Pat's View: Inspirational Stories

I have included a beautiful, free download of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi for you. (You may want to hear the podcast first.  Here's the link. Have you ever experienced the darkness?   I mean REALLY dark darkness! I'm talking darkness beyond... the eerie darkness of a campsite deep in the woods on a moonless night. or the frighting darkness that comes during  a hurricane; when the power goes out and all the windows are board up. or the paralyzing darkness of fear. or the crippling grip of the darkness of grief. I'm referring to the the Darkness of Sin. Sin births darkness.   In the garden... even in the midst of the first, perfect garden, Adam and Eve felt its effects immediately. And they responded by hiding from the light. Sin's darkness blinds Ordinary people. Good people. Smart people. Powerful people.   Sin twists truth, perverts love breeds fear feeds narcissism. In the absence of light, the light of TRUTH,  blinded people hatch up a reality that fits their darkness. Their twisted darkness beco

Luke 1 shares 3 core beliefs that are essential to help you keep believing when your prayers doesn’t happen as soon as you want them to happen.   You can download a high resolution .jpg of these 3 core beliefs here. Here's the link.   Elizabeth summed up the meaning of our partnership role of "Blessed" with almost surprising consciseness. I shouldn't be surprised, this story is told with the precision of a doctor, yes, our dear Dr. Luke.   Yet, I don't believe their reunion would fit in a nice little concise box. Any gathering of close female relatives is never quiet or unemotional. Their reunion was filled with warmth, love and lots of emotions. Mary and Elizabeth were cousins. Mary was in her youth  and Elizabeth was very old.   They didn't live close enough to chat regularly, but Elizabeth is where Mary turned in the early days of her pregnancy. Maybe it was because the angel had shared Elizabeth's baby news that prompted her visit--two pregnant women always have lots to talk about, especially when the pre

Will you worship with me? Yes, right now. Mark Batterson says that the Bible isn't for reading it's for praying. I discovered that reality when I was just a young mom. It really bolstered my prayer. I felt more confident as I learned to pray the will of God for situations I was facing. Scripture is for praising. I have also learned to use the word of God for praising. Let me explain. Sometimes I want to say something to a friend or a loved one, but I don't know how to say it. Do you ever struggle with finding the right way to express your appreciate or love to someone? When that happens to me I go to the store and look for a Hallmark card. I read the front and the inside of each card until I find just the right card that expresses what is in my heart.  I know that worship is important. I understand it isn't worship unless it comes from deep inside my heart. I know that it must be sincere for it to be pleasing to God. But sometimes, I just need some help with the right words so I pick Scriptures that say what

Problem solving is no problem...   when the situation is clear cut and dry. But most problems come will a cloud of fog  that seems to envelope the whole situation. So how do you navigate through difficult situations when you can't see clearly?    When my coffee was ready I headed for the back porch with my cup. I was excited to drink in all the Fall color beauty, but I couldn't see anything. A bank of fog covered everything. I expected the fog to lift at any moment so I had my devotions on the porch; it didn't lift.   I went inside to start my work, peeking outside every half hour or so, but the fog didn't lift at all that day. In fact it got worse before it got better. That cloud of dewy wetness covered my porch leaving the cushions too moist to use.   As I strained my eyes to see I thought about times I've had to navigate through problems that I couldn't see what my next step should be. Some of those times I have been  more successful than other times.   As I stared at that fog I was reminded of 3 words tha

In this podcast I want to remind you of your intrinsic value to God and why that should matter to you. Genesis 1:27 NIV So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Created formed, shaped Fashioned from the very imagination of God into the likeness of God to be His representative. The fact that humans are made in the image of God is the very core of the sanity of life. Made like God...in His imagine... Grasp what the magnitude of that reality. You are made like God. God is Faithful and True (Rev 19:11) The Truth (John 14:6) Love (1 John 4:8) Just (2 Thess 1:6) All powerful (Matt 28:18) Holy (1 Peter 1:16) Everyone...regardless of their abilities or disabilities, beauty or blemishes, everyone of us is valuable beyond measure because they are God's masterpiece. Unique. Valuable, no priceless, Chosen Designed Loved Psalms 139:13-16 says it best 13For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14I praise you because I am

