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Sweet Little Hand In Mine

~ Pat Vick ~ 6 Comments

This morning at Church, while waiting for service to start, I snapped this sweet photo of mine and my grandson’s hands. The sweetness of the moment reminded me of a memory twenty-five years earlier.

My grandson’s daddy, my oldest child, was three, the age of my grandson now.

I was standing in the kitchen, holding his hand. My husband’s Great Aunt Edna was visiting.

She was a classy lady. Always well-dressed, hair fixed, nails manicured. Her home was full of polished antique furniture, draped with crocheted doilies. She brought out the good china for every day occasions, and no one would dare think of accidentally breaking a piece. Kids behaved in her presence because of the formality that she brought into a room with her.

If her appearance and carriage weren’t enough to cause you to take notice, when she spoke, everyone listened. With one sentence, it was apparent that she was a genteel, southern lady.

Aunt Edna saw me holding my son’s hand, and commented wisely, “Right now his little hand fits inside yours, but it won’t be long before yours will fit inside his.”

How right she was.

One day, when Logan was a teenager, he held my hand in his and said, “Look Mom, Aunt Edna was right.”

And so she was.

Through the years, a squeeze of our hands has always been an unspoken conversation between us. Now that my boy has his own boy, those old memories carry an extra sweetness.

As I looked at my grandson’s hand on mine this morning, I was thankful.

Thankful that Aunt Edna spoke a word into my life all those years ago that would cause me to value time with my children.

Thankful that even though they are grown, they were all raised in Church.

Thankful that through the crazy busyness of our lives, we somehow made the time to instill into our kids that God comes first, and Church is a priority, not just something we add on to our lives.

Thankful that all my family was in Church together on the last service of the year.

Thankful that all my children and daughter-in-love are used in the ministry.

Thankful that my three year old grandson loves to raise his hands and worship Jesus.

I’m thankful that men and women of God are my children’s heroes. Click To Tweet

Ma’am, Sir, as the old year rolls up like a scroll that has been read, and the new year is spread out like a blank page, I urge you to take your children’s and grandchildren’s hands in yours.

Three or forty-three, no matter.

Give them a squeeze. Study them carefully. They won’t look like that next year, or in ten years, or in twenty.

Show them by example how to reach high in worship, how to locate the books of the Bible, how to play an instrument in praise, how to clean the Church house.

Time is no respecter of persons. When those youthful hands are wrinkled with age, they’ll be glad someone taught them what is most important.

Trust me.

Warm Regards, -Pat

Seasons Change, So Don’t Be Afraid Of What’s Around The Corner

~ Pat Vick ~ 4 Comments

Photo by Paul Green on Unsplash

This time of the year always makes me a bit wistful, like something is slipping through my fingers that I want to grasp and hold tightly to. Beach sand. Warm breezes. An incomplete thought. Relationships.

This unsettledness seems to be brought on by two things. One is the crisp morning air. I can look out the window and see the horse and cows lift their faces in the morning coolness, breathing it in. Even they know change is coming.

The second is my hummingbird feeder. In the middle of summer, it is the center of much activity. Once the weather starts to cool, it hangs idle. I leave nectar in it longer than most, because you never know when a lone traveler will need energy for her journey. But sooner or later, all my beautiful jeweled hummers leave for warmer places.

It reminds me of a time in my life about twenty-five years ago. We were living in Birmingham, Alabama, and were very active in the Church there. There was a young man in the Church who was from Florida, but was attending college in Birmingham. He spent a lot of time in our home. Everyone who ever met him, loved him. When it came time for his graduation, and for him to move back home, I was so distraught that I could hardly stand it. I just couldn’t bear the thought of him not being in our day to day lives.

Fast forward a quarter of a century…Our family is now very involved with the Global Missions department of the United Pentecostal Church International, something we could have never foreseen twenty-five years ago. My husband schedules Missionaries to be in Church services all over our state while they are traveling on deputation.

Would you believe that young man from our Birmingham days is now involved in the Associates In Missions program of the United Pentecostal Church?! This means that one day in the future, this man’s family will travel through our state on deputation and my husband is likely to be the one scheduling his services in our Churches. I am looking forward to catching up and enjoying with him the season of life he is in now.

As I’ve grown older and matured a little, I’ve realized that not everyone that God brings into my life is going to be a permanent fixture. We must allow people to follow the path God is leading them down. There are seasons in each of our lives. Often, those seasons overlap, and occasionally diverge.

