Meditations Monday: Scriptural Mortar

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

To start our week’s conversations Lord, I want to thank You for yet another wonderful weekend.  From the “Dinner and Drinks on the Deck” get-together we hosted Friday night, to a relaxing day with good friends on Saturday, and concluded by an inspiring church service and day with my family on Sunday, it was a lovely couple days respite.  Thank You so much for those Blessings!

Today Father, I’m beginning a new weekly post which I’m calling “Meditations Monday”.  The concept for this recurring theme is to pick a passage in Scripture each week, and then to focus my thoughts and prayers on that particular piece of Biblical wisdom and inspiration.  I love the idea of anchoring the week’s conversation in “Scriptural Mortar”, and I’m excited to see where this initiative will take us.

As yesterday was the celebration of Pentecost Father, it seems only fitting that for our first Meditations Monday the verses of focus be taken from the second chapter of Acts, which describe the Descending of Your Holy Spirit on the Apostles of Christ:

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.” – Acts 2:1-6 (NIV)

This was a staggering Gift Lord, and one that continues to define our spiritual existence as Christians today.  In that moment of transformation, You Blessed us with access to the most invasive and encompassing relationship with You that our mortal shells can have.

Heavenly Father, we give thanks and praise for this most remarkable and Holy Gift.  I pray that we all take this time to search deep inside our hearts and dwell in that Divine Connection to You.  Please guide my motivations and actions to best serve Your Will, and make my witness of Your Works effective in sharing that Grace with others.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

On Track

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

Well Father, it certainly was an eventful weekend once again in the Malmstrom home.  It seemed we were all running constantly, but in the end it was a wonderful time spent with those I love, and I have much to be thankful for.

Friday night, we began the evening by attending Jonathan’s music presentation at school.  He’s been learning to play the clarinet this year, and he did a fantastic job playing for the parents (no goose noises… yay!).  He may look like my little “clone” Father, but thank You so much for slipping his mother’s music DNA in there somewhere.  🙂  Following the short concert, we took the boys over to their Godparents’ house for an overnight visit and Shannon and I headed out to an 80’s party being thrown by some good friends of ours.  We had a grand time hanging out around a huge campfire, listening to 1980’s “hair band” music, having some food and a few drinks and laughing into the morning hours.  It was a lovely way to end a hectic week Lord, and I thank You for that stress relief.

After sleeping in a bit the next morning, we went and picked up the kids (who had a great night as well), and headed out to Port Mahon for some photo opportunities, and to scour the shoreline for bits of sea glass.  We were able to time it this trip so that we got there as the tide was beginning to go out, leaving fresh bounty upon the sands.  As you remake us each day Father, so do the tides remake the landscape revealing new wonders for us to find… Such a treasure hunt!

On the way back home, we stopped to handle the grocery shopping for the week, and then the boys and I crashed on the CuddleBags for the new Doctor Who episodes.  All in all, it was a wonderful day with the family Lord, and I thank You for that time together.

Sunday morning, Jonathan and I got up early and headed out to attend the Contemporary Worship Service at Ewell’s St. Paul’s UMC in nearby Clayton.  Through a friend of mine who’s heavily involved in the church there, I’d met with Pastor Kris for lunch a little over a week ago, and was invited to visit one of the services to see if Ewell’s might be a good fit for us.  The service was wonderful, the congregation was warm and friendly, and the message was delivered beautifully.

We’re planning to attend next Sunday as well.  🙂

As you know Father, we’ve been on the hunt for a spiritual home for some time now, and I think we may have found it there.  Thank You so much for leading us to this place, and to these people.

This service also marked something that brought tears to my eyes Lord… Jonathan’s first taking of Holy Communion.  It was a powerful moment, and as I knelt at the altar following the Sacrament I felt Your Presence wash over me, knowing somehow, that You were pleased.

Following the service, we headed home and after a hearty breakfast the boys and I headed out for a hike down some new trails in Blackbird State Forest.  We’d looked at some satellite maps and realized that the forest was cut through by a local railway line, so we decided our goal that day was to find those tracks.  After a mile or so, the forest opened out onto the railway we sought, and I was able to get this shot of my fellow adventurers:

I love this shot Lord, cheesy smiles and all.

The rest of the day was spent in catching up on housework that had piled up since the BBQ the previous weekend; laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc.  It was a wonderfully satisfying and productive Sunday Father, and one I won’t soon forget.

Did I remember to say thank You?  🙂

Heavenly Father, I thank You for all the Blessings You continue to bestow on us all.  In Your grace we are redeemed and made whole, and I praise You for that most wondrous of gifts we can never hope to repay.  Please guide us to decisions and actions that best glorify Your Will, and help us grow in Your Kingdom each day.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Spiritual Decompression

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

Today Father, I hit the wall.

