Thursday, September 29, 2011

Oh what a day!!

Can you believe that this very day, 3 years ago, I was being
transferred by rescue helicopter from Wakatipu base hospital in
Queenstown to Dunedin hospital ICU' and now look at me! Firstly
thank you God for giving my life back to me, thanks to the
amazing work of doctors and nursing staff at Wakatipu base
hospital and Dunedin ICU' and following that after I came out of
the coma, the amazing staff at the ISIS' Rehabilitation centre.
Today will be a time of reflection as I look back over ? past few
years and see the hand of our almighty God in action! To God be
the glory, great things He has done and continues to do! He is
the same, yesterday, today and forever!
Thank you to all of you that have been there for us over ? past
few years, in whatever capacity that may;, a shoulder to lean on,
a kind w, kind deeds, hand and feet of our Lord to us as a
family, petitioning heaven on our behalf and just being you!
Who would have ever believed seeing me in ICU' this time 3 years
ago, that I would be doing what I am today and living with my
amazing family!
Out of all of this crazy: amazing Journey as I call it, my family
have been so amazing, to me personally and through the whole
traumatic event and I am so thankful to be able to live with them
and be supported by them!
The climbing continues and thesummit will be reached with God's
help!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Hit the road Jack!

You might say where am I heading with this phrase! More often
than not, on a long challenging endurance climb, the mental and
emotional strain on the body can be tougher to work through than
the physical pains of the body! As the climb wears on, one
seemingling endless day into another, firstly the mind can start
to play games and question the strength of the climber and the
ability to achieve the set goal. This can lead toemotional
feelings rising and the clifberc start to leave themountain
mentally and emotionally to a place far more relaxing and to
memories prior to embarking on thclimb. ? Thous and feelings if
left unchecked can really sap a climbers energys and more often
than not they are worse than the physical achie to the body. At
this point, one has to dig deep within the spirit and find that
extra strength and say Lets hit the road Jack, cause we ain't
going back no more, no more! Thous allowed to settle and multiple
and grow, will cripple a climber. The goal is in front and the
memories are behind, if the climber keeps looking back can't stay
focussed, before long he will end up dazed and confused and this
could lead to one biting the dust!
I have gone through ? experiences in my mountain climb I am
currently on and the head starts to play games and say, You can't
make it, it's to hard and then the memories from the past climb
on board and join in the party and I look back at whatwas and all
the feelings that come with that! At this pointanother mountain
climber has seen where I am at andchallenged me to push through
that mental barrier and dig deep within and told me to hit the
road Jack and don't you come back here no more, no more! There
are a few times I could have ended up crippled on the mountain
and left dazed and confused. I can't make new ground and achieve
if I continue to allow myself to live in the past and let my head
rule over my heart! I find at times there is a need to kick
myself into gear and strive for better and great things!X says in
the book of Hebrews in the Bible; "Since we have such a great
crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstand, let us
strip away ? things that would hold us back and slow us down and
especially ? sins that hold so tightly around our feet and cause
us to trip up and run with paitence the particular race set
before us"What is this saying, there are many that have gone on
before us and are now watching us and cheering us on as we climb,
so throw ? thous and feelings to the side and dig deep, keep
focusedand hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no
more! In the next verse it says; "Looking to Jesus, our leader
and instructor"We need to draw strength from our leader and
instructor and another verse in Hebrews says; "Iesus our great
High Priest, who has gone back to heaven to help us, never stop
trusting Him, this great High Priest of our understands our every
weakness and has been tempted in all ways as we are but never
once gave way and sinned" He is there for us big time andknows
and understands and is there to help us when we face ? very
challenging moments, so don't look back and become dazed and
confused, strive for higher ground and themountain summit!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

What's the icy reality!