He had a valid reason to be afraid. David's fears were not a fantasized monster hiding under his bed. King Saul, his beloved king and father-in-law and his boss was acting like a crazy man. Can you imagine how scary it must have been to hear the whoosh of metal cutting through the air and the loud thud of Saul's spear smashing into the wall behind David was not his first clue, but it was a clear message of Saul's intentions. David's wife Michal helped him escape in the middle of that very night. He lived with the prophet Samuel until King Saul discovered his whereabouts. How do you wrap your mind around that kind of betrayal? After all David's faithfulness and... bravery, loyalty,  sacrifice and outstanding leadership.... After all the battles David had won... The best that King Saul could do to  repay his servant...or better yet his son-in-law was acts of suspicion distrust jealousy hatred and repeated attempts to kill David. No idea. His best friend and brother-in-law Jonathon was clueless and refused to b

In this podcast I want to share with you how the love of God carried a woman through the horrors of Germany's worst death camp, Ravensbruck, during the holocaust. I want to share a truth with you that she shared around the world after her release. Her story was indeed a horror story of epic proportion...she lost so much...but God turned her story into a love story. I want to share this story with you because God has not changed and His love can change your story into a love story too. 1 John 4:18 KJV There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. I can't help but approach this verse as a food lover. It's like tasting something so wonderful that you have to ask the cook, what's in this...and with a broad grin the cook explains, well most folks put allspice in their's, but not me...I put cinnamon. John is telling us what is not in love. NO FEAR... PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR. fear has torment (you know that's true) so there's

Shut the door. I know first hand what happens when you leave the door open. I was running late, which I do more often than I should. I had to load the car, feed the dog, put my shoes on (Yes, I was barefooted which makes this story even worse.), and then I would be ready to go. I was in a hurry to get gone, so I left the front door open as I loaded the car. I didn’t know that someone’s pet was on the loose or I never would have left it open. As I lowered my heavy box into and all the way to the back of the trunk,  a little dog scampered over to check me out, barking and wagging his tail. The frisky visitor frightened a skink in the flowerbed. The skink both frightened and intrigued my visitor, so the chase was on with the skink running and the dog chasing. Any other day I would have enjoyed watching the pursuit, but I was in a hurry—no time to stop. Then suddenly this chase took an unexpected turn— inside my house they went. The skink was running for his life and the dog was chasing it because that’s wh

Maybe you can think of a dozen reasons that fear shouldn't hang out at your house, but I have one great, big, huge, hairy reason it can't stay at my house.   Before I share this 1 reason you can't let fear stay, let me tell you how I learned that lesson.   I was writing God's Laws for Kids, so I was studying Exodus and Numbers 13. I love the Old Testament stories especially anything about Moses. Moses is one of my heroes! My story begins at a crucial moment in Israel's history.   It was time to take possession of the promise.   God described His Promise   to Moses  when he bowed before Him at the burning bush. Exodus 3:8 NIV 8So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Exodus 3:8 NIV   Fertile. Spacious. Flowing With nourishing milk and sweet honey.     They were out, and now it was t

How do you keep from striking out? While the answer may seem obvious, let’s talk about George Herman Ruth first. He was born in 1895. Some say he learned to play ball at St. Mary’s Reformatory/Orphanage and other stories say he ended up at St. Mary’s because of all the windows he broke playing stickball in the streets. When George was 16 years old he was signed on to play with the Baltimore Orioles (Minor League at that time.) His teammates nicknamed George the “Dunn’s new babe” and the nickname stuck. Babe Ruth was a “give it all you got-slugger” at bat. He said, “Baseball is the greatest game in the world and deserves the best you can give it.” And he did. But that "all-in" attitude earned him the unsolicited title “King of Strikeouts” five times. He struck out 1,330 times in his career! Strikeouts are serious failures for a ballplayer. But his fans and history forgave him for the strikeouts because those all-in powerful slugs also made him the coveted “Home run King” with a record of 714 career home runs.

