With Kay’s Kamp coming up in a little over a week Lord, and just having gone through Jonathan’s yearly Oncology exams and scans, my head and heart have been drifting back to some very turbulent and fearful times for our little family. Being helplessly thrown into that uncertain world of doctors, chemotherapy, steroids, surgeries and rescue protocols took Shannon and I to an entirely new place in our marriage, and tested our commitment and resolve to each other by fire each day. It was a harrowing time in our lives, and one that has shaped our family this last ten years to a great extent.
I didn’t know You then Lord… I mean, I knew OF You, but I certainly wasn’t walking with You at the time. What I did know is that I was angry as Hell at You for doing this to us; for torturing my son that way, and for making us live in fear and pain. I blamed You for all of it Father, every little bit. And somewhere in the midst of all of that turmoil, I hit rock bottom…
And You were there to pick me up.
I’ll be honest Father, I didn’t realize it was You at the time. I do know however, that somewhere in that dark, terrifying place I began to see things through different eyes. It wasn’t that Jonathan was improving drastically, but instead of focusing on the despair I’d been feeling while walking down those long, bleached hallways at A.I. Dupont, I started noticing signs of kindness, and love, and hope that somehow I’d missed before. It was a turning point… no, a starting point in my life, and one I’m still thankful for today.
So therefore Father, today I’d like to thank You. Thank you for new beginnings… for faithfulness to a broken, scared child… for Your healing light inside Jonathan… and for ten years of normality.
Yes Lord, we still have trials in our lives, and pain, and uncertainty. But now we also have the knowledge and comfort that You’re with us on this journey; guiding us, nurturing us, and picking us up when we stumble on the Path. You see, I’ve realized that “normal” doesn’t mean that life moves along smoothly, it means that we understand and Accept that life is a journey of Your Design, and embrace it as the amazing Gift it is.
Well Lord, once again we come to the Thankful Thursday post here at phatherphil.org. It’s been a pleasant week following our return from vacation, however I will admit to missing the wonderfully comfortable weather and serene environment we enjoyed in the mountains. We’ve been beset by days of hot, humid weather here, so the contrast to our time away is made even more obvious. However as one of my fellow Christian Bloggers noted, every season exists for a purpose, and this too shall pass when You intend it to.
Anyways Father, no matter the weather conditions I always have a multitude of Blessings to give thanks for. Such as…
151. Quiet back roads on which to travel to and from work each day.
152. Having the vast research resources of the Internet at my fingertips.
153. A safe drive home from our recent vacation.
154. A lovely dinner out with Shannon on her birthday.
155. Being able to attend the Meet & Greet last Sunday for Kay’s Kamp (Jonathan is SO excited).
156. Whispered challenges on my heart to Dig Deeper.
165. A good cappuccino after church on Sundays from The Young Bean.
Heavenly Father, thank You once again for all those Blessings you grant us, both those that are obvious and those that may go unseen. As we Strive for full restoration in Your service, please open our eyes and hearts to better recognize the amazing gifts You bring to our lives each day. Amen.
You know Lord, I love it when You plant a seed in my heart and it drives me to seek out answers. Such was the case with the Scripture verse I posted to my Facebook Wall today:
“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” – 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)
But apparently You weren’t done with me on this one. Over the following hours, the phrase “Strive for full restoration…” kept running through my head, over and over. Finally, I decided to do some research on that particular expression in context and see where it led me.
Now Father, as You know I usually reference the New International Version (NIV) Bible as that’s the version that speaks to my heart most often. However, when I run into a passage that churns in my head one of the first things I do is to compare it to other translations to see it from other perspectives. In the case of this verse, the variance seems to be significant across translations… even in the case of the previous NIV (1984):
“Finally, brothers, good‑by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” – (NIV 1984)
“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” – (KJV)
“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” – (NET)
“And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.” – (MSG)
Wow… There’s obviously some differences there Lord. Realizing that these translations stem from words that may not have an exact English equivalent, I then decided to dig deeper and see what the Biblical Scholars had to say on this phrase. From what I found, it appears the original word was Καταρτιζεσθε, which according to Clarke’s Commentary converts to mean : “Be compact; get into joint again; let unity and harmony be restored”. Other commentaries were similar, but the description that finally settled my heart was from Wesley’s Notes which stated : “Be perfect – Aspire to the highest degree of holiness.”.
