Sacrifice

I have recently realized how much i had allowed bitterness and frustration to take root in my marriage. I had allowed myself to become selfish when it came to putting my wife first. I was annoyed with her over how much i had given up for her. I had forgotten my directive found in Ephesians 5:25. I must love my Angie just like Christ loved the church.

Today I say no more. Today I choose to man up.

June 6, 2013

Gracious God You know the burdens of my heart.  Please taker care of my family in an amazing way tonight. Heal their bodies. Grant them sleep and rest. Heal my family. Heal the relationships.

Father God I know You desire great things at USF. I specifically ask for 500 contacts this summer. I trust You will do this and even more.

I look forward to great things this summer. Show us your way, make things clear for us.

Praise You for Your greatness and love.

Friday September 7, 2012

Father God, so much on my mind and heart. I feel like I have so much to say yet I cant find the words. I know I need to be still and yet when I try I begin to feel guilty. I want to simply rest in You. I want to simply find that place where my soul just rest and finds peace. Even as I write this I find my self beginning to find that place. The place I feel as though I havent been in so long. My heart even now bgins to worship You in a way that has been so long in coming.

Father there is so much going on around me. There is so much going on in my family. I pray for my Angie. She works so hard. She does so much. She desires to do so much more. She wants to the best for our family. She has such a passion for children. She loves little people when so many others do not. Her heart breaks for little ones like nobody I have ever known. I am so thankful for this kind of passion. She stands by me when I do not deserve. She is so amazing! Grant her the relief she needs now. Give her the wisdom on how to teach our two littles about You in this moment. Give her wisdom. Give her body relief from pain.

My two littles are so precious. They are so amazing to watch grow. They need to know Your love. They need You. Draw them close to You. May they never know what it is like to be without You. I would ask that Abby find that happy little girl each every moment. You have given her so many wonderful characteristics and I look forward to watching You bring them out in her for Your glory. I praise You for the unexpected blessing of Andon. It is hard to imagine our family without him. He is so smart and so different from all of the others. He is so happy and pray that He will never lose that happy outlook on life.

Anthony is such an amazing little boy. It has been amazing to watch him growing in to his own. I would ask that You draw him to you in a way that we can not. He knows so much about You. Help him to understand his need for You. Draw him to salvation. Show us how to teach him and lead him there. In the name of Jesus I command Satan to leave him alone and to go pick on someone his own size!

Aiden has such an amazing heart for others. He wants to do what is right. I know this is from You. Show him how to not only do what is right but how to use that to share about You. Give him the wisdom and courage to share his story and what he knows about You. May he have the chance to lead a classmate to Christ even this day and in this moment!

Lord, my church family has so much going on. I lay my pastor at your feet. I know he carries so much weight on his shoulders. So many responsibilities from family to friends to church. Give him the rest he needs. Keep his heart and body full of the energy and life he needs to follow You and to lead us. May his wife be encouraged by what she sees around her.

Open my eyes to whom I need to invest in to. Who at work? Who around me?

Lord you know the ideas I have. If they are of You then You much be the one to open doors to the seemingly impossible. If they are not of You then I ask that would remove the passions and desires that I have. I feel so trapped with them some times. Lord, I need a place and way to let them loose or have them taken away. I trust You will do one of these.

There seems like there is so much more than this. You know things even more than I do. I trust You will answer all that I have laid out in this moment. I am confident of this because it is the Blood of Jesus that I come before You with confidence!

Sunday November 1, 2009

Dear God, I am not where I need to be. I want to be in the place where I want to just be with You. I haven't been there in a long time. You know my fears. You know what holds me back better than I do. Remove all of those things that do. Remove the barriers. Open my eyes to see the opportunity that it is before me. Show me the path that leads to simply wanting to be in Your presence. I know that hear my prayer. I know You see my heart and my mind. You know the weariness. You know about the desire to quit. You know the sense that I cannot fail. You know the pressure I feel. You know that my mind has answer to these things but my heart is not satisfied my the answers. Change this in me. Change this is however You see fit. Open my heart and my mind to the change.

You are God alone. Only You can do this. Only You can take me to the place that I need to be. I trust and believe that You will. I know that You will answer this prayer because You have promised us that You hear and and answer all of our prayers. I may never fully see how You answer and work all of this out but I know that You will. You have to or You are not who You say that You are. My heart cries out to You this night.

As I write this my mind things of so many others who need You. I think of Emily and James, Barb, Josh and Danielle, Brittany, Deanna, Rosie and so many others. You know so much more about them and their needs. Touch them deep in their souls. Draw out the lost to Your side. Bring the wandering back to You their Master just as I know You will bring me back.

God I come before by the only means possible and that is through the shed blood of Christ.