Each section of the climb has it's own challenges and as the
climbers gain more ground and bodies start to have aches and
painseaenergy levels are down, theair is thinner making each step
a little more baboued andthe summit is a distant reality, it's
time for a reality check! Good climbers will evaluate where they
are at, physically, mentally and emotionally, as this wdetermine
the succus of there mountain experience! This is not a point when
asked, How are you doing? To say great or good when in reality
the experience is sucking into ? three ares, as hard as it may
beto sharethe truth, one must do it or possiblycome a cropper on
the icy slope!Having taken a reality check, the climbers now
cencourage each other to pushthrough ? barriers and draw on each
others strengths to carry them to the goal. The lessons and
experiences gained from such a time as this are invaluable.The w
team stands for; Together every one achieves m.S often on lifes
mountains when asked how we are going, we say great, good, when
in fact if we are honest with ourselves we are finding the going
hard and for some reason we feel the need to put on a brave face
and telling the truth makes us less of a person! Lifes true
mountaineers have learnt the art of a shoulder to lean on
andfacing the icy reality always pays off!If the icy reality
isn't checked, one can very easily become dazed and confused,
this leads to fatige, disorientated, bad decision making, loss of
hope and the goalccdream no longer present.
as Kiwi's we have a saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough
get going" this is true to a certain extent, but this will only
carry you so farb to last the distance you need a reality checand
awingness to draw strength from other mountaineers and not forge
on, you need to reach that summit in the best condition and not
just crawl the last few metres and say I made it! How will you
ever decent if you have pushed yourself to the limit!
As an observer watching a documentary about aclimb expedition and
marveling at the achievement, gives you no understanding what the
climbers went through to reach the summit and return again and
the life changing moments they encountered, this is stuff money
can never buy and all thestudy and courses in the world can never
give you!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Steady as she goes mate!!

As the climbers rounded the face of the rock outcrop they had
been scaling, they scanned the next section of the climb and the
reality of what lay ahead of them qky dawned u the team, the
challenge will about to step up another level, requiring every
bit of skill and knowledge gained from previous climbs. For as
far as they could see, a huge ar, of ice sheet sloping away and
then dropping suddenly for hundreds of feet lay between then and
the final section of the climb to the summit! Doning crampons and
securing an extra safety line to each member of the team, ice
picks in hand and a quiet prayer for safe passage and the the
teamtook their first steps onto the the great white mass! Each
step needed to be carefully placed with a firm step to ensure the
crampons gripped deeply into the ice. In the midccday sun, it
seemed to sparkle across the ice sheet andthe dazzling effect
could distract one's focus, meaning the potential for disaster
was very real. There was a need for a steady as she goes mate
attitude and this was certainly no place for a break to take in
the view! This called for clear heads, total focu.
I feel like I have rounded that rock out crop and streched out
before me is this new challenge requiring every bit of skill I
have learnt up till now and a steady as she goes mate attitude.
My dreamccgoal of returning to my feet again is very much a
possibility you in saying that the potential for disaster is very
real as well! At times the midccday sun seems to sparkle off the
ice at me and the reality of what returning to my feet means for
both my family and I. Without a clear head and total focus and a
reminding to myself, keep it steady Phil, the urge to push on
even harder and over do it and possiblydamage my chances or even
worse, end my chances, are very real! My body gets super tight
from all the work I put it through andI feel frustration rise at
times when it hampers me from doing my set programme. I need to
heed my teams calls for, keep it steady mate and not get dazzled
by the moment! I am endeavouring to cause the crampons of my
faith to bite deep into this section of lifes icy slope for me.
The safety line of hope is attached firmly and I am learning with
paitence to keep on keeping on and watch the placement of each
foot! This section of ice may stretch out for quite a distance
for me and that steady as she goes mate attitude along with the
many skills and safety systems in place, I am bound to reach the
other side andfinally the summit!
There's a verse in the book of Roman's in the Bible that says;
"and hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls,
connecting us to God himself behind the sacred curtains of
heaven". Another verse in Romans says; "And paitence develops
strength of character and helps us to trust God each time we us
it, until finally our hope and faith are steady and strong" With
the right climbing gear in hand and the knowledge from previous
climbs along with that steady as she goes mate attitude you will
achieve the goal and summit your mountain!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Reflections from part 5; Mountain climbing

