Thankful Thursday: Sing Joyfully

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!

Well Father, today marks week three that I’m celebrating “Thankful Thursday” here at PhatherPhil.org!  I’m really enjoying these weekly postings, as it gets my head focused on all the wondrous Blessings You’ve granted me.  Starting my day thinking “What am I truly thankful for today?” is an excellent frame of mind to be in for the morning ahead.

Today Father, I’d like to thank You for the inspiration and encouragement I receive each day through the wonderful avenue of Christian Music.  Over the last several months I’ve switched to almost exclusively listening to Contemporary Christian Music each day, and it’s brought an amazing change to my mood and perspective.  Between the local radio station we listen to in the car, to streaming K-Love on my computer at work, to the Contemporary Christian Music Channel on our digital cable TV I leave on in the background during the evening hours, my ears are filled with songs praising You for much of my day.  I never have to be concerned with the content not being appropriate for my children, and we’re all the better for having this melodious form of worship going on while being entertained by such marvelous artists.

Jonathan and I even have tickets to see the Newsboys with Kutless and Disciple in a couple weeks!  He’s become a big Newsboys fan, and this is his first concert of any kind so he’s extra excited (ok… so am I.  🙂 ).  As I’ve mentioned to You before, listening to my boys sing these songs of praise along with the radio in the mornings on the way to school just warms my heart to no end.  This music is truly a Blessing, and makes a wonderful impact on our lives each day.

I think this piece of scripture states it beautifully Father:

“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.” – Psalm 33:1

We do, and it is.  Thank You Lord!

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Young Minds Want to Know

Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father.

Today Lord, I’d like to start out with a quick prayer of support for my wife Shannon.  Between being ill for the past week, a busy work schedule, college classes and symphony she’s been burning the candle at both ends, and has been feeling the results the last couple days.  Please bring her Your Loving Comfort and grant her the rest she so dearly needs.

This morning Father I decided to get Jonathan and Aidan involved in our conversation.  Therefore, on the way to school I asked them both if they had anything to tell You or ask of You.  The responses I got were not exactly what I expected, but I felt good ones all the same:

Aidan (8) : “Is watching over everyone all the time hard?”

I don’t think Aidan realizes what a significant and deep question this is Father.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that while we don’t have a definitive answer that fits in our limited understanding, there are some scriptural passages which shine some light on this question.

First off, we refer to You as “Almighty God”, which implies the omnipotence of Your Power and that You are “All-ruling” (from the Greek word pantokrator used in the early Bible translations) over what You have created.  Jesus summed it up quite clearly in Matthew 19:26:

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” (NIV)

You created us all, and have reign over all You have created; Your Word states this over and over quite distinctly.  This tells me You have the power to watch over us all without question.

The other piece of this answer in my mind, would be the omnipresence of Your Spirit.  Again, referencing scriptures for this I found Psalm 139:7-12:

“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.” (NIV)

Through Your Spirit, You reach out and have complete access to the whole of Your Creation.  Ok, so you have the Power, and the Presence.  I realize that this doesn’t answer Aidan’s question specifically about whether or not it’s hard for You Lord, but Your Word clearly establishes the ability for You to do so, and the promise You gave us:

“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) (one of my all-time favorite verses)

Great question Aidan!  🙂

Jonathan (11): “What does God have planned for the people of Japan now?”

Bless him Father, he worries about so much and so many people for an 11 year old.

I explained to him that in cases like this, we have to understand that we don’t truly have the “Big Picture” that You do, but that You were still there for those people, still loved them and were still in control.

I’m sure he’ll be talking with You directly later on about this Lord.  Maybe You can give him a better answer than I was able to at 7:45 this morning.  🙂

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the lessons I learn each day through my children.  I love seeing them growing in Your Kingdom and yearning to know You better.  Please continue to guide them along the path You have chosen, and help me bring Your Love and Wisdom to their hearts and minds.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

More Than We Can Handle

Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father!

First off Lord, I want to thank You once again for bringing Your Healing Presence to Jonathan.  So far today he’s been doing well, with no immediate symptoms to note.  Please continue to keep him in Your Embrace, and watch over him.

