Prepare to be inspired as we take a fascinating journey with the phenomenal Pat G’Orge Walker, fondly known as the first lady of gospel comedy. Her vivacious spirit and unwavering faith have been her strength in times of adversity, and she graciously shares her experiences with us, from her personal battles to her accomplishments. She's not only received prestigious awards such as the 2004-2005 Disilgold Inspirationalist Novelist of the Year and the 2004-2005 Christian Comedian of the Year at the AGMA, but she has also been recognized as a Woman of Distinction by the New York States Assembly.
Pat's unique blend of humor, faith, and resilience is nothing short of captivating. She reveals her practice of maintaining a 'God Box', a practice that involves writing out her worries and surrendering them to God. This poignant narrative is shared alongside her experience of her husband's cancer diagnosis and her subsequent battle with illness. In the face of these challenges, Pat found solace in her faith and the power of prayer, learning to laugh and find positivity even in the most difficult moments.
Delve deeper into Pat's profound reflections on the Merry Hearts inspirational series, which emphasizes the pivotal role of women in scripture. Drawing from her Baptist and Pentecostal upbringing, Pat weaves this theme into her writing and comedy, creating an impactful narrative about faith, surrendering to God's will, and the significance of prayer. Apart from enriching our understanding of faith and resilience, this episode also celebrates Pat's tremendous contribution to gospel comedy and her enduring influence as an inspirational figure. Come join us on this riveting journey, as we navigate through trials, tribulations, and triumphs alongside the remarkable Pat G’Orge Walker.
Prepare to be inspired as we take a fascinating journey with the phenomenal Pat G’Orge Walker, fondly known as the first lady of gospel comedy. Her vivacious spirit and unwavering faith have been her strength in times of adversity, and she graciously shares her experiences with us, from her personal battles to her accomplishments. She's not only received prestigious awards such as the 2004-2005 Disilgold Inspirationalist Novelist of the Year and the 2004-2005 Christian Comedian of the Year at the AGMA, but she has also been recognized as a Woman of Distinction by the New York States Assembly.
Pat's unique blend of humor, faith, and resilience is nothing short of captivating. She reveals her practice of maintaining a 'God Box', a practice that involves writing out her worries and surrendering them to God. This poignant narrative is shared alongside her experience of her husband's cancer diagnosis and her subsequent battle with illness. In the face of these challenges, Pat found solace in her faith and the power of prayer, learning to laugh and find positivity even in the most difficult moments.
Delve deeper into Pat's profound reflections on the Merry Hearts inspirational series, which emphasizes the pivotal role of women in scripture. Drawing from her Baptist and Pentecostal upbringing, Pat weaves this theme into her writing and comedy, creating an impactful narrative about faith, surrendering to God's will, and the significance of prayer. Apart from enriching our understanding of faith and resilience, this episode also celebrates Pat's tremendous contribution to gospel comedy and her enduring influence as an inspirational figure. Come join us on this riveting journey, as we navigate through trials, tribulations, and triumphs alongside the remarkable Pat G’Orge Walker.
Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Listen Linda show. We are live. We are live. We are live right now and I have a special guest for you guys today. I have the honor of having Miss Pat G or J Walker in the building with me. Guys, you don't know how long I've been chasing this lady down to get her on my show and she is here. The first lady of gospel comedy is in the building and I am going to play some waiting music. We're going to go into prayer. Y'all know how I do and we're going to get this thing started. So I'm going to wait on her to get in the room and after that I'm going to go into prayer. You guys probably won't believe where I think that her soul, the spirit in her presence, the somewhere, earth. But what she doesn't do nowок is got much and strength. Nowok, the spirit, wonder, existin, I don't know how I can see that coming. So she's going to go to the room. Welcome, we got Pat G or J Walker, my girl. She is in the building. How you doing, pat?
Speaker 2:I am well, well, well, well. How are you doing?
Speaker 1:I'm doing fabulous. I'm so, so glad to have you in this space. Now, before we get into questions because y'all know me, queen of questions, the baby. I got questions about her book choices I'm going to start off with prayer and then we're going to get right into questions about Pat G or J Walker. Y'all know how I am. I don't do a hey, tell everybody who you are and what you're about. That's not what I do. I dig in honey, I get the juice, I get the tea. So I'm going to leave with prayer and then we're going to get right into Pat and get into no Pat. Before we go into her book choices.
Speaker 1:Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today with grateful hearts. Thank you for the opportunity to gather here and engage in this show. We ask for your presence to be with us as we embark on this journey of exploring the power of choices through words of Pat G or J Walker in her book. Lord, we ask for your blessings upon Pat, the author of choices. We thank you for the gift of her talent and her ability to share her stories that resonate with our lives. Lord, god, we pray that you guide her words, that they may inspire and touch the hearts of those who hear them. Grant her wisdom and clarity as she speaks about the themes and messages contained within her book and as we delve into the topic of choice, we ask for your guidance and discernment. Help us to understand the importance of our choices and the impact they have on our lives and those around us. May the lessons shared today encourage us to make choices that align with your will and bring glory to your name.
Speaker 1:Lord, we invite you to be the center of this show. May your spirit feel this space with love, understanding, positivity and a whole lot of tea. Give us open hearts and open minds as we listen, engage in meaningful conversations, but also have a belly of laughter and love. Lord God, we lift up this show and all its participants to you, lord God. May it be a platform that spreads your message of hope, redemption and the power of choice. In your name, we pray Jesus Christ. Amen, amen, amen, all right, all right, pat, you know I'm a praying sister now. Now I got questions because we're going to get on into it before we get into choices. Before we get into choices, I do have some questions.
Speaker 1:Don't be scared. I'm not scared, I'm not scared.
Speaker 2:You want to spill tea and I want to turn on the spickets.
Speaker 1:She said come on with it now, okay, okay. So first congratulations on your numerous accolades, including being named 2004, 2005, disago Inspirationalist Novelist of the Year and the 2004, 2005 Christian Comedian of the Year at the AGMA. How do these honors inspire and motivate you in your career?
Speaker 2:Well, that's a good question. You know, I come from the music industry. So, coming from an industry where you don't often get accolades or you just work, work, you know, maybe you get recognized or not. This was quite an honor for me because number one, I didn't know I had it on me. That was the first thing. You know, my first book well, some I called a book, some people call it a pamphlet because there's only 22 pages with a staple in the middle, but that was my book. Anyway, that book guarded me a major publishing contract with Kensington Books.
Speaker 2:So everything that flowed from that glory to God, I don't take lightly it. It propelled me to want to do more and to show people that laughter is good medicine. And some people, you know, you have to reach to where they are. I try to reach people through comedy. So every step of the way, whether it was a publisher's weekly accolade or just Essence being an Essence magazine a couple of times, performing that Essence, you know, performing on cruise lines and theaters or you know whatever, I never took any of that for granted because I never expected it.
Speaker 1:Powerful and I was in awe. I'm going to tell you. You said you want to know me, just go to my website. I said been there, did my research. Don't think I don't know, because I definitely know. And I also know that you were recognized as the New York State Assembly's Woman of Distinction in 2003. Can you share with the audience, and with those who will be listening to this on other platforms, how this recognition impacted your work and the causes you champion today?
Speaker 2:Well, first of all, I had never heard of that particular award. I moved to Elmont, new York, in 1995, I believe it was so I wasn't really familiar, you know, with a lot of the things that was happening. So when I got the notification that I was going to receive this award, I had no idea how many people have been impacted by my comedy and my books. So you never know. That's why you have to do the best you can while you can, and pray, ask God to lead you, because we are disavessals and what he pours into us we're supposed to pour out respectfully. And if we do that according to his will, we will get, you know, what we deserve in terms of alcohol, aids or wars or whatever.
Speaker 2:So, being named Woman of Distinction it kind of what's the word I'm looking for it took me. It took me, it really made me say, okay, all right, well, maybe I am doing what I'm supposed to do Because you, just as a person who writes what you write to, or someone who is in the entertainment business, you're in the entertainment business. You never know, you just put it out there, you know, do the best you can and hope that it settles somewhere where it can grow. So having that distinction, which I had it twice actually, it made me very proud, very proud because I had no idea that, you know, the New York State Assembly was even looking at me.
Speaker 1:So it made me very proud as it should. You are a phenomenal person. I first met you, actually, on Facebook I don't even know how we became friends, but we was friends on there and I said something about Patty LaBelle and I said I love her, I would do whatever I could to have dinner with her, and you replied something like, oh, that's my friend, I have dinner with her. And I was like, excuse me, who is this lady? That was my girl.
Speaker 1:I was dealing with my Patty LaBelle. Look, I'd have called her my Patty LaBelle. I said what's the other thing I'm going to do with my Patty LaBelle?
