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Do Cats Mourn?

Posted by Patty on Mar 13, 2012 in Animals and pets, Anxiety, Blessings, Compassion, Danger, Encouragement, Faith, Grief, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Trials, Trust in God | 4 comments

When after 17 years, my two cats had to be put down within the same month, my husband and I were pretty devastated. Those of you who love...

Rescue at Sea – The Miracle Power of Prayer

Posted by Patty on Mar 8, 2012 in Anxiety, Danger, Faith, Fear, Featured, Loss, Prayer, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 15 comments

We were so excited! Our friends Jack and Linda had invited us to the Channel Islands on their yacht. The Channel is a chain of eight...

Unshakable and Lasting Love

Posted by Patty on Mar 6, 2012 in Blessings, Christianity, Compassion, Danger, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, Featured, Grief, Inspiration, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 2 comments

Recently, a mother used her own body to shield her young children as two tornados ripped through her Midwest home one after the other....

The Finch Condo

Posted by Patty on Feb 29, 2012 in Animals and pets, Blessings, Christianity, Compassion, Encouragement, Faith, Peace, The Gospel, Trust in God | 8 comments

This morning, I chose to run in the hillsides around my house. The weather was spectacular, the air crisp. As I rounded one bend, I...

The Courage of Convictions

Posted by Patty on Feb 9, 2012 in Blessings, Career, Christianity, Culture, Encouragement, Faith, Family, Inspiration, Life Purpose, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Tim Keller, Trust in God | 0 comments

In 1 Peter 3:15, we are taught to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that...

Science Wins Young Hearts in India

Posted by Patty on Jan 18, 2012 in Blessings, Christianity, Compassion, Culture, Encouragement, Faith, Family, Featured, Grief, Idols, Inspiration, Life Purpose, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 10 comments

We’re back from India! The experience was powerful. Travel to our final destination on the southeast coast took 30 consecutive...

Touching the Untouchables

Posted by Patty on Dec 17, 2011 in Faith | 3 comments

And we’re off India to help out a ministry called Hope for People International (http://www.hope-for-people.org/)in a remote...

Firmly Planted

Posted by Patty on Dec 16, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Danger, Faith, Fear, Grief, Life Balance, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 0 comments

Recently, 90-mile-an-hour winds ripped through the San Gabriel Valley overnight wreaking havoc and triggering a state of emergency. Trees...

Tribute to a Life

Posted by Patty on Dec 16, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Christianity, Compassion, Encouragement, Faith, Family, Fear, Film Television, Theatre, Grief, Idols, Inspiration, Loss, Peace, Performing arts, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials | 0 comments

In July of this year, I lost my beloved Uncle Ian to Alzheimers. For those of you who have been through this, you know what a cruel and...

When Little Means So Much

Posted by Patty on Dec 16, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Christianity, Compassion, Culture, Faith, Fear, Grief, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 0 comments

According to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, food insecurity now impacts one in seven households in America. As a statistic, this is hard...

A Blessing Tree This Thanksgiving

Posted by Patty on Nov 12, 2011 in Blessings, Compassion, Faith, Family, Inspiration, Life Balance, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trust in God | 3 comments

We recently celebrated my husband’s birthday with a big bash. Every corner of the house was filled with spectacular flowers, live...

Life’s Fragile Thread

Posted by Patty on Oct 18, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Christianity, Compassion, Culture, Faith, Family, Fear, Grief, Idols, Inspiration, Life Balance, Life Purpose, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 2 comments

When I was 12, I lost my mother suddenly in a plane crash. That sunny November morning she had helped me dress for school and then, by...

Pearls of Suffering, Wings of Grace

Posted by Patty on Oct 17, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Christianity, Compassion, Culture, Danger, Encouragement, Faith, Family, Fear, Featured, Grief, Inspiration, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trust in God | 6 comments

When a grain of sand gets into an oyster, the oyster begins defending its soft tissue against the irritation by secreting repeated layers...

Where Is Your Treasure?

