My sheep listen to my voice

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!  To begin with Lord, I want to thank You for another lovely weekend with my family and friends.  I was able to get caught up on quite a bit of housework, did a little cooking, had fun time with the kids and even went out on a great date night with Shannon.  All in all, a productive and relaxing couple of days away from work.  Thank You so much for that much-needed respite!

This morning Father, I was thinking about all the different ways You and I communicate.  Throughout my journey to You, I’ve found that the more “in-tune” I become with Your Presence, the more ways I see and hear Your Guidance in my everyday life.  I’ve come to rely on Your Voice more and more, and love finding Your influence in the world around me during the course of the day.

So today, I thought I’d run down some of the places and ways I find Your Messages to me each day.  Lets see…

• Through reading and hearing Your Word; Whether it’s hearing verses quoted on the Christian Radio stations I listen to, reading passages in my Bible or finding quotes while searching the Internet, Your Book brings such amazing Guidance for all facets of my life.
• Through Christian Music; Music gets into our soul in ways that not many other things can.  The Godly messages and themes present in Christian Music help keep me focused, uplifted and energized over the course of my day.
• By reading and interacting with Christian Devotional Blogs and their authors; The blogs I read each day and the wonderful people I’ve met by doing so are an amazing resource and Blessing for me Lord.  They give me perspective, encouragement and an online fellowship that has been invaluable in my walk with You.
• Through Prayer; Along with our conversations on this blog Father, prayer is my lifeline to You.  Whether silent or verbal, much of the guidance and direction I receive from You over the course of the day comes from our “prayer connection”.
• By the words and actions of others; As I’ve written to you so often Lord, I see Your Love and Influence in the actions of others.  We’re surrounded by miracles every day, and the closer I walk to Christ’s footsteps the more obvious those wonders become to me.

Obviously Father, this isn’t a complete list by any means but these examples are what first came to my mind as I thought about our talks.  I love the deepening connection You and I are forming, and I crave for it to expand more each day.

Your Son phrased it perfectly when he said :

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” – John 10:27-29

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your Loving Presence and Guidance in my life.  The more I open myself to You, the fuller and more complete my life becomes.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Better Than a Hallelujah

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!  As I was driving in to work this morning Lord, the song “Better Than a Hallelujah” by Amy Grant came on the radio.  While the inspiration of those wonderful lyrics settled over me, it started me thinking about some the other fantastic messages I’ve received through Christian Music as of late.  As yesterday’s discussion we had was about the disturbing direction some media has taken, I thought today we could focus on the positive message that these songs bring to us instead.

Let’s start with the chorus from “Better Than a Hallelujah” :

“We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah”

What a wonderful way to say that You love us for who we are, and when we honestly seek You that our plea comes through loud and clear.  It’s a beautiful song, and always warms my heart when I hear it.

Another one I’ve become extremely fond of, and actually posted the video of as a dedication to my wife on Facebook the other day, is “Dancing in the Minefields” sung by Andrew Peterson.  Towards the end of the song, the lyrics contain the following verse :

“Cause we bear the light of the son of man
So there’s nothing left to fear
So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands
Till the shadows disappear
Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos baby
I can dance with you”

I love this!  What an amazingly powerful metaphor connecting marriage and the way that You love us.  It just makes me want to hold Shannon tightly when I hear it… What a wonderful message.

One more for the day Lord, and it comes from the song “Lead Me” as performed by Sanctus Real :

“To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

Father, lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone”

We’ve talked about this song before Father, but this truly represents my hopes and prayers as a father and Your Child so well that it can’t be repeated enough.  I see this song as a prayer from my heart, and strive daily to be the man this verse describes.

There are many more examples as well Lord, but these are a few that touch me the most.  It’s comforting to know that while Your Word may not be on millions of TV screens this Sunday, the airwaves do still carry Your Message of Love to us each day.  Thank You for reminding us of Your Love and Aspirations for us through these talented artists.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Dear Lord; This morning Father, I want to share a story with You; A very powerful story that brought both my wife and I to tears last night.

It was a long day yesterday Lord.  Between the ice storm which led to school delays and then closings, and a number of other typical daily stresses, Shannon and I both came home a bit worn down.  Grabbing the mail on the way in the house, Shannon spotted a hand-addressed envelope from the kids’ school.  She opened it up, and inside was a letter written to us by one of the office staff regarding Jonathan.  She quietly read the letter, laid it down and started to cry.