Speaker 2:She is one of the most down to earth people I'm telling you whenever I've been with her Loretta Devine, shalee, ralph, those ladies, when I tell you that they are down to earth, what you see is what you get. And Patty LaBelle, I mean, she is so down to earth that you forget who she is because she can fit into any space and make you feel comfortable while she's there. I'll tell you a funny story. When I first met Patty back in I guess it had to be in the 1980s, because I had a cousin who was singing backup for her. But I also used to write my little magazine articles and whatnot and I had to interview her at one of the Negro Ensemble, one of their.
Speaker 2:It wasn't a show, I forget exactly what it was. Well, whatever it was, I met Patty and I had to interview her and Loretta Devine, and the whole time that I was interviewing Patty and she would make me feel so comfortable, I never realized that under her arm was Emanuel Lewis. I don't know if you remember him. I'm trying to remember the character that he played on TV, but he was very short. He was, you know, not an adult but almost an adult, but he was very, very short and she had him under her arm. I don't forget she had on a paisley cap can, and under her arm was this boy. But I was so captivated by her that I never saw him until the end of the interview. That's how engaging she is.
Speaker 1:Look, I know exactly who Emanuel. Lewis is. He played Webster. I'm old enough to know, but we ain't gonna tell my aides. I know who Webster is and, yes, that is see, that's how I said. This is gonna be some tea time with us today. This is truly gonna be some tea time. We gonna have a good time on this show. Now, as far as your creative process, right, how do you transform observations and experiences into hilarious stories that resonate with your readers as well as your live audience?
Speaker 2:Well, first of all, you know I'm a PK. Both my parents were pastors and preachers. My father was Baptist, my mother was Pentecostal, and so I had no choice but to write comedy, because between those two there was some hilarious moments. I mean they. Well, I'll put it to you this way I will go to church and you know whether it's my father speaking or my mother, you know, speaking, or whatever. I would get this great message and then, before I could get to the door to leave the church, somebody will say something stupid and I could not tell him off because you know that's mama and daddy up there. You can't, you gotta be, you know, you gotta stay in line. So I would write these little skits and then I will come back and I will perform the skits based on whatever you know they said or did.
Speaker 2:That irked me, and but I could not name the people, so I started giving them the names of the character traits that you know I thought were not representative of Christ. So I named the church to ain't nobody right, but us all others going to hell. Church passed it by. The Reverend not enough money. Overseer was Bishop, was never called, and I had characters like mother pray on, of course, sister Betty and beacon laid hands and you know, brother tears. My thing was the musician, I mean different things like that and when I would perform these skits it was my way of witnessing, not necessarily preaching, but witnessing through comedy. And people started, you know, they just started coming towards it and they were embracing it. No, stay, no, okay, until it got to the point where some people recognized who I was talking about. Then I had to step back a little bit.
Speaker 1:You was basing on real, real people.
Speaker 2:I most certainly was and yeah, it got kind of, you know, hairy there for a moment, but I didn't lie and my plug was see how they serve God. You do the opposite.
Speaker 1:Amen, amen. We're going to go into the song. I'm not about to fool with Pat today. She's about to look. I love it. I love it already. My belly is four. My belly is four. God does what he does. We just got to believe for it.
Speaker 6:We don't know you like we do. There is power in your name. We've heard that there is no way through. We've heard that time will never change?
Speaker 6:They haven't seen what you can do. There is power in your name, so much power in your name. Move the immovable, break the unbreakable. God. We believe God, we believe for it. From the impossible. We'll see a miracle God. We believe God, we believe for it. We know that hope is never lost, for there is still an empty grave. God we believe, no matter what. There is power in your name, so much power in your name. Move the immovable, break the unbreakable God. We believe God, we believe for it From the impossible. We'll see a miracle God. We believe God, we believe for it. You are the way. When there seems to be no way we trust in you, god, you have a mind to say. You are the way when there seems to be no way we trust in you God, you have a mind to say. You have a mind to say Move the immovable, break the unbreakable God. We believe God, we believe for it. From the impossible. We'll see a miracle God. We believe God. We believe for it. Yes, we do. We believe for it.
Speaker 6:You said it, I believe it. You said it. It is done. You said it, I believe it. You said it so bright it done, it is done. You said it and I believe it. You said it, I believe it, it is done. Just because you said it, I can trust you with it. Just because you said it, I can trust you with it. So it's done. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is done. Move the immovable, break the unbreakable. God, we believe God, we believe for it. From the impossible We'll see a miracle, god, we believe God, we believe for it. Yes, we do God, we believe for it.
Speaker 1:Yes, that was CC Wyandas and Lauren DeAgo with Believe For it. Ms Pat, tell me how does that song resonate with you and your life choices and how you cultivate your spirituality and everything that you do?
Speaker 2:Well, I was listening to the song I'm sad to say, it's the first time I've heard it and I had to stop and just listen to it because, you know, sometimes we forget to believe. We are faced or confronted with something and we automatically go to Panicville and we forget about the God whom we serve. But this song reminded me of that. God has already prepared the way, he's already at the end while we're at the beginning. And if we're going to have faith, then we have to have faith not with a little F, but with a capital F. So I'm always reminded of that. I'm human, so sometimes I do, you know. So, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And then I have to calm down and say, okay, this is not a surprise to God.
Speaker 2:Now, one thing I do, and this is just me I have what I call a God box, and actually what it is, it's a little metal box that you you know like cash, like a little cash box with a key, lock and key. And when I'm concerned about something, if at the moment, if at that moment, I cannot pray my way through, I write it out and I put it in the God box and then I lock it and I leave it there for God to handle, and the only time I unlock it is when I'm adding something else to it, because I feel that if I go and I unlock it before then, but I'm telling God, you ain't big enough to handle this. So this song reminded me of those times when I've had to do that and I call myself a walk of miracle because you know, I'm no better, no worse than anybody else who professes Christianity. But I've had them days when I've had to say Lord you sure you know you ain't got me confused with somebody else. So that song reminded me of all those times.
Speaker 1:Yes, I, the first time I heard that song was probably about a few months ago, and actually Dr Audrey Ann Moses she's another author and really good friend of mine and a coach of mine she was like, yeah, this BB I keep calling her BBCC has this song called Believe for it. And I was like believe for it. So she wanted me to play it for her interview and I played it and I was like, wow, that song is really powerful. I like you.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's why I say, miss Pat, we got a lot in common because I write, I write it out, I leave it at the altar and I have a space where I write God love letters and then those love letters also sometimes leave things there that I know he can handle and that I can't handle, because just of recently I started doing it even more now and getting back to it, because I've always been strong in faith. But, like you said, sometimes we fall short and you know we need those things other than the Bible, other than prayer, that we believe in, that we're passionate about and writing, you know, and creativity just so happens to be one of those things. So I learned how to write out my transgressions. Tell God what's in my mind, write it out, tell Him what's in my heart and just leave it at the altar and, like I always say, pack light, because people around you don't always want to hear about what you got going on, and I'm one of those people. Like, I love to help people, I love to be a listening ear, but my slogan is my ears are not your trash can.
Speaker 1:God is the person to bring this stuff to, to bring all of that stuff to. I can't do nothing but listen. But then sometimes that transfer, transference of energy can happen and then I can take what you're going through and never damper my day, and I know how I am. I take on everybody else's problems and their problems become my problems, and I am not God and I cannot play God. Only thing I can be is Godly and Godlike. But if you want results, take it to the father. I am not your daddy.
Speaker 2:Well, you know what? You could just close the show now because you just preached. Yes, indeed, you know, I have a sign on my door. I've had it for years and it says friends, welcome, family by appointment. And I've had, you know, being the matriarch of three kids, three adult kids, 14 grandchildren and I think 15 or 16 great grand. I lost count because I'm sure my grandsons haven't heard from everybody. But you know, that's a whole other show.
Speaker 2:But I cannot take on everybody's burden. I cannot take on everybody's angst. It's all I can do to deal with my own. And, like I tell people all the time, nothing is a surprise to God. It shocked us at the moment when it happens, but when you calm down and you realize you know what this ain't a surprise to God. He's already worked this out. Now I'm not saying that it comes easy, because it does not. Sometimes it's easier than other times. But I know for me. I know God loves me when it comes to doing crazy stuff and thinking crazy thoughts, because one time I got so mad with God I was all up in his face and I know that he should have struck me down but he didn't.
Speaker 2:And I learned from that, as bad as I thought that situation was, god had already worked it out Like when my husband was going down with cancer, I had to know to go up in God's face and give him a list of 10 other people that I thought was more deserving of it. Now, how crazy is that?
Speaker 1:Pat, no, you didn't go and say, look, just spare him, I got 10 more that you forgot. What about these people, man? Why are they still here? Why the good ones got to go first Now I give you 10 more people to take his place. Oh, Pat, oh, I know you did.
Speaker 2:Listen, let me tell you something. My husband handled his cancer journey so well that when it came time for me to be diagnosed because we both had cancer at the same time I laughed. I laughed so hard because I had already seen how God had dealt with my husband and how my husband had dealt with it. Never once did I hear that man complain. He had chemo, he had radiation, he had stem cell transplant, he had dialysis. He went through everything. Never once did I hear him complain. I'm going to tell you something else which you probably don't know.
