Posted by Patti Foster on February 5th, 2012 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
I might have shared this poem with you before, but I wanted to point out this one particular stanza…sweet Heather, who was in the wreck with me in 2002, wrote this –
If today were your last day,
Would you witness without any slack?
Could you say you lived your life to the fullest
And don’t have to look back?
God’s love will help you share
To all those around you who have pain and strife.
What would you do if today were your last?
~ Heather Folden
I just had lunch with two awesome young people who are, as the writer of Hebrews said, “running with perseverance the race that is marked out for them. (Hebrews 12:1) As we were almost done and about to be on our way, this question came up: What do you want people to remember about you?
How about you? If today were your last day, how do you think people would remember you?
“The life we live today is the legacy we leave tomorrow.”
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Posted by Patti Foster on January 29th, 2012 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
“Moira, you don’t SAVOUR!” My deflated friend finally offered up the reason for her evident disappointment as we stood in the supermarket checkout line. Single at the time, I had quickly seized the one item on my shopping list, not realizing this was meant to be a leisurely, relational experience! I’m sure that the “Author of Life” is often grieved because of what we miss in our attention-deficit society.
“There is a fast-growing crusade to put the brakes on modern life,” according to Maclean’s August 1st, 2005 cover story, THE JOY OF SLOW. Sometimes life puts the brakes on for us. Patti Foster spent six weeks in a coma after a horrific traffic accident on June 18th, 2002 in Texas. The 34-year-old was on her way to a Bible study with three other women when their SUV was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler, pulling a trailer of cars at 70 mph. An eyewitness thought “a piece of laundry” had flown out of a window. The impact turned Patti’s body into a missile, her head and body ripping a hole in the back, right-side panel of the vehicle. The radio host and former fine arts missionary (teaching English through music) had damage to every lobe of her brain – along with multiple fractures – and had to fight for her life.
As the restoration process began, she had to relearn basic functions such as how to blink and swallow. “Because of this, words really made very little sense to me,” Patti explains. “However, non-verbal communication did. As people came into my room, I immediately interpreted what they were saying nonverbally. I paid attention to their eye contact, tone of voice, facial expressions, touch, body gestures, etc.” Patti is quick to point out that 97 percent of communication is nonverbal.
Before our recent 100 Huntley Street interview, we held hands as we chatted. Patti radiated Jesus, and I was reminded that God wraps up His best gifts in people. As a result of the traumatic brain injury, this brave survivor has challenges with short-term memory. But you can see that she relishes those “aha” moments – pausing and depositing them in a special place within her brain so they are not lost.
“Moment by moment, I go out of my way to pay attention. The small things are really the big things. Once you’ve died, you learn the real significance of living.” Patti’s mission is M.A.D. Now! She’s determined to Make A Difference Now! and encourages everyone else to do the same. For a woman who leans into life with zest – despite having a body comparable to that of an 80-year-old – this is not motivation to more activity, but more receptivity. It’s about… savouring. Friends learn to “taste and see that the Lord is good”1 as Patti picks up, points out and prays about things that might be overlooked in the busyness.
Twenty-five years after my supermarket indictment comes this challenge from my new friend: “What does your life say when your mouth is not moving?” Hmmm… I need to savour that!
Endnotes: 1 Psalm 34:8
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Posted by Patti Foster on January 22nd, 2012 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Once, after his father scolded him for something he had done wrong to his younger sister, the little boy whispered under his breath, “I didn’t see that one coming.”
Well, oftentimes in life, that’s how we are…didn’t see that one coming! Things happen we didn’t expect – relationships dwindle, jobs change, people get sick, friends move. Life changes in the blink of an eye…and even faster sometimes.
No matter what the situation is, beneath us every step of the way (like Rich Mullins sang, Step by step He leads me…) are the everlasting arms of Almighty God, holding us fast. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deut 33:27)
During some rough days of her life, Dottie Rambo wrote the words to this song, Sheltered in the Arms of God:
(Verse 1) I feel the touch of hands so kind and tender. They’re leading me in paths that I must trod. I have no fear when Jesus walks beside me, for I’m sheltered in the arms of God.
(Chorus) So let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise. They won’t worry me, for I’m sheltered safe within the arms of God. He walks with me and naught of earth shall harm me, For I’m sheltered in the arms of God.
Talk to the Potter, friend. Tell Him all about troubles. Don’t hold anything back from Him.
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. (Jeremiah 18:1-6; NIV)
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Posted by Patti Foster on January 15th, 2012 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Just had an idea…
I’ve just gotten home from a memorial service celebrating the life of one of my friends who recently passed away in Indianapolis, IN. This thought came to me:
How about we have a go at speaking/writing/mailing/etc. some “words of encouragement” to a person(s) who have made a difference in our lives?
In other words, don’t wait until they’re dead to “brag” on them and talk about how swell they are and what an impact they’ve made on your life.
So, I encourage you…I urge you to step out of your box this week…take a baby step and send some words of encouragement (much like Vitamin B-12 – they give strength to the heart), to the people in your life who have added value and “better-ness” to your world.
