Pat's View: Inspirational Stories

Episode 10: Is it time to call in an expert? Sometimes our course of action isn't working...and sometimes we don't know what to do or how to do...and those are the kind of times that I ask- Is it time to call in an expert? I sincerely appreciate counselors, coaches and mentors. Each of these categories of experts have enriched my life. But, let me explain what I mean with a story. What’s In There? It was Mother's Day and Kimberly wanted us to do something special together as a family. So, she packed us a lunch and we took off right after church was over. We were excited to begin our search. We had driven almost two hours to find some “big” shark teeth. Which is pretty amazing since we live in Jacksonville which is much closer to the ocean than Gainesville, but that’s one place where the big ones are found. We parked, grabbed our water bottles and headed for the trail, when a warning sign caught my attention. We stopped and read the sign together. There were high levels of fecal matter in the water, so the he

Download Podcast Will power is great when you have it, right? I want to help you not only have more will power, but to turbo charge your will power! Will Power All of us have things in our lives that we want to change—habits, attitudes and feelings that need to change. And, if you are like me, I grab my willpower and attack my new goal ferociously.  You might even hear a few robust declarations “I can do it! I will do it!” And sometimes I bolster my will power like all the books tell me to do with a solid actionable strategy and a completion date hoping to forge a "Steel Will" that will take me to my goal. But, when the numbers on my bathroom scale don’t budge I have to look further. Feel Power I realize that my emotions can stop me or catapult me. Emotions can fuel my actions. I can’t tell you the number of times a sale at the mall has gotten my tired body off the couch and into my car to shop with my daughter. I’ve watched love get my exhausted daughter-in-law out of bed because of the cries of a sick bab

There is a very popular belief that “Thoughts make your feelings. Feelings make your actions. Actions make your life.” And for many people that is completely true. We hear stories about people that are destroyed by following their emotions in the news everyday. While I believe thoughts can create my emotions and I believe they can fuel my actions, I think there is a better way to live than allowing my fickle emotions to fuel my actions and choices. Jesus did. Jesus made decisions from purpose, values and truth, not emotions. Even as a child when Jesus stayed behind at the temple, his mother was surprised that Jesus’ divine purpose, “doing His Father’s will”, had fueled Jesus’ actions. In Hebrews 12:1 the Apostle Paul paints a vivid picture of a passionate runner, running to win the race. You run very different when you run to win; you strip off every weight and tie your shoelaces so you don’t trip. I am so glad that Paul continued by telling us how to “run to win” spiritually. “2We do this by keeping our eyes

How do I take every thought captive? I was excited when I saw this question on Facebook, because I realized someone understood they needed to think differently. She realized that her thoughts were problematic. So what do we do? Let’s go to God’s Word. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV tells us to do that. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” This is one of my husband’s favorite stories and it happened while he was serving our country in Vietnam. I think he loves to tell it because it gives everybody the heebie jeebies! He was working long, hard 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. He was repairing airplanes in boiling hot open-ended Quonset huts and the glaring heat on runways. Sleep was precious. At the end of a long day, Wayne climbed into his top bunk and pulled up the sheet. As he pulled up the sheet, he felt something begin at his ankles and run along the outside of his leg. When it got to his w

Download Podcast Because right thinking begins with right listening it is important to listen to understand. I vividly remember trying to feed my baby grand niece pureed green beans on a dark back porch when we were building our cabin. What I didn’t know until I had a face full of green puree on my face was that she hated green beans. I learned quickly, you can’t force feed anyone! Jesus knew that too. And that understanding influenced Jesus’ teaching. A huge crowd had gathered, so huge that Jesus got into a boat and taught the people from the boat. Jesus told them stories, simple illustrations to help them understand God’s kingdom. One of his stories is now called the Parable of the Sower. It is recorded in 3 of the gospels. (Matthew 13: 1-9; Mark 4:1-12; Luke 8:4-15.) Each author adds different pieces of the puzzle for us to understand the importance of this simple little story. It is a simple, but important story! When Jesus finished telling it, He gave them a strange invitation, “who ever has ears to hea

