Thankful Thursday: Days of Clarity

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

And once again Father, we come to the Thankful Thursday edition at phatherphil.org!  It’s been an eventful seven days to be sure, and I’ve felt Your Blessings overflowing around me throughout.  I usually have to take some time to go back over the past week carefully in my head to pick out the little Blessings I’ve missed, but today for some reason they sprang to mind quickly and easily.  It’s wonderful to have days of such clarity, and to feel like I’m walking the right path with You.  🙂

Anyways Lord, on to the list!  This week, some things I’ve been thankful for are:

121. Living in a country that allows me to worship You without fear of persecution.

122. Our upcoming family vacation to Chestnut Grove Resort in the Pocono Mountains.

123. Shannon getting to play her viola with the praise team at church.

124. The patient and professional doctors and nurses at A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children.

125. Shannon finally connecting with a helpful agent at the State of Delaware.

126. Having a GPS to help me navigate when we travel.

127. Big sales on items just when I need them.

128. Empathetic gestures between my two boys.

129. Being able to spend a long holiday weekend in the company of good friends.

130. A wonderful new Christian book to read while on vacation.

131. Friends who offer to watch our dogs and the house while we’re away.

132. Our Most Important Freedom.

133. The power of prayer.

134. Spam filters.

135. The medical technology that allows Jonathan to live a normal life.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for all the Blessings you grace us with, both those that are seen and those that may pass unnoticed.  You are indeed a God of compassion and of wonders, and I pray that my choices, decisions and actions will properly Glorify Your gifts to us all.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Our Most Important Freedom

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

Well Father, tonight begins the start of a 3-day holiday weekend in observance of Independence Day here in the United States.  Over these next few days, we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence which declared this country’s freedom from the control of the Kingdom of Great Britain.  Thinking about the freedoms we enjoy on the drive into work this morning, it dawned on me that while celebrating our liberties this weekend, we should also be giving thanks for our most important freedom of all…

The freedom from sin You gave us through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Your Word clearly shows us that although we are all besieged with sinful natures, if we confess and repent of our sins, and turn to You through Christ, we can be freed from the bondage that sin tries to hold us in.

“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.  But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” – 1 John 3:4-6 (NIV)

“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” – Romans 6:17-18 (NIV)

We have so many freedoms in this country that we should all be truly thankful for Father.  And as I contemplate and celebrate those things which set our nation apart, I’ll also be giving thanks and praise for the greatest gift of freedom ever given; the freedom Jesus paid for on the Cross.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

A Heavy Heart

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

Today Lord, my heart is heavy.

As You know, each year my family and I spend a week in the Pocono Mountains at Chestnut Grove Resort.  It’s a wonderful place, overflowing with charm, love, and life and we very much look forward to returning each Summer.  The family that owns it and their staff go out of their way to fill our stay with wonderful memories, and are always diligent in their efforts to ensure that we all feel like extended family.  It’s a place caught quite happily in a gentler, simpler time and a welcomed oasis from the chaotic world around us.

Today, I received the sad news that the husband of the family that owns it was killed on Monday.

Rob was a giving, caring man, and worked tirelessly to bring smiles to his guests’ faces.  He was a good man Father, and will be sorely missed by all those who came to know him.

I pray that Your Comforting Embrace is felt by all those mourning his departure, and especially to his wife and children during this time of grief.  We celebrate the light he shared while among us Lord, and although he will be missed we rejoice in the knowledge that he resides in Your Kingdom now.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: On the Fly

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

And once again Lord, we come to the “Thankful Thursday” post at PhatherPhil.org.  You know, I find it fascinating that all throughout the week I have no problem finding things to be thankful for, but when I sit down each Thursday to write my list… writers block!  I remember them eventually, but I don’t want to risk missing any that come to me “on the fly”.  Therefore, I’m going to start making a concerted effort to actually write them down as I experience them, instead of simply trusting my cluttered memory stores.  🙂

Anyways Father, here’s my list for the week:

61. Stillness Sabbaticals.

62. Jonathan taking his first Communion.

63. Children that are “fired up” for God!

64. “Dinner and Drinks on the Deck” Friday evenings.

65. Divine “nudges” when I need them.

66. Clean carpets.

67. A ROM for my Android phone that doesn’t crash twice a day.

68. Encouragement from unexpected places.

69. Verses of Scripture that “come alive” in my heart.

70. Thick-sliced country bacon.

71. A fresh cup of coffee in 20 seconds from my Keurig.

72. My Flickr.com account.

73. My iPod on shuffle mode in the “Gospel & Religious” genre.

74. The daily “Free App of the Day” on the Amazon Android AppStore.

75. A marriage Blessed by understanding, respect, love and trust.

(And Father, #75 is and has been one of Your BIGGEST Blessings in my life by far.  🙂 )

Heavenly Father, Your Blessings in our lives each day are truly never-ending.  You lift us up, comfort and encourage us, and teach us those lessons You know we need to grow in Your Kingdom.  Please guide and strengthen us to make good choices, and to always seek Your Will above all else.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Go Rest in the Word

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

It’s funny Father, but I never thought of Your Word as blood pressure medication before today.

Following a significant power outage/surge event in Dover late yesterday afternoon, we were greeted at the office this morning by a flurry of “help me” calls from a number of our local customers.  Now, in and of itself, it wasn’t an overwhelming volume of crises but I noticed as the morning wore on that I was becoming increasingly irritable and was feeling my heart pounding in my chest… not a good sign.  I tried some slow breathing exercises, and to focus on one task at a time but couldn’t seem to calm down and get a grip on the day.  As my chest tightened further and my head began to throb, You placed a distinct and firm command on my heart:

Go rest in the Word.

I’ll be honest Lord, my first thought was not immediate obedience.  After all, it was the middle of a workday and I had things that I needed to get accomplished.  Sensing Your insistence however, I told my admin that I’d be “off the grid” for a while, closed the door to my office and fired up YouVersion on my Nook Color…

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

In that stillness, in Your Presence, I found my calm Father.  The pounding in my head abated, my chest relaxed and I felt Your Peace come to me.

Contemplating the events of the morning, I realized that this very much falls into line with the message about “Spiritual Decompression” You gave me last week.  Finding refuge and inspiration in Scripture is one way I can become closer to You, and in doing so gain the balance that my spirit needs to navigate the Journey You’ve laid out for me.

I see the path Lord, and I thank You for being so faithful in guiding me along it’s twists and turns.

Amen.

~Phather Phil