Out of the Mouths of Babes

Dear Lord; This morning Father, I want to share a story with You; A very powerful story that brought both my wife and I to tears last night.

It was a long day yesterday Lord.  Between the ice storm which led to school delays and then closings, and a number of other typical daily stresses, Shannon and I both came home a bit worn down.  Grabbing the mail on the way in the house, Shannon spotted a hand-addressed envelope from the kids’ school.  She opened it up, and inside was a letter written to us by one of the office staff regarding Jonathan.  She quietly read the letter, laid it down and started to cry.

The letter was a personal note from one of the school administrative staff detailing a conversation she’d had with Jonathan the previous Friday.  Apparently, Jonathan was assisting with shuttling some computer equipment between his classroom and the office, and helping with putting it away.  At some point during this process, he started talking to one of the ladies in the office and asked her if she was familiar with a man called Jesus Christ.  While surprised, she replied that yes, she was very familiar with Jesus.  He then went on to tell her all about his disease (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis), his surgeries, treatments and chemotherapy as an infant, and how he’d gotten through all those trials and was doing very well now.  She told him how wonderful he looked and that she was glad everything was doing so well, at which time he then left to go back to class.

What Jonathan didn’t know however, was that her husband had been battling two forms of serious cancers for many years, and that it was only through the grace of Christ that he was still alive.  Along with that, she indicated there were others within earshot going through similar trials who also took interest in his story.  She wrote that Jonathan’s unprompted testimony was exactly what she and others needed at that moment, and she was sure he was meant to be there to deliver Your message.  Her faith had been renewed, by the witness and encouragement of our little boy.

When I came home shortly thereafter and read the letter, there were tears in my eyes as well.

I talked to Jonathan later that evening about the conversation that prompted the letter (of course, not revealing what she’d written to me), and asked him : “What made you ask her if she knew Jesus?”.  He answered that he really didn’t know, and honestly didn’t remember what led up to it; It just came to him at the time.

You spoke through him Father, and to him it seemed perfectly natural and reasonable at the time.  May we all be that open to Your Voice Lord, and not be afraid to share it with others.

Thank You Father.  This touched me in a way that only You can.  Please bring Your Healing and Comfort to those going through these trials, and let us all be as effective and powerful a witness to Your Grace as the words of a child were that day.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Faster than a speeding bullet…

Dear Lord; Well Father, it never ceases to amaze me where my thoughts are led when I’m communing with You.  For whatever reason, this morning on my drive into the office I was thinking about how the news lately seems to be filled with nothing but tragedy and heartache, and the general despair and discord of our citizens.  Senseless shootings, hateful protests, skyrocketing unemployment, financial hardships, a rising crime rate, natural disasters, and the list goes on and on.  What the world needs I decided, is a Superhero.  Someone who can swoop in and inspire hope, bring some righteous justice and order to things, and act as a beacon for people to rally around.

“I gave you one.” You whispered.

So You did!  You gave us the single most impressive “Superhero” that the world could possibly know; Your Son, Jesus Christ.

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.  – Acts 10:38

Wow… Even the fictional “man of steel” himself didn’t wield the Power of God.  What an amazing Hero and Role Model You’ve given us!

Ok, so if we’ve been given the Ultimate Hero why are so many people in such despair??  Unfortunately, it’s because those folks just don’t know Him, and allow themselves to focus on earthly worries instead of allowing Him to lighten their burdens.  If all of us use the “Bat-Phone” of prayer to call Him into our lives, the day (as well as our eternal souls) would indeed be Saved.

So as Christians, here’s our chance to be Heroes as well.  If we live by His example, let God’s Light show through our words and actions, and share the Praises of His Good Works then we can bring that amazing power to more people.  We can change the world, through Him.

Now that’s power.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Looking Forward…

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  Yesterday, our conversation focused on the events of the year we’re about to leave behind, and what I’ve learned from it.  Therefore, today I thought we’d talk about moving forward, and some of the things I’d like to focus on for the upcoming year.

In holding with the last few Holiday posts I’ve made, I’d like to let my boys send their thoughts to You as well.  To that end, I asked them this morning what they were hoping 2011 would bring and what they were going to focus on to help make a positive change in their lives.

