Time to Clean House

Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father.

Today Lord, I spent much of my morning “cleaning house” at my shop.  We actually moved into these new offices over a year ago, but it was a rushed move and in the haste to meet contractual deadlines we ended up doing a poor job of sorting and packing equipment, tools, paperwork and such.  The result of which was that anything that we didn’t need right that moment was tossed into boxes somewhat randomly, and then stuck on shelves in the new space.  Well, today the lack of being able to find a part that I knew I had got the better of me, and I started tearing through boxes; sorting, tossing things out and beginning to put some order to the chaos.  It was truly amazing what we had shoved aside, and in the end I even found the item I was looking for.  There’s still a lot more to go through, but every journey has to start somewhere.

Hmmm… Where have I heard that before?

At some point during my morning of discovery, I realized that maybe I needed to go through a similar process in my spiritual life.  There are lots of “boxes of stuff” I’ve built up inside of me over the years that I’ve hurriedly shoved aside while running from one situation to the next.  I’ve opened some of them and put them in their places, but there are many others that still lie on my emotional shelves gathering dust.  I think we all hold on to some “baggage” like that as we go through life; containers filled with past guilt, remorse, longing and sadness that we file away with the intention to deal with them at a later date.

Well Lord, I’m tired of tripping over them.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

I’ve given myself completely to You Father, so these storehouses of pent-up burdens need to go… We need the room for the two of us to build a new “living space” together.

Heavenly Father, I place the dusty baggage of my soul in Your Loving Hands.  I’ve learned what I can from it, and now need to focus on Your New Life in me.  I pray that the new, cleaner house we build together will be deemed ready to reside in Your Kingdom.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

A Beautiful Prayer

Dear Lord; Good morning Father.

Today Lord, while “Stumbling” through Internet sites focused on Christianity I came across a prayer in the form of a poem that really caught my attention, made me think and warmed my heart.  Doing some quick research, I found that it was written by a lady named Joanne Gobure and the original title of the piece was “A Beautiful Prayer” :

I asked God to take away my pain.
God said, No.
It is not for me to take away,
but for you to give it  up.

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No.
Patience is a by-product of tribulations;
it isn’t granted, it is learned.

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No.
I give you blessings.
Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from
worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No.
You must grow on your own,
but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, No.
I will give you life,
so that you may enjoy all things.

I asked God to help me LOVE others,
as much  as he loves me.
God Said…

“Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.”

May God Bless You,
“To the world you might be one person,
But to one person you just might be the world.”

…Lots to think about and pray on here Father.  Thank You for putting this in my path today.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

A Message to Pray On

Dear Lord; Good morning Father.  For the last day or so Lord, I’ve had a Bible verse on my heart.  It’s always been one of my favorites, but I’m feeling like I should be paying particular attention to it at the moment; That somehow it’s important that I keep it at the front of my mind.  The verse is from the Book of Joshua :

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

Now, I’ll admit to having been discouraged about a number of things as of late so maybe that’s the key here, but I just feel there’s more to it than that.  I went back this morning and reread Joshua 1 in it’s entirety to put the verse in full context, and found another passage that set off bells in my head as well :

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:7 (NIV)

This immediately clicked with a blog posting I read last night on the website “A Mile in My Schu’s” about how we can get “Off Course” from our path to You.  I always find it fascinating how when You need to get a point across to me, I seem to see it repeated and led to in so many places.

Ok Father, I get that this verse is important for me at the moment.  It’s certainly a positive message, and one I try to remember when my life heads in uncertain directions.  However I still feel there’s more behind Your insistence to me to focus on this missive than I’m seeing right now.

For example, these verses both enforce the command to “Be strong and courageous”… Hmmm, have I been that lately?  If I’m honest with myself Lord, probably not so much as I should be.  There’s so much to contemplate and pray about here…

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your constant Presence and Guidance in my life.  Please give me the clarity and focus to serve Your Will as You intend me to, and to see through my own flaws so I can focus on Your Glory.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Husbands, love your wives

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!  Once again Lord, You Blessed me with a lovely couple days respite filled with family, good food and good friends.  Thank You so very much for that time!

