I first met Daniel (not his real name) in a Gideons Bible Study at my county jail one Sunday in 2015. He was in custody for an unspeakable crime he’d been committing for the past year. He shuffled through the door of the small meeting room with his head down as I was explaining salvation […]
In my five trips to Ireland, I always end up in Dublin, and I always go to Phoenix Park, and I always sit on the same bench on the Khyber Road within the park. This is what I wrote after my first trip in 2016 as I sat on that bench. Sitting on a White […]
A Beta Reader is someone who reads a new book by an author and gives their take on it. It’s not being an editor or proofreader, which are paid positions. And it’s not purchasing the book or having any other financial requirements. The name of the book is FINDING THE SAFEST PLACE ON EARTH. It’s […]
“Who are you?” I asked Marvin when he came into the meeting room of the jail where I chaplain. I asked the same question to Crystal five or six years ago, and she answered with a big smile on her face, “A child of God.” Not a bad answer for someone who had come to […]
“Are you a 1 or a 2?” I asked 22 inmates on a recent Sunday afternoon Gideons’ Bible study at our county jail. They looked at me with blank stares. “A 1 is who you are without God. It’s who you want to be. It’s being self-conscious. A 2 is who you are with God. […]
J. left jail last week and declared that he wanted me to be his mentor and accountability coach as he transitioned from a life of drugs to a life with Christ. “I’m going to need your help, Pat, so I don’t get back into the drug life I had and so I become the man […]
In my hotel room in the Meyrick Hotel in Galway, Ireland, on April 13, 2019. “I have separated you unto Myself … to do My work.” Of course! I can’t separate myself. Jesus chose the 12 apostles. They did not choose Him. They did not volunteer to follow Him. John 15:16: “You did not choose […]
I got back home this past Saturday from the better part of two weeks in Ireland. One of the features of this trip was visiting churches in the cities I stayed at. Before I tell you of this particular highlight of my trip, I must tell you that I am very, very Irish and have […]
Definition: A Plus One is a person who accompanies someone to a party or other event when the invitation allows the invited guest to bring another person. My wife and I were at a family wedding near San Francisco this past weekend, and I got to meet and talk to a number of people I […]
I’ve found that a good spiritual exercise is to see myself standing before Jesus in heaven and listening to what He has to say to me. This particular episode occurred on December 21, 2021. “I am standing before you, Jesus, in the City of Light, and You ask, ‘What did you do for Me in […]