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

Thankful Thursday: Realigning My Thoughts

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

As I mentioned yesterday Father, I’ve felt a bit disconnected the past couple days so I think today’s “Counting My Blessings” post is just what the doctor ordered to realign my thoughts with all the Blessings You surround me with each day.  I’ve seen a number of other “Bloggy Friends in Christ” having similar issues to those I expressed in yesterday’s post, so today I also want to pray for Your Comfort and Peace to be with them as well.

And on to the list!  Continuing from last week…

46. An administrative assistant who makes sure I eat, even when I’m too hectic to think about it.

47. The encouraging and thoughtful comments that are left on phatherphil.org each day.

48. Spiritual Decompression time.

49. A Heavenly Father that’s never too busy to talk with me.

50. Having a local butcher who has wonderful, fresh meats at great prices.

51. A lull in the hot, sticky weather today (low 80s and a nice breeze).

52. The 12-foot market umbrella on our deck which allows us to be outside more often.

53. That the grass is growing slowly this week.  🙂

54. Godparents who take an active role in our children’s lives.

55. Friends willing to watch the boys now and again so Shannon and I can get out together.

56. Green’s Black Raspberry Blast Ice Cream

57. New sales that seem to show up just when I need them.

58. Afternoon coffee.

59. “Date Night” with Shannon.

60. Your Mercies in Disguise.

As always, I thank You Father for these and all the other Blessings You bestow on me each day.  Even at my lowest points, I can look up and always see Your Light above me, welcoming me back to You.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Turn Weakness Into Strength

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

First off Father, I want to thank You for a wonderful three-day weekend.  As we discussed in my post on Friday, this Memorial Day weekend was especially emotional and special for us as we celebrated the fact that it’s been 10 years this month since Jonathan’s last chemotherapy treatment.  To mark this milestone, we held a fairly large BBQ at the house (50+ people) on Sunday afternoon, attended by many of those whom have been involved with, or touched by Jonathan’s journey.  It was a joyous event, and Your Presence was felt in abundance.

Yet while we celebrated the life You’ve continued to Grace us with Father, my thoughts and prayers were very much splintered.  Last week I was made aware of several other families fighting that dark battle that we had come through those 10 years back.  While my heart was full with the amazing Blessing of Jonathan’s remission, at the same time it ached, confronted by the news that others were now living with that fear and uncertainty.  Therefore Lord, it seemed appropriate to start this week’s conversations with a prayer of healing for those going through this turmoil.  I wasn’t able to locate a definitive source for this prayer, but it says beautifully what I’ve been praying for:

Dear Lord of Mercy and Father of Comfort,

You are the One I turn to for help in moments of weakness and times of need. I ask You to be with Your servant in this illness. Psalm 107:20 says that You send out Your Word and heal. So then, please send Your healing Word to Your servant. In the name of Jesus, drive out all infirmity and sickness from his body.

Dear Lord, I ask You to turn this weakness into strength, suffering into compassion, sorrow into joy, and pain into comfort for others. May Your servant trust in Your goodness and hope in Your faithfulness, even in the middle of this suffering. Let him be filled with patience and joy in Your presence as he waits for Your healing touch.

Please restore Your servant to full health, dear Father. Remove all fear and doubt from his heart by the power of Your Holy Spirit, and may You, Lord, be glorified through his life.

As You heal and renew Your servant, Lord, may he bless and praise You.

All of this I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Divine Background Music

Dear Lord; Happy Sunday Father!

Last week Lord, the boys and I were sitting down together watching an old episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Riker and a couple other crewmembers had beamed over to a derelict ship and were exploring, when I looked over and noticed that Aidan was covering his eyes.  When I asked him why, he told me “There’s a scary part coming… The music changed.”.  Sure enough, the background music had changed to an ominous tone, and seconds later the first alien body was found.  That got me to thinking…

What if we had our own “background music” in our lives…

Wow… Wouldn’t that be cool!  We could tell when we were headed for dangerous or scary situations, or good news was coming.  We’d have warnings of upsetting events, or that what we were doing was destined for a joyous outcome.  Through that musical guidance our lives could be focused and directed so we knew what we should do with a better sense of clarity…

And then I realized Father, that we already have that… We have Your Voice.

The “music” of Your Spirit is always there with us; It soothes us, warns us of self-destructive behaviors, comforts us and leads us where our true path lies.

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”” – Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

Such wonderful melodic guidance it is Father, we just need to learn to listen for it in our daily lives.

Thank You so much for being such a Wondrous Conductor, guiding us from one scene to the next in perfect harmony with Your Purpose.  I pray that we may all hear Your lyrical prompting each day, and that our Divine Background Music leads us straight to Your Feet.  Amen.

~Phather Phil