Fathers Wisdom

Fathers Wisdom

Fathers Wisdom

Every father that commits to sticking around

Will one day to his astonishment find that he’s found

A kernel or two of wisdom to share

If only he can and if only he dare

Dear dad is lucky when these insights come from above

Being based in truth and wrapped in love

The only problem being he doesn’t know how

To make his mouth work except eating chow

Words don’t come easy and his oracle prowess is poor

He’s a man of deep thoughts but talking’s a chore

He hopes that a look or a grunt will convey

All the thoughts and advice he wished he could say

Of course there are some dads that talk like a preacher

Thinking many words make them a teacher

But the glaze in his kids eyes show that he’s lost

Their attention again not knowing the cost

And because he admires and loves his own voice

The kids turn him off though not out of choice

They love ol’dad, but the windbag goes on for so long

It wears them out instead of making them strong

So here we have two extremes to examine

And see where you stand if you can so fathom

We have to look deep sometimes as a dad

And examine the opportunities to bond we have had

Did we seize them or were we too busy to bother

Sending the message they aren’t worthy of time with their father

Oh God forgive us of all the times we’ve made this mistake

For with You we’ll reform and not just for their sake

We’ll not hand out compliments like hundred dollar bills

But throw them around like pennies until love overspills

And when we have a good base and foundation

We can dispense our advice with real affirmation

And taking our kernel of wisdom to share

Their ears will be open and they might even care

To hear you out even if you stutter or speed talk

Because they know you love them no matter their walk.

                                                                                Steve Oberhansly 8-2016

 

Fathers Wisdom

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Prayer for Family and Friends

Prayer for Family and Friends

Prayer for Family and Friends

This could be a daily or weekly or even a monthly prayer for family or friends or just someone you have met. Put their name on the blank as you read the prayer. You can also download a PDF of the prayer here. 

Have ________ learn to lean on you with absolute confidence in Your power, wisdom and goodness and be filled with unselfish love. 

May ________ be motivated by the hope that awaits him in heaven.

May _________ love be well grounded and nurtured in the Holy Spirit.

Have ________ be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom with insight into Your purposes.

May ________ have a greater and deeper understanding of spiritual things.

May ________ walk in a manner worthy of the Lord displaying admirable character, moral courage and personal integrity.

Have ________ please You Lord Jesus in all things.

May ________ bear fruit in every good work and steadily grow in the knowledge of You with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for Your precepts , your warnings, your instructions, your way of thinking, your commandments, your doctrines, your bidding, your decrees, your formulas, your guidelines, your mandates, and your principles.

Amen

 

Prayer for Family and Friends

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Christian Prayer for A Friend

Christian Prayer for A Friend

Christian Prayer for A Friend

Wherever you see the line________ put the person’s name you are praying for.

 

Our Father (of ________), who art in heaven (You see every aspect of ________ and his life and You designed him) hallowed be Your name. (You are all powerful)

Thy kingdom come in _________ life, thy best, highest will be done with friend and his family, in the same way Your will is always done in heaven.

Give ________ this day his physical and spiritual bread (Jesus is the bread of life) and forgive ________ of his sins (rebellion, apathy, passivity and a lack of love and passion for You) and may ________ have the grace to forgive others and not hold resentment or grudges of any kind.

And always, a big one Lord, lead ________ not into temptation but deliver him from evil (of all sorts).

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power to save ________, and the eternal glory ________ will behold and enjoy forever.

Amen

If you would like to download a PDF of the “Christian Prayer for A Friend” click the button below. 

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Two Measures Foolish are a Christian Apologetics group of writers that write from a Christian Perspective and Christian World View using the Bible as our core.

We all travel on an individual journey on this planet earth that God has put into motion from the day we were formed in our mothers’ body. We all have deep questions that need to be answered. Why are we here? Is this all there is?

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Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

“But we in it shall be remembered, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers…” William Shakespeare’s play Henry V – St Crispin’s Day Speech

 

Men are very different than women in many ways, but when it comes to relationships it is most evident. We can be real loners. We do not connect well with other men when it comes to deep ties that bind. Women do this almost by instinct as if it was woven into their DNA to connect with other women on another level. That’s because they are relationship oriented.

Men are not.

