philip's musings

It was time to honor dad as well as Mom.

It really hit me again this past weekend as we stopped to visit some friends on our way up to Vermont from Jersey…. how clear the scripture is about what our attitude needs to be to our parents.

“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

This is Deuteronomy 5:16…  but there are at least 7 other scriptures saying the same thing.   Any religious system that separates parents and children  is a cult.  When the leaders say to the adult children that “their parents have left the church and no longer are following Jesus”…  and then order the children to no longer see their parents, nor allow them to see their grand children…. that scenario is a horror story… and… it is happening in religious cults everywhere.

I choose to honor my parents.  You have met  Florrie, aka Florence and Nicole.  Now meet Bruno Bernhard Wolff, aka B.B.Wolff and the Big Bad Wolff!   🙂

I am introducing many of you to someone you never met… she sang at Carnegie Hall back in 1959… she had a beautiful Soprano voice.  She was also known as my mother… Florence Wolff….

nicole scott – wolff     many called her  “Nickie”  over all those years until Jesus came to pick her up back in 2010….   🙂

Back on October 5th, my cousin  Marge  wrote this on Facebook about my sketch of the Carters….

“Your sketches are really beginning to show character. Keep it up! If I could do what you do, I would produce a sketch of Florrie.

I asked her if that was a challenge…  🙂   🙂

So… here is a sketch of  “Florrie”… Florence Wolff... aka  my Mom…  🙂

On Saturday, May 6th, we attended the memorial celebration for Phil, Jr.  … at my son Matthew’s church in Sussex, N.J.  It was quite a special time. See Jennifer’s Facebook Page and you will get a little idea of how the  “family”  gathering was quite an event…. many pictures…

Lots of emotions and memories shared.  I had the opportunity to tell how thankful I was for the past couple years as Phil and I talked…. and I watched him soften… then had my chance to say goodbye when Phil III called… and told me his dad could no longer speak but could still hear… then he put the phone by Phil’s ear… where I told him again that I loved him, said my good-bye and asked him to make sure he was there to greet me when it is my turn.

My sketch to honor Phil, Jr…..

Our lives are so full of  divine appointments…  🙂   I love it!  I will never forget the day the phone rang and this guy introduces himself to me by saying he had met  Darryl Rodman  who told him that there was another guy that talks just like he does… maybe he should give this guy  Phil Wolff  a call… so he did…  🙂

Voila!   Jeff and Sandra Carter  entered our lives…. we did talk a lot alike…  and have had countless wonderful conversations as we have shared life over the years.

Thank you both for bringing so much into our lives.

🙂

Darryl and Martha Rodman  came into our lives in the early 2000’s… they had an Apostolic ministry to the East Coast…would fly out from their home in the Seattle Area and visit churches all over the NorthEast… one group was up in the Morrisville, VT area.  They would stay with us at our B&B and we became very good friends.  Eventually they even purchased a second home in Connecticut to help with all the travel.

I always looked forward to their next visit… Darryl would sit down with his guitar to worship in our living area and I would join him with my harmonica… we would just go on and on and on… I do miss those times.

We had just been with them, they drove back to CT and were scheduled to fly back to Seattle on April 22, 2010… I sent them a Facebook note to  “have a ‘bon voyage’…” 

Darryl had a heart attack in the airport, followed by a massive stroke.  The Lord was merciful to Martha and the family…. miraculously He kept Darryl alive to give family and friends time to adjust to all that had just happened.

Jesus came to pick Darryl up and bring him home on October 5, 2012…. that will be 6 years ago in a couple days.  He was a hero of the faith, fought the good fight and finished the course.  Martha continues to minister as the Lord opens doors to her.

Their story is on their web-site for   Impart Ministries…. just click the link.

We all miss him.

We have all been born into a world  “at war”… sometimes it takes a little longer to finally discover it, but once we do, everything changes.  These heroes have been at it for quite a few years.  Nancy  worked for us at our  Christian Center Bookstore in Allendale, N.J. and also lived with us for several years in Ramsey.   She was part of our church.  We believed the scripture told us that  “God sets the solitary in families” … so we made sure that all the unmarried members, all the  “singles – the solitary”,  were living with one of our church families to help them as they grew in the Lord.  Nancy lived with us.

Along the way she met  Kenny Baker… I had the privilege of marrying them on November 6, 1982… where they joined to walk together in this war against the evil one and have fought the good fight together almost 36 years.  Both are devotional writers.  May the Lord continue to bless the many years you have left here together.   🙂