Surrounded by Your Abundance

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

You know Father, it’s funny; some days I have to think, and pray, and ponder at length about what to focus on with our conversation, and then there are days like today where I have so many directions I’d like to go that I don’t know where to start!

Therefore Father, to stay somewhat with tradition I decided to start out the week by giving thanks to You for the weekend.

Shannon had back-to-back music performances this weekend, so for the most part Saturday and Sunday it was just the boys and I.  The dogs had me up early Saturday morning, so after running them out I settled in on the couch with my coffee and was able to enjoy much of the Book of Deuteronomy without interruption.  Fresh, dark coffee and the Word… What a wonderful way to wake up!  🙂

After the rest of the family was up, we all got dressed and were able to have lunch with Shannon before she had to head out to play viola at a wedding that afternoon.  Other than a few little household chores, the boys and I spent the rest of Saturday baking fresh cinnamon-sugar swirl bread, relaxing, watching Doctor Who episodes and simply appreciating our time together.  All in all, it was a nice, quiet day with my kids and I enjoyed it a great deal.

Sunday came, and Shannon was once again out the door first thing in the morning to another performance.  This is the last Symphony Concert she’ll have for quite a while as they break during the summer, so other than the work she does with the quartet she belongs to her weekend schedule should slow down a bit now.  Anyways, although the weather report looked quite threatening and the ominous sky appeared to support the forecast, we decided to risk getting rained on and headed out to Woodland Beach for a walk on the shore.

There’s always a wide variety of items to search through on Woodland Beach, but as we’d had a nasty thunderstorm come through the night before the sands were freshly filled with new treasures from the Delaware Bay.  Bits of colorful sea glass, shells and rocks of all size, shape and color covered our path.  Jonathan even brought a metal detector he’d received as a gift from his Grandfather a couple Christmases ago, and he and Aidan had a wonderful time chasing the “blips” and “bleeps” it made.  While we won’t be able to retire on the “riches” they unearthed (a corroded cell-phone battery, and a couple rusted chunks of metal from the old pier), they had an absolutely fantastic time which in my book is priceless nonetheless.

While Aidan started out looking for bits of sea glass, Jonathan quickly got his attention when his metal detector started indicating it found something beneath the sand.

The boys had a great time digging in the sand chasing down the source of the signals the detector picked up.

After we’d combed the nearby stretch of beach quite thoroughly, the boys and I hopped back in the truck and headed off to take a look at a new stretch of shoreline we’d heard about from a friend of mine.  We arrived at Port Mahon about a half-hour later; a virtually forgotten area that was obviously much more heavily used in years gone by.  The road was barely there, and I was quite thankful for my SUV’s four-wheel-drive keeping us from being stuck in the sand and gravel.  Rusting buffers and weathered, mussel-covered wooden piles lined the shore, now serving as lookouts for the wonderful variety of birds that swarmed the area.  It was a photographer’s paradise, and although I could have spent hours there capturing the essence of this waylaid port, our stomachs reminded us that we were overdue for sustenance, and we were forced to head home.  Thankfully however, this new discovery of nature is only around 25 minutes from our home, so we’re already planning a return trip soon.

One of the best parts of our visit to Port Mahon was the abundant wildlife, most obviously the shore birds that were all around.  I took a number of shots of this little fellow, but this was my favorite.

These two looking out over the water brought the movie “Finding Nemo” to mind for some reason… Mine?  Mine?  😉

Once back at the house, the boys cleaned up while I cooked up a “Breakfast for Dinner” feast for us.  While we enjoyed that repast, we watched the live streaming message put on by Cross Point Church at crosspoint.tv.  It was an excellent service, and a perfect way to close out the day’s activities.

Heavenly Father, thank You for yet another wonderful weekend with my family and friends.  I feel truly Blessed to not only have this “bonding” time with my children, but to live nearby to so many wondrous examples of Your Abundance in nature.  I love seeing the light in my boys’ eyes as they explore and examine the world You’ve given us, and being able to share my appreciation of Your Gifts with them.  I pray that they grow knowing that wonder, and remember these times with Your Love in their hearts.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Multitudes on Mondays

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

This evening Lord, I’ve decided to try something a little bit different for our Thankful Thursday conversation.  Instead of focusing on one specific thing You’ve Blessed me with, I’m going to take a page from the idea behind “Multitudes on Mondays” as described in the book “One Thousand Gifts” written by Ann Voskamp, and make a list of some things I’ve been thankful for this week.  I haven’t actually read the book, but a number of my fellow blogger friends have taken up this Monday tradition, and reading their posts it just seemed to fit very nicely with the concept of Thankful Thursday.