Posted by Patty on Aug 30, 2011 in Animals and pets, Anxiety, Blessings, Danger, Faith, Family, Grief, Idols, Loss, Peace, Religion, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 10 comments

Shock…horror…disgust…tears…anger…recrimination…my feelings raced like torrents of scalding lava. I was...

When God Says No

Posted by Patty on Jun 20, 2011 in Animals and pets, Anxiety, Compassion, Culture, Danger, Encouragement, Faith, Family, Featured, Idols, Life Balance, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 6 comments

A week ago, I had a scary encounter with a scorpion. My arms full of grocery bags and my keys in the front door. I felt something fall...

No Fingertip Prayers

Posted by Patty on May 28, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Career, Christianity, Faith, Idols, Inspiration, Life Balance, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 2 comments

With life moving at the speed of Twitter, finding quality time for prayer is always a challenge. We sputter prayers as we dash out to...

Powers of Usefulness

Posted by Patty on May 28, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Compassion, Danger, Encouragement, Faith, Family, Fear, Grief, Inspiration, Life Balance, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 0 comments

Discovering More of God “You do not find out what muscles you have until you are called upon to use them. You do not know the...

The House That God Built

Posted by Patty on May 28, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, Grief, Idols, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 0 comments

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He...

How to Hold Steady In Trials

Posted by Patty on May 17, 2011 in Anxiety, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, Salvation, Trials, Trust in God | 0 comments

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3) But how do we remain...

No Religion

Posted by Patty on May 14, 2011 in Blessings, Faith, Prayer, Salvation, The Gospel, Trust in God | 1 comment

The renowned British minister Dick Lucas once preached a sermon in which he recounted an imaginary conversation between an early Christian...

Hurricane of the Heart

Posted by Patty on May 14, 2011 in Encouragement, Faith, Salvation, The Gospel, Trust in God | 2 comments

“How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that fire has become flesh, that life itself...

Touched by the Spirit

Posted by Patty on May 7, 2011 in Faith | 1 comment

One morning just a few weeks ago, I was driving to work. You know the drill: traffic, congestion, stress…an ordinary day, and the...

The Carpet Dance

Posted by Patty on Apr 30, 2011 in Blessings, Career, Dance, Encouragement, Faith, Inspiration, Performing arts, Salvation, The Gospel, Trust in God | 2 comments

A few years ago, I was living in Melbourne, Australia and went to see the Netherlands Ballet (http://www.het-ballet.nl/.) It had been a...

Be Anxious For Nothing

Posted by Patty on Apr 27, 2011 in Anxiety, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, Grief, Life Balance, Loss, Prayer, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 3 comments

There are times in life when we can be overcome with anxiety and fear. Loss of a loved one, failing health, a broken marriage, wayward...

Sleeping Beauty

Posted by Patty on Apr 23, 2011 in Encouragement, Faith, Family, Idols, Inspiration, Life Balance, Life Purpose, Loss, Peace, Prayer, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trials, Trust in God | 0 comments

It’s amazing what a little rain can do. Our living overlooks deep canyons and majestic mountains. In summer, the hills are brown...

The Greatest Swap

Posted by Patty on Apr 23, 2011 in Blessings, Encouragement, Faith, Inspiration, Salvation, The Gospel, Trust in God | 2 comments

What does God see when He looks at me? He’s delighted. Delighted!! How is that possible? I know my failings, my heart, my...

True Change

Posted by Patty on Apr 23, 2011 in Faith, Salvation, The Gospel, Trust in God | 1 comment

Now that President Obama has declared his reelection bid and the run for the White House begins, I confess a love/hate relationship with...

Doors of Opportunity

Posted by Patty on Apr 23, 2011 in Anxiety, Career, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, Film Television, Theatre, Trust in God | 0 comments

In the inspiring movie “Temple Grandin” the luminous Clare Danes plays the world-famous animal scientist and autism self-advocate Dr....

No Other Gods

Posted by Patty on Apr 23, 2011 in Anxiety, Blessings, Career, Christianity, Compassion, Culture, Faith, Fear, Grief, Idols, Inspiration, Life Balance, Life Purpose, Loss, Peace, Performing arts, Religion, Salvation, The Gospel, Trust in God | 0 comments

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon advisesCross that “a man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his...

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