Strive for full restoration…
I love seeing where Your whispers take me Father.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for making Your Presence known through these quiet instructions to my heart. I pray that You continue to challenge me to dig deeper into Your Word, so as to bring my Walk even closer to Your side. Amen.
Well Father, we come again to the end of yet another work-week and I’ll admit to being excited this time. Tomorrow morning, my family and I leave for a week’s vacation at Chestnut Grove Resort in the Pocono Mountains. The kids love it there Lord, and I’ve found that it’s someplace that I can truly relax and spend quiet, meditative time in Your Presence. As Internet connectivity is quite limited, I don’t expect to be able to post our conversations every day, but hope to be able to at least a couple times over the course of the week. Funny enough, it makes perfect sense that in places where my connections to the world are more limited, my connection to You opens up wider. 🙂
In preparation for our time away, I spent some time yesterday picking out new books to read, and music to travel by. For reading material (other than my trusty YouVersion.com Bible App on my Android tablet), I have “Heaven is Real” written by Don Piper, and “Just Too Busy: Taking your Family on a Radical Sabbatical” by Joanne Kraft (Thanks so much Elaine!). As for music, while my iPod is already quite loaded with inspiring songs, I just had to add the albums “Blessings” by Laura Story, and “On Fire” from Peter Furler to the mix. Peter’s song “Reach” has been running through my head a lot the last couple weeks, so I’m excited to have the rest of his solo premier album to enjoy as well…
While we’re up there, we’ve also been invited by friends of ours to attend services at Pocono Community Church. From what they tell us, it’s a wonderful House of Worship and we’re very much looking forward to hearing the Pastor’s message on Sunday morning.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for all the Blessings You’ve bestowed on us this week, and for Your abundant Presence in our lives each day. I look forward with anticipation to spending communal time with You this coming week, and pray that You’ll keep us in Your Loving Embrace as we venture away from home. Amen.
Today Father, my prayers are focused on my son Jonathan and my wife Shannon as they spend time at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children. The appointment today wasn’t expected to be a big deal; simply an MRI with and without contrast to check and make sure that Jonathan’s LCH was still behaving itself. As the scans were going to take a while and required Jonathan be perfectly still, the plan was to sedate him so that he could sleep through the process. This seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea and after he’d been given some Versed to relax him a bit beforehand they got him ready for the procedure…
And then he saw the IV needle. He was no longer relaxed.
Jonathan has a very serious fear of needles Father, and from what Shannon described he changed instantly from my gentle, loveable little boy into a raving, angry, terrified child. In the end, they had to give him general anesthesia (gas) to get him under for the scans, requiring a longer stay at the hospital and leaving Shannon emotionally exhausted in the process.
Following the phone conversation with Shannon bringing me up to speed on the day’s events, I started thinking about the fear Jonathan must have been feeling at that moment. His dread of needles has deep-seated roots, far beyond what he remembers. As an infant, Jonathan’s disease and subsequent treatments required he be all too familiar with the prick of a needle. And even though he’s not had to endure a large number of sticks since that time, there’s an underlying anxiety that grips him whenever he requires one.
So, how to address this fear with him Lord? Well, if we examine Your Word there’s quite a bit of wisdom to draw on. As I know Jonathan reads this Father, I’d like to use the rest of our time today to pass some of those thoughts along to him here if I may…
Dearest Jonathan,
“For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.” – Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)
Whatever pain, fear or trials we face in this life, we need not be afraid because God never leaves our side. He’s stayed close to you all of your life, and seen you through amazing hardships. When fear grips your heart and threatens to take control, I want you to close your eyes and feel God’s Hand firmly grasping yours.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
The Lord desires that we show our character and faith in him through acts of trust. Courage isn’t the absence of fear Jonathan, it’s having fear and yet doing what you know is right with the knowledge that God will give you the strength to get you through when you lay those burdens at His feet.
“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)
We weren’t created to rely completely on our own strength Jonathan. We get tired, and stressed, and scared. Thankfully, we have our Heavenly Father to hold us up and provide us that “Holy Nudge” to get us through when we call on Him. I see so much of God’s Light in you, and when you seek His help I know that you’ll find it in abundance.
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day.
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
