Thankful Thursday: Bountiful Mercies

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Well Father, as You know this has been a complicated week for my family and I.  As I mentioned on Monday, the respiratory infection I contracted last week blossomed and it’s been beating my body up quite significantly.  And although I’m very much still under this bug’s influence, I’m thankful that it seems to at least be getting a little better.  Nonetheless, the true Blessing in all of this has been the amazing amount of support I’ve received from family and friends.  Be it through prayer, dropping off of medicine, checking in on me, or just expressing concern, I’ve seen examples of Your presence throughout.  I am truly Blessed Father, and I thank You for connecting me with each and every one of these kind people.

And now, on to this week’s list!  This week Lord, I’ve been particularly thankful for:

271. The kind, caring people who reached out to me while I’ve been ill.

272. Being Spiritually Healthy.

273. Zithromax.

274. Blueberry Tea.

275. Having the “Torchwood” TV series on my media server for entertainment while laying in bed.

276. Officially becoming members of Ewell’s St. Paul UMC last Sunday.

277. A warm dog on the foot of the bed to keep me company.

278. A wonderful day spent relaxing, cooking and chatting with good friends.

279. A wonderful wife who’s picked up my slack and let me rest this week.

280. Banana Cake.

281. Inspiration from unusual places.

282. My staff providing me the quiet to take a short nap on my couch in the office yesterday.

283. A friend with an excess of nebulizer supplies.

284. The “Scrabble” application for my Android tablet that’s kept me from going stir crazy while resting.

285. New opportunities to spread Your light to others.

So many Blessings Father…

Heavenly Father,

We thank You Lord, for all those Blessings You bestow on us each day; both those that light up the Heavens, and those that grace us quietly without fanfare.  For while our situations here on earth may change, Your bountiful mercies in our lives remain constant.  We are truly Blessed.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Monday: Spiritual Health

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

Well Father, as always I want to begin the week by thanking You for the multitude of Blessings You bestowed on us over the past weekend.  Due to a nasty respiratory infection I’ve been fighting since late last week, our time was spent in much less energetic pursuits than usual, but it was a lovely couple days nonetheless.  On Saturday we went on a short outing with friends to a local alpaca farm, followed by a quiet afternoon and evening at their home enjoying a tasty home-cooked meal and wonderful conversation.  Sunday morning we attended the contemporary service at Ewell’s St. Paul UMC, and were officially accepted into the congregation as members of the church.  We feel truly Blessed to be a part of this church family Lord, and I thank You so much for bringing us together with them.

As You know Father, it’s been quite some time since I’ve gotten sick, so when this illness came on me hard and fast last week, it very much caught me off guard.  Respiratory infections have always hit me rather intensely, and this current bug is no exception.  However, as I was driving in to work sniffling and coughing this morning, something important dawned on me…

My physical body may be ill at the moment, but I’m more Spiritually Healthy than I’ve ever been.

The distinction between physical and spiritual health is actually one I believe to be fairly significant Father.  I’ve known a number of physically sound people who are absolutely lost spiritually, and yet, some of the brightest signs of Your Holy Spirit have come to me from people whose bodies have turned against them.

In the opening greetings of his Third Epistle, John indicates this division as well by wishing his friend Gaius good physical health, while noting that he’s already quite sure of Gaius’ spiritual well-being:

The elder,
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. – 3 John 1:1-2 (NIV)

“…even as your soul is getting along well.”  John already knew Gaius’ devotion to Your Truth was firm, and with that “spiritual fitness” as a reference, he sent wishes that Gaius’ physical well-being would follow suit.

So Father, what can we do to achieve the Spiritual Health that’s so vital in our lives?  If we break it down clinically as we would a physical ailment, I believe it would go something like…

Examination: Evaluate our lives regularly, and ensure that we’re living as God desires us to.  Identify sinful behaviors and actions.

Diagnosis: For the “symptoms” noted during the Examination, consult the appropriate reference (The Bible) and seek additional consultation (pray) to determine the correct course of treatment.

Treatment: Follow the prescribed course of action as determined in the Diagnosis.  Quiet time and rest (Stillness), and increased fluid (Living Water) consumption will aid in healing.

Follow Up: A proper diet (Daily Bread, Eucharist) and exercise (Worship) will help maintain Spiritual Health.

Now that’s reasonable health care reform.  🙂

Heavenly Father,

I thank You for the “Heavenly Health Care Plan” You’ve provided for us Lord.  Please nourish our needy spirits, and bring to us that divine healing that only You can provide.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Bring My Spirit Rest

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Well Lord, once again we arrive at the Thankful Thursday edition of PhatherPhil.org.  In addition to posting my usual list of 15 things I’m particularly grateful for this week, I also want to pay special notice to one in particular.

Last night was not one of my more restful evenings Father.  Yesterday afternoon, I started feeling the tell-tale signs of increased sinus pressure and drainage, and some accompanying stomach discomfort.  I increased my fluids and tried to push through it, but as of 3:30 this morning my head felt like it was in a vice and my whole body ached.  I was awake, and uncomfortable, and exhausted, and grumpy… Not a good combination.  I tried lying quietly in the bed, focusing on the stillness around me, but the thumping in my head readily thwarted my efforts.  By that point, my frustration level was elevated and I resigned myself to the thought that I’d had all the sleep I was getting for the night.

“Rest in God’s Word.” drifted through my mind.