Speaker 2:In 1987, I went for an exam with my gynecologist and whatnot. But me and my husband moved shortly after. I didn't realize that that cancer had first been diagnosed in 1987. Fast forward to 2009, when I went back for an exam, and that's when they discovered it. But in looking at my records, it was first discovered in 1987.
Speaker 2:From 1987 to 2009, god did not allow that cancer to spread. So I didn't have chemo, I did not have radiation, I did not take a pill, I had one surgery and from that one surgery they gave me approximately five years, like they gave my husband 18 months, but he lived seven years and passed in my arms. I just celebrated 14 years. So God will put you through things that you have to go back and be reminded. Okay, he did this, he did that.
Speaker 2:People say that was impossible, that was a miracle. You have to be reminded. God has already shown us on numerous occasions just how much he loves us, just how much he is with us and how he's already figured it out. He's already done the hard work. I tell people I probably make the Lord take Tylenol Because sometimes I will go out there, but I'm getting better as I live life and I have more experiences and I see the results and even when there's results, I don't like they always end up being results. That should have happened. If you understand what I'm saying, good luck, thank you. Good night, may I see myself the way you see me.
Speaker 6:Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 7:Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 6:Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 7:Thank you.
Speaker 6:Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the book choices and what led you to write about the theme of standing in the gap and making decisions based on God's will?
Speaker 2:Well, during the time that I was with my ex-husband for five years, we had three children during those five years and I was going through pure hell. You know the abuse physical and mental, mentally but I kept hearing from the church. Well, you got to stick with them because you know God does not believe in divorce and you're just going to have to deal with it. Just pray for the man. You know all kinds of things like that. In the meantime, I'm taking a hit. My children are taking a hit.
Speaker 2:In the book you will see where I came home from work one day and found out that he had bit the kids. So when he finally attacked me, when he attacked me for the last time I think it was in the fifth year of marriage I said well, you know what? I'm just going to have to take a hit with this one If I end up in hell. I'm going to end up in hell because I'm already in hell. Now I'm leaving. I got to protect my kids, so I left. I left that marriage.
Speaker 2:What I will say is that there's a lot that I didn't say in the book because until I wrote this book, I had never really discussed it with my children. Now I'll tell you one of the reasons why because when I remarried which it took me 16 years before I married my second husband, even though we were dating and friends and whatnot all during that time, my husband would not allow me to talk bad about my ex-husband. Because he said he might have been a bad husband Didn't mean he was a bad father. So my ex-husband was always invited to whatever my kids was going through, going to or whatever they were doing, and it was his choice. Well then I he wanted to come. My husband, who I call my Jubilee husband, never once referred to my kids as his step kids. They were always his daughters.
Speaker 2:So because of the way he treated my priors situation my divorce, my marriage, whatever it gave me permission to be kind to my ex-husband, but I still needed my children to understand what really happened. So when this opportunity came along to write Mary Hearts, I prayed about it. I talked to my editor about it because there was some stuff I did not want to reveal, and she said, no, you're going to tell it, you need to tell it all. So that's kind of what you know. Put me that position to write this book. And, like I said, as soon as I read Abigail and Navel. That was it for me.
Speaker 1:Yes, it definitely was a powerful book choices. It made me definitely go back and purchase the series because I want to start from the beginning, because choices is actually book six, you guys, for the people who don't know. So, with chapter one, unveiling the hidden troops, could you provide a glimpse into the journey of self-discovery and revelation that the protagonist goes through in this chapter? How does this unveiling of hidden truths impact their perspective on the choices that they have made in their life?
Speaker 2:Okay In unveiling the hidden truth, as I put it this way, as a mother sometimes, you know, as a Christian woman, but primarily as a mother we take on so much and we try to be the peacekeepers in the family, the healers in the family, the mental and physical providers of the family, the housekeeping, all of that. So it comes to a point in time where you're just overwhelmed and for me, I became overwhelmed to the point where I just didn't care anymore. I had stayed with my ex-husband for so long, you know, based on what I was being told from the church and it does say that, you know in the word, that you know God does not want divorce but I just didn't feel that I was no longer strong enough to deal with everything that was coming at me like a rushing wind. So I had to sit down and just talk to myself. I also had a good friend who knew something was up, but she didn't really know exactly what was up.
Speaker 2:And when I finally revealed to her what was going on, she was the one who said okay, you know what? You got to leave this marriage, you got to get out of here. But how do I get out of here? You know I don't have money. I had a house but whatnot, but you know I don't have money, I don't have friends that could help me, and she was there to help me move into another place, to help me, you know, move my children, clothes or whatever. So in revealing the hidden truth, it took me a while before I let the world know, or let my close friends know, what I was going through. Because you know, when you walk into church you're smiling. When you get to the altar you may whisper your concerns to the Lord, but you ain't yelling it out and that will take a toll on your mental and your physical health. So I was kind of beaten down, as I like to say, to mush by the time I finally had enough strength to say okay, you know, I've had enough.
Speaker 1:And now we're going to get ready and go into a musical selection and we'll have more with Pat GRJ Walker and her book choices.
Speaker 6:And I'm finally seeing that loving you and loving me just don't seem to work at all.
Speaker 6:So patiently she's waiting on me to tell you that she needs love.
Speaker 6:And I have to choose between you two, boy. You know, if I have to choose, I choose a me. And she told me to tell you could never hurt me again, because, if you haven't heard, she's a bad chick, even though I haven't been. And yet, and still you try and test me by raising an angry hand. Put it down. Put it down. I'm leaving, don't try and stop me. I'm late and she is waiting. My love for me is too much so I can't stay. And her name is me and she loves me more than you'll ever know. And I finally see that loving you and loving me just don't seem to work at all. So patiently she's waiting on me to tell you that she needs love. And I choose between you two, boy. You know, if I have to choose, I choose Because she's actually forming a threesome and I'm happy that I can join them. The names I mean myself and I. And her name is me. She loves me more than you'll ever know.
Speaker 6:And finally see that loving you and loving me just don't seem to work at all. So patiently, she's waiting on me to tell you that she needs love. And I choose between you two, boy. You know, if I have to choose, I choose Because she's waiting on me to tell you that she needs love. So patiently she's waiting on me to tell you that she needs love. And I choose between you two, boy. You know, if I have to choose, I choose Me. Me, I gotta go with me.
Speaker 1:Yes, because she's actually forming a threesome. Those names are me myself, and I Tell me your thoughts on the lyrics of that song and how it brings you back to that day that you decided you know what my babies don't deserve this, looking into your kids eyes and saying you know what? I gotta choose me. And then, choosing me, I'm going to choose my kids because we never want our kids to grow up in fear. You know, as mothers, we get that bond with our children right and as they are growing, all we see is us in them and we don't know what made you say you know what. I'm breaking this cycle, starting today with me. How does that song resonate with that experience you have at that time?
Speaker 2:When I'm listening to that song, I was reminded of a section of the book, which I'll just read from it. It says to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven, which is Ecclesiastes three and one. It says the fictionalized story of Anna and Navel's marriage was based in part on my first marriage. There were several incidents from it that mirrored my experiences. Giving into my vulnerability and sharing it on the page wasn't easy. However, if you see yourself in a similar situation, just know you are not alone. Making a poor choice led to abuse. Deciding to stay longer than I should in a cult that triggered that same choice could have led to my death. And then an excerpt from the book is Anna couldn't determine the day or the hour when she realized that, much worse, accepted her reality, she and her children have become the enemy and their home. Neither she nor her children knew the rules of a war they had not enlisted to fight. That's when I realized okay, I gotta go.
Speaker 1:Wow, I just want to commend you for being so brave and bold enough to get out of that situation, because a lot of women just don't make it out alive and sometimes a lot of the kids don't make it out alive. So for you to say you know what I'm going to put on my big girl draws we up out of here. Jack, I commend you, commend you. Commend you for that. In chapter five, the cross row of decision, can you share a pivotal moment in this chapter? What a protagonist is faced with a significant decision and how does their faith and understanding of God's will influence their choice and what are the consequences of that decision?
Speaker 2:Well, just going back on my recollection of chapter five, if I'm not wrong, I believe that was the day or the time during a period when I started confiding in a good friend of mine, what was going on? And I was. I thought of what my father has said to me when, when I got married because when we got married, like I said, it was three days, you know we got married in one of the church, mother's apartments, and I had this little ugly outfit on and whatnot, and I had called my father after it happened and my father was very upset with me. He said why would you marry, you know, a man that you didn't know? And what kind of choice is that? And here it is, a man's going off the war, and if you think that's going to be easy, I mean he just went on and on and on. So when, in this particular chapter, I wanted to let the reader know that it's we're going to make mistakes. But in making those mistakes, who else besides yourself will those mistakes impact? And for me, even though it impacted my family, you know, my father, my mother, whatever is how it impacted my children and how and how it impacted me. I'll give you a good example.
