Meditations Monday: Like a Little Child

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

You know Father, sometimes I think that I go to work each week to get some rest after the weekends.  🙂

Once again Lord, You Blessed us with a busy but joyful weekend.  From the “Breakfast for Dinner” Friday night get-together we hosted, to hiking and taking photos with the boys and Shannon’s mother during the day on Saturday, to attending the big yearly party at my father’s home on Sunday after church, it was a wonderful couple days spent in the company of family and good friends.  Thank You for that time together Father!

This week’s Meditations Monday Scripture selection comes from the 10^th chapter of the Gospel of Mark:

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. – Mark 10:13-16 (NIV)

Such a powerful image of tenderness and affection this brings to mind Father, and with it some excellent lessons for us as well.

First off, Jesus’ response to His disciples’ attempt to “head off” the children from coming to Him clearly demonstrates His view that all Your Children are precious; none are too insignificant to seek Christ’s Presence.  As many of us suffer from feelings of being unworthy of Your Love, this is a powerful truth to remember.

And then Father, Jesus makes a statement that I’ll be meditating and praying on this week;

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

“Like a little child”;

Humble…

Trusting…

Accepting…

Obedient…

Faithful…

Heavenly Father, as adults we allow so many things in our lives to obscure our hearts from You.  Please open us to experience Your Glory with the wonder, acceptance and understanding that only a truly unencumbered spirit can.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

I Can See Clearly Now…

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

This morning Lord, I had another one of those inspired geek moments that You grant me from time to time.  I was working on a laptop PC that was in for service, with the primary customer complaint being that it was running very slowly.  External malware and virus scans had come back clean, so I booted into the operating system to evaluate the situation.

It was clogged to the hilt with “stuff” starting up automatically every time it booted.

Now, this is something we see pretty regularly.  Between the bundled software that comes loaded on new machines, “add-on” downloads that come along for the ride with installs over the Internet, and all the little “extras” that get installed automatically with new components like printers and scanners, unless you know what’s safe to remove or deselect, it builds up quickly.  The result over time is a computer that takes a long time to boot up, and acts slow and sluggish when performing tasks.

As I started to strip away the layers of unnecessary bloat from the machine, my mind drifted back to yesterday, and the “fog” my mind had been in for most of the day…

I was slow…

I was sluggish…

I had problems focusing on tasks…

Your Voice wasn’t as clear as it usually is.

Hmmm… A parallel maybe?  🙂

Like the laptop in my care, my mind yesterday was filled with unnecessary “clutter”.  Ponderings and concerns about everything from money, to groceries, to laundry preoccupied my thoughts, making focusing on more important matters (like talking with You) much more difficult.

Therefore Father, going into this weekend my prayer is a simple one:

Heavenly Father, please grant us Clarity;

Clarity of focus to see past our earthly concerns…

Clarity of mind to listen in the Stillness for Your Voice…

Clarity of purpose to make choices that best Glorify You…

Clarity of Spirit to draw us closer to Your Presence.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Through the Haze

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Today Father, my thoughts are scattered.  While I slept reasonably well (five hours or so), I awoke feeling a bit on the “cloudy” side and I haven’t been able to shake it as of yet.  Funny enough however, even with my focus not being overly sharp I’ve had no problem putting together today’s Thankful Thursday Blessings list.  I love the fact that even when my human frailties present themselves, Your Blessings in my life still shine through the haze.  🙂

Continuing my list from last week Lord, this week I’m especially thankful for…

166. Having Shannon’s mother visiting with us for a few weeks.

167. Unexpected funds showing up exactly when we needed it.

168. New beginnings.

169. An “everything looks fine” report from Jonathan’s MRI.

170. A short break from the oppressively hot weather.

171. Your faithfulness to Your Children, even in our brokenness.

172. Connecting with others in ministry to support one another.

173. Finding deep-discounted treasures in the Christian Music section of a bookstore that’s going out of business.

174. “Tickle Monster” fights with the kids.