I have discovered as Iembarked beu this climb and left the
lazyccboy behind, the only way I will maintan my passion and
determination for the climb, is to share my weaknesses and
struggles with others that are part of my support team! Isolating
yourself from others especially when you are climbing through
uncharted territory, is a recipe for disaster I believe andone
can very easlily allow crazy thoughts and games to be played out
in one's mind and this becomes like the thoughts a of the lone
climb that lead to his lifes story ending!
I have learned to set a pace that I can manage and I endeavour to
reflect back over my day and week to see the ground I have made
and where I am sitting in regard to the climb! The "She'll be
right mate" attitude is a relic from the past and I amstriving
for more and more higherstandards in my climbing techniques and
attitude and to achieve that, I need to tap into climbers from
the past and ? that Surround me on a daily basis!
A wise climb will retain in the back of their mindthe potential
for hypothermia and it's affects, if a, "She'll be right"
attitude is adopted.
Successful climbers more often than not, are not show ponyies
demanding respect, their experience will bubble up and you will
find as you observe a wealth of experience and knowledge that has
been gained from summitting mountains!

Mountain climbing part 5

I have always been a believer when it comes toventuring into one
of New Zealands spectacular forest parks, to never do it alone
and especially if a mountain accent is involved! The support of
other members of your team and potential skills and know they can
offer will ensure your experiance is a safe and rewarding one and
the times during the climb when you do have to push through the
mental and physical barriers, a load shared is a load halfed, as
the saying goes! You will find as you climb, a thought cross your
mind, this is crazy, my body is sore and achy, it's cold and
possibly raining or even snowing, I could be in a number of more
enjoyable places and the thoughts start flowing thick and fast if
you are not careful and the urge to stop and rest starts creeping
in more and more and the team must really at this stage and
encourage each other to stay focused on the goal and resist the
urges of resting to often and mainttan a steady but achieveable
pace for all members of the party! Keeping the momentum up is
vital to the success of the journey, resting to often allows your
body to loose much needed body temperature and often in stopping
people can dive into energy rations required for the remainder of
the mountain accent and decent andthere is not a lot more energy
gained for an individual and more energy is used inresuming
progress again and the body digestingwhat has been pumped into
it! Keeping a good steady pace and stopping on aset pattern of
time for a couple of minutes and then moving on will be a winning
combination! I remeber reading a story about a mountain climber
and this guy decided to do it alone and he had all the gear he
needed and he had experience in mountain climbing with teams in
the past. Well this guy got to the point on the mountain I have
just written about and the voices in his head started to talk to
him and say, Rest more often and he gradually succumbed to them
and slowly but surely he rested to often and finally his body
temperature had dropped so much, he didn't have the energy to
rise and he was in serious trouble and hypothermia started
setting . Another party climbing the same mountain came across
him huddled under a rock outcrop and they did all they could to
try and raise his body temperature and plan a decent from the
mountain, but he was to far gone and theleader of the party had
to make a decision to leave him and make him as comby as possible
or put at risk members of his own team! That man lost his life on
the mountain and it was due to going it alone, he needed more
than just motivation and determination, he needed support and
encouragement of others to make the journey a success! There is a
line in a song that says; "No man is an island", we are designed
to connect with others and they help urge us on when we would
possibly listern to the voice that says, Take it easy, rest, it's
a hard journey and slowly but surely that trap door opens wider
and wider andwithout the support of fellow travellers to urge you
on, that trap will get you and the story will end prematurely!
Keep the goal your focus, keep the pace steady and achievable
andalways climb as a team!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Mountain climbing part 4

