Thankful Thursday: The Right Perspective

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

You know Father, as I’ve mentioned before I really LOVE Thankful Thursday posts.  While I try to give thanks each day for the abundance of Blessings You grace me with, having a weekly post that leads me to recollect all the little things that bring a smile to my heart puts me in exactly the right perspective:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

I ran across a blog posting today at stevenfurtick.com that said it beautifully:

“With God, ‘thank you’ should always come before ‘please.’ The first thing that needs to come out of my mouth in prayer and worship needs to be praise for who God is and what He has done. Not just instructions for what I want or even need Him to do.”

So true.

Therefore Father, with that perspective firmly embedded in my heart, this week I’ve been thankful for:

196. A silly, giggly, tasty dinner with Shannon and the kids at a new Mexican Restaurant.

197. Getting some “one-on-one” time with Aidan while Jonathan was away at Kay’s Kamp.

198. For a sweet Bloggy Friend who reminded me to look at flowering weeds as flowers, and not weeds (Thank you Jean!).

199. Cool, clear mornings which let me leave my windows down in the truck on the way to work.

200. A fun night out with my lovely Wife last Friday night.

201. Getting the opportunity to attend “Media Day” at Kay’s Kamp, and seeing the Blessed work they do for the children.

202. Inspiring testimonies from courageous people.

203. Getting well over 50,000 miles on my truck tires before having to replace them.

204. Free lifetime map and software updates available for my GPS.

205. Finding new school uniform clothing for the boys at Goodwill dirt cheap.

206. Jonathan having another wonderful week away at Kay’s Kamp.

207. Having inexpensive generic versions available for the medications we take.

208. Tootsie Fruit Rolls.

209. My portable digital voice recorder that allows me to note things I’m thankful for at the time they come to me.

210. Waking up next to the lady I love each and every day.

Heavenly Father, once again I thank You for all the Blessings You grace our lives with each day; both those that shine brilliantly with Your Light, and those that Bless us quietly, without fanfare.  I pray that You will continue to open my eyes wider to Your gifts, that I may appreciate them to the full.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Monday: Our Darkest Hour

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

Well Father, it certainly was a busy weekend, but all-in-all a wonderful couple days’ time spent enjoying time with family and good friends.  With Jonathan still at Kamp and Aidan spending the night with friends, Shannon and I got to go out Friday evening for a fun “date night” (I so love “dating” my wife Lord…).  Saturday morning we picked up Aidan, and spent the remainder of the morning attending the closing ceremonies at Kay’s Kamp.  We got some quiet time to rest Saturday afternoon, and then headed out to have dinner with a group of our friends.  It rained much of the evening, but we had an absolutely wonderful time nonetheless.  Sunday morning we braved the downpour to attend morning services at Ewell’s St. Paul United Methodist Church, and enjoyed jubilant music, a wonderful Message from Pastor Kris and the fellowship of our church family.  We managed to catch up on a little housework while relaxing the remainder of the day, and concluded the weekend with a tasty dinner out together at a new Mexican restaurant in Smyrna.  As I said before Lord, it was a hectic few days, but one that was truly filled with Your Blessings… Thank You!

Today’s Meditations Monday Scripture comes from Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, Chapter 2.  This morning while driving into the office, I heard an extremely inspiring story on 88.7 The Bridge which truly touched my heart.  They played an interview with a young lady who is currently facing her own mortality due to an uncontrolled cancer that has now spread to her brain.  Instead of dwelling in her suffering, she’s instead focusing on Your Blessings in her life, and lifted praises to You as she was baptized yesterday.  It was a humbling message of Faith Father, and it led me to the verse choice I’m praying on this morning:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

So often when we get into situations that cause us pain, or discomfort, or even just inconvenience we develop “spiritual short-sightedness”, and mire ourselves down in our burdens rather than allowing those trials to strengthen our Faith, and to draw us closer to You.  I pray that we can all learn from her courageous example Father, and seek You even in our darkest hour.

Heavenly Father, I lift my voice in praise for the Blessings You bring to our lives each day.  I pray that Your comforting embrace continues to be felt by Kim and her family during this difficult season, and that they can draw strength from the knowledge that You’re always with them.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Kampers Give Thanks

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

As I wrote to You yesterday Father, Wednesday morning I was Blessed with the opportunity to visit Kay’s Kamp at St. Andrew’s School, and got to witness first-hand the wonderful work the Kamp Staff does for the children that attend.  As Jonathan has been a Kamper since they opened their doors in 2009, it was an emotional and eye-opening visit for me, and I left feeling very thankful for the Blessings You deliver through their hands.

As part of my visit, I spent time with the “Newsletter Group”.  Each day at Kamp, a newsletter is created by the staff and children which describes what’s going on, reports on Kamp gossip and lists some answers to interview questions posed by the Kamp “reporters”.  With the assistance of the staff, I was able to add a question to the list for the day…

What about Kamp are you thankful for?