175. The Glo Bible Application for my computers.

176. Fresh sweet corn given away by a local farmer.

177. The calming voice of reason from good friends.

178. Ten years of “Normality”.

179. Quality free, open source photo editing and manipulation software.

180. Snuggling up with Shannon at night and watching episodes of classic TV programs.

Heavenly Father, once again I lift up my thanks and praise for the Blessings You surround us with each day; both those that are tangible, and those that remain silently unseen.  Keep us in Your watchful gaze, and guide our actions to best serve Your divine plan for our lives.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Normality Rocks

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

With Kay’s Kamp coming up in a little over a week Lord, and just having gone through Jonathan’s yearly Oncology exams and scans, my head and heart have been drifting back to some very turbulent and fearful times for our little family.  Being helplessly thrown into that uncertain world of doctors, chemotherapy, steroids, surgeries and rescue protocols took Shannon and I to an entirely new place in our marriage, and tested our commitment and resolve to each other by fire each day.  It was a harrowing time in our lives, and one that has shaped our family this last ten years to a great extent.

I didn’t know You then Lord… I mean, I knew OF You, but I certainly wasn’t walking with You at the time.  What I did know is that I was angry as Hell at You for doing this to us; for torturing my son that way, and for making us live in fear and pain.  I blamed You for all of it Father, every little bit.  And somewhere in the midst of all of that turmoil, I hit rock bottom…

And You were there to pick me up.

I’ll be honest Father, I didn’t realize it was You at the time.  I do know however, that somewhere in that dark, terrifying place I began to see things through different eyes.  It wasn’t that Jonathan was improving drastically, but instead of focusing on the despair I’d been feeling while walking down those long, bleached hallways at A.I. Dupont, I started noticing signs of kindness, and love, and hope that somehow I’d missed before.  It was a turning point… no, a starting point in my life, and one I’m still thankful for today.

So therefore Father, today I’d like to thank You.  Thank you for new beginnings… for faithfulness to a broken, scared child… for Your healing light inside Jonathan… and for ten years of normality.

Yes Lord, we still have trials in our lives, and pain, and uncertainty.  But now we also have the knowledge and comfort that You’re with us on this journey; guiding us, nurturing us, and picking us up when we stumble on the Path.  You see, I’ve realized that “normal” doesn’t mean that life moves along smoothly, it means that we understand and Accept that life is a journey of Your Design, and embrace it as the amazing Gift it is.

Normality rocks.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

The Prayers of a Leader

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

Well Lord, first off I want to say a quick thank You for a break in the steamy weather we’ve been having.  It’s still good and warm to be sure (90 degrees or so), but the humidity has dropped substantially and the over-100 degree temperatures have abated for the moment.  Based on the forecast things will be getting warmer again soon, but nonetheless the intermission is very much appreciated!

Today Father, I was reading in the Old Testament in 1 Kings, Chapter 3 and came across something that touched my spirit and got me thinking.  It was early on in king Solomon’s reign and while visiting Gibeon to offer sacrifices to You, You came to him in a dream with an amazingly magnanimous offer…

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” – 1 Kings 3:5 (NIV)

Wow… Now that’s a proposition!  The Author of all Creation asking “what can I give to you?”.  For most people, this question would instantly flood their minds with thoughts of wealth, power, longevity or other earthly gifts.  Solomon however, had a slightly different request of You…

“Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 

Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 

So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” – 1 Kings 3:7-9 (NIV)

Such a humble, thoughtful answer he gave to You Father!  It makes me wonder what kind of world we’d be living in if all of our leaders petitioned You in such a way?  Or for that matter, what kind of world would it be if we ALL prayed for the strength, wisdom and temperament to serve others selflessly in Your Name…

It’s a powerful and inspiring thought Father, and one I’ll be praying on.

Amen.

~Phather Phil