Prayerful Pondering

by Pat Luffman Rowland

Author: Pat Luffman Rowland

  • In a study of the people Jesus healed, I noted eleven different afflictions: demon/evil spirit possessed, paralytics, blind, fever, leprosy, dying, hemorrhage or bleeding, raised from the dead, seizures, bent over, deaf/mute. Though these have their specific stories, it doesn’t mean they were the only diseases or afflictions that Jesus healed. Thousands came to Him…

  • Journaling Life’s Good Times and Bad

    Journaling is a good thing. I wish I could learn to be steadfast with it, faithful to the recording of my thoughts, God’s hand moving in my life, scriptures of promise I claimed. I was reminded this morning of such a time when I read an entry from two years ago. It was reflection and…

  • Pray in the Name of Your Need

    How do you need God today? Pray to Him in that way.

  • For the Beauty of the Skies

    Several springs ago, I spent a lot of early mornings on my patio.

  • Sgt. Stubby, an American War Hero

    There is a delightful animated movie released this month about a war dog of World War I

  • Yesterday, while cleaning out files, I came across some writings from years past. I had held onto a variety of musings long forgotten, but this one–a prayer–still speaks my heart so I decided to keep it a while longer. May I share it with you? It may speak your heart, too. Astound me, Lord, with…

  • Pastor David Cross’ lesson for our Sunday school class yesterday was from Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV). He explained how God wants us to walk with integrity and uprightness, to have a heart undivided—a simple heart. That is, a heart that is honest and…

  • In his book, All In, Mark Batterson explains that spiritual maturity is when the theoretical becomes experiential.  That led me to think about Joseph, the son of Jacob, and how his life unfolded. We get to know Joseph at the age of 17 and assuredly, he could never have imagined that he would someday be…

  • I had been lackadaisical with physical exercise for a while. My workouts at home were decreasing while my sense of guilt was increasing. I knew I would need some kind of disciplined approach to get back on track and decided to do what had proven helpful before. I joined a fitness center. As a new…

  • Say hello to a very special little girl named Maddie. Isn’t she beautiful? Shortly after birth, Maddie had a stroke, developed E. coli meningitis, and spent three weeks in a coma. She survived it all somehow, and went home. Her parents were not prepared or maybe of the mind to take care of her and for…