Yesterday Father, while Jonathan and I were waiting for the doctor to see him I had a chance to finish my reading of the book of Exodus.  I know the story well, but this time one particular passage very much spoke to me and I’d like to share my thoughts on it today if I may.  The verses I’m describing come from Exodus 31:1-11:

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.””

Now Lord, in the overall story of Exodus this may not seem like an overly vital or interesting passage, but two fragments just jumped off the page for me and got me thinking:

“…I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills…”

“Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you…”

During many stressful times in my life Lord, I’ve had people tell me that “God doesn’t give us any more than we can handle.” These verses actually put that statement in perspective for me quite nicely.

While speaking to Moses on the Holy Mountain, You gave him the designs for a number of staggeringly complex and detailed constructions to complete.  The specifications were exacting, and the project required significant craftsmanship, ability and skill for all those involved.  You knew this of course, and therefore gave them the resources and skills they needed to complete the tasks You set for them.

You didn’t give them more than they could handle.

I think sometimes Father, we miss this very important point.  If You give us a task to perform, You always make sure we have the tools, skills and resources we need to get it done.  We still may struggle and have to put forth a lot of effort, but in the end You never leave us without what we need if it’s truly Your Will.

What a reassuring thought that is Lord.  🙂

Heavenly Father, thank You for bringing me these essential life-lessons through Your Word.  I pray that in times of trial I remember that You are indeed by my side, and that You truly never give us more than we can handle.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Making “What Ifs” into Amens

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

First off Father, I want to thank You for the weekend.  As we discussed Friday, Shannon and I both went into it sick and we ended up spending most of the weekend inside.  I did manage to sneak out a couple hours on Saturday with Jonathan for a trip to Barnes & Noble, and made a quick grocery run on Sunday but other than that it was a quiet, reserved couple of days.  Thankfully, Shannon and I seem to be on the upside of this bug, but it’s obviously going to take a few more days to completely clear out.  Either way, although our weekend didn’t exactly go as we planned I did get to spend lots of quality time with my family.  🙂

And then, Monday happened.

We were actually doing unusually well for a Monday morning Father.  Everyone got up on time, got things together and out the door on schedule, and we made it to the kids’ school with time to spare.  About 10 minutes after dropping them off however, came the call…

With no warning, Jonathan had vomited on his way to class.  ~sigh~

I dropped my things at the office, and made my way back to school to retrieve him.  He’d been complaining about some headaches for the last week or so, but other than that this was the only symptom he presented with.  Unfortunately, because he still has a VP shunt in place we have to look at those two particular symptoms very carefully as they can indicate problems with it’s operation.  I picked him up, made a call, and off to the pediatrician we went.

The wait to be seen at the doctor’s office was typical for a Monday morning; a little over an hour.  We sat waiting in the truck (the office lobby was full), me spending time reading in Exodus on my Nook Color (I’m really enjoying my new toy) while Jonathan quietly played a puzzle game on my phone.  When we finally got in to see the doctor the appointment was short and to the point, and we were quickly sent next door to have some sinus x-rays done.  Those too, went without issue and about an hour later we received a call from the doctor indicating that his sinuses looked perfectly clear, and that if his symptoms persisted we would need to have Jonathan evaluated by his neurologist.

So… No immediate answers; just more questions.

Each time we get a reminder of Jonathan’s unique medical needs Father, it’s a vibrant flashback to some very scary times.  For the most part, we’ve slipped back into “normality” in regards to his health; sniffles are just sniffles, not a trip to the emergency room at 2AM.  When situations like this come up though, we’re thrust back into the world of the unknown and the “what if” scenarios.  It’s a place we know far too well, and pray often to avoid.

And yet Father, I know in my heart that You’re with him.  And armed with that bit of Truth, those “what ifs” aren’t nearly as frightening as they once were.

I still worry of course.  That’s my job as his father, and I love him dearly.  You’ve entrusted him to our care, and I’ll do whatever is required of me to honor that assignment.  However, knowing that all the while he’s in Your Loving Arms brings amazing peace to my spirit.  Thank You for that confidence Lord.