We must allow people to follow the path God is leading them down. Click To Tweet

People come and go in our lives for many reasons. Schooling, jobs, illness, vacations, military, dreams, passions, travels, bad decisions, good decisions, death and endless other reasons that we often have no control over.

Just remember, life and relationships are a series of changing seasons. Whoever God has placed in your life during this season of time, be a true friend to them. Cherish them. Add value to their lives. Then, when a season of change is in the air, don’t hold on so tightly that you, nor they, can enjoy what is right around the corner.

Life is a series of changing seasons. Click To Tweet

INVITATION FOR FEEDBACK

  • Have you ever been afraid of change?
  • Do you or someone you love feel the need to control every aspect of a relationship?
  • Have you ever held on so tightly that a relationship was damaged?
  • How has God taught you to trust Him through changing seasons?
  • Has God ever restored a relationship that you thought was lost?

As always, please feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, subscribe to my newsletter, and email me: Pat@PATVICK.COM.

 

 

Baptism In Jesus’ Name

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

IS IT REALLY NECESSARY?

Isn’t salvation granted by faith? Absolutely. Baptism does not destroy faith; it fulfills it. If a person truly has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then he or she will follow through with His commandments. Is it possible that a person can be a true believer and yet ignore Jesus’ very words?

It was Jesus at the Great Commission of His disciples, just before He ascended into Heaven, who spoke these words, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16) The obvious implication being that a person who truly believes, will be baptized and a person who doesn’t truly believe, will not be baptized. And that it makes a difference to his salvation.

Let’s also consider the words that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in John 3. He told him that unless a man was born again, he couldn’t see the kingdom of God. At Nicodemus’ confusion, Jesus clarified his statement by saying, “…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) From this passage of scripture we learn that the born again experience is essential to our salvation and that it involves two elements, water and Spirit.

Moving into the Acts of the Apostles, we hear a very important message from Peter. Remember, Jesus gave Peter the “keys of the kingdom” in Matthew 16 because of his revelation of Jesus’ true identity. If anyone other than Jesus Himself should be able to say what steps are necessary to salvation, it would be Peter.

The crowd that was gathered on the Day of Pentecost heard Peter preach about Jesus and were “pricked in their hearts,” wanting to know what they could do to right the enormous wrong they had done by taking part in Jesus’ crucifixion. Peter was full of Apostolic Authority when he stood up before the crowd that day and instructed them saying, “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38) He summed up his oration with the sobering words, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation. (Acts 2:40)

Peter also tells us in his first letter that just as humanity was saved by water in Noah’s day, so are we still saved by the water of baptism today. “…when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us…” (1 Peter 3:20-21)

Paul reminds us that when the Lord delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage by the hand of Moses, every one of them had to pass through the water of the Red Sea. Turning back from this water crossing would mean either death or a return to slavery. There was only one way to the Promise Land, and it required two elements: to travel under the cloud and through the water.

“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2)

Both Noah’s family and the children of Israel were saved by God’s mercy, but that salvation was still dependent on their obedience to the process He established. It makes one wonder, why believers today want so desperately to avoid the water and the Spirit.

THE QUESTION OF WORKS

Many people avoid baptism, using as their excuse that baptism is not essential because we are not saved by our works.

When the Bible says we are not saved by works, it is speaking of good deeds, not baptism. Works of service are a natural extension of a Christian’s walk with the Lord and very much expected, but cannot be used as leverage to tip the scales in one’s favor for salvation.

Paul makes it very clear in Titus 3:5 by what process we are saved, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (The original greek word for washing used here is “loutron,” Strong’s 3067, meaning to bathe or baptize). Baptism is not works; it is OBEDIENCE to the gospel.

Baptism is not “WORKS”; it is OBEDIENCE to the gospel. Click To Tweet

THE FORMULA FOR BAPTISM 

Jesus sets the stage for the formula of baptism when He commissions His disciples in Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Many ministers baptize by reciting these exact words over the person. But it is important to realize that Jesus was not telling His disciples to repeat what He said, but to do what he said. They understood fully that He was instructing them to speak the name of Jesus over those they baptized.

We know this is the case for two reasons:

First, we know that Jesus is the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The only way the disciples could have fulfilled Jesus’ instructions was to baptize using His name.

