Listening Through the Anger

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

First off Lord, I want to thank You for a lovely weekend surrounded by family and friends.  I was even able to get out with the kids for a photowalk in the forest, and enjoyed it very much.  All in all, it was a pleasant couple of days and I am truly thankful for You Blessing me with that respite.

Today Father, I’d like to discuss something I’ve seen more and more evidence of lately; People seem to be increasingly frustrated, angry and confrontational.  Now, I realize this is a gross generalization however it feels like the overall “threshold” of people’s tolerance and temperament is much lower than it has been in recent past.  Little everyday issues that could easily be talked through or handled with minimal effort are launching people into flashes of ire that are way out of proportion to the immediate cause.  We’re deluged with examples of it in the news, I’ve seen it when dealing with clients and vendors at my office, and even when observing the actions of other shoppers while out grocery shopping.  It’s getting tense down here Lord.

“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” – Psalm 37:8 (NIV)

I’ll admit that with all the increased stress I’ve been under professionally lately Father, I’ve been guilty of having a “shorter fuse” upon occasion, but You’re always very quick to remind me that’s not Your Way and I get back on track.  This being the case, it leads me to a significant concern…

Are there that many people that aren’t listening to You?

I’m quite afraid I already know the answer to that question, but I guess I hadn’t realized the scope of the issue.  I do know that I’ve come to depend on Your Voice and Presence in my life Father, almost like I need air to breathe.  You encourage me, sustain me and guide me throughout my day and I am forever thankful for Your Blessings.  Do I sometimes get upset anyways?  Absolutely!  I’m imperfect and flawed and I realize that.  Thankfully, when my humanly failings rear their ugly heads I have You to forgive me, bolster me and guide me back to Your Path.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV)

Heavenly Father, today I pray for all those who are lost and without the clarity to hear Your Comforting Voice.  Please calm their restless spirits, and clear away the self-imposed barriers in place which prevent them from Your Wondrous Counsel.  And Lord, please assist me in acting as an emissary of Your Word and in bringing Your Message to those in need.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Life is Noisy

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

This morning Father, I had what I think is an important realization; my life is noisy.

Each morning, I’m awakened by an alarm clock which at the same time starts an hour-long process of dogs barking to go out, my smartphone reporting to me all the things that I missed while I slept (or tried to anyways), and the daily rush to get our family moving forward with the day.  Then I don the mobile headset for the ride to school and the office, on goes the radio and all the while I’m serenaded by the beeps and blips from the boys’ Nintendo DS’s from the back of the SUV.  Once at work, the constant sounds of phones, computers, streaming radio, and a plethora of other office chatter persist throughout the day.  The ride home is spent back on the headset along with the radio helping me to drown out the commute noise.  Evenings at home are filled with more barking dogs (yes, we have little yappy dogs… lol), television, phones and other such sounds of modern life.

As I said… Noisy.

I’m beginning to think that the struggle I’ve had with insomnia over the years may be partially related to the amount of constant noise in my day.  In the wee hours of the night, I can truly find the Stillness and quiet to properly direct my thoughts and listen to Your Voice.

Hmmm… Stillness… It’s been a while since I’ve truly had some.

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”” – Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Well Lord, this weekend I’m going to try and focus on that.  It’s supposed to be nicer weather the next couple of days here, so I’m planning to try and take advantage of it and visit one of the few places I can almost always get the Stillness I need to hear You; Blackbird State Forest.  It’s been months since I’ve been able to go and just walk in Your Splendor, so I’m going to do exactly that.

“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55:12 (NIV)

Amen.

See You soon.  🙂

~Phather Phil

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