PlainSpeech Messages | Find YOUR way to GRACE.
I recently read a message I’d given in 1984 and felt a mixture of embarrassment and surprise. Embarrassed because it seems inadequate now, and surprised by how much my worldview has changed. Twenty-five years from now, I might read these messages and have a similar reaction. I offer no guarantee that my work or words will endure the eroding effects of time. I can only assure you these thoughts have been helpful to me, and perhaps a few others, today. With that qualification, I offer them to you.
~ Philip
NEW!
Our Family Reunion
VIEW VIDEO My family on my Dad’s side were coal miners from southern Illinois, to the chagrin of my paternal grandmother who wanted everyone to think she was from England and personal friends with the Queen. She and my grandfather had lived in London for about ten...
Habits of Wholeness (8)
VIEW VIDEO Several years ago, Chris and Anne Gautier were at the farmhouse with Joan and me. It was in the summertime and we were sitting outside watching the birds, which were just thick down there. As we were watching, an iridescent blue bird landed on a feeder and...
Habits of Wholeness (7)
VIEW VIDEO I came across a video clip of our granddaughter Madeline this week, taken when she was first learning to talk and had a functioning vocabulary of a dozen or so words—mommy, daddy, Hank (their dog), Nanna, Poppa, kitty, puppy, play. Simple, basic words that...
Habits of Wholeness (6)
VIEW VIDEO I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot lately, five years past her death. After she passed, my thoughts were weighed with grief, but after five years the grief has been replaced with gratitude for the gifts she gave our family, among them a sense of humor,...
Habits of Wholeness (5)
VIEW VIDEO When I applied for seminary, I had to undergo psychological testing to discern my mental fitness for ministry. This was in 1988, when Chris Gautier’s grandmother, Dr. Sue Cardwell, did the psychological evaluations for Christian Theological Seminary. She is...
Habits of Wholeness (4)
VIEW VIDEO I drove down to our farmhouse this past Tuesday to mow, a trip now reminiscent of the Shackleton Antarctic expedition, except I wasn’t trapped by the ice a hundred miles short of the South Pole, but was stuck in Martinsville in the I-69 detour without food...
Habits of Wholeness (3)
VIEW VIDEO Our granddaughter Madeline was visiting us this past week. I was up in my office working, and she was downstairs with Joan making brownies. They were discussing various topics, then I hear Madeline say, “I’m going to go upstairs and ask Papa to play Barbies...
Habits of Wholeness (2)
VIEW VIDEO One of my favorite things in our local newspaper, The Republican, is the yesteryear column that recalls local news from decades ago. This week’s column reminded readers that in 1971 all my family but me went to Vincennes to celebrate my sister’s birthday,...
Habits of Wholeness (1)
VIEW VIDEO I’ve made no secret of my passion for motorcycling, so you’ll be surprised to learn that this past month I actually gave away two of my motorcycles as gifts to friends, so coincidentally had room for another motorcycle, a 1971 BMW r75/5, that was built in...
Characteristics of Good Relationships (6)
Well, it’s good to be back. Joan and I enjoyed a weekend at the farm, and are now refreshed. Many thanks to Amanda Gainey and Ned Steele who rose to the occasion in my absence last Sunday. If I had a major award to share, I would share it with them. Joan received her...