One very important lesson I have learnt from both my outdoor
experience and the one I am currently climbing, is never be slack
and presume you know the area you are about to traverse
throughand the conditions you could encounter along that route.
If you are a wise outdool person, you will call into a a DOC'
information centre or the likes and check out the area you are
about to traverse through andccditions you can expect to come
across, such as, track conditions, weather, availability of huts
and beds, experience and ability required for this route. In my
Journey along I have found it necessary to stop and seek advice
from people that have traversed through similar teritory and have
a attitude that is prepared to learn and grow! The good old Kiwi
slogan; "She'll be right mate", does not cut it and an attitude
like that on a mountain climb can put yourself and others at risk
of serious harm or a possible fatality! That slogan may have got
us through at times in the past, but at what expense and what
condition were we or others left in when we accomplished the
goal! Even the very best outdoors people at times can come to
grief, possibly a little bit of that, "She'll be right mate",
attitude slipped in after years of traversing the outdoors and
that one time they became slack, brought disaster and sometimes
to more than just themselves!
I remember chatting to an 80 year old friend one day and he said
to me never be to old to learn, when you stop learning you are
dying as a person!
We all want to reach the top of the mountain, what ever that
mountain may; for us and we need to arrive on that summit in the
best condition possible and not damaged and bruised and missing
some of our climbing gear and support team from a bad experience
climbing the mountain, as you will need as much skill and wisdom
in the decent as the climb itself!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Mountain Part 2

To begin with, I wasn't to keen to climb this mountain I am on.
The challenge seemed to big andI wanted to climb a mountain of my
own choice! More often than not, when you are in the outback and
journeying from one point to another you will come across a
section of the journey that is very challenging and you may even
say to yourself, Do I have to climb this part, there must be an
easier way around this part and that is when you have to really
focus and say, That is this all about, am I going to let this
stop me achieving and again it comes down to what is the goal I
am hoping to achieve here and make sure that gets cemented firmly
in place and then start plodding that challenging section again!
Much of the climbing I have done so far, the mountain has been
obscurred with heavy cloud and I can see only a short distance in
front of me, but there have been a few times when the cloud has
lifted a bit and I see some of the climbing ahead of me and as
challenging as it is, I look back and see the treacherous ground
I have walked over and it gives me confidance to move onward up
the mountain!One thing I have learnt as I climb, you have good
days and not so good days, but as you continue to climb the good
days will far out way the not so good days! I believe it is very
important to assess on regular basis what is it all about! Life
is a mountain and it is important what attitude we approach each
stage of lifes journey, as to how the next section of the climb
will go! Setting ? clear goals will help us stay focused and
achieve and I totally believe God wants us to be inspired to
achieve and not just sit back and let life sail on by. It says
in the Bible, "Without a vision, people perish" That is so true
and the vision needs to beclearly definded on a regular basis, I
believe. Many times if we are not careful when we are climbing
mountains, we can loose focus for a while and end up wandering
around the side of the mountain and possibly get a little
disorientated and end up settling for some thing lenss than we
could have achieved if we had only maintained that focus! A
proverb that I love and I think I shareed it in an ealier Blog
is; "To achieve great things, you not only have to act, but also
dream, not only plan, but also believe" It is so important to
have a good balance of there attributes when embarking on
mountain climbing I believe or you will never reach your goal and
you will settle for less than you can potentially achieve! I will
share a few more thoughts re mountains next time!