Second, we can look through both scriptural and historical accounts and find that when the disciples baptized, they used Jesus’ name. Not one time does scripture record that the early Church baptized reciting His titles. Either Jesus’ disciples understood Him to mean for them to speak His name when baptizing, or all baptisms in the early church were administered incorrectly.

NEW TESTAMENT ACCOUNTS OF BAPTISM 

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost…Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:38, 41)

“Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)” (Acts 8:15, 16)

“And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” (Acts 10:48)

“Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:4-5)

“And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16)

WE ARE INNOCENT BY ASSOCIATION WITH JESUS’ NAME

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him in baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection.” (Romans 6:3-5)

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

THE NAME OF JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SALVATION 

“Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”(Colossians 3:17)

It was Jesus’ precious blood that was shed for us. It was Jesus who hung on the cross in agony until the work was done and He could say, “It is finished.” It is Jesus to whom we owe our lives and our allegiance. If we claim Christianity, why wouldn’t we want to take on the name of Jesus Christ in baptism?

PEOPLE DO ALL MANNER OF THINGS IN JESUS’ NAME…JUST NOT BAPTISM 

When I did a search for photos to use with this post, I used the phrase, “in Jesus’ name.” There were 25,471 photos that turned up in the search. I got weary of looking for even one of an actual baptism. There were images of people boating, biking, flying, climbing, taxi driving, sky diving, etc…There was even one really cool photo of a parrot, whose name I’m assuming is Jesus.

Apparently, people do all sorts of things in Jesus’ name…just not baptism. Don’t be one of those people.

We are associated with Jesus by baptism in His name!

Warm Regards, -Pat

I’d love for you to leave a comment, share to social media, or email me Pat@patvick.com

Lies Suicide Will Tell You

~ Pat Vick ~ 4 Comments

There is an enemy among us. She has crept in with subtlety. Into our homes, into our schools, into our workplaces, and even into our churches. She has begun to tear away the very fabric of our society by devaluing the gift of life, itself. She has worked quietly and purposefully while we have looked the other way. She has filled the minds of our loved ones with lies as they go silently about their days. We must expose SUICIDE for the liar she is.

LIE #1: No One Loves You.

The Truth is there are a lot of people who love you. You have family members and friends who love you. You may not understand one another, or have an easy time communicating. Even if your relationships are on rocky ground because of misunderstandings or hurtful words and actions, that doesn’t diminish their love for you.

Furthermore, and most importantly, God loves you. The Creator of the universe was manifest in the flesh as the man, Jesus Christ. He was born, lived, suffered, died for your sins, and rose victorious because He loves you. Yes, He did it to offer all of humanity a way of salvation…but if there had been no other people to save, He would have done it just for you. He loves you that much.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

LIE #2: You Are All Alone.

The Truth is you have family, friends, church congregations, and a community that cares about you. There are people all around you that care how you feel, and want you to be okay. Many of them are people you have never met or gotten to know yet. It may be difficult and embarrassing, but please reach out to someone around you. If that person doesn’t take you seriously, reach out to another person. They might not be equipped to help you themselves, but they can point you to someone who can.

Even beyond all of these is Jesus. People will fail us, but God never will. Be filled with His Spirit as the scripture says, and you will truly never be alone.

“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:17-18)

LIE #3: They’ll Be Better Off Without You.

The Truth is suicide is the most hurtful thing you could ever do to your family, friends, church family and community. They would NEVER get over it. They would NEVER recover from losing you. They would think of their loss EVERY DAY for the rest of their lives. Even rare joyful days would leave them wondering how you might have enjoyed it. Your death would impose a life sentence of sorrow on those you love the most.

“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:” (1 Corinthians 12:18-22)

LIE #4: Death Is The Only Way Out.

The Truth is Jesus has a plan for your life, and if you walk in His ways, He will guide you through your problems. That doesn’t mean life won’t be difficult or painful. It doesn’t mean that you won’t have to suffer repercussions for your actions. It doesn’t mean you won’t have to endure hardship. What it DOES mean is that you will never be alone, and if you will be attentive to God’s Word and Spirit, He will lead you the best path through your circumstances.

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

LIE #5: Death Is Like Falling Asleep.

The Truth is death is more like waking up. There is no long night of peaceful slumber after you die. There are no sweet dreams after death. Your body may rest in the ground, but your soul (the part of you that thinks, knows and is aware) awakes immediately to eternal reality.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (Hebrews 9:27)

LIE #6: Your body is yours.