Sunday July 19, 2009

Gracious God, I feel so stretched in so many ways. I feel pulled in so many directions and I barely feel as though I have any energy to move in any direction. I feel so distant from You yet I see You working in very specific ways in my life and in my family's life. I want to be closer to You yet I feel so frail to even begin to do that. I feel as though I am surviving from one day to the next. Some days I feel as though I get so much done and accomplished and then the very next day I can't seem to accomplish anything. I want to work at Wal-Mart yet I don't. Sometimes I want nothing more than to see people though your eyes and sometimes I just want to escape in to a hole somewhere in a corner. I feel so all over the map.

I know You have seen all of this and more in me. I know none of this comes as a surprise to You. I am sure that much of it saddens Your heart. I am so sorry God. My emotions are so jumbled up that I can barely even begin to put words to them. You can see in to my heart far better than I can. Show me what is there. Hear the cry of my heart through the muck and sin. Bring me to that place of rest and peace. I seek Your presence. I have no right except the blood of Christ to even think this a possibility. You have told us that we can have confidence to come before because of Christ blood. I seek to come before with this confidence. I come to simply be in Your presence. I have many things that I want to ask for and seek You for but in the end I that trust being in Your presence is what I need. I trust that You will show me what I need to see and tell me what I need to hear.

I hope that others have not suffered because of my lack of commitment to You. I especially hope this is true of my family though I am sure it is not. Do not punish them for my sins. Angie is so sweet and wonderful God. She works so hard to do what she believes she needs to do. She has worked so hard over the years to meet expectations that I have had of her. She works so hard to simply make sure that our fmily is happy and taken care of. I am sorry for the ways I have viewed her. I am sorry for all of the unnecessary burdens I have placed on her. I know I have no real understanding of what all of them are. God forgive me and show me how to change. Father forgive me for the mistakes I have made with the boys. Forgive me when I have been too harsh and too easily angered by them. This has been especially true with Anthony. I am so sorry. Let him know how sorry I am. God show me how to be fair and true to both of them. I want them to see You in me.

Father heal me in places I do not know need to be healed. Take me to place in my walk with You that are beyond anything I can begin to imagine. Give me the desire to seek You and Your word. Give me a thirsty for knowledge and understand about You that cannot be quenched. I want to learn. I want to see more and more dots connected. I want to see the simple and the dynamic in new and incredible ways. I want to simply know You. I want to be able to rest in Your presence. I want You to be first in my life. I want to be both fearful and confident in Your presence. You are the only one who accomplish this in my life. I look forward to seeing how You will change me and grow me.

God You truly are the great provider.
God You are so much more than I can express. I love You. Thank You for listening to my heart and mind tonight. Thank You for always listening though I do not deserve Your attention. I anticipate Your power and change. Amen.

Saturday May 16, 2009

Father God, today may be one of those days. On the outside it seems rather dreary and bad. On the other hand it cares with it great potential. This day could turn out to be one of those special days that it not soon forgotten. Or it could become of those days that easily slips in to the back recesses of my memory. For You this is not true. Miraculous things will happen today and You will never forget this day. People will make decisions to follow You. You will be doing and performing all sorts of miracles in people's lives. Help me to see this day as You see it. Open my eyes to see and open my heart to understand. So much drama. Use me as your agent of change in this dark and dying world. I have failed You often. I have neglected so much of what You want me to be doing. I am sorry. I do not want to be that way. I desire to be focusing more and more of my heart and life on You and Your desires for things around me.

There is so much before us. So much potential. So much opportunity. So much heart ache. So much work to be done. Allow me to be Your worker. Give me the strength to accomplish all the work that I am assigned to do. Make my assignments clear and beyond misunderstanding.

You know the desires of my heart deeper than anyone. You know what I need most. Give it to me this day. You are gracious and merciful to hear my prayers. I wait in expectation for the answers. In Jesus name I say and do these things.

Monday May 4, 2009

Father God show me your plans for this day. Show me Your will. Open my eyes to see the path You are creating. You have a reason and a plan for all things. Open the doors and grant me the courage to run through them.

I seek not to be selfish in this moment yet my mind things of all those things which I "need." I do not want to dwell of these things yet my mind always comes back to them. Yet I also know You desire for us to share with You in an open and honest way. Today, I do not feel as though I am in a good place. I feel physically tired. I am stressed. I desire Your rest. I desire to simply desire to rest in your arms. You are gracious and mighty and I know You will supply all that I need for this day. Yet I seek more than that. I desire for You to pour out more than what I need. I seek to live in the abundance of whatever You want to give me. I seek the abundance You can graciously give us.

I pray these things will be the same for my family today. I ask that You would give them more than what they need for this day. That You would provide strength and healing. You would give peace and joy to our home this day. May all of us set our minds and hearts towards you.