Mountain Part 2

Apologies, I got interrupted when I was about to finish the first
part of a series I plan to write about mountain climbing!
As I mentioned, you never go venturing into the great outdoors
and up mountains withou a clear goal of where you are heading to
and what you plan to achieve along the way as you progress
towards that goal you have set!When you embark on such a Journey,
you need to be aware that conditions can suddenly change and you
may have to take shelter for a day or towo until a clear patch
allows you to continue climbing. You may have to change the
route you take up the mountain due to a land slide that may have
occvred or to dodge a patch of ice that could end your chances of
reaching your goal! It is important to stop at times and assess
where you are at and how well yrbody is coping with the challenge
and if required, that a rest for a short while and take in the
view of where you have come from and then plan the next part of
the climb. The ultimate goal is to reach the top of the mountain
in good condition, so when you decent your body will carry you
safely and you cpotentially eliminate any hazards that may arise!
Often the decent from the mountain can be more dangerous than the
climb and different techniques are required when decenting, so
don't over do the climbing, pace yourself. More often than not,
mountains are covered in cloud and when looking up it can be hard
to see clearly and some times the cloud lifts and you can see a
bit more of the mountain and you catch a glimpse of some of the
challenges you will be encountering and you may think to
yourself, have I taken on to big a challenge! It's good at that
point to stop briefly and have a energy snack and look down the
mountain and see what you have already achieved and then focus
for the next stage of the climb!Mountains are always climbed in
stages and at the end of the day when you stop to setccup camp or
stay in a hut and you are weary from a day's climbing, endeavour
to be thankful for thesafe passage you have achieved that day and
rest your body! Never plan the next stage of the Journey when you
are weary andexhausted from a days climb. A fresh start with a
clear head is best, even if the body is a bit achy! I plan to
share in the next few parts similarities between outdoor mountain
climbing and this mountain of rehabilitation I am currently
climbing!

Man what a mountain!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Can you believe it!!

Coming up at the end of this month 26 this September 2011 will be
3 years since I feel sick and I want to thank firstly my amazing
God for sparing my life and allowing the amazing healing that has
taken place so far and seconly thanky to all of you out there
that have helped ligghten the load of the Journey in some way, a
kind deed, an encouraging thought, a shoulder to lean on, just
being you, a prayer or many, loving unccditionally, believing the
impossible and helping speak it into my life, sharing a great
coffee with me, extending a hand into my dark and often noisy
world, helping to feed the fires of determination, being hands
and feet of Jesus Christ to me and my family!
There are so many of you out there that have made such a huge
difference to my life and that of our family, thank you for
caring and taking the time to stop and make a difference, it
truly means a lot!J recently I received a txt out of the blue
from a lady who was my speech therapist when I was in the ISIS'
Rehab centre in Dunedin and it came at a time when I so needed a
little encouagement and a cheer up and man what a difference that
little txt did for me! Never under estimate what a kind thought
or deed can do for another person, often the seemingly small
things in life, can have the beiggest impact on another and I can
look back over this Journey and I can see time and time again you
seemly small things that people have done but have been life
impacting for me and I know that has a spin off affect to ?
around me! There is a very cool movie called; his Pay it forward"
and we will never know the total impact of loving and kind deeds!
So if a thought flashes through your mind or someone is on your
heart, don't be to busy to stop and care even if it seems a small
thing in your eyes to do and you say to yourself, Does it really
matter if I do or don't, take it from me, it does matter and in
doing so, you have brightened the world a little more! Some day
you may hope that people are not too busy to stop and care.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Smelling freedom!

Lately I have been smelling a bit of freedom from my chair and
smells divine and I want more and more of it! Yesterday in the
GYM' I was back on the Treadmill again and at one point I did a
burst of 10 minutes without stopping for a rest and I am doing
all the walking by myself! Some of you may think I have a
mechanical aid or the likes to help propell my legs along, no I
am doing all the hard yards with my own legs and then in the
afternoon, I was given another GYM' session for good behaviour
and I walked at the Parallel bars! I decided to walk one way
forwards and then back again walking backwards and I managed to
do 40 times both ways which is the must I have done at the
Parallel bars since falling ill! I was just kidding about good
behaviour allowing me another session in the GYM', Good behaviour
from me, never! So the dream is slowly but surely taken place and
I believe it is only a matter of a few months now and I will be
back on my feet again! I almost have to pinch myself at times
when I say that, I will be back on my feet again within a few
months, as it has only been a hope in the back of my mind and it
has been working it's way into my heart and into my whole being
and I believed it would happen some day in the future and now
that day is getting closer and the reality of what that means for
my life and my family is now starting to dawn on me!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Which way are you travelling!

