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

When the World Seems Overwhelming…

Dear Lord; It’s often said that we’re our own worst critics.  I know in my case, that’s usually true.  With the times we live in it seems we’re constantly deluged with negative information from all sides, which can make even the strongest of us start to feel overwhelmed and beaten.  Once that happens, our day-to-day tasks take on a whole new perspective, and self-doubt can creep in.  Please help us focus on the positives in our lives, and to see our daily trials for what they truly are.  Raise Your Blessings in our hearts and minds, and give us the strength to go forward in Your Grace.  Amen.  ~Phather Phil

On Thoughts of Regret…

Dear Lord; Regret is an amazingly difficult thing to get past sometimes. Luckily, I have very few regrets in my life, but those I do have can cause me pain like nothing else. Please help us all learn from our mistakes, and not dwell in them. Through your Compassion and Grace, help us forgive ourselves and gain knowledge and motivation to become better people from our experiences. Amen  ~Phather Phil