The mother of oncologist, Dr Sasha Vukelja, once said, Whenever you feel you should do something for someone else, you should do it, because you may not have another chance.
Happy Spreading Vit B-12!!
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Posted by Patti Foster on January 1st, 2012 — Posted in Keepin' Up with Patti
* January 7, 2012 – Partners for Youth; MADD; Smith County, TX
* January 10 - TBI Support Group; Tarrant County, TX
* January 11 - BIR; Dallas, TX
* January 12 - Center for Counseling & Enrichment; Arlington, TX
* January 14 – Partners for Youth; MADD; Smith County, TX
* January 21 - Wedding, First Baptist Church; Jacksonville, TX
* January 25 - Harvest Christian Academy; Ft. Worth, TX
* January 26 – TBI Seminar; Baylor All Saints Medical Center; Ft. Worth, TX
* February 3 – Judge; Middle School Solo and Ensemble; Robert E. Lee High School; Tyler, TX
* February 4 - Judge; Middle School Solo and Ensemble; Robert E. Lee High School; Tyler, TX
* Feb 6 – Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary; Tyler, TX
* Feb 8 - BIR; Dallas, TX
* Feb 9 - Center for Counseling & Enrichment; Arlington, TX
* Feb 10 – Rockwall Women’s League; Rockwall, TX
* Feb 20 – UNT Health Science Center; Fort Worth, TX
* Feb 27 – UNT Health Science Center; Fort Worth, TX
* March 10 – Partners for Youth; MADD; Smith County, TX
* March 17 – Partners for Youth; MADD; Smith County, TX
* March 24 – “Walk for Thought”; BIATX; Irving, TX
* April 14 – Women’s Prayer Breakfast; East Side Baptist Church; Rusk, TX
* May 10 – Webinar; HPS University, ValueOptions; Dallas, TX
* October 23 – Ladies Retreat; Holly Tree Chapel; Holly Lake Ranch, TX
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Posted by Patti Foster on December 25th, 2011 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Go back in time with me to 2002-2003…
As my brain began to wake up out of the coma that it was in for 6 weeks, the slow, grueling process of learning to live again taught me, over and over, that small steps, small things in life really do matter. They make up the “big stuff.”
So, as you think about the coming new year and hear others talk about their “new year resolution,” I urge you to consider my own, personal motto for living and see what you come up with for yourself:
M.A.D. Now! (Make A Difference NOW!)
We never know how much time is left; so, while we have this moment, let us live it to the fullest and Make A Difference NOW!
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Posted by Patti Foster on December 22nd, 2011 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
MERRY CHRISTMAS to you!! 
There has been many a time in my life when I’ve been called Peppermint Patti. In my head-trauma brain, peppermint always reminds me of a candy cane. So, with no further adieu, I’d like to share this fascinating story with you:
A Candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane.
He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.
He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God.
The candy maker made the candy in the form of a “J”to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the “Good Shepherd” with which he reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.
Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life. Unfortunately, the candy became known as a Candy Cane – a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who “have eyes to see and ears to hear”.
I pray that this symbol will again be used to witness To The Wonder of Jesus and His Great Love that came down at Christmas and remains the ultimate and dominant force in the universe today.
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Posted by Patti Foster on December 19th, 2011 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Do certain things ever throw you off-course? You know, those unexpected surprises that appear out of the blue? Each one of us could probably tell a story about a time when fear gripped us tight.
At some point this Christmas, try this: Put yourself in Mary’s place as you read these verses and imagine what it would have been like for you.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord…Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to whom His favor rests”…and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (NIV; Luke 2: 10-11, 13-14, 18-19).
Blessed ‘pondering’ to you this Christmas! 
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Posted by Patti Foster on December 11th, 2011 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
The Mayonnaise Jar
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours
in a day is not enough; remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of
coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty
mayonnaise jar and started to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the
jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it
was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a
unanimous “yes.”
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table
and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the
empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life.”
“The golf balls are the important things – God, family, children,
health, friends, and favorite passions–things that if everything else
was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”
“The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car.”
“The sand is everything else — the small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no
room for the pebbles or the golf balls.”
“The same goes for life.”
“If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will
never have room for the things that are important to you..”
“So…
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.
Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand
and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled, “I’m glad you asked.”
“It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”
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Posted by Patti Foster on December 4th, 2011 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Here’s a poem I wanted to pass along to you. It will be especailly dear to you if you’ve lost a loved one during this year.
My mother and another dear lady were recently given copies of this poem at a special time when the memories of people who had died during 2011 were lovingly honored. Grab a tissue –
My First Christmas in Heaven
I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.
I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can’t compare
With the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,
For it’s beyond description, to hear the angels sing.
I know how much you miss me. I see the pain inside your heart
But I am not so far away, we really aren’t apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones, you know I hold you dear.
And be glad I’m spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.
I send you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above.
I send you each a memory of my undying love.
After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold;
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.
Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do
For I can’t count the blessings or love He has for each of you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear
Remember, I am spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.
~Author Unknown
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