Heavenly Father, please continue to watch over Jonathan and bring to him Your Healing Touch.  I thank You for the comfort of Your Presence, and pray that all those in need of reassurance can also feel that peace.  Through Your Love Father, “what ifs” can truly become Amens.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Then and Now, Lessons Learned

Dear Lord; Good evening Father!

For some time now Father, I’ve been feeling like You’ve been preparing me for something; teaching me hard lessons, tempering my faith and yet at the same time guiding me towards a destination somewhere “outside my box”.  You’ve whispered messages of encouragement and direction into my heart, but as I called them in yesterday’s chat all those “puzzle pieces” just haven’t quite fit together yet.  You told me there would be change in my life, You told me to “Expect something wonderful” and over and over again You told me to be steadfast and have Faith.  I won’t sugar coat it Lord… The last year or so has been extremely difficult for me.  But Father, somewhere during this time of trials something strange happened…

I found that I actually became more thankful for Your Blessings in my life, and have grown closer to You in the process.

I got to thinking about this quite a bit today, and I realized that it wasn’t the first time You’ve used hardships to teach me something important.  In fact, the first time was what I consider to be the lowest point in my life and at the same time, the beginning of my understanding of what true Blessings are.

On December 14, 1999, you gave to us a wonderful, beautiful little boy whom we named Jonathan.  As we’d been told for years that we couldn’t have our own biological children, Jonathan was deemed our “miracle baby”; little did we know how true that description was.

At Jonathan’s 10-week checkup, the pediatrician noticed that he looked awfully pale so she ordered some blood tests to be done.  A few hours later in a flurry of anxious phone calls we were sent directly to A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children’s Oncology / Hematology department for an emergency appointment.  The next several weeks to follow were to be honest, a blur.  Test after test was done, and yet answers still seemed just out of everyone’s reach while terms like Leukemia, Anemia and Spherocytosis were tossed about between the physicians.  Finally, on March 19^th (coincidentally my 30^th birthday) we were given the grim diagnosis.  Jonathan had a rare disease called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, and it had infiltrated multiple systems in his tiny little body.  While the doctors were hesitant to give us any specifics about his prognosis, we were quietly informed that based on how far the disease had spread and the lack of information about it they gave him a 10 to 20% chance at best.

Shannon and I were absolutely devastated.  I was lost Father, and hurt, and angry… oh was I angry.

You had started to bring me to You that day Father, although I didn’t know it at the time.  We spent the majority of our time over the next 14 months living at the hospital, clinging to his life with all we had.  From rounds of chemotherapy and steroids, to surgeries, to recovery protocols we stayed fast and hung our lives on every change in his condition.

I’d love to say that I prayed long, deep, faithful prayers Lord, but we both know that isn’t true.  I was consumed by grief, and anger and fear.  I have no doubt You were trying to talk to me then Father, but I was nothing resembling receptive.

And yet, You never left Jonathan’s side.  I was broken, and lost and still You remained ever-faithful.  Thank You so much for that Father.  🙂

It’s said that hindsight is 20/20, and in this case it’s an apt phrase.  When I look back at that terrifying period of uncertainty in our lives, I realize that I needed to be there.  In the midst of my darkest time, You were waving a lantern; pointing out things that had I not been forced to deal with, I would have never seen.  It was a transformational and pivotal point in my life Lord, and it completely altered the path I’d been on.  The lessons I learned in those years changed me in ways I’m still uncovering today.

Fast forward ten years time…

Life again took a new turn down the road of uncertainty.  Between severe economic nightmares, the unexpected death of my best friend and a seemingly unending set of problems, the last year has been the most stressful period I’ve had since Jonathan’s illness was diagnosed.  This time however, it’s different Father:

I know You’re here with me, ever-faithful, ever-vigilant.  Even in my turmoil, I feel Your Peace.

See Lord, I learn.  🙂

Heavenly Father, I thank You for faithfully guiding me down the path You have laid out for me.  Please keep my eyes open, my ears trained and my heart open for those whisperings You pass to me along the way.  Amen.

~Phather Phil