Accepting my Limitations

Dear Lord; Good morning Father, and happy Wednesday.  Well, first off I want to thank You for limiting the snowfall in our neck of the woods.  What potentially could have been a huge mess ended up being limited to a 3 – 4” coating that simply covered everything with a pretty white blanket.  The kids still got a day off of school but everything else seems to be moving along as normal, for which I’m very much appreciative.

Today Father, I’d like to discuss one of my biggest challenges if I may.  I Lord, am a “fixer”; my nature is to try to fix things no matter what.  While in many cases that can be a positive character trait, in some situations it ends up causing more trouble than helping.  This morning was a case in point for the latter.

Shannon had a very rough night and didn’t sleep well due to some pain in her legs, and woke a little on the edgy side.  I tried talking with her about it and after several pointed questions to see what I could do to help, it became apparent that all I was doing was aggravating her further.  I completely misread the situation and in my efforts to “solve a problem” I missed the point and handled it poorly.  Thinking about it on my ride to work this morning, I realized that this part of my nature needs to be more carefully tempered going forward.  For that to happen, when my urge to “jump in” strikes I need to remember a couple truths :

I’m not in control.  I can’t fix everything.

While I actually do know this Father, my brain sometimes ignores these seemingly simple facts when I see something I feel that I can help with.  I need to know when to simply sit and listen, and when to realize that things are outside my scope and to leave them in Your Loving Care.

Heavenly Father, please steer and temper my yearning spirit.  Help me make good choices as to how I can best serve Your Will, and to be the best Child of God that I can.  Where I can be of help, may Your Presence be my Guide to a positive end.  However when my involvement is not warranted, please help me recognize my limitations and lift those situations to Your Care.  In You, all things are possible Lord.  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

The Stuff that Dreams are Made of

Dear Lord; Wow Father… What a powerful morning You’ve presented me with.  I’m still not 100% sure what to make of it, but it’s got me excited nonetheless.

Now, I’ve never been a big nighttime “dreamer”.  In fact, I’m a chronic insomniac so when I do finally crash I very seldom remember what runs through my head the next morning.  Last night however, was a completely different experience for me.  Everything was so vivid, so real… When the alarm clock went off (and just FYI, I now realize that alarm clocks are one of Satan’s creations…LOL) I was truly shocked to find out that I had been asleep.  However, although I woke a bit disoriented I had an amazing sense of peace and of hope in my heart that hadn’t been there when I went to bed.  It was a wonderful feeling, but at the same time very confusing.  A little later, I was trying to make sense of it all while showering and You whispered to my heart :

“Expect something wonderful”

I’ve never put much stock in my dreams Father, but I’ve absolutely learned to be open to Your Voice.  This was such a powerful and unexpected experience for me, that I’m still having a hard time putting it into perspective.  Either way, no matter what the “something wonderful” turns out to be, I can’t thank You enough for the joyous feeling You left me with this morning.

On a different note Lord, I just had to share another piece of happiness with You.  Last night, Aidan and I finished reading the Book of Genesis in his new Action Bible.  He was beaming from the accomplishment, and went to bed with a smile on his face.  We also found and bought the DVD of the movie “The Ten Commandments” recently, and are planning to watch it this weekend so it’s a wonderful lead-in to reading the Book of Exodus.  Jonathan’s been reading Genesis as well, and I expect he’ll have it done in the next day or so as well.  Can You tell I’m proud of them Lord?  🙂

And we’re once again coming into a weekend Father.  Shannon and I are getting out for “date night” tonight, with the balance of the weekend being spent getting the Christmas decorations put away and putting our house back to some semblance of normality.  I’ll admit, I’m going to be sorry to see all the wonderful lights and embellishments get put away for another year, but it’s time.

Heavenly Father, I thank You so much for coming to me this morning.  The more I feel Your Presence with me, the more I know peace in my heart and go through the day focused on what truly matters.  Please guide me to better be Your Servant, and to shine Your Light to those around me so that they may know Your Love as I’ve come to.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Boys to Men

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  To start off today, I’d like to thank You for the emotional “purging” You helped me with yesterday.  Sometimes, the hidden feelings that quietly eat at our spirits are the hardest to control, and it feels absolutely wonderful to have laid that one down.  Every negative I can shed brings me that much closer to You.

As You know, for Christmas I got both my boys new Children’s Bibles.  These are lovely books Lord, which tell Your story and give Your Word to them in a way that they’re excited to read each night.  Most evenings I’ve been reading with Aidan, but he’s also taken to reading some of it on his own and has just been devouring the stories.  We’re almost completely through Genesis, and both my boys are amazed and filled with wonder at Your Power and Love for Your Children.  I’ve been thrilled to see them so enthralled with learning about You, and I pray it continues to interest and excite them.  Jonathan has taken to reading our daily conversations as well, and it warms my heart that he wants to know You so much more.  I so want to raise these boys to be God-Loving, compassionate and righteous men.

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

Heavenly Father, please help me continue to bring Your Loving Presence into my childrens’ lives.  Fill them with the Holy Spirit, and make Your Heavenly Light shine through them so all may see Your Influence.  I pray that You grant me the wisdom, the strength and the resolve to help them be the men I know they can be.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Back to the Fold

Dear Lord; Well Father, the New Year is certainly upon us.  However, instead of talking about new beginnings today, I want to go over last weekend if I may.  As we’ve discussed at length, 2010 was in many ways an amazingly difficult year for myself and my family.  Well, as of Friday morning I had yet one more potentially serious business nightmare crop up to finish off my year, and I’m afraid I crumbled.  It was the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back, and I spent the bulk of my day sitting quietly in our bedroom, avoiding the world.  I tried for quite some time to speak with You Lord, but I just couldn’t seem to let go of the troubles in my heart and open up that line of communication.  I felt lost, and beaten, and angry, and alone.

I was of course none of those things, but at the time I couldn’t see past my own turmoil to realize it.  Once again, You intervened through others to bring me back.  Shannon and I were to attend a New Years Eve party that night, and although I was holding onto my pain she convinced me to keep our plans all the same.  It ended up being just what was needed to get me out of the self-induced shell I was hiding in.  The evening was spent surrounded by a fun group of friends, and I was able to finally release the hold that fear had placed on my heart.

The rest of the weekend continued on an upwards trend, and by Sunday afternoon I was back to my old self once again.  I was able to start the week today with a positive direction, and a joyous heart knowing that as always, You were there to see me through, even when I wasn’t paying attention.

“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

Thank You Father, for always being there to guide and help us even when our own frailties make us blind to Your Presence.  Amen.

~Phather Phil