Well Father, this has certainly been a busy few days at phatherphil.org. The response I’ve had to our conversations this week has been quite honestly, overwhelming. I’m so thankful however, to have the Blessing of connecting with so many Brothers and Sisters in Christ this way. The opportunity I’ve been given to share Your Light and Love with others through this ministry is so precious to me, and I’m humbled and honored to do so.
On that same track Lord, on we go to this week’s Thankful Thursday list! While Your gifts in my life far exceed my meager ability to make note of them, this week I want to give specific thanks to You for:
181. Bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches.
182. Spiritual growth.
183. New clients.
184. The start of some cooler weather coming through.
185. Good quality, free backup software for my computers.
186. Seeing Shannon get excited about playing her viola with the praise team each week.
187. The fun afternoon we had last Sunday at the party/bbq held at my father’s house.
188. An act of assistance from our previous family physician.
189. Productive, positive meetings with potential clients.
190. The wonderful outpouring of responses I received on phatherphil.org this week.
191. Medication that calms my acidy stomach.
192. Being married to a lady that knows all my “quirks”, flaws and failings and loves me anyways. 🙂
193. The opportunity to help a friend in need.
194. Unsolicited compliments about my staff and company.
195. Shannon getting to spend some quality time with her mother.
Heavenly Father, You Bless us all in so many wonderful ways each day. For all those Divine Gifts You bestow on our lives, both those that brightly shine Your Light and those that grace us without fanfare, we give You our humble praises. You are indeed a wondrous Father, caring Shepherd and masterful Teacher and we thank You for Your Presence in our lives. Amen.
This morning Lord, I had another one of those inspired geek moments that You grant me from time to time. I was working on a laptop PC that was in for service, with the primary customer complaint being that it was running very slowly. External malware and virus scans had come back clean, so I booted into the operating system to evaluate the situation.
It was clogged to the hilt with “stuff” starting up automatically every time it booted.
Now, this is something we see pretty regularly. Between the bundled software that comes loaded on new machines, “add-on” downloads that come along for the ride with installs over the Internet, and all the little “extras” that get installed automatically with new components like printers and scanners, unless you know what’s safe to remove or deselect, it builds up quickly. The result over time is a computer that takes a long time to boot up, and acts slow and sluggish when performing tasks.
As I started to strip away the layers of unnecessary bloat from the machine, my mind drifted back to yesterday, and the “fog” my mind had been in for most of the day…
I was slow…
I was sluggish…
I had problems focusing on tasks…
Your Voice wasn’t as clear as it usually is.
Hmmm… A parallel maybe? 🙂
Like the laptop in my care, my mind yesterday was filled with unnecessary “clutter”. Ponderings and concerns about everything from money, to groceries, to laundry preoccupied my thoughts, making focusing on more important matters (like talking with You) much more difficult.
Therefore Father, going into this weekend my prayer is a simple one:
Heavenly Father, please grant us Clarity;
Clarity of focus to see past our earthly concerns…
Clarity of mind to listen in the Stillness for Your Voice…
Clarity of purpose to make choices that best Glorify You…
Clarity of Spirit to draw us closer to Your Presence.
And once again Lord, we lay behind us yet another lovely weekend filled with family, friends and Your obvious Love for us all. While the scorching weather restricted our outdoor activities, there were many Blessings to be found inside with good company, good food and great fun to be had by all. Thank You so much for those days of respite Father!
Today’s Meditations Monday Scripture comes from Chapter 9 of the Gospel of John:
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”” – John 9:1-3 (NIV)
Now Father, something I hear quite regularly from people going through difficulties in their lives is “What did I do to deserve this?” or “Why is God doing this to me?”. I’ll admit it, I’ve even had those thoughts myself over the years. In the case of this passage, when Jesus and His disciples came across a man who had been blind since birth, the question was raised as to whose sin was at fault for his affliction; the man’s or his parents. Jesus clearly replied that it was in fact neither, but instead was intended to allow for Your Grace to be made manifest.
This is an important and powerful truth Father, and one that I fear we all miss now and again. As the limited beings we are, we try desperately to put everything into a “Cause and Effect” bubble. And while quite often there are certainly consequences for our actions, not all earthly suffering is a direct result of a specific “Instigating” sin.