I remember as a kid, we used to go to my wifes parents beach
house as I was very good mates with her brother. Often when we
stayed there we would play a game of blind man buff as they had a
very big open plan lounge dinning room area at their beach house.
Someone would be the blind man and put on a blind fold and eone
would then scatter to various parts of the room, someone would
stay briefly with the person wearing the blind fold and spin them
around and around to disorientate them and then stop sm and let
them loose to try and tag someone and then the tagged person
would play the blind man role. I remember how easily it was to
get disorintated and think you were somewhere in the room, only
to discover you were some where comlletely different and blow me
down, what was that piece of furniture doing there, I don't
remember it being there and then you would get people that would
move furniture around as you were hunting for someone to make it
more challenging for you!
Well I play blind man's buff every day now and I must say I find
it very challenging at times, I can image the layout of buildings
in my mind pretty well from my days working on building sites,
etc, but often furniture gets moved and I am not aware of it and
I think I am heading some where only to find out I am in a
completely different place and so I then endeavour to find a
landmark that I can identify and once I find that, I can then
start to work out where the route is that I need to take!
I have been doing some outdoor orintation with an instructor from
The Blind Foundation and I can generally make my way along OK' if
I have a handrail or building to follow, but if I suddenly end up
in an open space and nothing to touch and identify, that can be
very challenging! I will generally keep moving slowly and feel
around until I locate a point of contact, but if I am not careful
I can identify that point of contact wrongly and think I am
somewhere and then learn I am in a different place! I am learning
a lot about alignment and also the sun is a good indicator as
well, I can feel it on my face and if it suddenly disappears as I
am moving along in the chair, that could possibly mean I have
gone behind a building or under the eaves of a building or a
gaint has just walked up to me and is about to eat me! I will
endeavour to share my learning experiences around this as I work
and learn with my instructor. I will possibly be working with a
white cane in the not to distant future and I will share ?
experiences as well! So watch out if you see me coming with a
cane in my hand, I might give you a good whack and knock you out!

My contact details, should you be keen to connect with me!

Hi eone!
My email aggress is; philly.wonkathorn@gmail.com and my
cellphone for txting is; 021 082 09114 .
I can receive txts from any mobile, I have issues at present
sending to Telecom number, my txt comes out as a series of dashes
and gigits, I can send fine to any o"r mobile phone! They are
hoping to have this sorted for me in the near future, so will
keep you posted.
I love connecting with people, so if you have a spare moment
please send me a txt or email and I will be shore to reply as
soon as I can!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Saintlygarmcctseawherethe heck are they!!