Sure, we will be all about it when we are watching sports and cheering our favorite team but when it comes to being transparent about our daily lives and what is going on in our marriage and family or other struggles in our Christian walk, we are silent. We endure these trials and hardships alone and isolate out of fear and pride. 

We have no safe place to go and never had.

It’s almost like a red badge of courage that says we are strong. “I am a man and do not need anyone as I work through my life.”  We trust no one with those deep feelings and insecurities. If we say anything we will be thought of as less than. No man wants to be looked at as less than by another man. That is what was drummed into us as we grew up.

We go through our lives with this mindset as different issues begin to pile up making a mountain out of a molehill, day after day year after year. It gnaws at us, but we cannot quite put our finger on the source. We desperately want to feel better about ourselves, but our anger overtakes us. Escaping through alcohol, drugs, pornography or a million other diversions is a temporary fix with many men ending their lives with suicide. 

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

Many of us have come from abusive families, bad religious experiences or both that have colored our world dark. I know mine was. I had anger issues. Anger was my addiction of choice.

I have left a path of destruction behind me because of my anger, especially with my wife and family. The things I said and the way I acted were an embarrassment to not only those closest to me but myself. It was like some demon took hold of me from the inside. I would become this Raging Incredible Hulk. I did not do this most of the time but in those times I felt heavy stress. Enough times that my wife and I had to separate on numerous occasions throughout our lives together. 

I think much of my anger came from fear.

Fear has been a part of my life in one form or another. When I was a child, I was fearful because my family fought all the time. I had a hearing disability that made my parents and teachers think my mental IQ was very low. 

I was kicked out of two Catholic grade schools and had nuns beat me up because they could not control this bad kid. I was fearful most of my adult life because I was always trying to prove that I was not stupid. I desperately wanted to show I had a talent of some sort that I could call my own and show to others.

Throughout my adult life, I have always wanted a mentor.

Someone that could show me the ropes in life. My dad was not much good at this. I think he suffered from the same issues I did so how could he teach me to navigate this minefield of human relationships. 

The truth be told, I needed something more than a mentor but other Christian men that I could trust. Spill my guts about my fears and insecurities. What was happening to me? 

Where do you find such men?

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

 

I do not think that I was aware for most of my life that I needed men in this capacity until I joined a group at a local church that dealt with these issues. Men that could come together without fear of being judged because they also had the same problems and had left a path of destruction in their own lives. I was not alone. I was not crazy.

The Men of Hope meets once a week. 16-20 men meet in the large group that goes around a large table setting and we all introduce ourselves and what has brought us to this place. New men show up all the time and are mixed in with men that have been meeting for a couple of years. 

Newcomers are almost in a state of shock for a variety of reasons. Most have never been in a setting like this before and for them to hear such honesty from the older members about their struggles and how God is helping overcome them. Just listening to others speak is amazing therapy in itself. I identify with the other men and I realize I am not so different from what they are going through. Being an isolated loner, I thought what I was dealing with was just me. 

There are usually a couple of smaller groups…

…meeting at the same time as the large group. These are men that are working through a 12-step book that helps them connect to our childhoods or other periods of pain usually in a setting of 6-8 individuals. These are men that have made a commitment to do the smaller group and have been going to the larger group for a period of time. We work the book together from start to finish. 

For many men, this is the first time in their lives that they are going back into their past for answers. Questions in the book are designed to peel back the onion of our history and emotions. We ask God to help us on this journey because He knows better than anyone what has brought us to this point in time.

Some men come just once, others come a few times then still others will come regularly and have for years. This is where strong bonds are formed. We become A Band of Brothers with our fellow journeymen on this Christian path. We learn what it is like to be a good husband, father and friend from each other with God in the center of it all.

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

 

Once a year a great number of men will meet for a weekend retreat where we enjoy each other’s company and listen to some great Christian speakers. Many men come away from this time energized and with new friendships.

My son and grandson both belong to The Men of Hope. We are three generations that are trying to be set free of the chains that bind us to a past that keeps us separated from God. Men in this setting become transparent and accountable to each other for the benefit of our wives and families.

Most men are not accountable to no one or anything. We have become these little demigods answering only to ourselves. Some of us have become tyrants in our own families.  

I recently read a blog post by Gary Thomas…

…called “Enough is Enough”. It took me on a journey of introspection of myself and my marriage. So many thoughts flooded through me as I found myself identifying with some of the men being described in this article.