The Truth is your body is on loan from God, its Creator. It is the very first thing He entrusted to your care, and He expects you keep it in good repair and use it for His glory.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

LIE #7: You can finally have peace.

The Truth is there is no peace outside of God’s will. He created you to be filled with His Spirit, live according to His Word, and be beneficial to His Kingdom. Living for Jesus brings true peace.

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

LIE #8: Suicide Is Your Friend.

The Truth is Suicide is the enemy of your soul. It is of the devil. It comes only to steal, kill and destroy your mind, your body, your soul, your hope and your future. Living for Jesus brings life.

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

LIE #9: God will forgive you.

The Truth is that God is a God of mercy, but He is also a God of judgment. His Word assures us that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins if we repent. However, you cannot repent of suicide. Once it is done, it cannot be undone. Nor can you repent and ask the Lord to forgive you for what you are going to do. That is not true repentance, and will not be accepted as such by God.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (Acts 2:38-29)

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” (Acts 17:30)

LIE #10: Suicide Is Your Idea.

The Truth is suicide is a spirit. It is unholy. It roams the earth in search of hopeless people to seduce into following it into the lake of fire, which is its eternal judgement. This ungodly spirit cannot force you to do anything, but it uses the power of suggestion, lies and every negative emotion to persuade you into harming yourself. If you are having thoughts of suicide, I assure you, it is not your idea.

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

LIE #11: You shouldn’t say anything.

The Truth is keeping you silent is the biggest deception of all. As long as you are silent, the lies suicide tells you are all you can hear.