I don't know about you, but some days I get up out of bed and I
hunt around in my wardrobh looking for my saintly garments and
blow me down, they are not always there or I endeavour to put
then on if I do find then and you wouldn't believe it, they
appear to have shrunk and struggle as I may to pull them on, they
don't always sit comforably and as I try to smooth out any
wrinkles I wonder to myself, how saintly are my garments!
We are told in scripture to put on the garments of praise for the
spirit of heavyness, lift up your heart to God, Praise with God's
spirit and with understanding, Oh magnify His name!X goes on to
say, All you that mourn, I have authority, to apoint unto you,
oil of joy that will set you free!
I believe it is a decision of the heart and mind, to raise ones
voice in praise to our great God when we feel a spirit of
heavyness around us and if the started out badly and things arn't
working out like they should do, stopping for a few minutes and
giving praise to our great Creator God will help lift that entire
spirit of heavyness and we will look at life from a completely
different perspective! I have proved it over and over again! It
is God's will for our life, that we have a spirit of thankfulness
and stopping for a moment to do that even if we have let it
spirit of thankfulness slip a bit, will help renew it and God
will allow His oil of Joy to set us free, what an impact it will
have on your day!
It is totally an attitude of the heart and as weendeavour to
develop this way of thinking and allow our spirit's to look
upwards at ?'so times of challenge in our lives, it starts to
becomeccscious action, rather than a manurefactured one and the
spring of thankfulness bubbles up in our heart more frequently!
One only needs to stop and ponder for a moment all that God has
done for us in giving heavens very best and the greatest act of
love He could ever have shown us in Jesus Christ's death u the
cross of Calvary and His rising again from the dead and that will
break any spirit of heavyness you have on your life, God loves to
hang out with people that praise Him and in doing so, you will
warm up ? around you with thespirit of thankfulgess! You might
say, but my life has turned to custard, still rise and thank Him
for all of His faithfulness and unccditional love and before you
know it, you will be looking at life from a completely different
perspective!
Like I shared with you yesterday about the homeless boy and how
he didn't believe the lovely things in the room were for him and
so climbed under the bed and slept there, we need to accept God's
incredible gift to us and in one translation of the Bible it
says, "His unmerited favour", like the homeless boy we have done
nothing at all to deserve His favour, infact we dispised and
rejected Him at one point in our lives, yet His loving
compassions are still there for us in abundance!
That today, if you struggle like I do at times to find your
saintly garments in the wardrobe, stop and thank Him for all that
He has dayone for you and you will start to feel that spirit of
heavyness lift as you put on ? garments of praise!!A blessed
life, is a thankful life I believe!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

There are so many of you out there that have blessed us as a
family in so many ways and I want to acknownage you and say thank
you, ? works never seem anywhere en, but I am truely humbled by
the amazing outpouring of love and kindness extended towards us!
I know that our amazing God has touched your heart through our
story and you inturn have and continue to bless us hugely! Our
amazing God continues to lavish His amazing grace u my life every
day as I endeavour to stay close by His side.
I endeavour to work as hard as I can to show how very much I
appreciate all the support we receive and as my body responds and
grows stronger and my God allows more of His mercy and grace to
be poured in, I push a little harder and my faith in Him deepens
and I know that I know, I am a trophy of His grace!
I was reading a story recently about a homeless boy who was
rescued of the streets my a very caring family and they took him
home and adopted him as their son. He was given a bedroom of his
very own and it was a huge room and along one wall was a bed with
lovely snowy white sheets and lovely warm blankets and alongside
the bed was a bedside cabinet with a lamp and he stood there and
stared for quite a while at this beautiful room and then he said
to himself, this must be a mistake, this must be for someone else
and so he climbed under the bed and curled up and sleeped the
night on the bloor! compassion, faithfulness and we say this
can't be for me, what have I done to diserve this and we have
done nothing to deserve His tender compassions at all, that's
what's so amazing about grace from our Heavenly father! and in so
thinking we allow satan to tell us we are not worthy and none of
it is for us and so we climb under the bed and stay there and you
know what! God stoops down in His greatness and says to us, My
dear child, this is all for you, I gave all of heavens very best
for you, please receive it and then He gently tucks us in between
? lovely snowy white sheets and pulls the lovely warm blankets up
around our neck and says My peace I leave with you, not as the
world gives give I unto you, don't let your heart be worried or
afraid, my peace I leave with you! He also says, My child, I will
never leave you or forsake you and I must say at times I have
felt very much like that homeless boy with all of Gods love and
grace and He tucks me afresh in between ? snowy white sheets and
says, Phil, My son, this is for you, please except it!! I pray
today you will except His amazing love and grace into your
life!The next morning, the good lady of the house came in to see
him and found him still fast asleep under the bed and she said to
the boy with surprise in her voice, My dear boy, what are you
doing down on the bloor under the bed and she gently bent down
and helped him up and pulled back the covers of the bed and
tucked him in between ? snowy white sheets and pulled ? warm
blankets up around his neck and said to him, this is all for you!
What a picture of our amazing God, often we feel so unworthy of
His abundant love, grace, mercy,