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
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
Ah, accepting what was never in our control in the first place….a hard thing to grasp and let go of!
It certainly is Allison. With His help though, I’m working on it!
Have a Blessed Day!
I have known you for a good while now Phil, I know how good your heart is, keep u the great work you are doing, and know that God sees how hard you are working. As always my love<3 katie
Dear Katie… Thank you so much. God shows his love through you more than I think you realize. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
Accept, there it is again. 🙂 I love the serenity prayer. Thank you for posting this. Shannon is in my prayers.
Maybe I’m just paying more attention to that word now that it’s been given to me Jenifer, but it really is showing up in my life quite regularly. God works in mysterious ways sometimes…
Have a Blessed Day Dear Lady!
This is so true – “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.” This is definitely what God is showing me. 🙂
He’s been showing it to me a lot as of late as well Lisa… I’ll admit to not always liking the lesson, but I am trying to learn and grow from what He’s teaching me.
Have a Blessed Day!
I’m sorry for your wife’s struggles, but somehow God will be glorified through it. Francis Chan (My fav) says “We have to be more concerned with God’s glory than our own personal relief.” I hold onto that statement because it is so applicable in my life! Thank you for your comment today and everyday. Even though you aren’t “one of the girls,” as you put it– you always find a way to pull something out of each blog, comment on it, and make me feel so blessed and encouraged! I really appreciate you! Thank you…
P.S. your site is one of my favorites too!! 🙂
Thank you Kelli… I love that quote! And thank you for the kind words, and your fellowship. I gain so much from the insight and perspective your blogs offer, and always leave them with something to think about.
Have a Blessed Day Good Lady!
oo Phil I want to control and fix everything, too. so hard just to accept. A new image came to me yesterday of holding a fragile bubble in my hand. I can’t change it, form it into something else, just need to gently hold it out to God. That helps me to accept what I can’t change.
Praying for your wife!
Thank you Jean! What a wonderful image to describe that… I’ll have to think on that one more.
Have a Blessed Day!
Phil,
Nice to meet you! Thanks so much for your comments over at Mothers on Mission. I discovered there were more lines to the serenity prayer several years ago and find them to be so comforting! “Trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will” I love that. Accepting and letting go of trying to control is definetly hard to do sometimes.
Thank you Eileen, and welcome! I very much enjoyed your posting, and the other entries I read on your Blog as well. I’ve added your site to my daily reading list. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
I love how He does that, I’m not surprised one bit that you are finding “accept” everywhere! I’m praying for sweet Shannon to have strength and courage in whatever she is facing today. Love the new blog look too, awesome! Be blessed today!
It’s amazing how relevant it’s becoming to my life Heidi. The funny thing is that I actually argued with God to some extent when he put that word in my heart, but I’m starting to understand why He was so persistent. 🙂
Thank you for the feedback on the new design! It’s still a work-in-progress, so any thoughts you might have on improving it would absolutely be appreciated!
Have a Blessed Day!