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)

~~~~~~~

*** I am not a counselor; nor am I a medical professional. I am simply someone who loves you, and wants God’s best for you. If you are toying with the idea of suicide, I beg you to reach out to someone.

!!!FOR HELP!!! Call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255                                   or follow this link to the SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE WEBSITE.

Follow this link to LOCATE A MINISTER who will pray with you..

Other choices include a Pastor, Counselor, Teacher, Coach, Friend or Family Member. There are people who care. Make them understand you are in trouble. Let them point you in the right direction.

Warm Regards, -Pat

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter, and email me: Pat@PATVICK.COM.

How Defining Words Defined My Life

~ Pat Vick ~ 4 Comments

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:3)

WORDS DEFINE BORDERS. From the beginning, it was God’s spoken Word that brought definition to the world as we know it. His Word defined the boundaries of the seas, and the frame of the mountains. Without His spoken Word, it would still remain without form and void.

Likewise, the spoken word defines our lives. Whether the literal Word of God, or a person simply speaking from their heart, spoken words define the parameters of our lives. With a simple word, you can cause someone’s life to be blessed and flourish, or to be cursed and wither.

With a word, you can cause someone's life to be blessed and flourish, or to be cursed and wither. Click To Tweet

There have been pivotal times in my life that words have been spoken to me that molded the course of my life. The people that spoke them didn’t realize they were defining the parameters of my life, or changing its outcome. They were simply speaking from their hearts.

POSITIVE WORDS BLESS. As a freshman in high school, I twirled a flag in the color guard. One day I spent a few minutes listening to and encouraging a fellow band member who was dealing with a life situation. This girl was several years older than me. We didn’t really have anything in common outside of the band room. I didn’t even play an instrument. It was simply an isolated encounter.

The band director noticed us chatting. Afterward, he came up to me and said, “Pat, you have the kind of personality that can relate to people in any social group.”

I don’t know if what he said was true before that day, but I do know that it became true from that day on. Throughout the rest of my high school years, and my life until now, I have never felt bound to any one exclusive social group. I have been able to interact and befriend people across multiple social barriers -age, financial, denomination. As a pastor’s wife, this gifting has served me well.

A similar incident happened years later, when a friend said to me, “Pat, you could minister to people in a palace or a mud hut.” Working alongside my husband in missions, I have often been appreciative of the reality these spoken words created in my life.

NEGATIVE WORDS CURSE. Words can also define the parameters of our lives in a negative way. I’ve always carried a song in my heart. I’m not sure that’s enough to make someone a singer, but I’ve always had a desire to let that melody out.

I had finally rallied the courage to sing in church…in front of real people. After service, several complimented my singing with kind words of encouragement. I knew my attempt had been less than stellar, due to a terrible case of nerves, and said so. A man in the congregation replied, “Well, we all can’t be good at everything.”

Looking back, I know this man truly thought he was being helpful, but I literally felt my world alter in that moment. Something shifted in the spirit realm. A rift was formed, a chasm that I’ve never been able to cross. Decades later, my throat stills swells closed in an anxiety attack when I try to sing in front of people.

IT’S NOT JUST MIND OVER MATTER. Spoken words create reality. Believing or disbelieving them is not enough to alter their effect. They are already at work the instant they are released. God’s Word didn’t require anyone to believe it for the Earth to be formed. Neither do our words have to be believed to create either a positive or negative reality.

WORDS ARE POWERFUL. Choose them wisely. Speak life.

I would love to hear your stories of how words defined your life in either a positive or negative way.

Warm Regards,

-Pat

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, email me at pat@patvick.com, and subscribe here to my mailing list.

My Pastor’s Wife Embarrassed Me

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

We were hosting a get together at our house for the Church family. This was years ago in Birmingham. It was common that we would have people over for food and fellowship. Everyone was outside sitting in lawn chairs, laughing and talking. The kids were weaving in, out and all around, getting scolded or snatched up by a frustrated parent.

I was in the kitchen preparing food to take outside, and my Pastor’s wife came in to help. You know how it is in a kitchen with several ladies working. Each one is doing her part, filling glasses with ice, pouring soda, adding serving spoons to bowls of food, washing a few pots.  Sister Raggio’s task must have been to open a can of something. I suspect baked beans.

We were all chatting as we worked, content just being together. That’s when I heard the words that I would remember for the rest of my life. Over the hum of chatter and from across the kitchen, I heard, “Oh, this can opener!”

My Pastor’s Wife embarrassed me.

I literally stopped in my tracks. Clueless. What was wrong with the can opener? I walked over to see what she was referring to. It looked the same as it always did. Actually, the same as it had for years. It was only the continued look of revulsion on my Pastor’s Wife’s face that caused me to look more closely.img_0851

As I leaned in for a closer inspection, I saw what she was reacting to. Thick, caked on crud was tightly gunked into the gears and around the magnet. Who knew you had to clean an electric can opener? Not me. I had never given it a moment’s thought. I had used this particular can opener for years, and never had any trouble. It had always worked fine. It had never occurred to me that it might be important to maintain it’s appearance for guests or to sanitize it so that they wouldn’t get sick. It had never occurred to me that what was on the outside of the can opener might cause a problem if it got inside the food I was preparing.

Until my Pastor’s Wife embarrassed me.