His writing is about when is it OK to get a divorce from an abusive spouse. He is talking about a Christian marriage here. 

Gary says, “As Christian leaders and friends, we have to see that some evil men are using their wives’ Christian guilt and our teaching about the sanctity of marriage as a weapon to keep harming them.”

I do not want to go back…

…to being that angry man that is described in “Enough is Enough”. Men of Hope and my Band of Brothers are helping me do that. All those men that he describes in his blog and the comments the women made in the comment section are isolated men that answer to no one. They are accountable to no one.

Sure, it’s still a battle every day. It took me many years of isolation and being the prideful ruler of my life that God is teaching me a better way. A Godly way.

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

Our churches need to be open to having men groups meet regularly and I do not mean for just bible studies but a safe place for men to come and connect in a deeply meaningful way. As men, we yearn for meaningful relationships with other Godly Men deep in our core.

We all want and need A Band of Brothers even though many of us do not know what that is or looks like.

I do now and I thank God every day for finding this group. 

 

The Men of Hope meets once a week at Mountain Park Church in Ahwatukee on Tuesday nights from 6:30-8:00. The church address is 16461 S. 48th St, Phoenix, AZ 85048. All are welcome if you go to church there or not. There is no charge.

 

Christian Men Need Other Christian Men to Succeed

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Two Measures Foolish are a Christian Apologetics group of writers that write from a Christian Perspective and Christian World View using the Bible as our core.

We all travel on an individual journey on this planet earth that God has put into motion from the day we were formed in our mothers’ body. We all have deep questions that need to be answered. Why are we here? Is this all there is?

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Christian Baptism and Dedication Prayer

Christian Baptism and Dedication Prayer

Christian Baptism and Dedication Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, we’re thankful for the opportunity, honor, and blessing to be here today with _________ to share in his/her baptism.  May you grow his/her mustard seed of faith and acorn of courage into mighty oaks and may Wisdom bestow keen insight and deep understanding into the blessings of living a Holy life as he/she grows and matures into the man/woman you’ve called him to be before the foundations of this world.

May the Holy Spirit bless us with His presence here today and guide _______’s  thoughts and harness his/her God given talents into powerful forces so that he/she may be a positive influence in the world, a blessing to those he/she encounters, a champion to the less fortunate, and an unwavering promoter of virtue and decency.

Lord, please build a fortress of protection around _______’s body, mind, and soul to defend against the spiritual forces of darkness and the powers of this world. Teach him/her the benefits of putting on your armor so he/she can lead a noble and victorious fight for good in a world that’s lost its way.

Teach him/her the value of your Word, the joy and peace it brings, and to the wisdom and strength of mind it imparts to those who mine its treasure.  And mold and develop a good attitude in him/her so that he/she can weather all the ups and downs of this life.

May _______ be a motivator and encourager by displaying strength of kindness and the power of grace to those you put in his/her path.  May you imbue him/her with the strength of will to stand up for what is right while providing him/her with diplomacy, shrewdness, and wisdom.

Bless his/her feet to stay on the straight and narrow path, and not be deceived by the world’s magnificent, but hollow splendor.  May he/she avoid the pitfalls of youthful indulgences that lead to the well-worn path of trouble, pain, and wasted time.

And Father please bless those of us gathered here today in support of _______ so that we may walk worthy and be courageous defenders of heavenly common-sense it takes to be a strong support system for _______.

We pray these things in the name of Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Great High Priest, Bread of Life, Good Shepherd, Mighty One, Light of the World, The Way, The Truth, The Life, the King of Kings and Victorious One… and we all say – Amen!

Steve Oberhansly, a guest blogger, wrote this Christian Baptism and Dedication Prayer to be spoken over his grandson Isaiah at his baptism. When Steve gave us permission to publish this prayer he said “I could do worse than praying this for myself every day.”  We agreed.

You are welcome to use this prayer it if you wish. We left blacks for you to fill in with the child’s or adults name and made in gender neutral.  

You can download a PDF copy of this prayer right here.

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Two Measures Foolish are a Christian Apologetics group of writers that write from a Christian Perspective and Christian World View using the Bible as our core.

We all travel on an individual journey on this planet earth that God has put into motion from the day we were formed in our mothers’ body. We all have deep questions that need to be answered. Why are we here? Is this all there is?

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