Not literally mind you, but from a mental, emotional and to some extent, spiritual sense I hit a point today where the events of the past couple weeks all seemed to pile on top of one another, and I allowed that self-imposed load to overwhelm me to the point of exhaustion.  I spent my afternoon trying desperately to focus and get a handle on the deluge of tasks strewn about me, but to no avail.

My mind had left the building.

After everyone else had left the office this evening (rather promptly in fact, as today was a payday), I was beginning to get things together to head out myself when all of a sudden I was stopped dead in my tracks by Your Voice in my head…

“Spiritual Decompression” I heard You say.

Huh?  Ok… I hadn’t heard that one before.

Driving home, I had some “quiet time” to contemplate Your somewhat unusual directive.  At first, it seemed like maybe I’d misunderstood, but as I meditated more on the phrase Your point came through loud and clear and I realized why I was in the throes of such inner turmoil.  Over the last week or so with all of the hectic goings-on preparing for the party, having to deal with a series of business nightmares, coping with an onslaught of worrisome news regarding friends’ health along with the day-to-day duties required to keep family life moving along, our time together had been broken up and limited.  Yes, we’d certainly talked but it was always “in-between” rushing to deal with the earthly duties around me.

You were reminding me that I needed to rest in You… To reconnect, and decompress.

Message received, and understood.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Thank You for the reminder Father.  🙂

Amen.

~Phather Phil

In Your Loving Arms

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

Today Father, my heart grieves for the mother of one of Your Children who lost his battle with cancer yesterday, and has left us to join You in Your Kingdom.  His earthly trials are over Lord, and he triumphs in Your Presence, and for that my heart rejoices.  His mother, family and friends however have a piece missing from their lives that will mourn his passing nonetheless.  I pray for Your Healing and Comfort to all those missing Dorian’s light today Father, and ask that You keep them in Your Loving Arms so they may know the joy he’s experiencing with You now.

Searching for words of comfort Lord, I came across a poetic prayer written by Edgar A. Guest that touched my heart so deeply that I wanted to share it here:

A Child of Mine by Edgar A. Guest

“I’ll lend you for a little while
A child of mine,” God said,
“For you to have the while he lives,
And mourn for when he’s dead.

It may be six or seven years
Or twenty-two or three;
But will you ’till I call him back
Take care of him for me?

He’ll bring his charms to gladden you
And, should his stay be brief,
You’ll have his lovely memories
As a solace for your grief.

I cannot promise he will stay,
Since all from earth return;
But there are lessons taught below
I want this child to learn.

I’ve looked the whole world over
In search for teachers true;
And from the throngs that crowd life’s land,
I have chosen you.

Now, will you give him all your love
Nor think the labor vain?
Nor hate me when I come to take
This lent child back again?”

I fancied that I heard them say:
“Dear Lord, Thy will be done.
For all the joys Thy child will bring
The risk of grief we’ll run.

We’ll shower him with tenderness,
We’ll love him while we may.
And for the happiness we’ve known
Forever grateful stay.

But should Thy angel call for him
Much sooner than we’ve planned,
We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes
And try to understand.”

Amen.

~Phather Phil

P.S. For those who haven’t been following Dorian’s struggle, his mother has a page at CaringBridge.org which can be found here.

Thankful Thursday: More Multitudes

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

Following last week’s example Lord, I’m going to add to the list of Your Gifts that I’ve been especially grateful for this past week.  It’s funny, but since last week’s posting I’ve been finding myself making mental notes as I go through the day; “Wow… This needs to make the list this week!”.  I love having the mindset of “filing” all those wonderful Blessings You bestow on me so I can write them down later on.  🙂

Anyways Father, here’s my list this week:

16. Children who remember to say grace at dinnertime… Even when I forget.

17. A caring, God-loving veterinarian who understands what our “furry family members” mean to us.

18. Hunny responding well to the medication after only two days.

19. Good friends who go out of their way to help our family.

20. Live worship messages streaming from Crosspoint.tv on Sunday nights.

21. A staff who “rolls with the punches” in uncertain times.

22. Finding a Bluetooth headset for my phone that fits comfortably and works properly, (finally!)

23. Spring rainstorms that lull me to sleep at night.

24. A wife who likes mowing the lawn.

25. The smell of warm cinnamon bread baking in the oven.

26. Exploring the beauty and wonders of nature with the boys.

27. My hacked Nook Color Android Tablet.

28. Breakfast for Dinner.

29. The online Bible at YouVersion.com which I can access from my PC, my phone and my Android tablet.

30. Chunks of fresh strawberries in my fruit slushie.

Heavenly Father, as always this list could go on, and on, and on… Your Blessings surround us all each day, and I just love connecting with You further by putting them in writing.

Amen.

~Phather Phil