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

Husbands, love your wives

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!  Once again Lord, You Blessed me with a lovely couple days respite filled with family, good food and good friends.  Thank You so very much for that time!

Well Father, today we celebrate Valentine’s Day.  While the true origin of this holiday seems to be clouded by historical variations in the chain of events which formed it, today we observe it as a day to focus on and express the love and affection we feel for those we’re closest to.  In addition to the amazing love You’ve shown me directly Lord, You’ve also Blessed me beyond words by surrounding me with a significant number of loving, caring people…

And at the center of this group, is my wonderful wife Shannon.

I see Your Light in her in so many ways Father.  She’s my partner in every respect; A true soul bonded to my own with whom I can share my innermost self without fear of judgment or rejection.  She’s a phenomenal mother to our two sons, and has proved her mettle and devotion to our marriage and our family time and time again.  She’s been the anchor when I’ve been adrift, and the harbor when I’ve needed rest and comfort.  She gives of herself freely to help others in need, and brings her loving spirit to all that she does.  She’s the first person I think of to share my joys, and as You know, the focus of many of my prayers.  I am a much better man Lord, with her by my side.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” – Ephesians 5:25

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Blessing our Union as Man and Wife and for seeing us through the trials we encounter along our journey together.  Please continue to let her feel the warmth of Your Loving Embrace, and watch over her throughout her days.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

The Kindness of My Readers

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  Well Lord, my day started out with a lovely surprise gifted to me by a couple of my fellow Christian Bloggers.  As I’ve mentioned to You more than once, the wonderful people I’ve met (virtually) while writing this blog have been an amazing blessing to me, and never fail to inspire and encourage me in my walk with You.  Two of the sites I read each day; Mothers on Mission (co-authored by Kelli and Heidi) and Beautiful in Him (written by Allison) have passed along to me the “Stylish Blogger Award”.  Thank you so much ladies… I’m very flattered by this wonderful complement.  🙂

Along with this award comes a few requirements.  First, I need to list seven things about myself that not everyone knows (although I realize You know me completely Father).  Funny enough, while that seemed like a simple enough request, I found it no easy task.  Here’s what I came up with :

1. I’ve married my wife Shannon three times;  An informal ceremony with just a few family and friends, a formal affair five months later with a larger guest list and a reception, and this previous year on our 15^th Anniversary I surprised her with a Vow Renewal Ceremony at the same church we were married in.

2. For the original wedding ceremony, I was married in jeans and western boots.

3. In 2009 I wrote and published a book for Shannon as an Anniversary gift called “Musings of a Devoted Husband” containing family photos and the daily romantic and devotional quotes I send to her phone and publish to MyCoffeeCupHasFeet.com each day.

4. I own and operate a computer networking and service company in Dover, Delaware called Diamond Computer Incorporated.

5. I have two wonderful children; Jonathan age 11 and Aidan age 8, both of whom I love dearly.

6. I’m a science fiction junkie, and love losing myself in episodes of shows like Dr. Who, Firefly, Babylon 5 and Fringe.

7. I’ve been a player of the online game World of Warcraft for over two years now.  While I don’t get the time to play that I used to, I still enjoy it when I have a few quiet moments.

Wow… That took more than I thought it would.  While it’s probably a good exercise, I always find writing about myself to be a terribly difficult thing to do.

The other responsibility of this award Father, is to bestow it on some other blogs that I enjoy.  There are so many that I’ve gained insight and inspiration from that this could be a long list, but some of my favorites are :

Lisa at A Moment with God

Jenifer at ~Sweet Blessings~

Jean at Healthy Spirituality

Elaine at Peace for the Journey

Heavenly Father, I thank you for connecting me with these wonderful people in our Online Fellowship.  I’m humbled to have met them through this journey, and pray that You continue to bestow Your Blessings on all those who strive to bring Your Message of Love to others.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

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