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: Every Season

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Well Lord, once again we come to the Thankful Thursday post here at phatherphil.org.  It’s been a pleasant week following our return from vacation, however I will admit to missing the wonderfully comfortable weather and serene environment we enjoyed in the mountains.  We’ve been beset by days of hot, humid weather here, so the contrast to our time away is made even more obvious.  However as one of my fellow Christian Bloggers noted, every season exists for a purpose, and this too shall pass when You intend it to.

Anyways Father, no matter the weather conditions I always have a multitude of Blessings to give thanks for.  Such as…

151. Quiet back roads on which to travel to and from work each day.

152. Having the vast research resources of the Internet at my fingertips.

153. A safe drive home from our recent vacation.

154. A lovely dinner out with Shannon on her birthday.

155. Being able to attend the Meet & Greet last Sunday for Kay’s Kamp (Jonathan is SO excited).

156. Whispered challenges on my heart to Dig Deeper.

157. Time spent “Plugged into You”.

158. The perspective gained from visiting other churches.

159. Being a Father to two wonderful little boys.

160. Discussions about Scripture with fellow Christians that help me grow in Christ.

161. Having my children just give me a hug for no specific reason.

162. Quiet time to sit in the dark and read Your Word through YouVersion on my Nook Color.

163. Finding a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant with amazing BBQ.  🙂

164. Receiving my shipment of Pocket Gospels of John from The Pocket Testament League (ptl.org).

165. A good cappuccino after church on Sundays from The Young Bean.

Heavenly Father, thank You once again for all those Blessings you grant us, both those that are obvious and those that may go unseen.  As we Strive for full restoration in Your service, please open our eyes and hearts to better recognize the amazing gifts You bring to our lives each day.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Our Most Important Freedom

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

Well Father, tonight begins the start of a 3-day holiday weekend in observance of Independence Day here in the United States.  Over these next few days, we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence which declared this country’s freedom from the control of the Kingdom of Great Britain.  Thinking about the freedoms we enjoy on the drive into work this morning, it dawned on me that while celebrating our liberties this weekend, we should also be giving thanks for our most important freedom of all…

The freedom from sin You gave us through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Your Word clearly shows us that although we are all besieged with sinful natures, if we confess and repent of our sins, and turn to You through Christ, we can be freed from the bondage that sin tries to hold us in.

“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.  But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” – 1 John 3:4-6 (NIV)

“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” – Romans 6:17-18 (NIV)

We have so many freedoms in this country that we should all be truly thankful for Father.  And as I contemplate and celebrate those things which set our nation apart, I’ll also be giving thanks and praise for the greatest gift of freedom ever given; the freedom Jesus paid for on the Cross.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thankful Thursday: Step-By-Step

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Quite often Lord, when I sit down to write out my list of Blessings for the Thankful Thursday post, I have a difficult time putting them in writing.  It’s not that I don’t feel Blessed of course, just that for some reason my mind goes “fuzzy”.  When that happens, I replay the previous week’s events in my head, a day at a time, and when I reach something that makes me smile, I write it down.

What a wonderful exercise that’s turned out to be Father.

Forcing myself to go back, step-by-step, and taking special note of the Blessings You’ve graced me with over the past seven days makes me realize even more thoroughly how much You Love me.  We allow so many of Your Gifts to slip by unnoticed, that the thought of “catching” some of them and giving thanks while they’re still fresh very much appeals to me.

And to that end Father God, this week I want to give special thanks and praise for:

106. Sixteen years of marriage to my wonderful wife Shannon.

107. Wasabi-ginger marinated grilled boneless pork chops.

108. Two little boys that still insist on hugs and kisses before bed.

109. A beautiful 80 degrees, low humidity, sunny morning drive to work today.

110. Transformational Benevolence.

111. Jonathan’s excitement in choosing a new Bible for confirmation class.

112. Both boys doing extremely well this past school year (great report cards!).

113. Running into old friends.

114. Having a world-renowned Children’s Hospital with a fantastic oncology department nearby (A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children).

115. A wonderful afternoon walk in the woods with Jonathan and Aidan.

116. The upcoming three-day holiday weekend.

117. A lovely Anniversary dinner at the firepit on our back deck.

118. My big, heavy, “man’s” coffee mug from Mara Stoneware Mugs.

119. No obvious significant issues found at Jonathan’s yearly checkup with his oncologist today.  🙂

120. A Heavenly Father that listens patiently to my prayers.

I have so much to give thanks for Lord…

Heavenly Father, thank You for all the Blessings you gift us with each day.  Please open our eyes and our hearts to better recognize those moments around us that radiate Your Glory, and guide us to share those Blessings effectively with others.  Amen.

~Phather Phil