And there’s so much to list Father, so let me get started…

1. Smiles and hugs from my boys when I come home from work.

2. Dark, fresh, hot coffee in the morning.

3. Photowalks with the kids.

4. Living within 25 minutes of both a state forest and a quiet beach.

5. Feeling the spring breeze wafting over me as I watch the sun set beyond the trees.

6. Sitting at the firepit on our back deck and enjoying time with friends.

7. Holding my wife Shannon as she falls asleep.

8. Dark beer.

9. Cooking for my family and friends.

10. Reading the inspiring and encouraging posts from my fellow Christian Bloggers.

11. Curling up with the kids and watching TV together.

12. Having a job that continues to bring me new challenges and growth.

13. Pulsatile Nasal Irrigation (the only true defense I’ve found against allergies)

14. My son Jonathan continuing to be in remission.

15. Contact lenses.

Heavenly Father, thank You for these and all the other Blessings You bestow on us each day.  You are indeed a wondrous Lord, and I lift my heart to You in joyous praise.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

And With All Your Strength

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

Today Lord, while reading in the Book of Deuteronomy I came across a passage that immediately reached out and touched my spirit.  I read it several times over, and each time I did so, the messages resonated more and more in my heart.  The verses I’m referring to detail Moses speaking to the Israelites about the Commandments You had delivered to them, and the importance of making them an integral part of our lives, and that of our children:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” – Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NIV)

Wow Father… What powerful and passionate words these are!

I can picture Moses in my head, pleading with those people to not only follow Your Laws, but to absorb them, to teach them and to make them the foundation of every single part of their lives.

…with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

I want that Father… I want to be consumed by Your Presence; to go throughout my day knowing that everything I do, I do for Your Glory.  And although I certainly fall way short of that directive, it remains a goal I strive for.

The rest of the passage made just as much of an impact on me as well.  As Christian parents, we need to not only teach Your Word and the Love of Christ to our children, but we also need to make You a fundamental part of their lives each day.  By “bringing” You to their discovery of the world around them and their everyday activities, we can help to instill Your Love in their hearts.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for placing this message in my heart today.  I pray that with Your Strength and Guidance I’m able to faithfully fulfill Your Plan for me, and that I can also bring that wonder and adoration of You to my children as well.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

My Heart Cries for Her

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

A couple weeks ago Lord, I spoke with You at length about one of the children from Kay’s Kamp and how he was desperately in need of Your Presence.  Well, as I know You’re aware his physical condition has since declined, and he’s not been doing well as of late.

This evening, I read a new entry from his mother’s journal at CaringBridge.org and it brought me to tears.  It was posted on Mother’s Day, and reading it I felt her frustration, and her pain, and her anguish at watching her son endure these trials.

I’ve been where she is… And my heart cries for her Lord.

I know that we don’t have the “Big Picture” Father, and that while on this Earth we never will.  I know that all throughout our times of pain, and suffering, and grief that You’re by our side, whether we see that at the time, or not.  I know that You love us more than we can possibly comprehend Lord…

But my heart cries for her all the same.

When Your plan for our family led us to these remarkable children Father, I knew I had been forever altered.  I see things now that I could never have even begun to comprehend before, and yet I still feel like I have so much to learn.  My eyes and heart have been opened in ways that only You understand, but I have so far left to travel in Your Service.  I know of Your Wonder and Infinite Love for us all…

And yet my heart cries for her all the same.

Heavenly Father, please bring Your Healing and Comfort to this little boy and his mother.  They’re tired Lord, and frightened, and in desperate need of Your Divine Presence.  Whatever Your Plan is for them Father, please let them feel Your Loving Arms about them and know Your Peace.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

P.S. The journal and information on this courageous little boy and his mother can be found at : http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dorianh.  Please keep them in your prayers during this difficult time.

Thankful Thursday: The Gift of Prayer

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Once again Lord, we come upon another Thankful Thursday here at PhatherPhil.org.  Unlike other weeks where I’ve struggled to narrow down just what I’m most thankful for, this week was almost prescribed for me by, oddly enough, the United States Congress.  Yes, in 1952 the U.S. Congress officially designated that the first Thursday of May each year would be a National Day of Prayer, and it just seems wonderfully fitting to me that it falls on a Thankful Thursday.

I am truly thankful for the Gift of Prayer Father!

I wholeheartedly believe that prayer is absolutely a Gift You’ve given us Lord, and in my opinion one of Your most magnanimous and precious gifts of all.  Through prayer, You Grace us with the inherent ability to commune with You.  Little, flawed, lowly beings such as we, can “dial up” the Creator of Everything and have a one-on-one conversation… How miraculous is that??  Through prayer you give us the path to obtaining the most precious thing we can in this life; a personal relationship with You.

It’s a humbling, and yet amazingly powerful gift Lord, and I thank You for that “Bat Phone” connection to You with all my heart.  🙂

Amen.

~Phather Phil