Quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…

Dear Lord; Good morning Father.  Well Lord, I didn’t exactly start the day on a stellar note.  As You well know, Shannon and I very seldom have any significant arguments.  We’re very much on-keel with each other, and any little disagreements we do have now and again are usually quickly and calmly worked out.

That wasn’t the case today however.

A simple misreading of a reaction to something I said led to tempers flaring on both sides, and a twenty minute excited exchange… Over basically nothing.

Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. – 2 Timothy 2:23-24

Ouch!  Yep, that pretty much describes our fight… foolish and stupid.  I stand convicted Lord, and am deeply ashamed.  Instead of listening for Your Guidance in that moment, I allowed my temper to shut myself off from You and caused unnecessary pain to someone I love deeply.

Heavenly Father, please help me focus my heart and mind on Your Voice in times of stress.  Help me not be quick to anger, and instead bring a level head and calm influence to situations that arise.

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. – James 1:19-20

Amen.

~Phather Phil

And My Focus Word is…

Dear Lord; Good morning Father.  Today Lord, I want to follow up on a discussion we had earlier this week where we talked about finding my “One Word Focus” for this year.  You and I have been “chatting” a lot about this over the last few days, and my mind’s been flooded with so many words describing parts of myself that I know could use work.  Throughout all those deliberations and prayers however, I keep hearing one word in the midst of it all :

Accept.

Ok, message received… “Accept” it is.  I’ll admit, it’s not quite along the lines of what I had originally conceived when I started down this path but I’ll Accept Your Guidance :-).

So this morning, I started contemplating what the word Accept means in relation to my life, and the more I thought about it the bigger the scope grew.  There are so many things that I currently Accept (and possibly shouldn’t), and so many more that I need to work on.  For example, as we discussed yesterday I need to work on the fact that my nature is to try and fix everyone’s problems, when obviously that’s not a realistic perspective.

I need to Accept that I’m not in control and that I can’t fix everything.

Wow… So, I’m starting to understand why you put this word in my heart Lord.  I guess there are more things in my life that I haven’t fully Accepted than I had originally thought.  This is a truly powerful word, and I thank You for seeding me with it.

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for instilling this focus in my heart and mind.  As I contemplate and pray about this direction over the coming year, please lead me to recognize and Accept all Your Truths and proceed with them in Your Love.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Thanks on a Monday

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!  Well Lord, I just want to thank You for another lovely weekend.  Date night with my lovely wife on Friday was a blast, Saturday we began to reclaim our home from the Christmas decorations, and Sunday was a wonderful lazy day watching the epic 1956 film “The Ten Commandments” with my family.  The house is still in quite a bit of chaos, but all in all it was a wonderful, productive time and I thank You so much for it.

I also want to take a minute to thank You for sending Your healing power to me over the last week.  As You know I ended up at my doctor’s office last Wednesday with serious stomach distress.  I was in a fair amount of pain Lord, and while I still have some discomfort it’s worlds better than it was.  Thank You so much for Blessing me with an excellent Primary Care Physician, and for Your Comfort during this episode.  It’s woken me up to some necessary changes I need to make in my diet, stress level and sleep habits if I want to avoid potentially serious medical issues in the future.  Please help me keep proper focus and have the strength to make the right choices going forward.

And finally Lord, I’ve been hearing quite a bit this month about the idea of having One Word to focus and pray on for the new year, instead of a series of resolutions which usually don’t get followed through on.  The more I’ve thought about the idea, and seen some examples on other devotional blogs the more I like it.  Therefore Father, today I’m starting my prayers for You to help me choose the word that will guide me for the coming year.  I place my heart and mind in Your Hands Lord, and look forward to Your Counsel on my focus.

Heavenly Father, please bring Your Loving Presence to all those in need.  Help us be productive, focused and compassionate servants of Your Will, and guide us to where we can best be used for Your Grand Purpose.  Give Your Comfort and Strength to those who are suffering, and help us all be extensions of Your Love on Earth.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

I Shall Not Fear…

Dear Lord; This morning Father, I’d like to talk with You about fear.  For a number of personal reasons and from conversations with others, I’ve spent a great deal of time contemplating and analyzing (or overanalyzing as my Wife might say) fear and it’s effects on people lately.

What I’ve come up with is this; We all struggle to maintain an inner balance between our Hearts and Minds, or to put it another way our Desires and our Wisdom.  At any given point in time, the balance can shift based on a wide variety of factors, and those factors can obviously be influenced through a huge range of external situations as well.  If we allow our Desires to run the show, we’re extending outside our “comfort zone” and experiencing new things, however there may be some higher level of risk involved.  If on the other hand we allow our Wisdom to dominate our decisions, we stay on the safe side of things, but are certainly unlikely to enjoy our lives to their fullest potential.  I know in my own life, most of my happiest moments have come from my Heart venturing into uncharted waters, and yet my Mind has certainly kept me out of more than one situation that could have been disastrous.  It’s absolutely a balance, and a very complicated issue we all face every day.

In this complex equation Father, I see You as the “scales” between the two sides.  You help guide us through our lives, and help us maintain the balance that’s so vital.  I truly believe You want Your children to enjoy what life You have blessed us with, and yet have graced us with that Wisdom to keep us as much from harm as possible.  I give Thanks for Your Presence in that role, and ask that You continue to help us all balance our lives for the greatest possible fulfillment of our time on this Earth.  Amen.

~Phather Phil