Happy 200th Father!

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

Today Father, I received a wonderful surprise when I logged into the statistics page for PhatherPhil.org.  Yesterday’s Easter Day Post “Christ is Risen!” was my 200^th article, with a total of 1,200 comments to date and as of this moment, 12,105 site visits since I began writing it last year.  It’s been a wonderful journey Lord, and I feel truly Blessed to have had this level of interest in and response to our daily conversations.  Through this ministry I’ve grown steadily in my Walk with You, found fellowship with  some absolutely wonderful people, and hopefully passed on Your Messages in ways that have proved valuable to others.  Either way, I want to thank You for our daily “chats”, and very much look forward to the next 200.  🙂

Easter weekend was wonderful as well Father.  From the small gathering of people we had over for the kickoff of our Spring and Summer “Dinner and Drinks on the Deck” Friday evenings, to celebrating the Glory of Christ’s Resurrection with friends and family Saturday and Sunday, it was a Blessed time and Your Presence was felt in abundance.

As the weather abated, I also was able to spend some time enjoying one of my hobbies; photography.  And while these shots are certainly not representative of my best work from an artistic perspective, they made me smile so I thought I’d share them all the same:

Jonathan was in rare form at “Uncle” Steve and “Aunt” Kay’s house on Saturday.  While not blood-related, we consider them family in the truest sense of the word, and the boys love them to no end.  In this shot he was out in the yard, playing with their dog and having a wonderful time doing so.

While the children ran around and blew off a little excess sugar energy, Shannon got the opportunity to relax a bit and work on a crocheting project.

While I don’t remember the conversation he was having when I shot this, I loved the light and shadows and the expression on Aidan’s face.

All in all Lord, it was a peaceful, inspired and Blessed Easter Weekend and I thank You for those Gifts.  The Glory of what this wondrous event signifies was on my heart throughout, and as You know I spent a great deal of time in contemplation of your Love for us all.

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for our daily conversations; they truly Bless me well beyond written words on a page.  I pray that our relationship continues to deepen, and that through what we’ve begun I’m able to continue to use this site to serve Your Will, and reach out to those in need.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Stretching Our Spirits

Dear Lord; Good evening Father!

You know Father, throughout the years I’ve been in business I’ve had an amazingly diverse group of clients.  In most cases, we have an excellent rapport with our customers; they know we’ll do what’s necessary to satisfy their IT needs, and that even when things don’t go exactly as planned we’re in their corner and will make sure things are taken care of.  We work diligently on their behalf, and the great majority of them appreciate what we do for them.

And then there are those clients…

I’ve decided Lord, that there are some folks that no matter what you do, you simply can’t please.  Being that I pride myself on solving problems for people and maintaining an upbeat, moral and ethical relationship with them, that tiny contingent of customers causes me the bulk of my upset.  Driving back from a job site this afternoon, I was playing back an interaction with one of those clients in my head, getting more and more frustrated that our efforts kept getting twisted and maligned and that no matter what we did for them, it was never enough, or appreciated.

“Pray for them.” I heard drift across my thoughts…

Ouch… You certainly know how to make me stop and think Father.  In focusing on my frustrations, I allowed myself to forget Your teachings:

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” – Matthew 5:44-45 (NIV)

I’ve come to the conclusion Lord, that one of Your intentions for prayer is to allow You to “stretch” our spirits in directions our earthly selves would likely not have taken.  I think it’s quite probable that those people I was allowing to poison my spirit desperately need Your Presence, and therefore deserve my prayers.

Thank You for the reminder and the lesson Father.  I’ll be working on this more diligently going forward.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

In God We Trust

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

First off Lord, I want to thank You for a lovely weekend.  Jonathan was feeling a bit better, so we were able to get out to visit with some good friends Saturday night and then spent Sunday afternoon and evening with my father (the earthly one… 🙂 ) and his wife.  The children love visiting with their grandparents, and it was wonderful to be able to get out and spend time with them.  All in all, a very restful and enjoyable couple of days and I thank You for that time of respite.

This evening Father, I’d like to discuss something that’s been on my heart quite a bit as of late.