Have you ever experienced an electric fence? When my oldest granddaughter, Karyn, was a baby, I was invited to speak at a church in a rural community. They booked a room for me in a gorgeous bed and breakfast in the middle of farmland. The land adjacent to the house was a pasture with cows and a donkey. Saturday morning Wayne brought Karyn and joined me for the remainder of the meetings. That evening we strolled along the electric fence to let Karyn see the animals. The friendly donkey saw us and started walking toward us so we stopped. The donkey didn’t  stop. He touched the fence with his nose and had what we Southerner’s call a “hissy fit!” Maybe he wanted to be fed or petted; or perhaps he had never encountered the fence before, but when he touched that fence his pain was plain. He stood there and brayed and brayed and brayed just glaring at us. He didn’t stop braying until we walked away. So, when I read Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman’s “electric fence” story in her book “Mommy Power,” I could relate. (It’s

Elisha trusted God and his life proved it. The king of Syria carefully developed a surprise attack strategy against Israel, but when it failed...again and again. It seemed obvious that there must be a traitor in his inner circle. He summoned his officers and demanded answers and explanations. Who is the traitor? One brave man finally spoke up, "There is no traitor among us. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, he is telling the king of Israel your most private secrets. And that is exactly what Elisha was doing. God would tell him the enemy's plan and Elisha would tell the King of Israel. That knowledge kept them safe. Oh how we need that kind of insight. God's insight that would protect and guide our decisions. Jeremiah 33:3 NIV Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Elisha had to be stopped. The Syrian king sent a large army equipped with chariots and horses. They arrived under the cover of night and completely surrounded the city. Very early the next mornin

Samaria the capital of Israel’s northern kingdom was under siege. Ben-hadad, the Syrian king and his powerful army’s presence had resulted in a disastrous famine. Israel’s king was walking along a wall when a woman cried out to him for help. His answer expressed his sense of utter helplessness. I quoted from the New Living translation, but the Aramean is translated in most places as Syrian.  2 Kings 6 & 7 NLT He answered, “If the LORD doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.” 28But then the king asked, “What is the matter?” She told a story of cannibalization that drove the heartbreaking truth of desperation like an arrow into his heart. 30When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair. And as the king walked along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing burlap under his robe next to his skin. Burlap In the Bible, whenever someone sought God with ardent desperation through prayer and fasting, they would put on b

The cuckoo doesn't build a nest. A mama cuckoo bird doesn't need a nest  and the story behind the "why" is absolutely cuckoo! Cuckoo means crazy as a Bessie bug in Southernese. A Mama Cuckoo Bird is able to incubate her eggs inside her body at least 24 hours longer than most birds. While many mama's have finished laying their eggs and are sitting contently or so it would appear, on their nest, the mama cuckoo hasn't even started laying her eggs. When she is ready to lay her eggs, she watches for a nesting bird to leave the nest for a quick meal. Her favorite host is the warbler, but any vacant nest will do. Then the female cuckoo flies to the unguarded nest, where she gobbles a single egg and then deposits her own egg in its place. In a matter of seconds she is on her way to the next nest! She never comes back to check on her babies. She lays her egg and flies off without any natural mothering instinct. I told you it was cuckoo, but it's about to get even more cuckoo! Because she incubates her eggs lo

Whatever   If you are a parent I know you've heard it or maybe you've even mumbled it to your spouse...   most of the time it's used to end an argument it's only a single word and when it's spoken it is barely audible... actually it more of a mutter, just a quiet, defiant mutter... I'm referring to the word "whatever."   It depends on how you use it. But I'm not referring to the way the word was intended to be used... not the expansive, no restrictions at all meaning I'm sure you've used the word "whatever" to mean anything no matter what any and all   ?! This meaning is spoken with a question mark and an exclamation mark.   The question mark asks, "What is that I need to do?"   And  the exclamation is a firm yes, whatever I need to do, I'm going to do it because I am desperate for results!   The word "whatever" is used differently these days...it's almost the total opposite of what it originally meant.   A different attitude changes the word If  "whatever" is spoken with an attitude and a period at the end