The letter was a personal note from one of the school administrative staff detailing a conversation she’d had with Jonathan the previous Friday.  Apparently, Jonathan was assisting with shuttling some computer equipment between his classroom and the office, and helping with putting it away.  At some point during this process, he started talking to one of the ladies in the office and asked her if she was familiar with a man called Jesus Christ.  While surprised, she replied that yes, she was very familiar with Jesus.  He then went on to tell her all about his disease (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis), his surgeries, treatments and chemotherapy as an infant, and how he’d gotten through all those trials and was doing very well now.  She told him how wonderful he looked and that she was glad everything was doing so well, at which time he then left to go back to class.

What Jonathan didn’t know however, was that her husband had been battling two forms of serious cancers for many years, and that it was only through the grace of Christ that he was still alive.  Along with that, she indicated there were others within earshot going through similar trials who also took interest in his story.  She wrote that Jonathan’s unprompted testimony was exactly what she and others needed at that moment, and she was sure he was meant to be there to deliver Your message.  Her faith had been renewed, by the witness and encouragement of our little boy.

When I came home shortly thereafter and read the letter, there were tears in my eyes as well.

I talked to Jonathan later that evening about the conversation that prompted the letter (of course, not revealing what she’d written to me), and asked him : “What made you ask her if she knew Jesus?”.  He answered that he really didn’t know, and honestly didn’t remember what led up to it; It just came to him at the time.

You spoke through him Father, and to him it seemed perfectly natural and reasonable at the time.  May we all be that open to Your Voice Lord, and not be afraid to share it with others.

Thank You Father.  This touched me in a way that only You can.  Please bring Your Healing and Comfort to those going through these trials, and let us all be as effective and powerful a witness to Your Grace as the words of a child were that day.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Prayers on a Wintry Day

Dear Lord; Good morning Father.  Well, the storm came and went Lord and while those North of us got hit quite a bit harder, we were spared the bulk of it’s magnitude.  We got just enough snow to keep the kids home from school and for Shannon’s workplace to close for the day, but not too much for me to make it out to the office.  Thank You so much for that balance!

As you know Father, I’ve had quite a bit on my mind and in my heart as of late so I thought today I’d use our time together to cover some of those thoughts in prayer.

Heavenly Father, several days ago a friend of some friends of mine and his family suffered a horrendous house fire and lost all their earthly possessions.  While I don’t know them personally, several of my friends know him quite well and are working diligently to try and help them with getting the necessities his family requires.  Please provide Your Comfort and Healing to this troubled family Lord, and Bless those working to help them get back on their feet.

As we’ve discussed quite a lot recently Lord, many of Your Children are living with heightened levels of financial and occupational uncertainly in their lives.  Please send them Your Strength and Fortitude, and help them quiet the “noise” that fear and doubt places in their minds so that Your Voice can guide them down the proper path.

An old friend of my wife is fighting a battle with ALS, and has suffered one setback after another the last couple of months.  This is a truly terrible disease Father, and has caused him and his family significant pain and turmoil.  Please give them the Comfort and Peace that can only come from Your Presence Lord.  Help him see Your Light, and know Your Love in this difficult time.

As always Father, thank You so much for being the guiding light in my life and for listening to my prayers.  In Your Loving Hands I place all my hopes, dreams and burdens secure in the knowledge that Your Path is righteous and just.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Grant me the Serenity…

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  First off, I want to send out a quick prayer of support for my wife Shannon.  She’s been dealing with a very difficult professional situation as of late that’s had her mind wrestling with her heart, and it’s taken a toll on her.  She’s an amazing lady Lord, with a giving and caring spirit that seems to know no end, but in some cases those wonderful qualities can make necessary decisions much more difficult.  Please send her Your Strength and Guidance to make the right decisions, and comfort her with the knowledge You’re with her.  Thank You.

Yesterday, I read a posting on one of my favorite Christian Blog Sites (Mothers On Mission) that brought to mind one of my favorite prayers.  It’s referred to as the Serenity Prayer and is attributed to a gentleman named Reinhold Niebuhr :

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

There’s that word Accept again!  You know Father, since You placed that focus in my heart it seems to just pop up all around me.  As You’re well aware, the plea “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…” is something I pray for on a regular basis.  The more my life seems to veer away from my control, the more I realize that much of what I struggle with never was mine to direct in the first place.

I’m getting there Lord… Thank You for bearing with me.  Amen.

~Phather Phil