There is a Time for Everything

Dear Lord; Good morning Father.

Today Lord, I was having difficulty deciding how to “frame” our conversation.  This morning brought along with the dawn a seemingly continuous stream of headaches, problems and complications which made it very difficult for me to focus on Your Voice through the “noise”.  I started writing several times, but always ended up clearing it from my screen because it just felt wrong.  Instead of forcing the issue, I decided to leave myself open to You as best I could, and work through the day’s labors until we could connect up properly.

Well Father… I’m here now.

It’s terribly disconcerting to me when I get to the point where I can’t focus enough to have our morning discussion.  I’m dependent on You Lord, and when earthly influences overwhelm me to the point of not being able to concentrate on You, it’s upsetting to say the least.  I felt lost, and embattled.  For my human frailties Lord, I apologize and thank You for being ever faithful to me during my moments of weakness.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

Thank You for Your Comfort and Strength Father, and Your Unwavering Dedication to Your Children.  We are truly Blessed.

Now Lord, if I may, I’d like to shift the subject.

As I mentioned yesterday, over the weekend I got a chance to head out with Jonathan and Aidan to Blackbird State Forest for a photowalk in the woods.  It wasn’t overly cold per-se, but the wind was in upwards of 40mph, providing a stark reminder that while the temperature was up a bit we were still in the grips of winter.  I hadn’t been there during this time of year before, and it was a truly different place with the foliage stripped from the trees and bushes.  The veil of green we were accustomed to seeing was cast aside, and had been replaced by a vast sea of towering gray trunks reaching into the sky.

Life seemed to have packed up and left for warmer climates.

And yet, as we walked through the silent, barren trails we were greeted with some signs of rebirth.  Through the carpet of fallen leaves and pine needles poked streaks of color; tufts of early grasses and fungi protected by and feeding on the remains of the previous year’s abundance.  Like our spirits journeying to Your Light Lord, the forest was quietly feeding and nourishing the life it held hidden beneath the surface.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)

Heavenly Father, that walk opened my heart to the transitions You’re making in my life.  I pray that You continue to feed my hunger for Your Presence, and nourish my imperfect and yearning spirit so that my human failings are no further impediment to Your Plan for me.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Listening Through the Anger

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

First off Lord, I want to thank You for a lovely weekend surrounded by family and friends.  I was even able to get out with the kids for a photowalk in the forest, and enjoyed it very much.  All in all, it was a pleasant couple of days and I am truly thankful for You Blessing me with that respite.

Today Father, I’d like to discuss something I’ve seen more and more evidence of lately; People seem to be increasingly frustrated, angry and confrontational.  Now, I realize this is a gross generalization however it feels like the overall “threshold” of people’s tolerance and temperament is much lower than it has been in recent past.  Little everyday issues that could easily be talked through or handled with minimal effort are launching people into flashes of ire that are way out of proportion to the immediate cause.  We’re deluged with examples of it in the news, I’ve seen it when dealing with clients and vendors at my office, and even when observing the actions of other shoppers while out grocery shopping.  It’s getting tense down here Lord.

“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” – Psalm 37:8 (NIV)

I’ll admit that with all the increased stress I’ve been under professionally lately Father, I’ve been guilty of having a “shorter fuse” upon occasion, but You’re always very quick to remind me that’s not Your Way and I get back on track.  This being the case, it leads me to a significant concern…

Are there that many people that aren’t listening to You?

I’m quite afraid I already know the answer to that question, but I guess I hadn’t realized the scope of the issue.  I do know that I’ve come to depend on Your Voice and Presence in my life Father, almost like I need air to breathe.  You encourage me, sustain me and guide me throughout my day and I am forever thankful for Your Blessings.  Do I sometimes get upset anyways?  Absolutely!  I’m imperfect and flawed and I realize that.  Thankfully, when my humanly failings rear their ugly heads I have You to forgive me, bolster me and guide me back to Your Path.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV)

Heavenly Father, today I pray for all those who are lost and without the clarity to hear Your Comforting Voice.  Please calm their restless spirits, and clear away the self-imposed barriers in place which prevent them from Your Wondrous Counsel.  And Lord, please assist me in acting as an emissary of Your Word and in bringing Your Message to those in need.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Time to Clean House

Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father.

Today Lord, I spent much of my morning “cleaning house” at my shop.  We actually moved into these new offices over a year ago, but it was a rushed move and in the haste to meet contractual deadlines we ended up doing a poor job of sorting and packing equipment, tools, paperwork and such.  The result of which was that anything that we didn’t need right that moment was tossed into boxes somewhat randomly, and then stuck on shelves in the new space.  Well, today the lack of being able to find a part that I knew I had got the better of me, and I started tearing through boxes; sorting, tossing things out and beginning to put some order to the chaos.  It was truly amazing what we had shoved aside, and in the end I even found the item I was looking for.  There’s still a lot more to go through, but every journey has to start somewhere.