When my son Jonathan was born and we were initially given his grim diagnosis, I spent many hours asking “Why?!?… Why would You do this to us?!?” I was angry, and scared, and very insistently sought answers that at the time, seemed never to come. Ten years later, I realize now that Your Plan for his life, and for mine to a great extent, needed those events to unfold as they did. Our lives, and the lives of many others were altered by his struggle, and Blessed in ways we’re still unraveling today. We weren’t being persecuted for something we’d done, but were instead walking a journey designed by the One with the “Big Picture” in His sight.
“but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
Heavenly Father, as this week begins I pray that in times of trial you open our hearts and minds to this fundamental truth. Let us see past our desire to seek fault and lay blame, and gain strength from the knowledge that Your Path for our lives comes from a far greater perspective than our own.
Ok Lord, yes I do know it’s actually Friday but as the day got away from me yesterday and I didn’t have the opportunity to post my Thankful Thursday article, I decided to do so this morning instead. 🙂
It’s been a wonderful, Blessed week away with my family Father. Our visits to the mountains are something that we all look forward to eagerly each year, and it’s been a joyous, relaxing time once again. Today is our last full day here, and although we’ll be headed home tomorrow the memories of this past week will stay with us for a long time to come.
So, without further ado Lord, this week I’d like to give special thanks for…
136. 78 degree days, and 52 degree nights with low humidity.
137. A sky so clear that at night with a full moon, the clouds light up like it was dusk.
138. Playing an evening game of Bocce with Jonathan.
139. A caring, thoughtful friend who cleaned our house for us while we’re away.
140. Getting the opportunity to attend church services with old friends.
141. Quiet time fishing.
142. Being surrounded by the abundant beauty of Your Creation.
143. An office staff who keeps the world at bay for me while I’m away.
144. Another wonderful visit to Claws ‘N’ Paws Zoo.
145. Seeing the joy on Jonathan’s face as he won the archery competition.
146. Children who continue to have a sense of whimsy and wonder.
147. Sitting on the back porch of the cabin late at night with good friends, good bourbon and a light breeze.
148. Having no signal on my mobile phone for most of the week. 🙂
149. The management and staff at Chestnut Grove Resort who always make our visit feel like coming home.
150. Reservations to come back here next year.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for a restful, rejuvenating and happy week away. In these beautiful and peaceful surroundings I can truly feel Your Presence in abundance, and will be taking home with me a deeper sense of Your Wondrous Gifts to us. Amen.
Well Father, we come again to the end of yet another work-week and I’ll admit to being excited this time. Tomorrow morning, my family and I leave for a week’s vacation at Chestnut Grove Resort in the Pocono Mountains. The kids love it there Lord, and I’ve found that it’s someplace that I can truly relax and spend quiet, meditative time in Your Presence. As Internet connectivity is quite limited, I don’t expect to be able to post our conversations every day, but hope to be able to at least a couple times over the course of the week. Funny enough, it makes perfect sense that in places where my connections to the world are more limited, my connection to You opens up wider. 🙂
In preparation for our time away, I spent some time yesterday picking out new books to read, and music to travel by. For reading material (other than my trusty YouVersion.com Bible App on my Android tablet), I have “Heaven is Real” written by Don Piper, and “Just Too Busy: Taking your Family on a Radical Sabbatical” by Joanne Kraft (Thanks so much Elaine!). As for music, while my iPod is already quite loaded with inspiring songs, I just had to add the albums “Blessings” by Laura Story, and “On Fire” from Peter Furler to the mix. Peter’s song “Reach” has been running through my head a lot the last couple weeks, so I’m excited to have the rest of his solo premier album to enjoy as well…
While we’re up there, we’ve also been invited by friends of ours to attend services at Pocono Community Church. From what they tell us, it’s a wonderful House of Worship and we’re very much looking forward to hearing the Pastor’s message on Sunday morning.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for all the Blessings You’ve bestowed on us this week, and for Your abundant Presence in our lives each day. I look forward with anticipation to spending communal time with You this coming week, and pray that You’ll keep us in Your Loving Embrace as we venture away from home. Amen.
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day.
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
