What is in a Name?

Proverbs 22:1-2 (KJV) A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches; and loving favor rather than silver and gold. 2 The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is maker of all.

My grandfather Richard Patch tried to teach a little boy about what honor and  trust. That is the gold and silver we should be concerned with because they will benefit us not only here but in the hereafter. What we do is based on who we are and who we are is the direct result of the influences of our very early formative years.  Many believe that you are you by the age of just 3. Remember that the next time a 2 year old repeats something for they miss nothing.

To both my father Serge and my grandfather, your name was all that you are. And how you lived reinforced that name. Both men were the most truthful people I have probably ever know. You always knew where you stood and always for good reason.

But I learned loving favor from my grandma and my wife. Many call it Grace. I call it unrequited love that can only come from the Father. No matter which it is something that I desire to make more a part of who I am and what our family is about.

FullyRelyingOnGod

What Does Love Mean?

I just had to share with you this wonderful email I received the other day.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
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"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."

Rebecca- age 8
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"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

Billy - age 4 (I love this one)
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"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

Karl - age 5
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"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."

Chrissy - age 6
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"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

Terri - age 4
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"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."

Danny - age 7
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"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"

Emily - age 8
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"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
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"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"

Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
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"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

Noelle - age 7
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"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."

Tommy - age 6

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"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."

Elaine-age 5
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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."

Chris - age 7
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"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."

Mary Ann - age 4
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"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."

Lauren - age 4
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"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."

Karen - age 7 (what an image)
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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."

Mark - age 6
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"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget"

Jessica - age 8
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And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.


The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry"
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When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

Father, God bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationshipwith you. Amen.

If you send this on, you caused a multitude of people to pray for other people.

Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life.
Your Friend,

Mary Willis

" Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! . .. .." --Psalm 116:2 (NLT)

A New Series Coming

Watch close for a new series of messages coming to a screen near you.

“And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
(George Washington’s farewell address as President of the United States)

A Word for Today

PUSH - Pray Until Something Happens thanks Brenda from South Carolina

So be a PUSHIE FROG Pray Until Something Happens In Expectation, Fully Relying On God

FullyRelyingOnGod

How Much Does God Get?

Back some 235 years ago there were a large population of men and women who had come to this place called America. A place of open air, lots of food and a place to come and worship Jesus Christ without the interference of the government. Men and women worked hard for what they had and were proud of their work. Many believed that they had reached the Promised land. They saw God all around them everyday. All aspects of life flowed through God.

He has made all that is and He made it for each of us to share. But do I have to share? No you don't have to share, but wait until you experience the joy of giving someone something that you enjoy and they don't expect. Not only do you get the joy of the item but also to share in the joy of the person you just shared with.

Where is God in you day? Do you find time for Him everyday or do you make time for Him everyday? Does He get you fresh or at the end of the day? If we want His best will we give Him our best? Do we really remember who He is? Often times we seem to think that He is a magic lamp and if you rub it you get the prize. He's Abba Father. He loves us and wants only the best for us and from us.

Yesterday was a day of retrospect for me. With a family of 12 here in GB and a handful 120 miles away and a parcel of kin in Kentucky, as well as California, New Mexico, Arizona, my roots run deep back to family like Paul Revere and the boys. We can daily stand with our country's founders. Living for the Lord means nothing more than remember to think of the world around you and how God would use you to bring glory to the Kingdom. How did God purpose it to be. Are my family going to remember me or are they going to remember that I lived and loved my Saviour? Do they follow my footsteps or are they walking in my footsteps because we are all following Jesus?

Not always an easy question to hear the answer to. Confession time. I am not the most benevolent head of the family. But God knows that, and thats why God tells us to follow Jesus and not Richard Swiger. Jesus knows where He is going because not only has He been there but He built the road there and back just for you. Sometimes I get it and sometimes I don't. So every day I look to God with the eyes and heart of a little child and I ask Him, "What are we going to learn today Lord?"

FullyRelyingOnGod

What Do We Do Next

As the stock market falls and the news is full of a failed economic recovery we are reminded that this is not Heaven yet. Bank accounts are getting a little thin and the bills are getting thicker. What to do? Stay and fight or turn and run? Trust in God or trust in manna? Not easy choices for anyone let alone one in a battle for their soul.

In our email here at Lily Pad Ministries this morning, was a sad email. A pastor that I have been sharing with online sent me a plea for prayer for he and his community. Here is a short excerpt from that email.

One reason I am writing about storms today is because of a event that happened in our small community just a few days ago and I need your prayers to help me with questions that others have. A young man with a wife and small children took his own life the other day, he had lost his job before Christmas, bills were piling up and he must have thought their was no other way out.

Sadly this is only one of thousands of stories happening across this country and the world at this very moment. Please join us in pray for this family and their pastor and the community. Many will be watching and we know that God will use this situation to bring glory to His kingdom.

Please pray for churches all across the world because we can always use a little more faith. God will not let the prayers of the believer go unanswered. Intercession. Jesus interceded for us by dying on the cross. For us to intercede we just need to hit our knees.

I could give you tons of scripture for a time like this, but that is not always the answer. I could tell you what I would do but I am me and you are you. Our relationship with Jesus is as unique and individual as we are. God made us that way on purpose so that we would have to seek Him for the answers unique to us. There are days when I am calling out to Him literally with every breath. He always meets us when we call out to Him.

He loves us, He gave His only Son for us and He gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us. That has told me over the years that I can believe the Word of God completely and unconditionally.

There have been times when I had to hang on to the faith of those around me to survive. That is what you and I are here for. To come alongside those that are troubled and are in need of someone to to be there “with” them. The secret is the word with. With out judgment or condemnation but with love and compassion. Sometimes just talking to a borother or sister in the faith is enough for us to see that our faith is stronger than we thought.

2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

FullyRelyingOnGod

Asking Why

As I got on the Internet today, the first news I saw was of the earthquake numbers from Haiti. Over 100,000 dead with the local government saying the number could easily reach 500,000. The quake struck at 4:53 p.m., and was centered 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince at a depth of only 5 miles (8 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said. USGS geophysicist Kristin Marano called it the strongest earthquake since 1770 in what is now Haiti. full article (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9D718703&show_article=1)

Having just been in the Caribbean last month, and from what I saw then, God has a very strong part in their lives. May we all please find time to meet these people in prayer. Contact the International Red Cross (http://www.icrc.org/) and, or your churches to find out what you can do to help in this moment of need.

These are the moments that test our faith. This is when we find it easy to ask God, Why?

So if you want to know why, ask God. Be honest with Him about how you are feeling. Then ask Him to show you His answer. Again remember Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

He was told us that we will experience many things in our life that we will totally fail to understand. That is why we have the Gospel. The Good News. Because God knows that this world is godless. So He sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us as we pass through this live to eternity with Him. To help us understand the path that God has prepared for each of us.

We read in God’s word, “Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” No matter what, He is with us.

So if you want to know why, ask God. But honest with Him, and yourself.

A lot of people got to go be with the Lord and the rest of us get to continue to be blessed daily by our Father in Heaven.

FullyRelyingOnGod