A couple months ago, I was contacted via email by a lady I hadn’t met before about possibly presiding over her upcoming wedding.  She was a friend of a very good friend of mine, so I asked some questions to make sure it was feasible for me to do so.  The date seemed fine, but she really didn’t have much of an idea of what kind of wedding ceremony she was interested in.  I pointed her to some online resources with sample ceremonies and told her to look through them to get some ideas about what fit her and her fiancée’s wishes.  Last week, I finally got around to reading my emails on that account and found that she’d sent me what she deemed the “perfect” script for her special day.

There was absolutely no reference to You in any way, shape or form.

The ceremony she’d chosen was a completely secular proceeding, save for an “optional” prayer at the end.  Now Father, it was a lovely, very sentimental and poetic script to be sure, but in my mind it completely misses the point; marriage is of Your Design for us:

“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female’.  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.  So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” – Mark 10:6-9 (NIV)

I sent the bride-to-be a politely worded response that although it was a lovely secular ceremony, it was my responsibility as a Christian Minister to bring Your Presence to the proceedings, and that I wasn’t able to represent Your intentions for the Holy Bond of marriage properly with that script.  I hold marriage to be one of Your most personal and intimate Gifts to us, and I feel it’s very important to honor that Blessing appropriately during the formation of that union.

Needless to say, I haven’t heard back from her as of yet.

But this got me to thinking Father… Aren’t we doing the same thing in many other ways as well in society today?

We’ve removed open prayer in schools and many other public places as to not “offend” anyone.

Television commercials are being banned from airing during certain popular television programs to avoid giving a “platform” to any religious groups.

The Pledge of Allegiance has been under attack because the words “under God” upset some people.

It’s disturbing to say the least Father, and I’m seeing more and more signs of it each day.  In an effort to not be “confrontational”, we as Christians in many cases “drop the ball” when reflecting Your Light and passing along Your Message of Love and Hope to others around us.

Heavenly Father, You’ve Blessed us all with remarkable gifts.  Please help strengthen and embolden us to carry the lantern of Your Light proudly in front of us so that everyone may see Your Wonders and feel Your Presence.  In God we Trust. Amen.

~Phather Phil

Come to me, all you who are weary

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!

Well Father, it feels a little odd to be writing to You on a Saturday morning.  As You’re aware, I’m a reasonably schedule-driven person, so when I got home last night and heard You tell me to “just rest” it went against my grain just a bit.  But I listened, and I’m thankful for Your Guidance.  Between sleep deprivation from a week of insomnia, hectic work schedules and the daily family and household duties, I was truly wiped.  It was wonderful to have the opportunity to just curl up on the couch with the kids and enjoy a movie together.  I’m glad You always know what I need, especially when I’m too stubborn to admit it.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  – Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

What a beautiful and powerful promise Lord!  Only in You do I find the comfort and rest I need for my tarnished spirit.  Thank You so much for Your Faithful Care of us all.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your Guidance and Support in this season of my life.  I pray that we all can experience the rest You Provide us, and find strength and delight in Your Divine Presence.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Children’s Tylenol

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Tonight Father, my prayers of thanks are directed towards Children’s Tylenol.

Earlier today, I received a call from the school nurse that Jonathan was in her office.  She explained that he’d come in a little while ago with tears in his eyes, complaining that his head was really hurting him and that when she’d checked he was indeed running a low-grade fever.  She promptly called me, and while I drove over to the school to retrieve him she gave him some Children’s Tylenol to try to knock down the fever and the associated headache.  By the time I got there, he was still not a happy camper but he said his headache seemed a little better.

I had a series of booked appointments already scheduled, so we headed back to my office and he quickly laid down on my couch and fell fast asleep.  The fever appeared to have subsided at that point, and he was able to get some much needed rest.

By the time we got home this evening, the fever had returned with a vengeance.

We got some liquids and food into him, along with some more fever-reducing medication and once again his temperature eased back and he was able to relax a bit.  By the time he headed to bed, he was holding close to normal once again.

“The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
and restores them from their bed of illness.” – Psalm 41:3 (NIV)

Thankfully, Shannon was able to take tomorrow off from work so she can get him over to the doctor to be checked out.  From the symptoms, it seems to be a nasty sinus infection, so with Your Healing and some antibiotics I suspect he’ll feel much better in a couple days’ time.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the Blessings that modern medicines afford us.  When our little ones are hurting, there’s truly nothing more miraculous than some respite to their pain.  I pray that You will please grant Jonathan some relief from the discomforts of this illness, and that You hold him closely in Your Embrace while he recuperates.  Amen.

~Phather Phil