PAPA : APPROACH & Nick Vujicic

     To celebrate today's International Day of Peace, as well as salute the final full day of summer royale 2013, I dub this my concluding post of a 2-month, 10-blog marathon addressing The PAPA Prayer. The relational PAPA prayer format includes the following four steps with an appropriate, memorable acronym:

P = Present... yourself to God without pretense
A = Attend... to how you're thinking of God
P = Purge...  yourself of anything blocking your
       relationship with God
A = Approach... God as the "first thing" in your life 

(The PAPA Prayer, p.10)

     For the past 5 years, about once a week, I have practiced this way of praying. The results aren't visible to others, but I notice a paradigm shift. I attempt to try to see the world and people through Father God's eyes and then APPROACH Him accordingly with my prayers.

     A speaker who shares a God-as-"first-thing" message is Nick Vujicic. If a Shallow Hal spell were to be placed on my mind, where a person's inner-essence becomes their outer-stature, the rugged picture above of Prince William is how I see Vujicic. I envision a strong man with substance to overcome. He sees a larger perspective and has resisted the allure to feel offended by God's sovereignty.

     In the unforgettable interview with Kerry Shook below, Vujicic's brilliant humor communicates matter-of-fact, down-to-earth insights on true joy, purpose, and peace.