Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father! Well Lord, it’s seemed like a terribly long week here for some reason. I’m very much looking forward to the respite of some down-time with my family and friends over the next couple of days, and to some Stillness for You and I to spend some “quality time” together as well.
To finish up the week Father, I’d like to share a couple of things that have been on my heart the last several days. To start with, I’ve had a song running through my head very consistently all week. It’s a wonderfully heartfelt tune written and performed by JJ Heller called “What Love Really Means” :
This is a powerful song Lord, with an amazing message of Hope and Faith that touches me each time I hear it. It’s always wonderful to hear Your Voice through music. 🙂
Secondly, as I mentioned before Father, I’ve felt very drained this week. Searching for encouragement and focus this morning, I came across a passage from Isaiah which spoke to me :
“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-31
Heavenly Father, You are our Hope, and our Strength. In Your Powerful Hands I lay my Trust, my Love and my Burdens. You are indeed a Wondrous God. Amen.
Dear Lord; Good morning Father. Well, the storm came and went Lord and while those North of us got hit quite a bit harder, we were spared the bulk of it’s magnitude. We got just enough snow to keep the kids home from school and for Shannon’s workplace to close for the day, but not too much for me to make it out to the office. Thank You so much for that balance!
As you know Father, I’ve had quite a bit on my mind and in my heart as of late so I thought today I’d use our time together to cover some of those thoughts in prayer.
Heavenly Father, several days ago a friend of some friends of mine and his family suffered a horrendous house fire and lost all their earthly possessions. While I don’t know them personally, several of my friends know him quite well and are working diligently to try and help them with getting the necessities his family requires. Please provide Your Comfort and Healing to this troubled family Lord, and Bless those working to help them get back on their feet.
As we’ve discussed quite a lot recently Lord, many of Your Children are living with heightened levels of financial and occupational uncertainly in their lives. Please send them Your Strength and Fortitude, and help them quiet the “noise” that fear and doubt places in their minds so that Your Voice can guide them down the proper path.
An old friend of my wife is fighting a battle with ALS, and has suffered one setback after another the last couple of months. This is a truly terrible disease Father, and has caused him and his family significant pain and turmoil. Please give them the Comfort and Peace that can only come from Your Presence Lord. Help him see Your Light, and know Your Love in this difficult time.
As always Father, thank You so much for being the guiding light in my life and for listening to my prayers. In Your Loving Hands I place all my hopes, dreams and burdens secure in the knowledge that Your Path is righteous and just. Amen.
Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father! First off, I want to thank You for another lovely weekend with my family and friends. Date night with my wonderful wife Shannon on Saturday night was a great way to end the week, and although I ended up “under the weather” on Sunday, I was Blessed in that my family made sure I had the quiet time I needed to rest and recuperate. I certainly wasn’t as productive as I had originally planned on being, but the downtime did help us all to recharge our batteries for the week ahead.
Today Lord, I want to delve further into my Focus Word (Accept) for the year and how it’s already affected my thoughts and actions. It’s amazing to me, but since You placed that word in my heart I find it jumping into my head quite regularly. For example, I had a situation this weekend where I was extremely uncomfortable with the way someone was acting in a public situation. They weren’t doing anything wrong per-se, but it made me feel awkward all the same.
“You need to Accept them for who they are” I heard in the back of my head.
Fair enough. As I said, they weren’t doing anything wrong and they certainly weren’t hurting me in any way. I realized I had just taken it upon myself to feel uncomfortable at the way they were behaving, and was letting it affect my disposition.
Therefore, today’s statement of focus from my experience this weekend is :
I need to Accept that God has made each of us an individual who is unique and special.
Now please understand Father, this doesn’t mean I won’t stand up against people doing something morally or ethically wrong, or not confront evil wherever I see it. I simply need to have more flexibility when dealing with differences in how Your Children act and interact with others. You’ve made us all wonderfully individual and unique, and I’m going to work on celebrating those differences more. Amen.
Dear Lord; Well Father, the New Year is certainly upon us. However, instead of talking about new beginnings today, I want to go over last weekend if I may. As we’ve discussed at length, 2010 was in many ways an amazingly difficult year for myself and my family. Well, as of Friday morning I had yet one more potentially serious business nightmare crop up to finish off my year, and I’m afraid I crumbled. It was the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back, and I spent the bulk of my day sitting quietly in our bedroom, avoiding the world. I tried for quite some time to speak with You Lord, but I just couldn’t seem to let go of the troubles in my heart and open up that line of communication. I felt lost, and beaten, and angry, and alone.
I was of course none of those things, but at the time I couldn’t see past my own turmoil to realize it. Once again, You intervened through others to bring me back. Shannon and I were to attend a New Years Eve party that night, and although I was holding onto my pain she convinced me to keep our plans all the same. It ended up being just what was needed to get me out of the self-induced shell I was hiding in. The evening was spent surrounded by a fun group of friends, and I was able to finally release the hold that fear had placed on my heart.
The rest of the weekend continued on an upwards trend, and by Sunday afternoon I was back to my old self once again. I was able to start the week today with a positive direction, and a joyous heart knowing that as always, You were there to see me through, even when I wasn’t paying attention.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
Thank You Father, for always being there to guide and help us even when our own frailties make us blind to Your Presence. Amen.
Dear Lord; Merry Christmas Eve Father! This morning, following the “tradition” I started on Thanksgiving this year, I’m going to let two of my biggest Blessings (my sons Jonathan and Aidan) compose the email to you. I battled with what questions to give them to work from this morning, but couldn’t decide between two; “What does Christmas mean to you?” and “What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?”. Therefore, I thought we’d do both! 🙂
Jonathan (Age 11)
What does Christmas mean to you? :
“Christmas means to me that it’s time for Joy, Peace and Happiness. It’s also the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus.”
What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?:
“God has blessed me with many things; my family, my friends, shelter and food. I have fun, and things to do. God has helped me stay healthy after I was really sick. Thank you God!”
Aidan (Age 8)
What does Christmas mean to you?:
“Christmas means celebrating Jesus’ Birthday. You get to be with your family. You get time off school. You get to spend time with your friends. You get decorate the house.”
What Blessings do you want to thank God for at Christmas time?:
“I want to thank God for money, health, food, shelter, my family, my brother, something to do, our pets, and for my life.”
Father, on this Eve of Celebration of Your Son’s Divine Birth I want to thank You myself as well. You gave Your Only Son to us to inspire us, teach us, set a Holy Path for us to follow, and then to die for our Eternal Salvation. I can’t imagine a more amazing Gift, and I’m truly humbled by Your Love for us. Please reach out Father, to those struggling to find the Peace Christ brought to us all and let them feel Your Loving Arms around them.
May we all take time during the next couple of days to stop, let our earthly stresses go, and focus on the Wondrous Gift Our Lord has given to us. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!
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. 
