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

Thankful Thursday: Passing the Tradition

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Once again Father, we come to the Thankful Thursday edition of PhatherPhil.org.  In addition to adding to my continuing list of Blessings, I’m also pleased to have “passed on” this tradition to Lindsay over at The Evatt’s Beautiful Mess.  She writes a wonderfully fun, devotional blog and it’s always a Blessing to read it.  Today’s her first Thankful Thursday post, and hopefully it’s just the beginning of many to come!

And now Lord, on to my list!  This week, I’ve been especially thankful for:

241. The patience shown by friends.

242. The sun streaming through the clouds as a gentle rain falls… Absolutely beautiful.

243. The beauty of a rainbow following a rain shower.

244. Jonathan starting Youth Group (called the Jesus Freaks…:-) ) at church this week.

245. The opportunity to introduce some good friends to our church this past weekend.

246. Being invited to become members to Ewell’s St. Paul UMC, and signing the Covenant last Sunday.

247. A final report from the Pediatric Dermatologist that Jonathan’s moles aren’t LCH related.

248. Sharing a game of Scrabble on Facebook with friends.

249. Having a wonderfully diverse, caring and supportive group of friends.

250. Being given the opportunity to redesign and implement Ewell’s St. Paul UMC’s web site.

251. A successful surprise birthday party we threw for a good friend at our house.

252. Cherry Coke.

253. The power and flexibility of the step outside my “comfort zone” in ministering to others.

255. The overwhelming sense of Your presence I feel after taking Holy Communion.

Such wonderful gifts You grace us with each day Father…

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

Meditations Monday (Tuesday Edition): Our Beautiful Fabric

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Mon… Um, Tuesday Father!

Well Father, to begin with I want to thank You for a lovely three-day-weekend.  Other than some much-needed housecleaning, we were Blessed to enjoy quality time with friends, have a fun “Date Night” out, and help another of our friends celebrate her 40^th birthday by hosting a surprise party at the house.  All-in-all it was a very pleasant few days respite, and I’m very grateful for that time.

As we’ve discussed many times Lord, Shannon and I consider our friends one of Your most amazing Blessings in our lives.  As I was running around on Monday morning picking up supplies for the birthday party we hosted, it dawned on me how amazingly diverse our group of friends really is.  Truly, nearly every walk of life is represented in some fashion; each person a beautiful, unique thread in the tapestry of our “extended family”.

In his First Epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul discusses the importance of diversity in Your People along those same lines.  In his example, the diversity comes from the varied Spiritual Gifts You bestow on us through the Holy Spirit:

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.  If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?  But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” – 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 (NIV)

Paul makes a marvelous point in that in Christ, there is no ethnic, cultural or social distinction; each individual member is a loved and important part of the Whole.  We all have roles to play, and gifts to share in the Body of Christ, and each is as important as the others.  You created us all to be exactly what You intended us to be; fearfully and wonderfully made, and designed to offer the unique and precious gifts You’ve granted us for the benefit of Your Family.

It’s a very powerful lesson Lord, and one I know we could all stand to implement more effectively in our daily lives.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the wonderful people You’ve brought into our lives; each a unique, beautiful, and Blessed thread in our family’s fabric.  Please help us see through any improperly perceived barriers between one another, and to reach out with our Spiritual Gifts to further the business of Your Eternal Kingdom.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

As Long As You’ll Permit

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

Thank You Father!!  Thank You, thank You, thank You!!

What a wonderful Blessing You’ve given us Lord… Such a beautiful way to start the weekend!

For those who follow our conversations and don’t know the source of my joy Father, please indulge me while I explain.

A couple months ago, we had Jonathan in for his yearly check-up with his pediatrician.  It was a routine visit, but due to his complicated medical situation (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis), doctor’s appointments always place some concern in our hearts.  For the most part, everything went quite well; nothing obviously scary to report.  Then the doctor examined some new “growths” that had popped up on him over the last year; up went the red flags, and down went our spirits.  She labeled them as “suspicious”, and indicated that we should have them looked at by Jonathan’s oncologist as soon as possible. We tried of course to stay optimistic, but the seed of worry had been sown all the same.

The oncology visit didn’t yield much in the way of answers either, but added another round of “concerns” and a referral to a pediatric dermatologist for a specialized examination and if necessary, treatment and surgical intervention.  The oncologist did however, indicate that the possible skin involvement was all that appeared out of the ordinary at the moment, and that all his other tests and scans looked perfectly normal.  That news certainly eased our fears a bit, but based on past experience with this disease, our guard was still up nonetheless.

Today, Jonathan went to see the dermatologist.

They’re moles Father… All perfectly normal, and nothing to be concerned about.  But You already knew that, didn’t You?  🙂

Please forgive my doubts Lord… I know he’s in Your hands no matter what, and I’m so thankful for that.  But each time we have the specter of this disease rear it’s gnarled claws, it takes our hearts back to that terrifying time of uncertainty and fear, when the possible loss of our son was very real.  And while I realize Lord, that this life is temporary and simply a step towards Your Eternal Kingdom, Shannon and I are selfish in that we love this little boy dearly, and very much want him to remain with us for as long as You’ll permit.

Apparently, that’s Your desire for the moment as well… And I thank You from the bottom of my heart for that Blessing!

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

P.S. September is Histiocytosis Awareness Month.  To learn more about this life threatening disease, and what you can do to help in the search for a cure, please visit : http://www.histio.org.