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

Morning Realizations

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  Well, once again You’ve set the conversation topic for our morning chat.  Here I was all ready to talk about plans for the new year, and then You intervened and kept redirecting me to discuss the morning rush at our house.

Well Father, as You know weekday mornings at our home tend to be a little on the chaotic side.  I’m the light sleeper in the house, so when the alarm goes off it’s me that gets up to start things rolling for the day (Shannon could sleep through a small nuclear device being detonated nearby… LOL).  The first 15 minutes of the day becomes a flurry of activity between running dogs out, to waking up children and finally prompting Shannon until she stirs as well.  Some days are better than others, but no matter what my “Wake Up Call” is never a welcomed experience by the rest of the household.  The balance of the next hour is spent getting everyone clean, clothed, fed and ready to get out the door in time.  All in all Lord, it’s a mad rush by four half-awake people that quite often leads to frustrations flaring up.

As they did this morning.

It’s funny, but I wasn’t sure what You meant when You whispered to me that we needed to talk about my mornings and almost dismissed it, but when I heard You clearly a second time it started me analyzing the morning ritual in general, and how it affects me.  Then I recognized Your intention… I’ve become resentful of being the one who has to be the “bad guy” each morning and hadn’t realized it.  Wow… What a powerful and worrisome realization that was.

Well Lord, once again You’ve made me pull out a demon I wasn’t aware of into the sunlight.

It hurts my heart to think I’ve become resentful of helping my family with anything they need, even though it’s not a happy task.  It’s a necessary role, and one that I’m best suited for.  I need to leave these feelings at Your Feet Lord, and do ALL I can for my family with love and care.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for helping me see this poison in my heart for what it is.  I pray that You help me release it from my spirit, and wake each morning with a joyous heart in the knowledge that I’m performing a loving act for those I hold dear.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Looking Forward…

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  Yesterday, our conversation focused on the events of the year we’re about to leave behind, and what I’ve learned from it.  Therefore, today I thought we’d talk about moving forward, and some of the things I’d like to focus on for the upcoming year.

In holding with the last few Holiday posts I’ve made, I’d like to let my boys send their thoughts to You as well.  To that end, I asked them this morning what they were hoping 2011 would bring and what they were going to focus on to help make a positive change in their lives.

Here’s what they said :

Jonathan ( Age 11 ) – “I’d like to be able to spend more time with my family.  I want to learn how to do karate.  I want to spend more time with our friends and relatives, and have them over more often.  I’m going to be more involved in taking care of our animals.  I want to finish the new Bible I got for Christmas and learn more about God.  I’m going to work to be more thankful for the things that I have.”

Aidan ( Age 8 ) – “I’d like to see less crashes happen (car crashes) because I don’t want people to get hurt.  I want me and my friends to have a fun time in school.  I’d like my family to spend more time together.  I want less animals to get abandoned.  I’m going to finish reading my new Action Bible with Daddy and really want to learn about God.  I’m going to work to get better at reading so I can read bigger books.  I want to spend more time exercising.  And I want to wish God a Happy New Year.”

They’re still one of my biggest inspirations Lord, and I see so much of You in them each day.

As for myself, well I’m not big on New Years Resolutions but there are some things I’m planning on focusing on this coming year.

• As I mentioned yesterday, it’s been a rough year for my business.  I’m very much dedicated to it’s success, and I’m going to work diligently to get it back to the stability it once had.
• Although we are Blessed to have a very stable and wonderful home life, there’s always room for me to improve my contribution.  I’m going to continue to work to be a better husband and father, and set as positive an example for my boys as I can.
• 2010 was an amazing year for my personal growth in You Lord, and I want very much to expand on that in the coming year as well.  The closer I work to walk in Christ’s footsteps, the more I find the rest of my life gains meaning and direction.  I’m also dedicated to bringing Your Light into my children’s lives, and teaching them the Love and Guidance You provide us every day.

Heavenly Father, I humbly pray that over the coming year Your Amazing Gift of Grace is felt by all Your Children.  May we all experience the Joy in Serving Your Will, and walk the Path that Jesus has set for us in Your Holy Name.  Amen.

~Phather Phil