I never told Sis. Raggio that she embarrassed me. As a matter of fact, we never spoke of it again. I realized that it had not been intentional. She had simply reacted to filth. It was so disgusting and foreign to everything that she practiced in her own life, that she reacted without thinking. I couldn’t hold that against her. I also never forgot.

To this day twenty-fiveish years later, I cannot use an electric can opener without that incident coming to mind. I examine it closely. Every. Single. Time. I don’t remember if I went to work cleaning that old kitchen tool back in the day, or if I just chunked it and bought a new one. Today, I have a sleek, stainless steel model with detachable cutting gears that can be tossed in the dishwasher at a moment’s notice.

I wonder what would have happened if I would have gotten all bent out of shape that day. If I would have reacted in anger toward my Pastor’s Wife. If I had insisted on making my embarrassment the focus instead of the dirty can opener. I would have lost my relationship with one of the most important and influential people in my life…as well as made a lot of people sick through the years.

There are things in our lives that need cleaning up. Attitudes, conversations, wardrobes, entertainments, our very thoughts. Our Pastor’s Wife is often the one who notices these things and reacts first. Let’s not be offended at her, but simply start cleaning the dirty places in our lives. We’ll retain a beautiful relationship, and not infect a whole bunch of folks with the yuk we’ve been living with for years.

Sister Raggio went to be with her Lord years ago, but the lessons she taught me are just as powerful today, if not more so. She was an anointed speaker and teacher, but I find the lessons I’ve remembered and applied the most are the ones she taught me in our day to day relationship.

I’m so glad my Pastor’s Wife embarrassed me.img_0850

POINTS TO PONDER:

-Do you have a Pastor’s Wife that can speak freely into your life?

-Have you ever become offended when a spiritual leader gave direction?

-Are there areas in your life that you know you should clean up to be more spiritually productive?

-Can you think of a time when your Pastor’s Wife embarrassed you, but looking back, you are glad she did?

*****

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share on social media and link back to http://PatVick.com.

Warm Regards, -Pat

Seasons Change

~ Pat Vick ~ 2 Comments

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

 

This time of the year always makes me a bit wistful, like something is slipping through my fingers that I want to grasp and hold tightly to. Beach sand. Warm breezes. An incomplete thought. Relationships.

This unsettledness seems to be brought on by two things. One is the crisp morning air. I can look out the window and see the horse and cows lift their faces in the morning coolness, breathing it in. Even they know change is coming.

The second is my hummingbird feeder on the back porch. In the middle of summer, it is the center of much activity. Once the weather starts to cool, it hangs idle. I leave nectar in it longer than most, because you never know when a lone traveler will need energy for her journey. But sooner or later, all my beautiful jeweled hummers leave for warmer places.img_0800

It reminds me of a time in my life about twenty-five years ago. We were living in Birmingham, Alabama, and were very active in the Church there. There was a young man in the Church who was from Florida, but was attending college in Birmingham. He spent a lot of time in our home. Everyone who ever met him, loved him. When it came time for his graduation, and for him to move back home, I was so distraught that I could hardly stand it. I just couldn’t bear the thought of him not being in our day to day lives.

Fast forward a quarter of a century…Our family is now very involved with Global Missions, something we could have never foreseen twenty-five years ago. My husband schedules Missionaries to be in Church services all over our state while they are traveling on deputation.

Would you believe that young man from our Birmingham days is now involved in the Associates In Missions program of the United Pentecostal Church?! This means that one day, in the relatively near future, this man’s family will travel through our state on deputation and my husband is likely to be the one scheduling his services in our Churches. I am looking so forward to catching up and enjoying his new season right along with him for a while.

As I’ve grown older and matured a little, I’ve realized that not everyone that God brings into my life is going to be a permanent fixture. People have to follow the path that God is leading them down. There are seasons in each of our lives, and occasionally those seasons overlap.

People come and go in our lives for many reasons. Schooling, jobs, illness, vacations, military, dreams, passions, travels, bad decisions, good decisions, death and endless other reasons that we often have no control over.

Just remember it’s all about seasons. Whoever God has placed in your life during this season of time, be a true friend to them. Cherish them. Add value to their lives. Then when a season of change is in the air, don’t hold on so tightly that you nor they can enjoy what is right around the corner.

As for me, I’m going to leave my hummingbird feeder up for another week or two. When I’m sure there won’t be anymore visitors, I’ll take it down, wash it up and store it until Spring. Until then, I’m going to turn my attention to the feeder in my front yard. It hasn’t had much traffic through the summer months. Now that cooler weather is coming, my winter birds will be getting hungry.

Warm Regards, -Pat

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QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

1. Have you lost someone and had no control over the situation?

2. If so, how does this affect your present relationships?

3. Do you hold on too tightly, or perhaps choose not to get too close?

4. Do you allow Jesus to be your constant and most treasured Friend?

*Please feel free to leave a comment, share content that has blessed you and link back to http://patvick.com.

Camma’s Tribute

~ Pat Vick ~ 3 Comments
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“Camma” 3/04 – 9/12/16

My oldest son’s childhood friend passed away a few days ago. Logan worked for that little golden puppy the whole summer of his fourteenth year. It was hard work and quite a bit of responsibility working at the kennel where she was born, but he didn’t mind at all. He passed the time making big plans and dreaming big dreams for the two of them.