Well Father, today we celebrate Valentine’s Day.  While the true origin of this holiday seems to be clouded by historical variations in the chain of events which formed it, today we observe it as a day to focus on and express the love and affection we feel for those we’re closest to.  In addition to the amazing love You’ve shown me directly Lord, You’ve also Blessed me beyond words by surrounding me with a significant number of loving, caring people…

And at the center of this group, is my wonderful wife Shannon.

I see Your Light in her in so many ways Father.  She’s my partner in every respect; A true soul bonded to my own with whom I can share my innermost self without fear of judgment or rejection.  She’s a phenomenal mother to our two sons, and has proved her mettle and devotion to our marriage and our family time and time again.  She’s been the anchor when I’ve been adrift, and the harbor when I’ve needed rest and comfort.  She gives of herself freely to help others in need, and brings her loving spirit to all that she does.  She’s the first person I think of to share my joys, and as You know, the focus of many of my prayers.  I am a much better man Lord, with her by my side.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” – Ephesians 5:25

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Blessing our Union as Man and Wife and for seeing us through the trials we encounter along our journey together.  Please continue to let her feel the warmth of Your Loving Embrace, and watch over her throughout her days.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

The Kindness of My Readers

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  Well Lord, my day started out with a lovely surprise gifted to me by a couple of my fellow Christian Bloggers.  As I’ve mentioned to You more than once, the wonderful people I’ve met (virtually) while writing this blog have been an amazing blessing to me, and never fail to inspire and encourage me in my walk with You.  Two of the sites I read each day; Mothers on Mission (co-authored by Kelli and Heidi) and Beautiful in Him (written by Allison) have passed along to me the “Stylish Blogger Award”.  Thank you so much ladies… I’m very flattered by this wonderful complement.  🙂

Along with this award comes a few requirements.  First, I need to list seven things about myself that not everyone knows (although I realize You know me completely Father).  Funny enough, while that seemed like a simple enough request, I found it no easy task.  Here’s what I came up with :

1. I’ve married my wife Shannon three times;  An informal ceremony with just a few family and friends, a formal affair five months later with a larger guest list and a reception, and this previous year on our 15^th Anniversary I surprised her with a Vow Renewal Ceremony at the same church we were married in.

2. For the original wedding ceremony, I was married in jeans and western boots.

3. In 2009 I wrote and published a book for Shannon as an Anniversary gift called “Musings of a Devoted Husband” containing family photos and the daily romantic and devotional quotes I send to her phone and publish to MyCoffeeCupHasFeet.com each day.

4. I own and operate a computer networking and service company in Dover, Delaware called Diamond Computer Incorporated.

5. I have two wonderful children; Jonathan age 11 and Aidan age 8, both of whom I love dearly.

6. I’m a science fiction junkie, and love losing myself in episodes of shows like Dr. Who, Firefly, Babylon 5 and Fringe.

7. I’ve been a player of the online game World of Warcraft for over two years now.  While I don’t get the time to play that I used to, I still enjoy it when I have a few quiet moments.

Wow… That took more than I thought it would.  While it’s probably a good exercise, I always find writing about myself to be a terribly difficult thing to do.

The other responsibility of this award Father, is to bestow it on some other blogs that I enjoy.  There are so many that I’ve gained insight and inspiration from that this could be a long list, but some of my favorites are :

Lisa at A Moment with God

Jenifer at ~Sweet Blessings~

Jean at Healthy Spirituality

Elaine at Peace for the Journey

Heavenly Father, I thank you for connecting me with these wonderful people in our Online Fellowship.  I’m humbled to have met them through this journey, and pray that You continue to bestow Your Blessings on all those who strive to bring Your Message of Love to others.  Amen.

~Phather Phil