Here are their answers Father.  🙂

– All the activities we do because can’t do this stuff at home.

– The Pillow Fairy coming every year.

– That kids get to enjoy themselves here!

– Thankful for just being here.

– Pranking the boys.

– Sports and Games.

– Coffee.

– Zoo Keepers.

– Just being part of it.

– The food.

– Bathrooms.

– Dessert.

– Jennie and all floaters.

– Bugspray.

– Learning new things.

– For coming here every summer.

– The Kampers.

– Derek.

– The kitchen staff.

– The counselors.

– Markie.

– Mr. Bling.

– Kristin.

– All the stuff they do for us so we can have fun.

While I don’t actually know what all of these mean, or who some of these folks are Father, it’s obvious that the staff and the Kampers are very thankful for this week of fun.  🙂

Heavenly Father, for all of the Blessings you bestow on us each day; both those that are obvious and those that grace us without fanfare, we give thanks.  I pray that Your Light continues to brighten our hearts, and that we are effective in shining that divine radiance to those around us.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Prayers for a Friday

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

As a closing to our postings this week Lord, I’d like to offer up a few prayers if I may.

As You know Father, yesterday morning for no obvious reason our beloved American Eskimo dog Merlin started having severe seizures.  We’ve only seen these with him once or twice before when he was extremely stressed or anxious, such as when he was being boarded overnight or getting examined by a veterinarian.  Each time prior to this, the seizures were isolated incidents, lasting only thirty seconds or so.  Yesterday, he had five episodes over the course of the day with no apparent triggers, each lasting upwards of three minutes.  Shannon took him to our vet first thing this morning, and they’ve put him on medication to try and “break the cycle”.  We’re very hopeful this will get a handle on these attacks, but truly aren’t sure what the outcome of this situation will be.  We consider him a loved member of our family Lord, and pray that You bring Your healing touch to his aid.  Please comfort him through this frightening ordeal, and fill him with the understanding that he’s loved not only by his family, but by the Father of all Creation as well.

On a happier note Lord, this Sunday begins Jonathan’s week away at Kay’s Kamp.  Kamp has become one of the highlights of Jonathan’s year, and he’s extremely excited to be attending this coming week.  And this year Father, I’m actually a little excited about it myself.  Through the kindness of the Kaylyn Elaine Warren Foundation I’ve been given the opportunity to go on Wednesday for the “Media Day” event with other journalists and members of the press, to chronicle the wonderful work You do through this amazing group of people.  Please bestow Your Blessings upon the staff and campers this coming week, and aid this giving group of people in their mission to shine Your Light into these children’s lives.

And finally Father, I pray for You to bring Your comfort and peace to a friend of ours that’s dealing with the results of a house fire this past week.  Open her heart to Your Presence, and embolden her with the knowledge that even in the midst of our struggles, Your strength is greater than any trial we may face.

Heavenly Father, for all the Blessings You’ve graced us with this week, I give thanks.  Please help us maintain the resolve, caring and understanding that we as Followers of Christ need to show the world Your Love, and guide us to best serve Your Will.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Humbled and Honored

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Well Father, this has certainly been a busy few days at phatherphil.org.  The response I’ve had to our conversations this week has been quite honestly, overwhelming.  I’m so thankful however, to have the Blessing of connecting with so many Brothers and Sisters in Christ this way.  The opportunity I’ve been given to share Your Light and Love with others through this ministry is so precious to me, and I’m humbled and honored to do so.

On that same track Lord, on we go to this week’s Thankful Thursday list!  While Your gifts in my life far exceed my meager ability to make note of them, this week I want to give specific thanks to You for:

181. Bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches.

182. Spiritual growth.

183. New clients.

184. The start of some cooler weather coming through.

185. Good quality, free backup software for my computers.

186. Seeing Shannon get excited about playing her viola with the praise team each week.

187. The fun afternoon we had last Sunday at the party/bbq held at my father’s house.

188. An act of assistance from our previous family physician.

189. Productive, positive meetings with potential clients.

190. The wonderful outpouring of responses I received on phatherphil.org this week.

191. Medication that calms my acidy stomach.

192. Being married to a lady that knows all my “quirks”, flaws and failings and loves me anyways.  🙂

193. The opportunity to help a friend in need.

194. Unsolicited compliments about my staff and company.

195. Shannon getting to spend some quality time with her mother.

Heavenly Father, You Bless us all in so many wonderful ways each day.  For all those Divine Gifts You bestow on our lives, both those that brightly shine Your Light and those that grace us without fanfare, we give You our humble praises.  You are indeed a wondrous Father, caring Shepherd and masterful Teacher and we thank You for Your Presence in our lives.  Amen.

~Phather Phil