Speaker 2:I've always loved to write and there came a time when I don't know if you remember a series called the Twilight Zone. Well, I had submitted a piece to them and they actually sent a representative to my home to talk to me about it and my ex-husband flew off the handle and put the woman out. She put that woman out and it caused me the opportunity of writing, fulfilling my you know my dream. And yet I stayed. That was a poor choice.
Speaker 2:I made All those choices that I made during that time. I thought I was doing it, you know, for the sake of my children and my marriage and whatnot. I called myself standing in the gap, but I was standing in God's way, because look where I am now. Now I'm writing, but I but it took me, you know, to get out of that situation, to fulfill the purpose that God had for me. So there's a lot that went into chapter five and I tried to write it so that the reader would understand that I would do a process that now makes me appreciate God even more. But did I like going through it? No. Did I like how my children suffered from it? No, but God took me through it.
Speaker 1:He took you through it so you can have a story to tell. So the journey that you went through is never unnoticed and is never not accounted for, and that's what I tell people. People always want they think they want what you have, until they realize the darkness that you have to go through in order to get to your light. They don't understand the struggle, they could never understand the struggle, but they always want to reap the benefits from the blessings that you receive afterward. And I can truly resonate with that, being a victim of the not a victim of some biver of domestic abuse as well.
Speaker 1:So when I was reading the story, it reminded me a lot of my book Mountains and what I went through dealing with, you know, the father of my first child and other men as well, and other family members, and you know as well. So when I read it I was like, wow, me and this pet gets so much in common. And that's why you know I can wait to do this interview with you and I commend you on your strength of overcoming these things, not just abuse, though. You have overcome various challenges in your life, including a house fire, violent assault, a car crash and temporary blindness, on top of Hashimoto's and thyroid issues. How have these experiences shaped your perspective on life and influence your storytelling?
Speaker 2:After I got over the why me Lord situation, you know it has made me understand that. You know, the prettiest flowers start off in manure If you get by. Just so. I was planted in a lot of manure but look where I am now. I had to be weeded, you know. I had to go through changes and God had to take this away from me and that away from me. You know pruning and cutting and just so I would grow up and become what I am now and I really don't think that I've reached my pinnacle yet. I tell people all the time I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, and because there's still so much more that I want to do and I really believe that God has it for me to do my parents, grandparents, I've lost several brothers and sisters who never reached my age, so there's a reason you know that I'm still here. You know I'm also raising an autistic granddaughter. So be 16, I've had a sense birth and she is amazing. This child loves the Lord. I mean, she loves the Lord. She don't do nothing without prayer. So I don't say that that's because of me, but I do believe that I have plans or something in here. So there's something for me to do.
Speaker 2:I couldn't take me out the car crash which I was mangled. I had to put me on a board with sandbags on top of me to keep me together. That didn't take me out. Being, you know, raked and left in the woods to die that didn't take me out. Having cancer didn't take me out. Having Hashimoto didn't take me out. I mean, I I've been through it, but none of it took me out. And I'm still standing, not because of me. I give all praises to God.
Speaker 1:Amen, because he's using you as a vessel to prove to the world. But that's why when people say, oh, you got to move in silence and don't set, don't just announce everything and your accomplishments Baby, I'm going to shout man to the rooftops because my help coming from the Lord, okay. And the reason why God gives you these blessings and and provides a way when there's no way for you to achieve these things, is because he wants the glory. People don't believe in God. So for the non believers, you put it out there and say Look at all these things I went through. I was mangled, I had sandbags on top of me to keep my body together, but guess what? I made it out of that. It's no way I could have made it out of that unless God made that way.
Speaker 1:So for everybody who said, oh, it ain't no God Guess what. I've had cancer, I have had Hashimoto's, I have been mangled in a car accident, I've been beaten and raped and left in the woods for dead. I've been through domestic assault. I've been through all of this stuff and I'm still here. I've outlived the healthiest people and God still has me here. So how am I still here? There's no God.
Speaker 1:So that is why I say I'm not being quiet about none of my accomplishments, none of them. You're going to hear about every single one. I don't care if I learn how to tie my shoes two different ways with my left hand. You're going to hear about today oh God, guess what God done, blessed me, he done taught me and gave it to me. And the spirit had to tie my shoe with my left hand in three different ways. And I'm going to shout it to the rooftop. And I don't care who get mad, because, like we were talking about earlier, miss Pat, if you mad at me, have a seat, get a cape, so you could be super mad and join the rest of the people in the back of you who got a problem with me too, because if they got a problem with me, they got to go through a legion of angels to get to me so I could sleep good at night.
Speaker 2:Preach you better preach it. But let me add this to it I almost forgot God has blessed me so much that sometimes I forget about how he brought me over. You know, before I came into the literary arena, you know, I spent many years in the music industry and before that, you know, sitting with a group called the Chantels and Fantasy and all of that. Well, sometimes we are placed in situations where we have to absorb education, we have to absorb experiences and whatnot, so that we can take it to where God has taken us to. For the next level, now I work for Columbia Records, I work for Epic Records, I work for Def Jam Records and whatnot, and there were times when I didn't like it, but I stayed there because, you know, for whatever reason, I just I just blame God for this. You know, I just stayed and I absorbed a lot.
Speaker 2:After that I went on to manage different artists and whatnot. You know, I had my own publishing companies and things like that. And the day, the time when I was supposed to, I well, I'm getting ahead of myself I co-produced an album for Cotodon with the Foogees. I don't know if you remember the Foogees or not, but anyway, we're going way back. So I co-produced an album with them from Ruff House, columbia Records, and at the time when the album was supposed to come out, waclet decided he didn't want to do a video. So all the you know all the politics and whatnot into the situation and I was told that the album was going to be shelled because Columbia decided they had this little girl group that they wanted to put out in space. The name of the girl group was Destiny's Child. So, you know, I was. I was salty, I'm not going to, you know, try to cover it up. I was really upset Until I spoke with another friend of mine who works for Arista Records by the name of LaJoyce Berkshire, and LaJoyce had written a novel called Soul Food, and she reminded me of these little stories, those same little sister Betty stories that I was writing.
Speaker 2:When you know, when I was trying to tell the church what to do, when I couldn't tell them off, and stuff like that. She said why don't you just, you know, concentrate on that, something like to do? That's when all the experiences that I learned working for the record company that I didn't particularly like, I used to put that little 22 page book with the staple in the middle out. See, god had planned to be there to absorb what I would need in terms of marketing and promotion and whatnot to put that little book out. I called the little book that could, and from that book, and how I promoted it and marketed it on the internet is how I got the major publishing deal with Kensington Books.
Speaker 2:So I say that to say this, even when you are in a situation that you don't particularly like pray. Every time I asked God to move me, he didn't move me, he just made it harder for me there. So God is not going to always do what you tell him to do or what you ask him to do. He's going to do what he is going to do and you have to have enough faith to say, okay, you know I don't like this, but I got you know, I don't see you doing nothing else. I guess this is where I move to be and just stay there and learn.
Speaker 1:Tell one more person. Tell one more person. If you're looking for somebody, he's gone then he don't need nobody else.
Speaker 6:There's no question of your greatness, no searching of your power. Oh, the wonder of your glory. To you, forty years is but one hour. Your knowledge is all encompassing. To your wisdom, there is no end. Oh, for you alone are God. You are God alone. Your mercy is everlasting. Your truth is here, always. You are he who was and is and is to come. Who is he that can number your days? You flood the sun to burn in space and the lights, moon, house, light from day. Oh, you alone, you're God. You're God, elohim, you're everything I need. You are God alone Now, until the King eternal Turn our now in my heart, in this world, the only one God, you are God alone. No one is compared to you. You are God alone. You are God alone. You are God alone. You're everything that I need. You are God alone. You are glory, and I'm glory and power forever, and I'm in the office and I don't mean power forever and never having you Glory and honor. Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen.
Speaker 1:Amen. Behold glory and honor, dominion for you are God alone. Tell me what you think about those lyrics and how does it resonate with your book series.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm sitting here with my jaw dropped. You are so in tune with my journey. You know the late Melinda sap was one of the first ones to push my sister Betty book, so let me just put that out there. And I got chills just listening to Marvin Saps singing. You are God alone, that's it. You know. I cannot even express what that means to me because at the end of it all.
Speaker 2:It's God, only him, nobody else. It's God, it's all God. So, no matter what I do or how I do it, it's all God. It's not me, it's all God.
Speaker 1:I did not know that his wife pushed her book. See, god gives me, I'm telling you, god gives me, I'm telling you, I be trying to tell you, touching on my anointing to do my proper. Know. How am I supposed to know? I just look, I listen to people when they come on my platform.
Speaker 1:I research because I respect your craft and what you do. I respect all my guests the same way. I respect my craft and I went to Columbia for a year and a half Columbia College, chicago, for broadcast journalism and so I take it serious. You know, I worked at Channel 7 as an intern for Jerry Taft, for Cheryl Burden and a few others and I always wanted to be, you know, a newscaster or you know, a journalist.
