(What follows are moments of my talk at the 67th annual Community Prayer Breakfast held at the Santa Barbara Hilton Beachfront Resort on August 27, 2026)
Finding the Light in a Paris Dungeon
The bedroom sat at the end of a long, dark hallway in an old Parisian apartment. The other models had a name for it: “the dungeon.” I walked in and locked the door.
It was 1981. I was 18, a Santa Barbara teenager wide awake with jet lag and already afraid of the man in whose apartment I was staying—my agent’s husband. We thought he was a pervert.
Today I recognize he was a predator. In the tiny elevator he tried to kiss me. I got away. After that, I locked myself in that Parisian dungeon.
Modeling wasn’t my plan. I took the work as an opportunity to save money to go to college or start a business. The girl in that room was a rebellious teenager who just barely finished high school. Like a lot of kids that age, I questioned authority. My worldview was simple: Who really knows what’s true? I swore I was never going to read another book.
Waiting in the dungeon that night was another surprise. My mom, Barbara Ireland, had recently become Christian and quietly slipped a Bible into my suitcase. I had never read a Bible before. We didn’t have them in the house, so I didn’t know how to read it.
Because of the jet lag, boredom, and loneliness, I picked it up and opened to the Gospel of Matthew. As I read, I knew that what I had in my hands was the truth.
Jesus was nothing like people told me. I had been taught that Christianity would not be good for me…that the Bible considers women second-class citizens.
That is a lie from the pit of hell.
Oh, my goodness, Jesus loves and honors women!
It was just me and the Lord in that dungeon. There was no one telling me, “Be this religion” or “Follow this denomination.” Alone, with no one there to guide, discipline, or point me to a church, I prayed. I just said I want to follow Him. In that moment Jesus became my Lord and Savior and best friend. Faith in Jesus gave me the confidence to walk away from situations that did not feel right.
If He is with us, who can be against us?
My life changed in that dungeon and I was saved forever.
The Harder Confession Came Later
I would use the same Bible that led me to Jesus as a menu. I clung to the verses that filled my heart. Other verses, however, I dismissed as a translation issue, or a cultural issue, or a typo. I tried to make my own Jesus, and that is so dangerous. I made a boatload of mistakes. Now I say: rather than regrets, it’s repent. There is nothing too bad or too big for Him. Scripture tells us the one who is forgiven much loves much, and I love a whole bunch.
I was 44 before I finally read the entirety of His Word from Genesis to Revelation.
Friends asked me to a retreat. I didn’t want to go. In quiet worship, I felt a conviction, a tug as clear as day, words I could not shake: “You say I’m your first priority, but I’m not. Put Me first, and I will give you more time and better time with your kids.”
Without recognizing it, I had been making our children idols.
The next morning, I moved the alarm fifteen minutes to pray and read the Bible. That first day the prayer was a simple, “Help!” Fifteen minutes soon became 30, an hour, and more. Now, if I don’t start my day like that, I’m apologizing to someone by 7:00 a.m.
I love that a gathering can be all about prayer. When we pray, we’re speaking to God. When we read His Word, He’s speaking to us.
Which matters more?
I heard a pastor say it’s like breathing.
What’s more important, inhaling or exhaling?
Bank tellers don’t study the counterfeit; they study the real. Learn the genuine bill and the fake is revealed. Stay in the whole Word and the Bible exposes every lie from the enemy.
I used to make it all about me. I’d close my eyes and point to a verse asking Jesus how He would bless me! It took a while to learn it’s not about me; it’s His story! Taken out of context, Scripture can be used to fit any evil agenda. We need the whole council of God. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
Taking in the Entirety of the Bible
That first time I read the entire Bible, I wept. It was bittersweet.
Sweet because I recognized how much God loves us. The Bible is the greatest love story. In the past I had been scared of Old Testament God, yet getting to know Him through the entirety of His Word, I learned that He is pure and perfect love.
Bitter because I recognized I’d made so many mistakes and felt like I had wasted so much time. A verse God placed in my heart is Joel 2:25 “I will restore the years the locusts have eaten.” God can redeem even our time. God was speaking to the Israelites here, yet when we trust in Jesus, we are grafted into those promises. This promise continues to bless me.
Not All Gardens Bear Good Fruit
Santa Barbara is beautiful; it’s like a beautiful garden. Sometimes this beautiful, lush garden can kind of lull us to sleep, and we need to wake up. The Bible begins and ends in a garden, but not every garden bears good fruit. On Garden Street, here in Santa Barbara, precious unborn babies are killed every single week.
Forty-five years ago, at my high school here in town, Planned Parenthood came to class to tell us we could have abortions without ever telling our parents. What’s taught in schools today is of great concern. Many churches refuse to discuss these issues and refer to them as political. They’re not political; they’re Biblical issues that people have made political. Who we vote for at every level is critical. Our local school boards, our local representatives. Please hold the values of each candidate against the Word of God and pray and that will guide you how to vote.
Arms Wide Open
My precious dad went to heaven in 2017. His last words were an order: “Keep praying. Don’t stop praying.”
The best advice I ever got came from another mom. At the wedding, the last recorded words of Mary as she referred to Jesus are, “Whatever He says, do it.”
One of the things I love about growing older is more time with Jesus and getting to know Him more. In this ever-changing world, He does not change. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. He loves you so much he gave His life, crucified on the cross so that all who receive Him would have everlasting life.
Jesus wants each one of us to choose to be with Him forever. He stands with His arms wide open for you, just as you are.
“Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts…” Hebrews 3:7
*****
As a model, Kathy Ireland became the all-American face of Teen, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Sports Illustrated—including three SI swimsuit covers, one of them the issue’s bestseller. She later founded Kathy Ireland Worldwide, built it into one of the country’s most valuable woman-owned licensing brands, and appeared on the cover of Forbes three times.
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Just beautiful. I especially like your observation that churches do not like to discuss abortion considering it too political. I have not attended church in over a year for the reason that the pastor would not discuss abortion or the sexualization of children, encouragement of transgenderism, pronoun fantasy, gender affirming care, men in women's sports, bathrooms and locker rooms. It seems that there is more concern about losing some Democrat parishioners and their contributions than addressing these issues which are contrary to Christian mores and a threat to the moral foundation of western society.
Thank you, Kathy! Your remembrances remind the rest of us what the LORD is doing in our lives and those in our community. And we do need to exert our God centered opinions into our community and its political/economic/social structures. Your growth as a Christian has been an inspiration to many of us over the years...so please continue to live your life under the guidance of our LORD...and we will all come together to serve Him according to His provisions. Thank you again!