If You Prick Me…

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

Today Father, my prayers are focused on my son Jonathan and my wife Shannon as they spend time at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children.  The appointment today wasn’t expected to be a big deal; simply an MRI with and without contrast to check and make sure that Jonathan’s LCH was still behaving itself.  As the scans were going to take a while and required Jonathan be perfectly still, the plan was to sedate him so that he could sleep through the process.  This seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea and after he’d been given some Versed to relax him a bit beforehand they got him ready for the procedure…

And then he saw the IV needle.  He was no longer relaxed.

Jonathan has a very serious fear of needles Father, and from what Shannon described he changed instantly from my gentle, loveable little boy into a raving, angry, terrified child.  In the end, they had to give him general anesthesia (gas) to get him under for the scans, requiring a longer stay at the hospital and leaving Shannon emotionally exhausted in the process.

Following the phone conversation with Shannon bringing me up to speed on the day’s events, I started thinking about the fear Jonathan must have been feeling at that moment.  His dread of needles has deep-seated roots, far beyond what he remembers.  As an infant, Jonathan’s disease and subsequent treatments required he be all too familiar with the prick of a needle.  And even though he’s not had to endure a large number of sticks since that time, there’s an underlying anxiety that grips him whenever he requires one.

So, how to address this fear with him Lord?  Well, if we examine Your Word there’s quite a bit of wisdom to draw on.  As I know Jonathan reads this Father, I’d like to use the rest of our time today to pass some of those thoughts along to him here if I may…

Dearest Jonathan,

“For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.” – Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)

Whatever pain, fear or trials we face in this life, we need not be afraid because God never leaves our side.  He’s stayed close to you all of your life, and seen you through amazing hardships.  When fear grips your heart and threatens to take control, I want you to close your eyes and feel God’s Hand firmly grasping yours.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

The Lord desires that we show our character and faith in him through acts of trust.  Courage isn’t the absence of fear Jonathan, it’s having fear and yet doing what you know is right with the knowledge that God will give you the strength to get you through when you lay those burdens at His feet.

“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)

We weren’t created to rely completely on our own strength Jonathan.  We get tired, and stressed, and scared.  Thankfully, we have our Heavenly Father to hold us up and provide us that “Holy Nudge” to get us through when we call on Him.  I see so much of God’s Light in you, and when you seek His help I know that you’ll find it in abundance.

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

I love you kiddo.

Amen.

~Dad (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: On the Fly

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

And once again Lord, we come to the “Thankful Thursday” post at PhatherPhil.org.  You know, I find it fascinating that all throughout the week I have no problem finding things to be thankful for, but when I sit down each Thursday to write my list… writers block!  I remember them eventually, but I don’t want to risk missing any that come to me “on the fly”.  Therefore, I’m going to start making a concerted effort to actually write them down as I experience them, instead of simply trusting my cluttered memory stores.  🙂

Anyways Father, here’s my list for the week:

61. Stillness Sabbaticals.

62. Jonathan taking his first Communion.

63. Children that are “fired up” for God!

64. “Dinner and Drinks on the Deck” Friday evenings.

65. Divine “nudges” when I need them.

66. Clean carpets.

67. A ROM for my Android phone that doesn’t crash twice a day.

68. Encouragement from unexpected places.

69. Verses of Scripture that “come alive” in my heart.

70. Thick-sliced country bacon.

71. A fresh cup of coffee in 20 seconds from my Keurig.

72. My Flickr.com account.

73. My iPod on shuffle mode in the “Gospel & Religious” genre.

74. The daily “Free App of the Day” on the Amazon Android AppStore.

75. A marriage Blessed by understanding, respect, love and trust.

(And Father, #75 is and has been one of Your BIGGEST Blessings in my life by far.  🙂 )

Heavenly Father, Your Blessings in our lives each day are truly never-ending.  You lift us up, comfort and encourage us, and teach us those lessons You know we need to grow in Your Kingdom.  Please guide and strengthen us to make good choices, and to always seek Your Will above all else.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

For the Word of God is Alive and Active

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

First off Father, I want to thank You once again for Your “nudge” yesterday to put aside my earthly worries, and simply rest in Your Presence fed by a good dose of Your Word.  I’ve dubbed that time my “Stillness Sabbatical”, and I informed my staff today that it would be something I’ll be doing much more often in the future.

Today Lord, You got my attention very early this morning when while doing some research you placed this passage in my path:

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” – Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV)

These words didn’t speak to me Father… They yelled!  What powerful Truths this contains!

I’ve spent much of my day with these verses running through my head…

For the word of God is alive and active…

Your Word is a vibrant, living force, not simply words on a page.  It reaches out and transforms those who open their hearts to Your Voice, and feeds our thirsty Spirits.

Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Although we may try to hide things from others, Your Word separates truth and falsehood in a way nothing else can.  It uplifts that which is righteous, and convicts those pieces of ourselves that are found lacking.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

You know us better than we know ourselves Father.  Our thoughts, our desires, our intentions and our sins are all open to Your Gaze.  You know us from within.

On the heels of yesterday’s message Father, this passage really reached out and grabbed me.  Thank You so much for bringing these words into my heart today, and for continuing to guide me faithfully along the Journey You’ve laid out.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Go Rest in the Word

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

It’s funny Father, but I never thought of Your Word as blood pressure medication before today.

Following a significant power outage/surge event in Dover late yesterday afternoon, we were greeted at the office this morning by a flurry of “help me” calls from a number of our local customers.  Now, in and of itself, it wasn’t an overwhelming volume of crises but I noticed as the morning wore on that I was becoming increasingly irritable and was feeling my heart pounding in my chest… not a good sign.  I tried some slow breathing exercises, and to focus on one task at a time but couldn’t seem to calm down and get a grip on the day.  As my chest tightened further and my head began to throb, You placed a distinct and firm command on my heart:

Go rest in the Word.

I’ll be honest Lord, my first thought was not immediate obedience.  After all, it was the middle of a workday and I had things that I needed to get accomplished.  Sensing Your insistence however, I told my admin that I’d be “off the grid” for a while, closed the door to my office and fired up YouVersion on my Nook Color…

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

In that stillness, in Your Presence, I found my calm Father.  The pounding in my head abated, my chest relaxed and I felt Your Peace come to me.

Contemplating the events of the morning, I realized that this very much falls into line with the message about “Spiritual Decompression” You gave me last week.  Finding refuge and inspiration in Scripture is one way I can become closer to You, and in doing so gain the balance that my spirit needs to navigate the Journey You’ve laid out for me.

I see the path Lord, and I thank You for being so faithful in guiding me along it’s twists and turns.

Amen.

~Phather Phil