Every hour that he put into cleaning kennels, he was also being mentored by the best dog trainer around. Oh, he learned how to muck a pen, for sure, but he also learned self discipline, patience and respect. As he followed that old trainer around and did his bidding day after day, Logan thought he was working for the price of a puppy, when he was really learning to be a man.

Once he brought that wiggly canine home, they were inseparable. They tromped through every field and swamp within walking distance, and when they got tired, they rode. The four wheeler, the ranger, the truck, the boat. Camma loved to ride. Logan would drive and she would sit up tall and smile.

One of his big plans was to make her a great duck hunting dog. She never actually cared much for jumping into icy water or holding feathery birds in her mouth. She was a good sport, though, and would do anything that Logan asked of her. Mice. Now that was something Camma got excited about. One little rodent darting through the grass or a scurry under a brush pile would turn that pudgy pup into a well honed weapon of mouse destruction. Once we all stopped trying to make her something she wasn’t, everyone was happier for it. She was some kind of mouser.

There was only one time in Camma’s twelve years that she and Logan had a true falling out. He had wanted a litter of puppies so badly. All of the arrangements were made and the whole family anticipated sweet puppy breath. The big day arrived in the middle of a horrid, storm-ridden cold snap. You can imagine the pandemonium that ensued when Logan found brand new puppies scattered all over the muddy kennel. Of course, Momma and the whole brood were immediately brought into the basement and made comfortable.

We grieved over the first pup that didn’t make it through the storm. We comforted the anxious mom when she laid on the second pup and it didn’t recover. When Logan happened upon her intentionally doing away with a third pup, I was afraid for her life. The remaining three pups were raised on a bottle, and Camma went back to doing what she did best, being a boy’s best friend.

Logan came through his teenage years with Camma at his side. It wasn’t uncommon to see them in a distant field, coming home from their latest adventure. Logan would be talking, and Camma would be listening. I’m sure she heard all of his woes about girls and siblings and being a Pastor’s kid.

1 Corinthians 13:11 says, “…when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Logan’s friendship with Camma must not have been childish. After he got married and moved out on his own, he would still come over every couple of weeks to visit his childhood friend. I would look out the window and see them coming through the field. Logan would be talking, and Camma would be listening. Often they would be riding the ranger. Logan would be driving, and Camma would be sitting up tall and smiling.

Yes, today there is sadness because of the freshly turned soil under the pine trees. Yet, there is also much thankfulness for the memories of a little yellow pup and how she helped to raise the big, strong man who lives down the road.

-Pat Vick (All Rights Reserved 9/16/16)

Who Is The Gardener of Your Mind?

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

The thoughts you are thinking right now, are they from God or satan? Do you know? Have you checked? Can you tell?

-Do they promote God or self?

-Do they encourage holiness or worldliness?

-Do they convict you of sin or condemn you for it?

-Do they speak faith or fear?

-Do they urge you to adhere to or resist your own conscience?

-Do they make you feel focused or confused?

-Do they make you want to bow down in humbleness, or to bow up with pride?

-Do they affirm the Word of God or contradict it?

*Remember, the devil is a master at implanting a seed of thought into the fertile soil of your mind and laughing as it grows to maturity and begins to bear fruit.

A Lesson on Making Salmon Patties

~ Pat Vick ~ 4 Comments

While opening a can of salmon yesterday, I was reminded of the first time Granny (my husband’s maternal grandmother) ate my salmon patties.

The men in my husband’s family were farmers and because of this, the women were fantastic cooks. Now don’t get me wrong, the women in my family were great cooks, as well, in more of a gourmet meal kind of way. The women in my husband’s family were meat and potatoes, stick to your ribs, country cookin’ kind of gals.

Any time of day or night, you could go into Granny’s house and there would be pots on the stove with yummy smelling food inside. Any hour the men came in from the field or a grandchild wandered through, there would be something to eat. Inevitably, there were stewed potatoes, green beans, meat, a pan of cornbread and dessert.

I admired their cooking ability and aspired to learn their trade, knowing it would impress my husband if I could cook like his mother and grandmother.

Deciding to start with salmon patties (which my husband only tolerates to this day), I gave Granny a call and she walked me through the process on the phone. “A little of this. A pinch of that.”

I remember that salmon falling open in the bowl and seeing that long line of vertebrae and spindly rib bones. Mashing a little chunk of backbone between my fingers, I commented to Granny that the bones were surprisingly soft and did I have to remove them.

Now what she said and what I heard were obviously two different things. I thought she said I could leave them in, so I smashed them all as best I could, mixed up the whole batch of this and that, formed beautiful round patties and fried ’em up just like I thought she would do.

Granny and Papa came over that evening to do a taste test and I was so proud and eager for her approval. There they lay all golden and crispy on the platter (albeit a bit lumpy). I’ll never forget the expression on Granny’s face as she chewed that first bite. Slowly.

“You didn’t take out the bones,” she said in a hesitant voice as she swallowed. Slowly.

“I thought you said I could leave them in,” I replied, realizing that this wasn’t turning out as I had hoped. I wasn’t going to get Granny’s Blue Ribbon Seal of Approval for this batch of salmon patties.

She looked me in the eye and gently said, “I said if you missed a few you could leave them in. I didn’t say you should leave them all in.”
Of course, I was embarrassed. We laughed about it through the years, and I learned to make salmon patties with no bones.

The most important lesson that I learned, however, was in the wisdom she imparted to me that day which I have applied time and again in all areas of my life…Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.