Speaker 1:So I take everything that I do very seriously and when I listen to my guests and I listen to them because I used to just make a playlist, like a curated playlist, but I was like, no, I want to listen to their answers, see how, how the interview is going in a tone, because I don't want to insult or upset anyone, so I just move it based off of that and God put that in my spirit for me to play that song. So I'm so, so, very grateful that you enjoyed it and it resonated with you and your journey. Now your storytelling has been compared to Zorniel Hurston's folklore, documenting American culture and church life and literature. How do you approach capturing the often ridiculous antics of church folk while still maintaining the integrity and the message of the good news?
Speaker 2:I go to church. Oh, my goodness, I get a lot of stories through my experiences in church, as well as through dreams, and I don't know. It's hard to explain. You know I'm a very technical person. So you may look at a flower and say, oh, that flower is pretty. I will look at it and say, oh, I wonder how long the pedals are, how far is it going to grow? How fast is it? You know I tend to dig deep probably deeper than I should sometimes into situations and things. So it has impacted my writing to the point where I like to go inside a character. You know what is the hidden motivation? Even with church folks, I have a.
Speaker 2:I had a situation about a month ago where one of the readers came on to an interview I was doing as she had memorized one of my books called Mother Eternal and Everlasting is Dead. She knew more about that book than I did. I had completely forgotten about some of the antics in that book, which goes to show you, as authors and writers, it takes us a while to write a book and it takes even longer time to put a book out. So by the time we're you know the book is out. We've moved on maybe three or four more books.
Speaker 2:So when she came on, it started telling me about Mother, eternal and Everlasting, how it impacted her and how, you know, it impacted her church members and her family. What not, it would revitalize me and let me know that what I'm doing, as crazy as it may seem sometime, it has an impact. And, as a matter of fact, my eldest brother, who passed away from cancer when he was in the hospital, jacqueline, I'll never forget my brother, herbert, called me and said he wanted to read one of my sister Betty stories because he was in pain and he wanted to laugh. How deep is that? So, when you know, when I think that my story may not mean anything, I recall that moment when he called and told me that that he just wanted to laugh while he was dying and my sister Betty book the first one was going to do that for him.
Speaker 2:So, I don't know girl.
Speaker 1:I got another question for you. You ain't got to know because you know I'm the queen of questions, so I got another question. I definitely got another question for you. So chapter nine embracing God's plan. Now, in this chapter, how does the main character come to terms with the fact that their own plans may not be aligned with God's purpose for their life? This is chapter nine of choices from the book six of the series of the book six of the Mary hearts inspirational series and chapter nine of choices. The title was embracing God's plan and then this chapter. How does the main character come to terms with the fact that her own plans may not align with God's purpose for her life, and what lessons do they do? Does she learn about surrendering control and trusting in God's guidance?
Speaker 2:You know I was one of God's hard-headed, hard-headed children. You know, the lesson for me, for the main character, was that as much as we may think just based on our own intuition, it's based on what we observe and what we feel that God wants for us. We can delay a blessing. I'll put it that way we can delay a success. We can delay a blessing for someone else by standing in the way, not standing in the gap, standing in the way. You know. Throughout the book whether it was chapter you know nine or whatever in each chapter I tried to depict the way and how you can stand in God's way instead of standing in God's gap. And sometimes you learned it less than easy, sometimes not as easy, but God's going to have his way at the end of the day and that's the way. So you can do it the easy way, you can do it the hard way, and I was one of God's hard-headed children, not so much now, but at one time. Yeah, I was hard headed because I thought I knew and I didn't know nothing.
Speaker 6:Music. I don't cross every T, I don't doubt every. I got more flaws than a little and I messed up a thousand times. I don't always commit. Sometimes I give away too quick and then I get tired of trying to run away from who I am to who I want to be. Some days are better than others. I can be often a man, but beyond my mistakes, I found in your grace, and this one thing will never change you still love me. You're smiling at me. You still chose me. Can it be Ever? It's gone, ever it's gone. You'll see it all. You'll see it all. You'll see it all. Love me, love me. Oh, it's fine at me, it's fine at me. Yeah, I'm stubborn at heart. I quick to put up with God. I do it all by myself. I won't ask for help and sometimes I'm not the smart. I can be insecure. I'm counting on the people that see and never stop to know what I got. Some days are better than others. I can be often a man. But beyond my mistakes, I found in your grace, and this one thing will never change you still love me. You're smiling at me. You still chose me. Can it be Ever? It's gone. Ever it's gone. You'll see it all. You'll see it all. You'll see it all. Love me, love me. You still love me. You still love me. It's fine at me. It's fine at me. You still chose me. Can it be Ever? It's gone, ever it's gone. You'll see it all. You'll see it all. You'll see it all. Love me, love me. Let me hear you say yeah, and can I get a win? You didn't give me what I deserved love so relentless. Got me singing hallelujah. Oh, can I get a win? You didn't give me what I deserved love so relentless. Got me singing. You still love me. It's fine at me. You still chose me. Can it be Ever it's gone, ever it's gone, ever. It's fine. You'll see it all. You'll see it all. You'll still love me, love me. You're smiling at me. Yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
Speaker 6:It's hard to believe you have a choice. And daily you choose me and say it's hard to believe you have a choice. Oh, and daily you choose me. It's hard to believe you have a choice. Oh, and baby, you choose me. It's hard to believe you have a choice, son and baby, you still choose me. You say it's hard, you're hard to believe. Oh, you have a choice. Oh, and maybe You'll still choose me. You never gave up on me. You never gave up on me. You never gave up on me. You never gave up on me. You never gave up on me. You never gave up on me. You never gave up on me. You never gave up on me. You still love me. You still love me. It's part of me. You still chose me. I'm gonna be Ever a son, ever a wife. You still love me. You still love me. It's part of me. It's part of me. It's part of me.
Speaker 1:Now, miss Pat, I know I'm giving you a run today and I'm with this music girl. Now tell me what you think about that one. In spite of me, in spite of me, you still love me, in spite of me.
Speaker 3:Hallelujah, thank you Jesus. Oh, girl, you just so know I was trying to hold, I was trying to hold back listening to that because I know, I know for a fact that God loves me when I tell you I was his hard-headed child. Hallelujah, thank you Jesus. Oh, you need to get to the next quote. Hallelujah, thank you all. Thank you, thank you Jesus.
Speaker 1:He still loved you, miss Pat, in spite of you. You can't get in God's way. You were saying you was getting in God's way, you can't get in God's way. And he showed you. He showed you, miss Pat, that he loved you In spite of you, and he's gonna bring you through. Praise God, praise God, amen.
Speaker 2:I'm just one of those people that would I look back over my life, not even so much the successes, but the situations that God has brought me through. My heart is full.
Speaker 2:I didn't know that the interview was going to go this way, but I'm a for real person and what you see and what you hear is what you get. And I'm just, I'm just so full right now I am. So I want to thank you, jacqueline. Thank you Because this came at the right time. It came at the right time. I needed to get this praise on, and I don't limit God as to how he does it or how he brings it about, or who he uses, so I want to thank you. It's a.
Speaker 1:All glory to God. This is what my platform is about. My platform is about being transparent, but also being comfortable enough to allow yourself. My space is a safe space for all women, but especially women of color. We are always at the bottom of the totem pole for everybody else, but we at the bottom of the totem pole because we hold everything on our backs and the only way that we can do that is by the God given strength that we have. So we are God's most favorite children because we bear that on our backs, we carry the world on our backs, and we do it with smile and grace, and that's the reason why God has and will always continue to bless you. So you are absolutely right, Miss Pat. You ain't going nowhere. You have no reek. You've got too much to do and too many laughs to give and too many hearts to war with with just being who you are. Like you said your, your family members on a death bed and said read me some of your stuff because I just want to laugh before I leave.
Speaker 1:That is the type of impact that you have had, not just on him but everybody else around the world, even even the food. You think on who? The food you did Lauren Wickelep. John, you think on who those people are. You have had an impact on everybody's lives that you have been in, even your ex-husband. You never know what way God have went into his life because you are who you are.
Speaker 1:That's why people they do the same thing to me. They run behind me. They just want to touch my garment like they did Jesus. I'm not Jesus I'm not saying that I'm Jesus, but I know that I'm anointed and I know people know that I'm anointed and when they see the anointed in your life, they just want to be near you so they could just get a touch of your garment. And that's what this is about today. People just need to get a touch of your garment so they can feel that anointed same anointed that God have blessed you with. So I want you to stay encouraged, Miss Pat. Stay encouraged and you're going to need some encouragement for this next question. I got coming up. You can't be crying. You got to wipe them tears on the up and suck them on down because I got some more stuff. Come on through, I'll hear your voice, Miss Pat. Well, yeah, I'm here.
Speaker 1:I'm done with you. Okay, so this, the Mary Hearts inspirational series, emphasizes God love for women and how they play significant roles throughout scripture. How does your book choices highlight the impact and strength of women in the context of making decisions and following God's will?
