JULY 2026

Ever precious greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is my great honor and high privilege to share my heart with you once again. Praise the Lord, on July 8th, Debbie’s precious and godly father, Bob Carver, went home to be with his Lord! We are joyfully sad, but we know earth’s loss is Heaven’s gain! Earthly fathers were intended to aspire to be as their heavenly Father, who is perfect in love and holiness. Fathers are indeed a gift from our heavenly Father, and Bob was a gift to us all!

It is written, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named,. . .” (Eph. 3:14-15)

Young men usually seek to be as their fathers, be they good or bad. Even so, my father was my hero. I looked up to him, and I wanted to emulate him in every way. I knew my dad loved me, and I wanted to be like him. He taught me to hunt and to fish and to work hard and earn a living. He did not teach me the Bible because you cannot impart what you do not posses. He saw no value in it, and therefore, neither did I. His father died at a young age, and so my dad had no biblical moral compass as it were. The world would say that he was a good guy. I loved my father deeply, and I am very grateful to the Lord for the gift of him.

After I was arrested, I spent many years writing my father letters from my prison cell. I shared the gospel of the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord many, many times. I know from my mom that he read all my letters. My father passed away in Montana alongside a creek at our hunting camp, where he was hunting elk 8,000 feet up in the mountains. He was cleaning the dishes and just fell over from a heart attack. I always wonder, still today, “How long did he lay there before he passed? Did the gospel, through my letters, come to his mind? Did he call upon the name of the Lord in his last breath?” I’ll never know until I reach eternity. However, I now know my heavenly Father’s heart, and it would be just like Him to have saved my Father in that last moment. Eternity will tell.

Debbie’s father, Bob, was also a father to me; a wonderful, godly father. When word first hit his home that Debbie was considering a relationship with me, a prisoner, it was chaos uncharted! In their minds, I was the furthest thing possible from 32 years of praying for Debbie’s husband! I was the antithesis of their prayers – or so they thought.😉 I was indeed the anti-husband! Little did they know that Deb and I had been in deep prayer about all of this for a long time.😌 Debbie’s mother’s hair was on fire, and she was beside herself with grief and unbelief! Then, she hardly talked to Debbie for almost a year! On the contrary, her father, Bob, was much more temperate and seasoned. He said, “Let me go see this man.” He was keenly aware that Debbie had a good, biblical head on her shoulders and that she loved the Lord deeply. He knew she had been praying for a godly husband herself – so he was curious. Finally, a visit was arranged, and he came to see me. And wouldn’t you know it, sovereignly as the Lord would have it, I had just come out of having surgery on my nose the day before! I had a big bandage across my swollen face, and I looked like the Elephant Man! All the while, I was as nervous as a man could possibly be to meet her father! Praise God that mercy triumphs over judgment! (James 2:13)

After many probing questions, and many visits, Bob received me as his own. We became the best of friends and brothers, and I grew to love him deeply with all my heart. Over the years, I observed his character, how he raised his family, and how he lived his life. He was really the only godly father I have ever known. He was amazing in his grace toward me. He was able to see past who I was and what I had done to who the Lord had made me. He had raised four wonderful, godly children who now have wonderful, godly homes. I wanted to emulate him. I wanted to honor the Lord and Bob by serving Debbie faithfully well. Finally, after many years, Bob sat me down on a visit, looked me in the eye and said to me, “Philip, I want you to know this, I will not allow Debbie to marry anybody else but you.” Those words touched my heart in an eternal way, and they have stuck with me until this day. Debbie and I have been together now for 31 years and joyfully married for four years by the grace of God!

Bob’s son’s name is Dan. The apple, they say, does not fall far from the tree. Over the last five years, we too have grown very close as friends and brothers. He is a music teacher of many years, just like his dad! He is wed to Gwendy, his beloved, and they have raised two beautiful children, Daniel and Julia. Dan told a story at the burial of his dad that touched me deeply. As he spoke, with tears in his eyes, his mind went back to when he was just a young boy. He was remembering a time when he and his three sisters were on the beach. The ocean was full of giant shore break that day, and they had all been strictly warned by Dad to stay away from the shore break! As is the way with kids, it went in one ear and out the other. While he and his sisters continued frolicking in the sand, Dan got just a little too close to the shore break. His voice began to falter as he remembered, “Suddenly, I was caught up in a huge shore-break wave, and it consumed me! I was full of fear as I was tossed to and fro, flip-flopping and somersaulting all around under the water! In my panic, the next thing I knew, there was Dad! Immediately, I was in his arms and I was safe! He plucked me out of the shore break with his strong arms and took me safely up to the beach.” With tears streaming down his face, Dan then said, “I was rescued – that’s how I remember Dad!” We were all crying at the simple, but poignant picture of Dad!

It is written, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,. . .” (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

I think Dan’s story touched me so deeply because it made me recall my own life! I was reminded of who God is as a Father. The word “father” is pregnant with meaning. It implies love, family, children, provision, protection, and all the other things that come from a loving father’s heart. Just as it came from the loving heart of Dan’s earthly father, Bob Carver, so also it comes from our loving, heavenly Father! For me, it was as if suddenly, I was caught up in a huge shore break of my sin, and it consumed me! I was full of fear as I was tossed to and fro, flip-flopping and somersaulting all around in the darkness of my sin! In my panic, the next thing I knew, there was my heavenly Father! Immediately, I was in the arms of Jesus, and I was safe! He plucked me out of the shore break of sin with His strong arms and took me safely into His Kingdom! With tears streaming down our faces – that’s how we should remember our heavenly Father!

As Dad Carver’s life so wonderfully illustrated, we are now saints of the most High God, the Father of mercies. We know the joy of our Father’s family of faith and the power of His sweet Spirit. Are you a father? Is your life emulating your heavenly Father? How will your walk be memorialized when the day comes?. . .

“ETERNITY WILL TELL!”

JOYFULLY IN JESUS,
LOVE, PHILIP