Here’s what they said :

Jonathan ( Age 11 ) – “I’d like to be able to spend more time with my family.  I want to learn how to do karate.  I want to spend more time with our friends and relatives, and have them over more often.  I’m going to be more involved in taking care of our animals.  I want to finish the new Bible I got for Christmas and learn more about God.  I’m going to work to be more thankful for the things that I have.”

Aidan ( Age 8 ) – “I’d like to see less crashes happen (car crashes) because I don’t want people to get hurt.  I want me and my friends to have a fun time in school.  I’d like my family to spend more time together.  I want less animals to get abandoned.  I’m going to finish reading my new Action Bible with Daddy and really want to learn about God.  I’m going to work to get better at reading so I can read bigger books.  I want to spend more time exercising.  And I want to wish God a Happy New Year.”

They’re still one of my biggest inspirations Lord, and I see so much of You in them each day.

As for myself, well I’m not big on New Years Resolutions but there are some things I’m planning on focusing on this coming year.

• As I mentioned yesterday, it’s been a rough year for my business.  I’m very much dedicated to it’s success, and I’m going to work diligently to get it back to the stability it once had.
• Although we are Blessed to have a very stable and wonderful home life, there’s always room for me to improve my contribution.  I’m going to continue to work to be a better husband and father, and set as positive an example for my boys as I can.
• 2010 was an amazing year for my personal growth in You Lord, and I want very much to expand on that in the coming year as well.  The closer I work to walk in Christ’s footsteps, the more I find the rest of my life gains meaning and direction.  I’m also dedicated to bringing Your Light into my children’s lives, and teaching them the Love and Guidance You provide us every day.

Heavenly Father, I humbly pray that over the coming year Your Amazing Gift of Grace is felt by all Your Children.  May we all experience the Joy in Serving Your Will, and walk the Path that Jesus has set for us in Your Holy Name.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

Dear Lord; Merry Christmas Eve Father!  This morning, following the “tradition” I started on Thanksgiving this year, I’m going to let two of my biggest Blessings (my sons Jonathan and Aidan) compose the email to you.  I battled with what questions to give them to work from this morning, but couldn’t decide between two; “What does Christmas mean to you?” and “What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?”.  Therefore, I thought we’d do both!  🙂

Jonathan (Age 11)

What does Christmas mean to you? :

“Christmas means to me that it’s time for Joy, Peace and Happiness.  It’s also the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus.”

What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?:

“God has blessed me with many things; my family, my friends, shelter and food.  I have fun, and things to do.  God has helped me stay healthy after I was really sick.  Thank you God!”

Aidan (Age 8)

What does Christmas mean to you?:

“Christmas means celebrating Jesus’ Birthday.  You get to be with your family.  You get time off school.  You get to spend time with your friends.  You get decorate the house.”

What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?:

“I want to thank God for money, health, food, shelter, my family, my brother, something to do, our pets, and for my life.”

Father, on this Eve of Celebration of Your Son’s Divine Birth I want to thank You myself as well.  You gave Your Only Son to us to inspire us, teach us, set a Holy Path for us to follow, and then to die for our Eternal Salvation.  I can’t imagine a more amazing Gift, and I’m truly humbled by Your Love for us.  Please reach out Father, to those struggling to find the Peace Christ brought to us all and let them feel Your Loving Arms around them.

May we all take time during the next couple of days to stop, let our earthly stresses go, and focus on the Wondrous Gift Our Lord has given to us.  O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

Amen.  ~Phather Phil

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot…

Dear Lord; First off Father, I want to follow up on our conversation yesterday.  Last evening, I went to the local mall to pick up a couple of odds-and-ends.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a significantly better perspective from the shoppers and vendors.  I got smiles, Lord… Lots of them.  And when I wished people there a Merry and Blessed Christmas, I got happy faces and well-wishes in return.  Thank You for allowing me to witness those signs of Your Joy.  It helped my spirits immensely.

Today Lord, my heart is already yearning towards the next couple of days.  Work still holds many stresses for me, money is still extremely short and Shannon and I are still recovering from the bug that hit us last weekend, but the Light of the Blessed Event to come is overwhelming all of that.  I’m very much looking forward to spending quite a bit of “quality time” with You over the next couple of days, and helping spread the Love and Hope the Birth of Your Son brought to us all.  Please help me be an effective emissary of Your Word, and to bring Christ’s Message to as many others as possible.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Amen.  ~Phather Phil