Posts with the tag “philips-focus”

Last week, I shared about four specific areas placed on my heart. I also wanted to put these on your hearts. These priorities I am nicknaming “post-Covid Church opportunities for a new era.”One is res...  Read More

Over the Christmas and New Year's Holidays, I was out of my routine and spent some significant quality time with the Lord. One day the Lord placed on my heart four specifics to place on the congregati...  Read More

As we begin 2022, I have three questions for us. First, are our best days behind us or in front of us? Second, what if we leveraged everything we had to be a positive influence for Jesus? Third, what ...  Read More

What NEW things might the Lord bring in our lives in the New Year? The word NEW is possible for all of us regardless of age or circumstances. What are some ways the Bible teaches us about God making u...  Read More

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and blessings to the new year!......  Read More

In nine days, we will gather for Christmas Eve for worship. As we move through these final days of Advent preparation, I would like to invite us to have a perfect Christmas. How in the world can imper...  Read More

Well, here we go! Already, we are approaching the third Sunday of Advent. Hard to believe there are only two Sundays left before Christmas! 2022 will begin in less than four weeks. As we continue the ...  Read More

Advent began last Sunday. This is a season to "pump the brakes," pay attention to our heart more and spend quiet time with God. The season of Advent is a time to prepare to experience the birth of Jes...  Read More

Last year, Thanksgiving plans were interrupted for many. For the first time in over 60 years, I know my family did not gather at my mother’s on McVay Hill, near Jackson, Alabama. However, we are resum...  Read More

“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise Him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen.” Thomas Ken 1674 When we stand and sing ...  Read More

Next week, I get to write up my 100 blessings for the year, which is one of my most anticipated moments of the year. Decades ago, I began listing 100 reasons to be grateful each year just before Thank...  Read More

Ten years from now, we will likely reminisce about the years 2020-2021. We will possibly reflect on how quickly the normal we knew changed in the “blink of an eye.” The dramatic changes sparked isolat...  Read More

The Proverbs says, “A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.” (Proverbs 17:22; The Message). We cannot always change our circumstances, but we can certainly...  Read More

This Sunday, October 17th, we will gather with eight other churches for a cluster Charge Conference. The Charge Conference will be hosted by First United Methodist Church of Fort Walton Beach and will...  Read More

What an exciting time of year! Football season is well into the second month, and big games are ahead in the coming weeks. Baseball season has moved into the playoffs and is moving toward the World Se...  Read More

Our power meters tell a story in our homes. In July, our story is likely to show that we ran our air-conditioners all the time, and our power bill will have an uptick. In the fall months, we would lik...  Read More

Rev. Faith Parry’s husband, AJ, has been presented and accepted a full-time position with the National Guard. His new position is quite an opportunity and begins immediately in October. As a result, t...  Read More

Shalimar United Methodist Church is a fairly large congregation. We have many wonderful people serving in many and various roles. Everyone who finds ways to use their gifts for the glory of God finds ...  Read More

Save the dates now! The season of Lent in 2022 begins on March 2. Lent will extend through Easter, April 17, 2022. Thus, in the coming six months, we will have an opportunity to prepare for an unprece...  Read More

Would you agree our mental health has been tested for the last eighteen months? The presence of stress, worry, and depression can come to even the strongest people. What can be done to take care of ou...  Read More

What makes my heart sink faster than any other news I hear? I can answer this question easily. When I receive news that someone is disappointed that the church has not responded in their time of need....  Read More

We have some updates about the free dinner plans on Monday, August 23rd, at 6pm. First of all, there is good news! There is still time for you to make your reservation for Monday Night's free steak di...  Read More

On August 23rd, I want to invite you to attend a free steak dinner in which I will share the current status of our church and some future discipleship plans. This event will be capped at 100 persons f...  Read More

The year 2022 will be here in about five months. On the horizon will be unprecedented new opportunities to grow as a disciple each week through Shalimar United Methodist Church! The goal is to live ou...  Read More

What would Shalimar United Methodist Church be capable of if everyone put their oar in the water and rowed in the same direction? Even better, what if we all rowed in the direction of living as a disc...  Read More

We are now at the beginning of the second half of 2021. Last week, I reflected on the first six months of the year. This week, I will shift toward hopes for the second half of the year.Before Labor Da...  Read More

Over the next six weeks, Dr. Brad Bradford will be on study leave from July 5-August 11. He is entitled to this leave and has been planning a productive project for many months. Brad has received all ...  Read More

Can you believe this week marks the mid-way point of 2021! As we continue to see some normal coming out of a long Covid Year, I would like to lift up some of the current opportunities to grow through ...  Read More

Type your new text here. Today is July 17, 2021, and it is a special day! Shalimar United Methodist is 70 years old on the day this article is published. I hope you will take some time reading this ar...  Read More

Congratulations to Keith Latimer! Keith is the winner of this year’s David Dale Hospitality Award. This choice came through nominations from our congregation, our Lead Team, and ratified by our Church...  Read More

In most of my Beacon articles, I title them “Philip’s Focus” as they have just a point or two. This article has too many subjects to have only one focus. I am naming this one “McVay’s Meandering.”As w...  Read More

Shalimar United Methodist Church received an award last Friday. The Heroes and Hard Workers Award. We received the award from Nash FM 105.5. This award goes to business groups and organizations that p...  Read More

We want to celebrate and recognize three women from our congregation who won the Okaloosa County Commission on the Status of Women (OCSW) 2021 Women of Honor Award! The OCSW Women of Honor award is a ...  Read More

We will have “Dinner on the Grounds” on our campus this Sunday. The meal is not a “bring a covered dish” but is catered. Please do not bring food from home! You will be treated to a delicious meal fro...  Read More

Deb Steele has been our custodian for nine years here at Shalimar UMC. She will be retiring next week, and I wanted to call this to your attention. In her time with us, Deb has made quite a contributi...  Read More

This week I have chosen to write some short snippets of what is going on around Shalimar UMC. In this article/blog, I will list some things you may or may not know. If you know the answers to all the ...  Read More

A few weeks ago, I learned from our Mayor, Mark Franks, the name Shalimar means “By the beautiful water.” That means our church name could mean “Church by the beautiful water.” Some of the sights and ...  Read More

We lost our pet cat, Dasher, last year. Dasher was with us eighteen years! He was remarkably resilient. The old saying that cats have nine lives proved very true for Dasher. He likely had double the n...  Read More

The post-pandemic church is emerging before our eyes! What have we missed the most? What might be the same? What will be different? What are the unprecedented opportunities? I do not know anything mor...  Read More

About a quarter of a century ago, I began preaching a message billed as the “unforgettable message after Easter!”  Why? Because the Sunday after Easter often felt like the antithesis to Easter. On Eas...  Read More