Preserved Forever The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson. It declared independence from England in 1776. It is 29 3/4 inches long and 24 ½ wide. Strong light and careless handling caused excessive fading in America's founding document. This founding document was far too valuable to lose. Something had to be done to preserve it. American leaders decided to display it in a special building called the National Archives Building. Three founding documents are housed in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. The Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights are enclosed in a beautiful bronze case with slightly tinted green glass. The air inside the case is replaced with helium. The soft lighting is one more measure to prevent fading. Guards and a scanner safeguard the entrance, while armed guards stand on either side of the documents. At night and in the event of an emergency the document is immediately be lowered into a specially designed, massive cement vault for safe

The Sound of Music Julie Andrews stole the hearts of Americans and Canadians with her passionate "The hills are alive with the sound of music." The music, the heart wrenching story and yes, even the magnificent Alps contribute in making "The Sound of Music" a classic. She seems totally lost in the beauty around her. While I've never seen Mont Blanc or the Alps and I certainly can't sing, I find myself wanting to join Ms. Andrews in belting out that famous tune. I want to sing simply because the mountains do that to you. But I promise you, you won't hear a note out of me, cause I don't sing, not even in the shower. My singing can be compared to a deafening coyote howl.  From the Grand Tetons, to that top of the world feeling you get in the Rocky Mountains, all the way to the blue haze of our Blue Ridge Mountains, I've never seen a mountain I didn't love. And my favorite, Denali. I understand why the Native Americans still refer to it as Denali, the Great one. The name Mt. McKinley  doesn't even begin t

What are you doing with your sword?   While I understand that Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; it is more than exquisite beauty, extravagant design or even the intricate craftsmanship that made the Napoleon Bonaparte sword the 2nd most expensive sword in the world. The supporting story that the golden studded handle was held in the hand of the French emperor and used on the battlefield was a major factor that brought the $6.5 million selling price.   The Bible gives us a list of notable swords, the primary tool of defense; swords that brought freedom and deliverance; swords held in the hands of triumphant warriors-  the sword of: Gideon Goliath Saul Jehu    No Swords? As valuable as the sword was, we see a time in Israel's history where the people didn't have swords or spears.   1 Samuel 13:16-19 NIV 16Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One tu

My teacher challenged me. Do remember when your Sunday School teacher or maybe your children's church teacher challenged you to memorize God's word? If you were like most of us that first verse was "Jesus wept." And probably the second one  was either John 3:16 or Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.    Wrapped with a prize.   My teacher's challenged was usually wrapped with the promise of a prize...they were usually about as valuable as a cracker jack prize, but oh how I loved those prizes. Something even better happened as I memorized Scripture I also learned to love God's Word and God.   I learned to take Scripture personal...   for instance Genesis 1:2 NIV "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."   When I read that verse, I feel like I'm standing beside God as he describes what He saw with two words...empty and dark. Then He continues by explaining His Spirit was there, hovering ove

Prayer is a responsibility and a privilege. But is it really a priority? How do you make or keep it a priority? I am so thankful to be a child of God. Belonging to God's family means that I have the privilege of coming boldly into God's presence. I can open my heart and share it with Him without shame or fear. Because there are so many different kinds of families, some great and some dysfunctional, I want to give you a snapshot of my dad to explain why I love to pray. My dad is holding my sister. My mom is holding my brother. And my older sister is standing beside my mother. I'm the little girl playing in front of my dad.[/caption]   There are so many things that I could say about my dad. He was quiet. Kind. Good looking- I look like my daddy. LOL! He was hard working. I'm like my dad in that respect too. He loved to garden. I'm not sure if he loved gardening because he enjoyed watching it grow or the influence of living through The Great Depression drove him to gardening. He was generous with the seed and th