Download Podcast   What a bargain! You can listen to this podcast in iTunes. When we saw the price on the beautiful two-storied brick house, we knew we had to see it. But, when the realtor unlocked the door, we covered our nose and held our breathe—it stunk…really stunk…bad. The tall walls, elaborately crowned with carved molding, wore the tattered strips of what had been wallpaper. The big old house had numerous amenities that hinted it had once been beautiful, but time and it’s most recent and unusual residents had almost destroyed it. The owners had wintered their unruly kids, KIDS as in goats, in the house. And believe me when I tell you, it was a terrible…horrible…no good…really bad idea! As bad as a skunk! What were the owners thinking? Their crazy idea gives new meaning to Zig Ziglar’s term “stinkin’ thinkin'!” Allowing the goats to live in their house turned it into a stinking mess. And your stinking thinking will do the same thing to your mind, heart, emotions and choices! Stinking thinking affects

Download Podcast I am so thankful that we can be stable in unstable times. That stability brings confidence and peace. Let's look a t how. This podcast is available on iTunes. Out of the Mouth of Babes The little girl stood in the middle of the back seat tossing the coins in her hand up then catching them. She repeated the rhythmic tossing and catching until her mother realized what was “really” going on in the back seat. It was Sunday morning, she had just picked her daughter up from Children’s Church and the only money she had with her today was her offering money. The mom replied over her shoulder, “Did you give your money in the offering this morning?” Continuing her tossing game she replied casually, “Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.” Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. The truth is that we approach our thought life with the same casualness. Sometimes we notice our thoughts and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we guard our thoughts and sometimes we don’t.  Also, Sometimes we let our emotions go ha

Download Podcast Transformed…the word brings a smile to my face. The first picture that comes to my mind is that of a dirty, ragged Cinderella. I can picture her pitiful, ash smudged and tear tracked face suddenly grow radiant as she is transformed into a beautiful princess. Can you see it too?  Only a Fairy Tale. But Wait, that’s a fairy tale and fairy tales only exist in storybooks! And besides that, I just described conformity not transformation!! All she had was new clothes and a great pair of shoes. A new outfit can go a long ways toward making you feel better, but it can’t transform you! Conformity copies and imitates to make you feel accepted, valued and included. Conformity changes the look, the opinion and the appetite to camouflage the darkness inside. It is the enemy of transformation because it is rooted in deception. Romans 12:2 NIV Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good,

Download Podcast Have you ever asked someone how they were doing and they answered sadly, “Fine, under the circumstances.”  It’s a nice way to tell you that things are not going good. Maybe they even continued by telling you about all the problems that are going on in their life.  Problems are a part of life.   I understand that the only people that don’t have problems are buried in a cemetery.  I have been around long enough to understand that when people develop a mentality of simply “living under the circumstances”, they are robbing themselves of victories that could become theirs. Listen on iTunes Are you tired of living under the circumstances?  Romans 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Partnership and Process When we are born into God’s family, we receive both God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift

Download Podcast  I am so excited that you are joining me on this Think Bible Study. The way we think can fuel our dreams or sabotage our future. I was shocked, absolutely shocked when I began to see all the places God talks about our thoughts, attitudes and heart. I want to share what I see in Scripture with you, because what you think is a critical key to your success, peace and joy. This first lesson is very basic, but stay with me. I want to be sure everyone is on the same page. Does what you think matter? Do you ever feel like your opinion doesn’t matter or that nobody cares what you think? Your thoughts matter-especially to you. Your thoughts shape your destiny. They can limit you, stop you or guide you. In this Bible Study we are going to look at more than positive thinking, we are going to look at biblical values that shape our thinking and beliefs Sometime even seeing something right before our eyes doesn’t change what we think. In 1875, Martin Vivian hired some men to cut down one of the giant Seq

Download Podcast Over the years my husband and I have learned that if we want to keep our relationship alive we have to make each other a priority. We have to keep doing the things we know works. It is essential that we talk and listen…not just listen, but listen attentively. We have to forgive,  love and give generously. My husband has taught me the importance And the truth is the really important stuff have to stay a priority.  Most important relationship can grow stale. The truth is our relationship with God can grow stale too. It’s not that we exactly stop loving Him or anything like that, it’s just that life piles in on us. And, before we know it we are over committed and over whelmed. It is so easy to skip the things that are not tied to a due date or an emergency. Prayer. Bible Study. Worship. All fall in that category. Necessary. Essential even, but if we aren’t careful can lose their place on our schedule. I believe Mark 12:29-30 holds a very important key to keeping important things a priority. “