I’ll be honest Father, in the shape I was in at that wee hour of the morning the thought of focusing on Scripture (or on anything else for that matter) wasn’t particularly appealing.  Nonetheless, I decided to trust the “urgings” and do some reading.  I grabbed my Nook Color off the nightstand, fired up YouVersion and picked up where I’d left off earlier in the day in 1^st Kings.  I’d read three chapters or so when I realized…

The thumping in my head had stopped…

My nerves had quieted…

And I was feeling tired again.

I shut of the Nook, and lay back down.  I’m not sure exactly how quickly I fell asleep Father, but it certainly didn’t take long.  And while I didn’t have long before the morning alarm broke the silence and jolted me into the day, it was sleep I would not have had otherwise.  Therefore Father, I want to give special thanks for #265 on today’s list.  🙂

Continuing from where I left off last week Lord, this week I’m especially grateful for:

256. Our cat curled up on my chest, purring softly.

257. A strong cold front coming through bringing with it mid-60s temps for the weekend.

258. Allergy medication.

259. Unexpected opportunities.

260. Discerning Your whispers in the noise.

261. Courteous, responsive customer service at the online pharmacy I use.

262. The opportunity to host an upcoming Small Group Bible Study in our home.

263. Free stock photo sites from which I can pull images for my blogs.

264. Finding three pairs of jeans in my size at the local JC Penney, and on sale.

265. That on those nights when I can’t sleep, I have Your Word to bring my spirit rest.

266. The opportunity to read the Old Testament Scripture at church last Sunday.

267. Pizza nights with the kids.

268. Inexpensive, reasonably reliable high-speed Internet at my home.

269. Key Lime Pie.

270. The daily devotions found in Stand Firm Magazine which start my days off in the proper frame-of-mind.

My life is truly “chock-full” of Blessings Lord…

Heavenly Father,

I thank and praise You for the multitude of Blessings You bestow on us each day; both those that light up the Heavens in glory, and those which grace us in relative silence.  We are truly Blessed!

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

In a Whisper…

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

Following yesterday’s discussion Lord, I’ve been mulling over the whole “Ways God talks to us” question at length.

When I speak with people about their relationship with You Father, quite often they express frustration in trying to understand what You desire of them, and feel that they aren’t “hearing” You as they should be.  I’ll admit, early on in my Walk when I began to recognize Your communications, my “logical” brain cast them aside as stray thoughts and urges of my own making.  I’m not honestly sure at what point that changed, but now I’ve come to count on those intimate “nudges” in my daily life to keep my feet on the stalwart path, and my heart focused on You.

Today was a perfect example.  I hadn’t really decided how I should approach the topic of Your speaking to us, but as I was quietly reading my YouVersion Bible over lunch, I reached a passage You felt fit the situation…

“That’s the one.” You whispered.

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 

After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 

When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” – 1 Kings 19:11-13 (NIV)

I love it when You do that Father.  🙂

When my journey to You was in it’s infancy Lord, I looked for some grandiose sign announcing Your presence; the powerful wind, the earthquake, the fire… Something that would scream “Hey Phil!  Here I am!”.  What I realized over time however, was that You were there with me all the time; I just wasn’t looking in the right place.  As Elijah found You at Horeb, I found You in the Stillness… In the whispers.

Finding those moments; those times of spiritual clarity where Your voice rings out through the noise we all live in, has become an important part of my days.

I yearn for those whispers Father… for those nudges that guide my way.

Heavenly Father,

I thank you Lord, for Your faithful presence in our lives each day.  Please open our hearts and our minds to better recognize Your influence all around us.  Help filter out the “noise” that congests our spirits, and bring us that peace that can only come through an intimate communion with our Creator.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Hypocritical Worship

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

As you know Father, I didn’t post to PhatherPhil.org last Friday.  It was odd for me, because I’ve conditioned myself and put time aside to write to You each day, but on Friday the words just didn’t come.  For whatever reason, I felt disconnected somehow and couldn’t hear Your voice with the clarity I’ve become used to.  I struggled with it, and even tried to force myself to post something, but in the end I decided against just…

Going through the motions.

Although at the time I felt like I was reneging on some “unspoken obligation”, I’m happier that I chose not to post anything at all rather than something that wasn’t of Your inspiration.

And today Lord, I came across a passage in Isaiah that brought it all into wonderful perspective for me:

The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”

Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”

You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
“You did not make me”? – Isaiah 29:13-16 (NIV)

We’ve all done it at one point or another Father; followed the worship “bouncing ball”, but done so without that deep communion in our hearts that gives the spiritual expression it’s purpose.  For many years when I was young, I went to Sunday school and church simply to appease my parents.  It was very much “textbook worship”, and throughout that period I never truly felt the deep, yearning connection to You that I’m Blessed with now.

You know our hearts Lord, and have no interest in hypocritical worship.

Thankfully Father, the “spiritual cloud” that obscured You from me on Friday passed quickly, and I even managed to gain some insight in the process.  I find it wondrous and fascinating that even in those unusual moments when my connection to You isn’t as clear, that You’re still teaching me nonetheless.  🙂

Heavenly Father,

We thank You for Your unending faithfulness and patience with us.  I pray that we all come to You presenting an open heart; with the lessons of Your Son firmly in our minds and enthusiastic praises of You on our lips.  Lift our spiritual clouds Lord, and make the Holy Spirit in us shine like the beacons You intend us to be.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil