Prayer Circles

My prayers are with you today Daddy, and every day. I pray for your restored health and peace of mind. I am glad that you have decided to go back to church and seek comfort and peace through God. I love you with all of my heart...you have always been and will always be my hero! I hope to someday be half the person that you are. Abundant Blessings & Prayers....
Your Loving Daughter, Lisa
12/12/00

Daddy my prayers, blessings and thoughts are with you again this morning, and each morning, noon and night. I have been blessed throughout my entire life to call you my Dad. For many years you have been both Dad and Mom. God, please look after and walk beside my father through this trial...encouraging him to climb the mountain and to remain positive. Please ease his pain, all pain, physical and emotional. He has been an honorable man who has lived with integrity all of his life. If he must leave, I know that he will be in a better place with You and that will be my comfort in not having him here with me. "Solid stone is just sand and water, sand and water and a million years gone by".

Good morning again Daddy! I know that you understand how important it is that I am able to say those words - words that in the past I might have taken for granted. I have decided not to call anymore after yesterday unless I know that Kathy is home and can tell me whether or not you are feeling well enough to talk. It broke my heart yesterday hearing not only the pain that this insidious disease is causing you, I could also hear your weakening emotions. I am your daughter, extremely proud and honored to be so, and I do "know" when your hopes are low and your feeling down.

Dear God, please stand beside and walk with and beside my father through this. Please help me to understand why such a wonderful man should have to go through so much turmoil and pain. Allow my father to find hope and faith and some type of emotional support. He is a man who is very private and holds many things in. I think that he knows more than he is telling me, but I respect him nonetheless. Just as I suppose You have a plan, perhaps he does as well. Let him know You and know that if and when the time should come that I will gently let go, holding on to the cherished treasure of being his daughter. Cancer cannot take that away from him or I.

God bless you Daddy and keep you strong, restore your health, and allow you to hold fast to your faith.

I love you, unconditionally...
Your loving daughter, Lisa

First of all, thank you to Lisa for including me in this prayer circle.
To my Dad: My prayers are always with you. I pray for healing, comfort and strength during this trying period of your life. I've always found your strength so amazing. May God bless you with that continued strength and additional strength. What I also find so amazing is that even when you are going through such terrible pain, you're always concerned about everybody else and how they are doing. What a wonderful characteristic to have! I know God is watching over you and the family. I have hope and I believe in God's miracles. Lisa has said it all so eloquently above so there isn't really all that much to add. I love you Daddy...keep the faith.
Love, Leslie.

God Bless and good morning Daddy! I had sent this prayer circle to a few people and knew that the one person I could count on was Leslie. Thank you for giving me such a wonderful sister and friend to love as much as I love you. I promise to stand beside her through all of this because I know it is difficult for all involved ~ especially her and I.

Like Leslie, I have also found your strength and courage to be unbending ~ sometimes to a fault, but I believe that that is the quality that will see you through this rough time.

I pray, dear Lord, that you will see to it that Daddy has a better day today then the past two. I am becoming more and more concerned about his emotional state, and would ask that You show him the way to unload some of his fear and concerns with someone...anyone. I also would pray in Your name that You remain beside my sister and I through this trying time. We are young with young children and the simple thought of being orphaned at this age is very difficult for us. This disease has affected all of us and I ask that You guide us in our faith and provide us with an abundant amount of strength to overcome. Amen.

As always Daddy...all of my love, thoughts and prayers, today and always.

Lisa

Dear God,
My father holds so much pain inside and hides it from certain people. My sister is able to see his pain but I suppose my dad is either hiding it well from me or I am refusing to accept it. Please bless him with continued strength to fight this horrible fight. Please give me the strength to accept what I haven't accepted to date and the strength to deal with it head on. I find it harder to communicate with my Dad now and feel I just can't find the right words to say. Please guide me and help me to find comfort. I tell him I love him and that I hope he feels better soon but I feel so utterly hopeless in helping him. I hide this feeling from him and I do have hope in your work. Please let this feeling of hope and faith shine through to him and upon him. I told my close friend about this prayer circle and sent it to him today. He told me that there have been scientific studies that show improvement in a person's health when others pray for them without their knowledge. Thank you God for loving family and friends. Amen.
I love you Daddy. Keep the faith.
Love, Leslie

Well Daddy, you've done extraordinarily well. You have created this beautiful treasure, your daughter, my sister, Leslie. My prayers this morning are for both you and her.

Leslie, when you read this, know that we all deal with trials like this in different ways. There are no right or wrong ways. I think what we all need right now is strength, hope and abundant prayer.

I pray for your peace of mind and unbending faith through this as I do for Daddy.

Your friend is indeed correct and I am glad that you are confiding in others the fears that you have difficulty facing alone. Prayer is a mighty powerful thing and that is why I come here faithfully every day. Any and all of your friends are welcome to this site. This site was created for Daddy....the more prayers, thoughts and concerns, the better the chance of healing all around. I can pray by myself but for me sometimes it is better to write it - it feels more tangible. Seeing other people who have come to this site in thought and concern for Daddy only seems to lighten the load. A little, anyway.

This disease cannot rob either you or I of our love and respect for Daddy and his love for us...it can do many things but it can not ever take that away from us. Please remember that!

Dear God, please walk beside my sister, this disease has not only afflicted my father but his family as well, especially Leslie and I, his daughters. Please bring us comfort and guidance and peace of mind, knowing that all will be made well through Your precious healing hands. Help all of us to remember that nothing is going to happen today that we cannot handle together. In your name, I pray...Amen. I love you Daddy - chin up!

Like Lisa, I find this prayer circle to be very therapeutic for the soul. I will try to get into this everyday but on the days that I cannot (more likely on the weekends), my prayers continue, just unwritten. Daddy, I haven't spoken to you in a few days and I hope that you are feeling better. I can't understand why when you have so much to deal with already that you are dealt with a bad deck of cards and your cluster headaches are back. I pray that they will go away soon so that you can cope a little better and regain some emotional and physical strength. I can't say that I understand what you are going through because I haven't been there. In the past, I can remember being really sick and I just cried and prayed to feel better. I know this is a horrible feeling. God, please heal my father and continue to bless him with emotional and physical strength to cope in this difficult time. The holidays are so close and I would so like to see him be able to enjoy them (even if just a little). I crave to be near my father during this time but when I am with him, I find it hard to stay there and see him in so much pain. I don't know what to say or do and I fight back the tears. Please help me to remain strong for my Dad. Please show me how to relate to him now. He's still the same person and I don't want to behave any differently toward him but sometimes I feel like my hopelessness takes over. I will remain a believer in Your miracles. I am so thankful to you God that my father has already felt some pain relief with just a little bit of radiation treatment. Please continue to bless him with Your healing power. I love you God and I love you Daddy. Keep the faith, and I will as well. I love you Lisa - thank you so much for creating this prayer circle. You are in my prayers and thoughts as well. Sorry I have been so absent from our sistership - I'm going through a lot.
Love, Leslie

Dear Pop Pop: I pray that God will help you get better. Thank you for being such a great Pop Pop and for always doing little things for me like taking me to the mountains. I want you to get better so we can go back again soon sometime. I love spending time with you and I want God to make you get better. I love you very much, Kaitlin.

Dear God, I pray that You will make my grandfather feel better and make him healthy again. He is caring and fun to be with and I want to be with him for many more years to come. Amen. I love you very much Pop Pop...Love, Ashley

Dear lord, please send van an angel, to watch over him, and guide his footsteps.Please lord make Van feel better soon, and watch over his family, keep them strong in faith, and give all of them strength. amen andy65

Daddy, good morning, and I pray that you have a better week this week than last. I know that you asked that I stay positive and I am but strong is very difficult for me and they are really two different things. It is so extremely hard to see or hear you suffering, it truly breaks my heart.

Having spoken to Kathy I understand that you are not feeling well enough to talk on the phone and that you are choosing not to speak to anyone. That hurts me a little because I need to hear your voice and to tell you that I love you, but I certainly respect your wishes. Hopefully this week. One day at a time, I suppose.

Dear God, please send that little angel to sit on my fathers shoulder and guide him during this trying time. I know that he is leaning on You as well for support, strength and comfort. Lift with Your healing hands, his physical discomfort and emotional pain. He must be terrorized by this disease and I pray that You will show him comfort and Your blesssings of faith and love.

I also faithfully ask that You watch over and guide both the adults in the family as well as the little ones. We all are in this together. Help me to remember, Lord, that my dad is NOT his disease and to not treat him any differently when I do have the chance to speak to him. Please show me the workings of Your miracles and healing power in my dad's life. Give him many, many more splendid weekends with Kaitlin in the mountains, as she prayed for this past weekend. In Your name, I pray, Amen.

I love you daddy and miss you so awfully much. Please stay strong and keep that chin up! We are all doing our best to do the same for you.

Your daughter,
Lisa xoxoxo

Again, it is early morning, Daddy, and I think of you and write to you in thoughts and in prayers, even though you are not actually seeing these entries.

After my therapy session last evening, I feel a little bit of the fear lifted off of my shoulders, but that is only temporary, I am sure. My therapy does help and I know that that would make you happy.

One of my wishes for you is that you would open up to someone, anyone, and allow your fears and concerns to be heard. It really does help to let the pain and fear out. I know you choose to go this your own way, and I respect your wishes, but nonetheless I ask You Lord that you show my father the gift of an open mind, to have him learn that it is okay for a man to express his emotions and that he be able to find someone to confide and find some solace and comfort in.

This is not something you can walk through alone. You cannot walk this painful path alone, either as the person who has the cancer or a loved one. My father needs support right now and I ask that You help him in finding a way to have that need met.

I will be thinking and praying for you today Dad, as always. I know that you see the Radiation Oncologist and I am hopeful and prayerful that it will bring you some good news, something to cling on to to keep you moving up that mountain so that you can see down the other side and find your way. God, I pray that you provide my father with whatever he requires at this time in his life and that that little winged angel sits on his shoulder everyday. Perhaps he will talk with her or You. I love you daddy, without limits.

Your loving daughter,
Lisa xoxoxoxo

Well I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to write an entry every day. I'm back now. Today I received a Christmas portrait of Dad and Kathy. This is unusual to receive and I just cried for a while. I remember my Mom having her portrait done with Bob just prior to her passing away and I guess this memory just overcame me and I am praying that this is not history repeating itself. I have to remind myself that You are most powerful and full of life's miracles. God, I worry so for my father and like my sister I wish that he would not shut down and instead open up his feelings and fears to others so that he can pull from their strength and hopefulness. Even just to release this from inside would help him so much (in my opinion). I, like Lisa, respect his wishes but somehow feel like I know what is best for him. What a role reversal! I will treasure this portrait - it is the only one I have of him. God, please allow me to look at the portrait without sad or negative thoughts. I know these thoughts and feelings are not good to harbor. The holidays are making me melancholy. Please help me to remember that you are always with us and right there to help us through everything (whatever is in your plan). I have been forgetting this lately. God, please remain close to my father, comfort him, heal him, and provide him emotional and physical strength to keep fighting and to keep the faith. I love him so much. I doubt he knows how much. Until tomorrow, Good night Daddy, I love you so.
Leslie

Also thank you to Andy and the girls for including their prayers in this circle. It was really heartwarming to read them. Thank you also to friends who I know are praying for my Dad and my family. It is so nice to have such wonderful and caring friends (like an extension to the family).

Dear God,
I will enter only a short prayer at this time. Touch my father with your healing grace. If he could only have a few days of relief I know he would be able to rejuvenate himself physically, emotionally and spiritually. With such a long battle ahead I know he needs this kind of break. Help him to know how very much he is loved and cared about. Let these unknown prayers bring healing to his body and mind. I am thankful for many things despite this terrible disease that has attacked my father. He is still here and I am thankful for that. I try to remember that no matter how bad things get, there are always unlimited things to be thankful for. Thank you for small and big blessings. I believe in Your miracles. I love you Daddy.
Leslie

Good Morning Daddy ~ I had initially promised myself to not let a day go by that I didn't enter my prayers in this prayer circle. I broke my promise to myself yesterday but am sure you understand. Actually, I broke it intentionally.

Yesterday, after receiving the portrait of you and Kathy (it is such a wonderful picture of you) and hearing your voice, I decided that I wanted to revel in the beauty and magic of that picture and in having heard your voice. Although you did not sound well, it was still comforting to hear you after nearly a week.

I have made many friends through online support groups who have offered up their prayers to and for you and the family. I prayed through them yesterday and took a break and just enjoyed the photo. It was a rare and precious gift and and my gratitude goes so far beyond mere words could convey. It is difficult for me to think about what you must have been feeling when you went to have that picture taken. What I do find reflected in it, though, is your smile. Yes, we all know that you are generally not a smiler, but this is how you wish for all of us to see you now. The cowboy hat is so you, almost a reflection of that little boy that still resides within you. I did cry many tears, as Leslie did when I first saw the picture, and like her, am hopeful that I will always be able to look into your eyes in that picture and feel all of your goodness and love and not the hurt, fear or pain that I am now experiencing.

Lord, I come to you this morning and ask that You stand with my father and family in faith. May Your healing hand touch him and make him completely whole.  Father, help him feel that assurance more stronger than ever knowing that You have him in the palm of Your hand...assured that You are in his midst...convinced that all is in control and that his steps are protected by You pouring Your peace and healing into his life. I ask for a special touch for him as he faces this battle, impending surgery and
recovery. Strengthen him and encourage him that You are working in his
midst.  Lord, wrap Yourself around my dad in a blanket..embrace him and
the family with Your love and peace and healing.  Lord, I thank You for
Your mercies that are new every morning. I praise You for Your
overwhelming faithfulness toward my dad and us all. Send your angels of protection down upon him, put a gentle barrier of protection around his body and his mind and his emotions.  Father give him the peace, which only You can bring. Amen.

Daddy, please remember that even through the roughest storms in life, the sun continues to shine on. It may be obscured by clouds that block our ability to see the sun, but know that although the eyes are deceiving, that the sun will rise again another day and that it never truly goes away. And so it is with my abundant love for you. Remember that on the days in which we cannot speak, that my love for you goes on and on and my prayers are always with you.

I love you with all of my heart and soul, you have given me life, and I have been graced by God to call you my Dad.

Your loving daughter,
Lisa
xoxoxoxo

Dear God, please help my Pop Pop get better and take away his pain and his cancer. I can't wait to see you on Christmas and give you your present and a big kiss and hug. I pray for you every night and ask God that you get better and that God will watch over you and that you get stronger every day. I love you from your Sugarbear, Kaitlin.

dear lord, please give lisa's and leslie's father the strength,and the wisdom that is your way, to overcome this. please send a few angels to watch over all of them as they go through daily life, to guide their footsteps, and all their decisions as well. strengthen all of them and give them courage.
andy65

Dear Lord, please hear these intentions, spoken and unspoken, written and unwritten. Let Your healing and compassion flood upon my dad. Lord, be a special strength for him, so his life will always reflect his love for you. Help him in time of trial, give him an abundance of patience, faith, love and joy in his life. Lord, help him to rise above any human weakness and to grow strong as a Christian and to have faith in Your powerful grace and healing. Allow him to experience the miracle of You and those miracles that you bestow upon us each and every day.

Oh Lord, please hear these heartfelt prayers, which I am sending to You, on wings of love. For all your Angel messengers to carry to you, from my corner of the Earth, to Heaven above.

This plea comes from my heart with urgency, for one who is very dear and important to me. Please hold him in the palms of Your hands, uplifting him in my prayers, so he can see.

I need for him to see that he is not alone, during these darkest hours he has to face. And all who love him are saying their prayers, for his light to shine again, with God's grace.

Please bathe his heart with the love and faith, he so urgently needs, to help him get through. His load is so heavy, and my heart saddened, and therefore I must ask for some help from You.

I have faith that You will answer my heart's pleas, and shine Your loving light, as I believe You do. These prayers that I'm sending on Angels' wings, are for one who I love so dearly, my dad, who needs You.

Daddy, good morning...as the snowflakes fall I think of you. As each snowflake is different and unique, so too are you. If I could have chosen any snowflake, any man to have been my father, it would have been you. They say you choose your parents ~ if this is true, I could not have asked for more. I have asked the dear Lord Jesus to cradle you in His loving hands and to please alleviate all of your physical and emotional pain and to bathe you in His healing grace and power. I look forward to Christmas with you and promise, as I have in the past, to remain optimistic and to cherish each day that I have with you.

I love you from the very core of my being and always will.

Your daughter,
Lisa





Oh Lord, please hear these heartfelt prayers,
which I am sending to You, on wings of love.
For all your Angel messengers to carry to you,
from my corner of the Earth, to Heaven above.

This plea comes from my heart with urgency,
for one who is very dear and important to me.
Please hold them in the palms of Your hands,
uplifting them in my prayers, so they can see.

I need for them to see that they are not alone,
during these darkest hours they have to face.
And all who love them are saying their prayers,
for their light to shine again, with God's grace.

Please bathe their heart with the love and faith,
they so urgently need, to help them get through.
Their load is so heavy, and their heart saddened,
and therefore I must ask for some help from You.

I have faith that You will answer my heart's pleas,
and shine Your loving light, as I believe You do.
These prayers that I'm sending on Angels' wings,
are for one who I love so dearly, who needs You

Good morning again, Daddy, with much love. After reviewing my error in duplication yesterday, I was able to look back and see when this first began and how it seems to have taken on a life of it's own. The prayers are abundant and they grow by the day. Again, those spoken and unspoken, those written and unwritten. Christmas is quickly approaching and I am looking forward to being able to spend time with you and the family. For the times in the past when I have forgotten how important family is, I ask you and the Lord for forgiveness. I have forgiven myself. Today, I pray as always, that you are relieved of your pain and fears, that the dear Lord extend His love and healing powers down upon you and swaddle and bathe you in His gracious and protective hands that daily perform miracles. I read a little quote the other day that I am trying my best to incorporate into my life; "If you worry, why pray; If your pray, why worry". I am praying, not to say that I am still not worrying, but I know that I must lay all of my concerns and fears at the feet of Jesus and trust in the Lord to know what is best for you and also what is best for me. Today I am going to get a picture frame to frame your photo and I promise you that I will look into that frame and see your face and, although the tears may roll, I will see only the happiness, joy and love that you have graced upon me and the girls. Please have as good a day as possible. I will try to call later to see how you are feeling and perhaps have the chance to talk with you.

Lord, please watch over my dad today, as you do at all times, and allow him to get some much-needed rest. Provide him with all that he needs and requires at this time in his life and let him always know Your great and abundant love for him. Show him the power of miracles, prayer and healing. Please, give me the strength and faith I need to face this challenge as well. Let me lay my concerns and fears at Your Son's feet and trust in you both. Amen.

I love you, Daddy, always...
Lisa

It is early this morning Daddy - good morning! I sincerely hope that you were able to have a good night's sleep, and that, as I am writing you are sleeping peacefully and dreaming wonderful things, perhaps even dreaming of sugarplums at this time of the year. Whatever brings you peace of mind and strength, dream it!

The following is a powerful prayer that I received on a beautiful notecard the morning of my very first church service with the girls on 8/4/96:

Israel, the Lord who created you says,
"Do not be afraid ~ I will save you.
I have called you by name ~ you are mine. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel, who saves you. I will give up Egypt to set you free; I will give up Ethiopia and Seba. I will give up whole nations to save your life, because you are precious to me and because I love you and give you honor. Do not be afraid ~ I am with you!"
Isaiah 43.1-5

Dear Lord, as promised in the passage above, please remain by my fathers side during the hard trials of his life and do not allow his troubles to overwhelm him. Let him feel your divine presence at all times and please send forth your precious gift of healing into his life and soul. Also, please continue to send the angels down to rest upon his shoulders, as well as the rest of the family, to remind us of Your love for us all. I continue to lay my concerns and fears, as well as my abundant prayers at the feet of the Lord. It is not always easy to "Let Go and Let God", but I am doing the very best that is possible for me. Please Lord, also allow my father to lay his fears, concerns and worries at Your feet so that You can perform Your miracles. Show my dad the way when he loses his faith, courage and determination. Thank You for sending my father to me. Amen.

Daddy, with all of the love that I have in my heart for you (more than you could ever possibly conceive of), please know that although I may not be able to hear your voice every day or to offer my prayers and thoughts to you directly, that I continue to remain positive and strong as you requested. I will be honest and tell you that there are times that I feel my faith is shakable and being tested, but I continue to hold fast to both my hope and my beliefs. Yes, I do cry, yes, I do become emotional ~ but in laying some of these emotions at Jesus' feet, I am better able to cope and deal with all that has come into my life. I hope that sometime soon you will be able to do the same. To "Let Go and Let God". With all of the love a daughter can feel for her father in a lifetime, this prayer is sent out to you with love and respect for courage, strength and healing.

I love you Daddy,
Lisa xoxoxoxoxo

Dear Lord,
I come to you with an open and humble heart, and I ask that You send Charles Van Steen Your Divine Healing, Love, and Guidence.
I ask You remove the sickness from his body. I ask that Charles receives Your Comfort, fill Charles' heart with Your Love.
I ask for Comfort for his daughters and loved ones also, may his family have the strength to help him. Let their hearts be filled with Your Love and Comfort.
I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Merry Christmas Daddy! I had just written what probably equated to a three page prayer for you and went I went to submit it, I lost my connection. I am a little miffed at the moment so I promise to return later tonight to say goodnight and say my prayers for you. They have been said and written this morning, although they do not appear. I want to experience the joy of today with you and write more tonight. I had so much written that I needed to say and I will write again and add more tonight. Besides, I generally am saying good morning and I would love to be able to say good night to you.

I love you, Daddy...
Your loving daughter, Lisa
xoxoxoxoxo