Speaker 2:Well, like I said earlier, I was drawn to Abigail because, in spite of all the craziness that her husband did and foolishness that he you know, he was just foolishness she was strong enough Excuse me for coughing she was strong enough to gather all her belongings, make provisions, her service and go on the road to meet up with King David so that King David would not destroy her country, her land, her people, because King David was very angry with Navel. So God gave her the strength and the wisdom to confront a king, and not just any king, but King David. And when she said my husband is a fool, that was her ammunition. God provided her with the strength and the words that she used as ammunition and that, like I said before, that story stuck with me that sometimes we can take a little bit and God can make it a lot. She had those, all she had, with those words my husband is a fool. And that touched David's heart.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, yes. And, like I said, your book is phenomenal. It truly you got choices is a phenomenal book. It was so good to me that's 94 pages, so she don't overwhelm you with hundreds of pages, but that was 94 pages of power and inspiration for all women, not just women of domestic violence, but women who may fall short, women who may feel like they don't have anybody, women who may feel like they're not enough. This book gives so much light and inspiration. It truly, truly, truly touched me. Yes, it did. Oh amen, praise God. I'm getting choked up now and as a preacher's kid, how have your experiences with the Baptist congregation and Pentecostal assembly influenced not just your comedy but your writing and your overall just composure and your overall character in the world?
Speaker 2:I consider myself back to costal. So it has influenced me to actually dig deeper in the word because even though I, you know, I'm a PK kid, I was always taught by both my parents, my father, you know. My father taught me to protect my name by using the word living in the word. My mother taught me to pray. So I use both of those tools. When I write, I pray and I I just go deeper in the word and I try to keep. I try to protect my name. What I mean by that and it took me a while to understand what my father was trying to teach me was that you write something for me. You write something. You better be what you write. If you're calling it fiction, then that's okay. If you're calling it fact, then be what you write, protect your name. People always strive to do that to protect my name. So those are the main, some of the main things that I learned from being a PK kid, and I have to credit, you know, my parents for that.
Speaker 6:Wow, and I just shouldn't say yes.
Speaker 6:Good morning Lord. I just don't want to say Thank you for another day, another day. This is the day that the Lord has made, so have your way today. This is the day that the Lord has made, so have your way, have your way today, holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, have your way today, have your way. This is the day that the Lord has made and I will give you great glory Every day of my life.
Speaker 6:Holy Spirit, come on, hold on, like the water, cover the sea. I want you to have your way, have your way in me, use me, use me, oh and yes, cover us of Lord, like the water, cover the sea. Have your way today. Have your way in me, bring me.
Speaker 6:You are the annoying thing. You're the spirit of all life you've got. So have your way, have your way. Have your way, holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, have your way today. Have your way, holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, you are the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and you're dwelling me. You should also quicken me, quicken me, quicken me To say what you want me to say, where you want me to go, where you want me to go, holy Spirit, have your way, have your way.
Speaker 6:Cover me, cover me Like the water, cover the sea. Have your way today. Have your way, oh, oh, oh, oh. Use me to heal the sick and to raise the dead and let the world know, let the world know that Jesus is your head. Have your way today. Have your way, holy Spirit, holy Spirit. Have your way, holy Spirit, have your way today. Come on, come on, come on, show me where you want me to go. You know what you want me to do, you know what you want. Have your way, holy Spirit. Have your way. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, holy Spirit, how be it when he, the spirit of truth, shall come?
Speaker 8:He will guide you into all truth and he shall glorify God and he shall glorify God.
Speaker 6:Lead me. I want you to guide me To the one I'm supposed to love, supposed to give, supposed to see. Cover us all up, like the waters cover the sea. So have your way today. Have your way, holy Spirit, holy Spirit, holy Spirit, pray for me, pray for America. You prayed the perfect will of God With moans and groans that cannot be uttered Down in my belly, lord. So pray, pray, pray for me, use me, holy Spirit, have your way today. Have your way. Oh oh, oh, oh, holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Yes, like the water covers the sea, come through. Mama Pat, tell me what you think about my Mama Pat song have your way from her album the Secret Place. Tell me what you think and how does those lyrics resonate with God just having his way and his will in your life?
Speaker 2:Well, your Mama, pat, is like a twin right now. Yes, and you know what I was listening to, not only her voice. Her voice is very soothing and I love that. You know. It had like a little jazz undertone to it. I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but I used to own a recording studio with Cheryl Pepsi Riley and some other people used to come to record. So when I say I'm a technical person, I really am. The words were perfect. But her delivery is what really drew me in, because it was like she was wasn't talking to us, she was really talking to God.
Speaker 1:She was really talking to God and we just happened to be there to hear you know I loved it Her music, I'm telling you.
Speaker 1:That's why I say I'm just so blessed to just be in the presence of it, because karaoke night is lit in my house. Okay, and you were saying something about raising your granddaughter, who is 16 and she has autism. And I have a seven year old who victors over the same thing and he loves the Lord, baby Him and his grandma, pat. They get down in here. The boy can play the drums. He could play the piano just just off of his ear and he plays it. You would think he'd been playing for 20 years. He is so great and they get together baby. And karaoke night is off the chain in the Cox household. But the lyrics of that song have your way today, have your way in my life. Have your way your will is what I want to follow. Like the water covers the sea, cover me. How does that song coincide with Abigail in the book and her wheel to follow the Lord and her revelation in that aspect?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, abigail had to trust God, because you don't go up against the king, no matter what. And he trusted God to have his way to make it successful because her husband was what Boom? And God does not tolerate foolishness. So I that that song, in particular by your mother in law. As much as I want to compare it, you know, or even infuse it with the book that I wrote, don't get me started. Okay, that's not fair. That's, that's my, that's going to be my theme song. Have your way because at the end of the day, god already knows, he's already been there and I tried to convey that in my book. Let him have his way, and what may seem foolish to other people, when you're following God and he's leading you, it don't matter, because I'm sure people you know would have told Abigail girl, you crazy, you can't go up against no king. But she, let God have his way.
Speaker 1:That's right, because people feel what they don't understand. And when you are at that level where you're speaking to God and you're on a fourth dimension level with God, you know, I tell people all the time we may be going in the same direction, but that does not mean that we're going to see the same things. Because a giraffe and a mouse could be looking the same way. That does not mean that what that giraffe sees is what their rat is going to see. Okay, so we have to be careful. Like I tell people all the time, we are not on the same level, whether for you and your world, that means that you are above me or beneath me, and what we can agree on is that we are not on the same level, and for that I'm going to need you to give me 50 feet, because I'm on a different dimension. God gives me things and he gives me insight on a whole other level. Now, I don't care what that means for you and your world, but I know for me, in my world, I'm on a different, I'm on a different level, mentally more than not more, but more so in a different aspect. And a lot of women, young women, my age I'm 34 years old and I see things in a different way and I honestly believe, because my home, my house, my marriage, my kids, my family, we're all rooted in the word and it did not come easy for me, you know. It did not come easy for any woman in the Bible Abigail, ruth, mary it didn't come easy for any woman in the Bible. Every woman in the Bible had to go through what she had to go through and order for either the man in her life, whether it be her sons, whether it be her boys, whether it be her husband, her dad, they all went through struggles and order to be that helpmate to help that man succeed. So we as women have to know that we possess a different type of power in us to be able to nurture and produce human nature. We are the burthers of nations and with that comes what they say with, I guess, the bigger the gift, the bigger the responsibility, for lack of better words to sum it up. But the person who has the biggest gift has the biggest responsibility.
Speaker 1:And you and Choices, this book, you guys, I'm telling you it is a must read. It truly, truly is, and I got the whole series. I just went back and got the whole series because I have to start from book one. This is book six. It's called Choices. It's a. Can you talk more about the series and other books of the Bible that each book conveys and has a message about?
Speaker 2:I'd love to. Actually, the series, the Mary Hart series was the brainchild of Nalkayla you know I'm tired Nalayla Kay, who founded a tribe called Success, and she had the idea to bring the authors together, each one given their own choice of what they want to write about in terms of their relationship with God and what God had brought them through. So the series, each book, stands alone. There's no cliffhangers, none of that. Every single book stands alone and each one has been number one on release day.
Speaker 2:So God has put in this seal of approval on these books and the authors themselves had an opportunity to like really open up Because, like you said before, we hold a lock in and even what we share ain't all of it. There's always a whole lot more. But we were given the opportunity to share and to show how we overcame and through that, the prayer and the hope was that others who read it, whether you're male or female, would also get that encouragement to not give up. Sometimes you may have to go through something more than once, but don't give up. So I really applaud and congratulate Mala Kay for having this series. She spearheaded everything. I can't take any credit for any of this, except for my part of writing my portion, but God gave that vision to her and she just ran with it and it's been a blessing.
Speaker 1:Well, I want to thank you, miss Pat. As we are coming to a close, is there anything that you would like the readers to take or the audience, as said I'll say, to take from this interview? What message would you like to convey to the audience and tell everybody where they can find you and where they can find your books?
