we did it!
Aly. My writing adventures were inspired by your birth.
How fun that I penned my last word while you took care of your cousins. You rock.
Mark and Lora and the NCC crew. We can’t get enough of you guys.
And to all of my superfriends. Beth and Gretchen, Barb and Les, the Blakeley cousins, the Pathway crew, the Circus girls, and my Tired Supergirl bloggie friends. My life is better for having you in it.
And for this rich writing experience . . .
My agent, Wendy Lawton. Without your expertise, this book would not have taken flight. I’m grateful for your wit and wisdom.
My editor, Vicki Crumpton. Who got my humor from the start. This process with you has been a treat.
The Revell team and Baker Publishing Group. To each person who laid a hand, prayed a prayer, and immersed themselves in this project, I am eternally grateful.
It’s always interesting to me to think about my real life versus the life I long for. I am pretty brilliant when it comes to imagining what my life should be. A life without distress. A life with perfect marital communication, obedient children, a clean house, a wealth of friends living on the same block sharing recipes and coffee over the back fence, a thriving growing relationship with Jesus, a conquering of all my weaknesses and struggles, and let’s not forget, a good pair of jeans. You know, the type of jeans that give meaning to life. Jeans that suppress the upper thigh, lengthen the inseam, and let you reveal your inner rock star. Because they look that good.
These are a pair of pants that could lead us to believe there is some hope in the world. Hope for a slim leg and a new tomorrow. We tired supergirls tend to call these kind of jeans “forgiving.” Because we need some forgiveness when it comes to our jeans. We need something to forgive the saddlebags that hitch up on the side of our legs. Some of us need some forgiveness in the extra girth around our middle.
A few of us need some dark-wash forgiveness to camouflage the ripples and bumps hidden therein. Some of us need some forgiveness in flat areas to the rear. We need some lift
and extra curves where there are no curves. (I’m not sure who these people are, but I’ve heard there are some people who need more curves, and I would like to offer up some of mine on their behalf.) And then there are those of us who are deep in over our heads with the fight against cellulite, and nothing aids in this fight, nothing forgives like a nice full coverage denim with some stretch in the fabric. How we love the stretch.
But all of this is to say, some of us have been looking for years for the holy grail of jeans. That pair that will bring to life all that we hope and long to have happen in a pair of jeans. Because we know that there is a standard of what a good pair of jeans is supposed to look like. And then there is the reality of what we look like in our everyday jeans. And we are not wearing grandma-cover-the-belly-button kind of jeans. We have outdone ourselves searching for the most flattering pair of jeans available. We have searched high and low for a good pair of low-rise, easy on the eyes, sturdy on the thighs pair of jeans, and we have bought quite a few pairs, but we are still searching for
the
pair of jeans.
And it’s the same when we look at the rest of our lives. What we desire is not necessarily what we have. The person we are is not the person we long to be. Just as the perfect jeans seem to elude us, so do the obedient children, the perfect marital communication, and the conquering of all of our weaknesses. In fact, last time I checked, it seemed like despite all the churchgoing and devotional reading, the weaknesses seemed to be conquering us. So not only have we not found the perfect pair of jeans, but we are still struggling with anxiety and pride and an incapacitating love for chocolate. It seems that we supergirls need some forgiveness in other areas of our lives besides jeans and outerwear. We need forgiveness for our lives in general. And what we really