Kathryn S. Patterson - Blog

Daniela finds herself in an unfamiliar place, in surroundings she has never seen before and no one she knows.  A little sliver of fear sets in!  What to do and where to go!  The next few minutes are critical in decision making for Daniela.  What should she do?  Which way should she go?  What do you think?

Imagine this ten-year little girl and these big decisions!  Making right decisions takes courage but Daniela didn’t know what courage really was and she had not found anything that looked like courage yet.  Each step Daniela takes as she begin this journey will require some measure of courage.  Where would that courage come from?  How would she get that courage?  As Daniela’s adventure unfolds see how she learns what courage is and what it means to her!  Share your thoughts about her adventure.  What do you think courage is?

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The obstacles facing Daniela were much bigger than we can imagine.  Think about the language barrier!  How did she overcome the language barrier?  What did she do to understand people in another time and place, 2,500 years ago? 

Daniela also had a clothing problem!  The way everyone dressed in 450 BC Persia was nothing that Daniela was familiar with.  Her clothes were very different from everyone else’s clothing.  Nothing was familiar to Daniela.  However, on the other hand, think about what the others thought of how Daniela was dressed!  Her clothes were very different than theirs.   Would you think the clothing difference would be important to anyone?  Do you think they even noticed the clothing difference? 

Clothing worn at different times can define a culture and society within history.  Keeping this in mind it is good to have a look around our present clothing culture and try to imagine what one would think about our popular clothing trends, in a distant future time.   What do you think?

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Getting to know Daniela is central to the story as it unfolds in Persia.  Daniela is the middle child, but she is the only girl!  Many of Daniela’s characteristics reflect our granddaughter’s characteristics when she was Daniela’s age.  Our granddaughter was the middle child with an older and younger brother. The family dynamic was a familiar one.  She, like Daniela, was the entertainer in the family.  A tender-hearted, sensitive and somewhat timid little girl would be the perfect personality for a little girl searching for courage.

How difficult was it for Daniela to journey to 450 BC Persia?  Imagine if you were Daniela what would you do or what would you think when you traveled back to 450 BC Persia?  Imagine entering the palace gates into a totally unfamiliar world, would you be brave enough?  Would you be just a little scared of the unknown?  What was Daniela really thinking?

Share any comments and thoughts about Daniela and what you think about her adventure.

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When Daniela finds herself in 450 BC Persia searching for Queen Esther an entirely new adventure awaited her, and for me for that matter.  Duane was such a big help with the historical descriptions of the winter palace at Susa, researching his library and locating for me an artist’s rendering of what it would have looked like after the archeological excavations were completed.  I find it amazing how archeology puts the past together for future use.   Many of the other descriptions of what Daniela saw in Susa were from my memories of traveling through different regions and visiting many archeological digs.

Duane has studied archeology for many years, has his field credentials and training, and has volunteered on a particular dig in Israel several times. 

Thank you, Duane, for all your valuable help and encouragement!

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As I began writing Daniela’s story God continued to impress upon me this story is as much about the little girl as it is about her adventure.  Daniela’s birthday party is a window into her family, their experiences together, their interactions and their relationships to one another.  Most of the stories and experiences in Chapter 3 are based on actual events in our granddaughter’s life.

In Chapter 4 the enthusiastic, somewhat dramatic, yet tender-hearted Daniela is also a reflection of our granddaughter when she was that age.  The drama and imagination of Daniela and our granddaughter were the starting point to launch Daniela into Persia to search for Queen Esther.  The next hurdle was what exactly do I use to accomplish my goal.  God gave me the foot path idea, which fit perfectly with the Bible Daniela’s grandparents gave her for her birthday. 

Then I began to search for the right picture, one I could use.  My close friend, Pat Borge, is a very talented photographer with a great eye for “interesting.”  She graciously gifted the picture of the footpath to my book endeavor.  Without the footpath, Daniela would not have gotten to Persia and would not have found Queen Esther, or courage, or learned any valuable life lessons! 

A heartfelt “thank you” to Pat for her talents and time bringing Daniela to a reality.  Pat creates personalized videos from photographs for commercial and personal sue.  She specializes in landscapes, flora and fauna.  If you want videos from pictures taken on your memorable vacations, her work is outstanding!  Pat can be contacted for photographic services by email at azjeepers2@gmail.com.

Foot Path

Proverbs 3:5-6

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