Speaker 2:Well, I'd like to thank you first of all for having me here, thank God for giving you the vision for what you're doing in the platform, and I want to thank the audience for tuning in those who have yet to listen to it. I hope that they get what I'm trying to give them. It's not a gift, but just me sharing what I have learned on my journey through all these years. And when they read the Mary Hart stories to pass it on, I don't mean pass the book on, I mean pass the lesson on, talk about it, discuss it. I've had book club discussions about this book and I've always found something different. Everybody gets something different from it, depending on what or where they are in their life. So once again, I thank you, I thank the listening audience, I thank Lilay Nakai and my tribe called success for their encouragement and for the idea.
Speaker 2:I thank God for all of this, and I can be found at wwwpgorgeorgewalkercom or wwwsisterbeddiecom and just look up my name. You know, google me. That's all they got to do is Google me and they'll find me. And once again, I say thank you. I see somebody else in your audience. I have to mention her, dr Velma. Oh, my goodness, I know you've had her on your show before, but if you ever get a chance to bring her back, please let me interview her with you. She is my mom.
Speaker 1:Oh, she'll be here. She'll be here in a couple of days and she's a friend to the show and I call her Mama V. She is truly, truly an inspiration in my life. Call in Dr Velma. Call on in. Call in right now, before we get off of her. Call in Dr V.
Speaker 2:I love her, love, love, love her.
Speaker 1:Me too. That's my mama V. Come through, mama V. What is the?
Speaker 8:real thing about sister Pat oh George. She's a phenomenal, phenomenal woman and character in her faith and her writing. This was not hard for me to come in and listen to her. And not only that, she blessed me one day when I needed to have my head lifted up. You know, despite the assignment that God has given us, every now and then it gets challenging and sometimes we need to be encouraged and lifted up.
Speaker 8:I got a message from sister Pat oh George who was telling me about reading my book, a Place Called Down, and how the timing of that book blessed her. She had no idea how her reaching out to me blessed me as a writer. Sometimes you just need to know someone's hearing, someone's listening. Someone got the message God assigned you to write about, and so I just want to say that she's everything you've heard on this show about her, her commitment to her life, her name, her reputation, her family, set in her heart to do All of it is so true For her to reach. I've known about her, we've crossed paths at the Christian Book Lovers Retreat, all of it, but that day when she reached out to me, it's forever ingrained in my heart because she didn't have to do that, but she did, and she didn't know that she did it at a time when I needed someone to speak into my life and I said let me know you're on the right path, You're completing this Simon God has given you. Keep writing, so thank you, sister Pat. Oh, george.
Speaker 2:Thank you, sister Pat. I didn't know that. Sister Jacqueline, I read her book and I was like, wow, okay, this woman knows how to reach where I am. She may have been down, but I was down too, so we were two down people who would lift us up.
Speaker 2:That's what we're talking about, see, and it's amazing how we cannot be selfish with our praise or with our encouragement, because you never know what your words are you asking me? I didn't know this until she just mentioned it. I had no idea. I just wanted to tell this woman how I felt about her book. It was just that I wasn't trying to get no A's or B's or no praise or anything, but that book lifted me and I wanted her to know that.
Speaker 1:Well, she got this new book that I was a been a pleasure of being an arc reader for this book called Shieldtail Down the House, babe. We're going to be talking about it on the 29th at six o'clock on Sunday. We're going to be eating Sunday, damn, we're talking about this one, so you are more than welcome to attend and have some questions. Well you know, I have some questions.
Speaker 2:Listen, I don't want to just spill the tea. We want to stick it. We want to stick it.
Speaker 8:Well, just know, mama Pat I said Mama Pat in my notes and my messages and my comments but sister Pat, or George, just know that you have a sister on the West Coast who loves you and appreciates you, because I know when God is moving and for him to do what he did through you that day.
Speaker 8:You have a no idea that I needed to be and I've had another experience just like that book, and that I had to go back and remind myself what I said in 2019, in my 2019 experience repeated something similar, but I knew that God had his hand in my life and I knew that he was leading me in a plain path and I try to stay on the path that he gives me. But you need to know that you are loved here on the West Coast because you did not have to be obedient that day, but because you kept with God's timing. You touched my life as well. So I'm so grateful and God bless you and all the books that you're writing. I'm going to get the one you talked about today. Can't wait to read it.
Speaker 1:It's definitely a good book. Dr V. You know me, I read all my books. My people that come on, I read them all. So now y'all got my mama pack calling, now my mama pack calling in.
Speaker 1:Lord have mercy. Oh, she put unavailable. So I don't know what happened to Dr V and mama pack put unavailable, but this truly, truly, truly was a remarkable, remarkable show. I want to thank you, dr. Pat George, dr, we lost you, but I think we bring you. We got Carolyn Coleman calling in. She has a question for the author. Come on, carolyn. I don't know what that is, but for some reason it's not coming through. I'm going to go to my go to song and then we're going to take some more Q&A before we close out, guys.
Speaker 6:Here I am now looking at 30 and I got so much to say Gotta get this off of my chest. I gotta let it go today. I was always too concerned about what everybody would think, but I can't live for everybody. I gotta live my life for me. I've reached a fork in love Road of my life. Nothing's gonna happen. That's what I decide To be the best that I can be, to be authentic and never easy.
Speaker 6:My past don't dictate who I am. I do. Had I been through some painful things, I thought that I would never make it through, filled up with shame from the top of my head to the soles of my shoes. I put myself in so many chaotic circumstances. By the grace of God, I've been given so many second chances. But today I decided to let it all go. I'm dropping these bags. I'm making a will for my joy.
Speaker 6:I choose to be the best that I can be. I choose to be authentic and never easy. I do. My past don't dictate who I am. I choose Because you never know what life is gonna take you if you can't change what you've been. But today I have the opportunity to choose. I do Release the guilt about my things having the way that take. This life is gonna do what it do, and every day I have the opportunity to choose.
Speaker 6:From this state forward, I'm going to be exactly who I am. I don't need to change the way that I live just to get a man on. I even had a talk with my momma and I told her today I'm broke. Now just stay forward. Every decision that I make will be my own. I choose to be the best that I can be. I choose to be courageous and never refrain. I do my past don't dictate who I am. I choose and I choose to be the best that I can be. I choose to be authentic and never easy. I do my past don't dictate who I am. I choose Because you never know what life is gonna take if you can't change what you've been. But today I have the opportunity to choose. Hey, release the guilt about my things having the way that take this life is gonna do what it do.
Speaker 6:And every day I have the opportunity to choose.
Speaker 1:Yes, I choose. Ms Pat, tell me how that song resonates with your book. The lyrics to that song.
Speaker 2:Well, just as the title of my book says, Choices.
Speaker 2:We have a choice as to whether we are going to follow God or not, know the consequences of not, and God gives us a free will. We can make that choice. So in this particular song it says exactly what I just said. We have a choice and you make that choice. In the song she chose to follow God to do the right thing, and that's my choice. I choose to follow God. Am I always doing it willingly? Sometimes I still got a little fight left in me, but at the end of the day I thought my head and said, lord, I surrender all.
Speaker 1:Amen, amen. I'm trying to actually bring up the collar but for some reason it's not going through and we have to get ready and close out. So I'm gonna get ready and close out with prayer and, if you can hear me, I really want to get your question in, so I might need you to leave out and come back in. Dear gracious Heavenly Father, we come before you once again thanking you for the time we have spent together in this show. We thank you for the insight shared by Pat G or J Walker and the wisdom we have gained through her book choices. We pray that the messages conveyed today will continue to resonate with us long after this show comes to an end. May we be inspired, lord, god, to make conscious, intentional choices that align with your will and bring out positive change in our lives.
Speaker 1:As we conclude this show, we ask for your blessings upon Mama Pat George Walker. We thank you for her willingness to share her wisdom and experiences with us. We pray that you continue to bless her and her endeavors and grant her success in all that she does, lord, we also lift up the audience and all those who have tuned in or participated in this show. May the seeds sown today bear fruit in their lives, guiding them towards making choices that honor you and bring out joy and fulfillment. Finally, lord God, we thank you for your constant presence in our lives and in the presence you have on this list and live the podcast. Help us to remember that we are never alone and that you are always with us, guiding us in our choices and providing us with the strength and wisdom that's needed to make the right decisions. In your name, jesus Christ, we pray. Amen, ms Carolyn, I'm going to let you get your cue in A and before we bring it to a close. Ms Gentry, how are you doing today? Uh-uh well.
Speaker 1:You have a question for Ms Pat.
Speaker 5:I really have a statement. I have enjoyed this journey she took us on today. I just wanted to make a statement. I really, really am aware of. One of her loved ones was diagnosed with cancer and she found 10 people that she felt should have had other than him.
Speaker 1:She gave a list. She told the Lord here goes this list of 10 more people you can take.