Hmmm… Where have I heard that before?

At some point during my morning of discovery, I realized that maybe I needed to go through a similar process in my spiritual life.  There are lots of “boxes of stuff” I’ve built up inside of me over the years that I’ve hurriedly shoved aside while running from one situation to the next.  I’ve opened some of them and put them in their places, but there are many others that still lie on my emotional shelves gathering dust.  I think we all hold on to some “baggage” like that as we go through life; containers filled with past guilt, remorse, longing and sadness that we file away with the intention to deal with them at a later date.

Well Lord, I’m tired of tripping over them.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

I’ve given myself completely to You Father, so these storehouses of pent-up burdens need to go… We need the room for the two of us to build a new “living space” together.

Heavenly Father, I place the dusty baggage of my soul in Your Loving Hands.  I’ve learned what I can from it, and now need to focus on Your New Life in me.  I pray that the new, cleaner house we build together will be deemed ready to reside in Your Kingdom.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

A Message to Pray On

Dear Lord; Good morning Father.  For the last day or so Lord, I’ve had a Bible verse on my heart.  It’s always been one of my favorites, but I’m feeling like I should be paying particular attention to it at the moment; That somehow it’s important that I keep it at the front of my mind.  The verse is from the Book of Joshua :

“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)

Now, I’ll admit to having been discouraged about a number of things as of late so maybe that’s the key here, but I just feel there’s more to it than that.  I went back this morning and reread Joshua 1 in it’s entirety to put the verse in full context, and found another passage that set off bells in my head as well :

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:7 (NIV)

This immediately clicked with a blog posting I read last night on the website “A Mile in My Schu’s” about how we can get “Off Course” from our path to You.  I always find it fascinating how when You need to get a point across to me, I seem to see it repeated and led to in so many places.

Ok Father, I get that this verse is important for me at the moment.  It’s certainly a positive message, and one I try to remember when my life heads in uncertain directions.  However I still feel there’s more behind Your insistence to me to focus on this missive than I’m seeing right now.

For example, these verses both enforce the command to “Be strong and courageous”… Hmmm, have I been that lately?  If I’m honest with myself Lord, probably not so much as I should be.  There’s so much to contemplate and pray about here…

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your constant Presence and Guidance in my life.  Please give me the clarity and focus to serve Your Will as You intend me to, and to see through my own flaws so I can focus on Your Glory.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Dear Lord; This morning Father, I want to share a story with You; A very powerful story that brought both my wife and I to tears last night.

It was a long day yesterday Lord.  Between the ice storm which led to school delays and then closings, and a number of other typical daily stresses, Shannon and I both came home a bit worn down.  Grabbing the mail on the way in the house, Shannon spotted a hand-addressed envelope from the kids’ school.  She opened it up, and inside was a letter written to us by one of the office staff regarding Jonathan.  She quietly read the letter, laid it down and started to cry.

The letter was a personal note from one of the school administrative staff detailing a conversation she’d had with Jonathan the previous Friday.  Apparently, Jonathan was assisting with shuttling some computer equipment between his classroom and the office, and helping with putting it away.  At some point during this process, he started talking to one of the ladies in the office and asked her if she was familiar with a man called Jesus Christ.  While surprised, she replied that yes, she was very familiar with Jesus.  He then went on to tell her all about his disease (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis), his surgeries, treatments and chemotherapy as an infant, and how he’d gotten through all those trials and was doing very well now.  She told him how wonderful he looked and that she was glad everything was doing so well, at which time he then left to go back to class.

What Jonathan didn’t know however, was that her husband had been battling two forms of serious cancers for many years, and that it was only through the grace of Christ that he was still alive.  Along with that, she indicated there were others within earshot going through similar trials who also took interest in his story.  She wrote that Jonathan’s unprompted testimony was exactly what she and others needed at that moment, and she was sure he was meant to be there to deliver Your message.  Her faith had been renewed, by the witness and encouragement of our little boy.

When I came home shortly thereafter and read the letter, there were tears in my eyes as well.

I talked to Jonathan later that evening about the conversation that prompted the letter (of course, not revealing what she’d written to me), and asked him : “What made you ask her if she knew Jesus?”.  He answered that he really didn’t know, and honestly didn’t remember what led up to it; It just came to him at the time.

You spoke through him Father, and to him it seemed perfectly natural and reasonable at the time.  May we all be that open to Your Voice Lord, and not be afraid to share it with others.

Thank You Father.  This touched me in a way that only You can.  Please bring Your Healing and Comfort to those going through these trials, and let us all be as effective and powerful a witness to Your Grace as the words of a child were that day.  Amen.

~Phather Phil