Speaker 5:Just don't take my bo-ass, you know but when I lost a relative that was very dear to me, I found about five or six people that Lord could have took beside me. That hit me hard. It hit me right. I did totally understand.
Speaker 1:That's why they don't call her the first lady of gospel comedy for nothing. I appreciate your statement, Dr Velma. Did you have a statement?
Speaker 8:I apologize. I had to go out and come back in, but hopefully my message came across. Both my husband and I Pastor Bruiser here listening, and I was sharing with him when I was off the mic trying to get back in what Pat will George has done for me and my testimony about her, even though she was talking about what my book did for her. I wanted him to know of that moment when she reached out to me and was thanking me for the book that she was reading. So I just want Pastor Pat or George to know that this was a phenomenal show today.
Speaker 8:And, jacqueline, you always stand true to your faith in what you do on this platform. You open in prayer, close in prayer. So you know, at the moment that you open in prayer, what kind of show this is going to be. You make it clear to everybody who we're talking about and why we're here. So I know you don't just put anyone on your show and boy that you put a phenomenal woman on today and I'm grateful that I was able to tap in and hear what I heard. God bless you both.
Speaker 1:God bless you as well. Any final thoughts of Miss Pat.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm, I'm, I feel like I have been in service. You know, services can be held anywhere, in a bathroom, in a church, you know, wherever you feel the presence of the Lord, and I have truly felt his presence today. I, I am. I am so grateful to you for seeking me out. And yes, you did. You did try to get me a few times and seem like I was always, you know, busy doing something else, but in God's time. So this was in God's time. And as far as Dr Belm agos, I can't even begin to tell you how that book moved me, and to know that it was reciprocated when I reached out to her is. It's always mind blowing to me, because you never know how God is going to use, and that's why obedience should always be in the mix. So, once again, I thank you, I thank your listening audience and the guest to call then, miss Cowan, yeah, I did have a, I had a list. Yeah, at least 10 people that I wanted God to go visit before he before he.
Speaker 2:He was on a yellow sheet of paper. I'll never forget. I had a nerve to go. You know, when I look back at it I say you know what I know? God loves me. Because he probably said, oh, this is crazy one, but I love it. I thank you all and, once again, god bless each and every one of you.
Speaker 1:And, on that note, we are going to leave out with song Thanks. Thanks to everybody who participated in the show today, who listened in, who will be listening in 10 different countries on 40 different platforms. I thank you all, so so very much for your constant, constant downloading of listen, linda, your reciprocation of the show and just your appreciation for my craft. I cannot do it alone. All praises to the most high my mother, my mama, mama Pat, who is the dominant soundtrack for the show. I cannot do one show unless I play at least one of her songs.
Speaker 1:You're anointing, as well as everyone, that God gives me the vision to handpick for this show Because, like Dr Vell will say, everybody can come on. Your brand has to be aligned with mine and align with God. I appreciate every single person who graces this platform and I hope that my marketing skills can help your book, business or brand elevate to wherever God sees fit. Everyone. Have a great rest of your week. God bless you, and my kids are out of school early today and to my no school, so pray for me. God bless you all. Have a good rest of your week and, dr Vell, I'll see you in a couple of days.
Speaker 6:Moonlight, this light just a couple words is crying me out. You are lovely, so lovely, won't everyone to know why I'm in love with you? Patience and strong, always, no matter what I face, you've been there to bring me through Just fine, on time. It took a while to see that your love was true. Now, no one can I belong until the end of time? Good to know, and all I want to say till my dying day, I just want to be close to you. I'll be there and sleep. Heaven is where I want to be, where I am when I'm with you. Perfect, yes, perfect. It's what you gave for all the world to see. Now, no one can I belong until the end of time. Good to know, and all I want to say till my dying day, I just want to be close to you.
Speaker 4:Come on, follow me.
Speaker 6:You say Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, tada, tada, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, go out to see. But now we know that you ain't. No one can. I'm near you, I'm near you. I'm near you, I'm near you. Good to know. Change of mind and will. I'm near you, baby, I just wanna be close to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't want to stay, I just wanna be close to you.
Speaker 7:Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh.
Speaker 2:Uh North time. Yeah, I was in the north.
Speaker 7:I had to get to that money, nigga, I had to get to that.
Speaker 7:Guala, guala, guala. I had to get to that money, nigga. Do you know how many nights I went to sleep stomach curtain? I was like I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie. I had to get to that money. Nigga. Do you know how many nights I went to sleep stomach curtain? I was hungry.
Speaker 7:Nigga had to cut a couple niggas loose cause they show me that they was not for me, nigga, I see them flyin' from afar. So you know, I keep that big old pistol on me, niggas, draft up like a soldier and no motorola. But I saw that shot some phone in nigga. This money takin' me places. Takin' me places I ain't been Ever since I got acquainted with that boy, benjamin Franklin. These niggas were sleepin' on me till I made them come up by their blankie. They say it counts to be the boss, but can somebody show me where to make payments? Run up and check on these niggas? I lost respect with these niggas Cause when I was down on my ass, ain't none of y'all check on me, nigga, when y'all was out outta cash. I was the one there for you niggas. I was helping you niggas. Y'all had no place to stay and I was sheltered you niggas. Now I can't help with you niggas. No, no, no, no. Can't fuck with you. No more, no more. I had to get to that bag. I had to get to that door. They asked me where I been at nigga. You already know I had to get to that money, nigga. I had to get to that. Guada, guada, guada, guada. The 20s, the 50s, the 100s nigga. I had to get to them. Dollars, dollars, dollars. Watch me run up with Jack on these niggas. I had to get to that. Guada, guada, guada. Watch me run up with Jack on these niggas. I had to get to them. Dollars, dollars, dollars. Watch me run up with Jack on these niggas. I had to get to them. Dollars, dollars, dollars. I don't know. Yeah, watch y'all run up a check. Watch y'all run up a check. Damn, watch how I run up a check.
Speaker 7:All these diamonds on my neck, got a pocket full of green, got a pocket full of striped cap. All of my niggas is animals. That's a coincidence, cause I'm a vet. I remember I was bored, but now I'm bout to board a jet. She call me daddy, but I'm not a fag. She only call me when she hide and bother, cause it ain't bout a dollar. They don't even bother. Fuck you thought, boy, this is dirty wild. All these niggas lying married to the gang jagged edge.
Speaker 7:Meet me at the outlet. I'm a bowler nigga. Check the rounds. Matter of fact, partner, I had to get to that money, nigga. Yeah, I had to get to that. Quality quality quality. I had to get to that quality quality quality. 20 to 50 is the hundred's nigga. I had to get to them. Dollars, dollars, dollars, dollars. Watch me run up a check on all these niggas. Yeah, I had to get to that. Quality quality quality. 20 to 55. Watch me run up a check on these niggas. Yeah, I had to get to them. Dollars, dollars, dollars. Watch me run up a check on these niggas. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I've been a run-up, but check on the business so Do you hear my, my, my name?
Speaker 4:Do you hear my, my, my name? I pray a lot. I know it was a trustee, but sometimes I lose faith a lot. My honey cold, those I go through so much it didn't take a lot. Yeah, my heart call is like no feeling.
Speaker 4:Now, god, I wanna know if you hear a sin. I wanna do you hear a mine, mine, mine. Do you hear a sin? You hear a mine, mine, mine. Do you hear a sin? You hear a sin? You hear a sin. And I wake up every day like give him praise to the man. Let me see this daylight, cause I got niggas that locked up they won't see daylight. Long as I got 24 hours I can shake a life.
Speaker 4:Say you know what fucked up about it. I say I know niggas that prayer lit, come through and they don't give a fuck about it long as I'm under dirt when the rip time do and they can stuff fake pockets. Long as they got a hustle I pump with them. Kids gon' get they shoes. Say nigga, get's gutta fuck, fuck nigga, it's Kripple's too what you think I do. Nigga couldn't walk a mile in my shoes everyday. I walk with the Semi too, shooting everything that's in my view, follow God. I depend on you. I pray you overlook all the sin I do. I know everyday you been right there.
Speaker 4:One question do you hear a sinner's prayer? I pray a lot. I know we're poor, so trust in you, but sometimes I lose faith a lot. Behind these clothes, those I go through, so much shit. It didn't take a lot. Yeah, my heart call it like no feeling.
Speaker 4:God, I wanna know if you hear a sinner's prayer. I pray to you. I'm mine, mine, mine. Hey, you hear a sinner's prayer. I'm mine, mine, mine. Hey, you hear a sinner's prayer. I know I ain't living right if son ain't got a son on the way trying to get my children right. I know it may take some time but I promise I'm gon' get it right. I been goin' through some things. I know I'm cool. I ain't been feelin' right. These niggas actin' too shady and with me that ain't sittin' right. Forgive me for all my sins and forgive me if I been prayin' wrong. I pray that you bless my hustle so I can get my paybone. I know that I'm a good nigga, just wondering what be takin' long Been grindin', full of meaning and nothing that my patience gon' hide, but it's so much work I feel like it's my time.