To begin with Father, I want to thank You again for yesterday. As You told me it would be when I woke, it was a good day. 🙂
Today Lord, I’d like to focus my prayers on my wonderful wife Shannon if I may. As You know, she’s been on my mind even more than usual the last few days. The past year has been an amazing transition and growth year for her both personally and professionally, but in that same respect her workload has increased and changed from what she’d been used to for so long. From being a stay-at-home mom and part-time assistant at a Christian Preschool she now :
– Has a job as a full-time Preschool Teacher with a full class of four-year-olds at a school she loves, surrounded by people that encourage and appreciate her.
– Has started taking college courses to further her education in Early Childhood Development.
– Plays viola for the Dover Symphony Orchestra and a private quartet that does weddings and parties.
– Teaches violin, viola and other instrumental lessons to a number of children in the area.
And on top of that Father, she always finds time and energy for her loving husband and two little boys. I am indeed Blessed to have her as my wife, my best friend and the mother of our children.
When I first heard the song “Dancing in the Minefields” by Andrew Peterson played on K-Love earlier in the year, I shared it with her and we both immediately felt a connection to the message it contained. It’s been running through my heart a lot the last few days, so I thought I’d close the week by sharing :
Heavenly Father, You’ve bestowed upon me the most amazing gift any man could ask for; a true soul-mate in life. I thank You for such an undeserved Blessing, and pray that You continue to shine Your Light through her eyes and her heart. Amen.
I’ve decided that 11 is a complicated age Lord… Let me tell You a little about my morning.
Today started out like most weekday mornings do; with everyone scrambling to compose themselves and prepare for the work and school day ahead. Still shaking off the effects of a restless night, I stepped out of the shower and immediately picked up on yelling coming from the opposite side of the house. Quickly wrapping a towel around myself I headed for the source of the turmoil.
Jonathan and Aidan were firmly entrenched in a verbal battle with each other. Apparently, Aidan had taken a seat at the table that Jonathan had set up for himself, pushing his things aside in the process. This in turn lit Jonathan’s fuse, and the battle royale had begun.
Both were intractable, and it had progressed from a basic disagreement to an angered exchange complete with name calling (luckily, nothing too terrible) and yelling. (Looking back to it now, Dr. Seuss’ story “The Zax” comes to mind.)
Still sporting my towel, I quickly intervened on the situation trying to get a handle on who did what and to calm things down. Unfortunately, Jonathan was riled up way past the point of reason and redirected his attitude towards my authority. Needless to say, it went downhill from there. Shannon and I take disrespect very seriously, and Jonathan had gone WAY too far to allow it to go unchecked.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12
We then entered the correction phase of the conversation; No computer games for the next couple of days… At which time, Jonathan went off the deep end.
I’ve never seen anger like this from him Father, and it really caught Shannon and I off guard. He threw what can only be described as a massive “hissy fit”, told us he was leaving home forever, and without a coat, hat or gloves stormed out the front door onto the snow covered lawn.
I watched quietly out the window for a couple minutes, then went outside and got in the truck to go fetch him. He’d made it down to the end of the street, and when I pulled up on him he stood shivering in the snow and firmly refused to get in the car. More concerned for his health than the attitude at this point, I promptly picked him up, put him in the truck and closed the door. Unfortunately, that still wasn’t the end of it and the ride to school was filled with further venomous outbursts and disrespect. As it hadn’t completely abated when we turned into the school parking lot, I decided to err on the side of caution and keep him with me for the day.
As we pulled out of the school after dropping Aidan off, I quietly focused on Your Guidance Father. I was at a loss… He’d never shown me this kind of behavior before.
“Hold him close to you.” I heard drift through my head.
With that directive in my heart and an image of You holding him in Your Arms in my mind, I spent the rest of the trip to my office working to release some of the tension that the morning had brought. We arrived at my workplace, where I set him down on the couch in my office to contemplate the events of the morning.
“Jonathan” I said, “You tell me you talk to God quite a bit… Now would be a good time to listen to Him.”
He gave me a half-quizzical look, but sat quietly on the couch for quite a long time all the same. When he finally turned and spoke to me, his voice was much softer and more reserved. We discussed what had happened, and he remorsefully explained how he’d allowed his anger to run away with him and about the difficulty he’d had “getting the genie back in the bottle” once he’d lost control. There are days Father, that I think he’s far too deep for a child of 11… Today was one of those days.
When I spoke with him later on, I asked him if he’d heard from You while he laid on my couch.
“Yes… And he didn’t sound happy.” Jonathan replied. “We talked about how I was going to make it better, and not let it happen again.”
Thank You for the assist with him Father, and for focusing me as well. Sometimes we all need some parenting help from the “Head of the Household”. 🙂
Today Lord, I was having difficulty deciding how to “frame” our conversation. This morning brought along with the dawn a seemingly continuous stream of headaches, problems and complications which made it very difficult for me to focus on Your Voice through the “noise”. I started writing several times, but always ended up clearing it from my screen because it just felt wrong. Instead of forcing the issue, I decided to leave myself open to You as best I could, and work through the day’s labors until we could connect up properly.
Well Father… I’m here now.
It’s terribly disconcerting to me when I get to the point where I can’t focus enough to have our morning discussion. I’m dependent on You Lord, and when earthly influences overwhelm me to the point of not being able to concentrate on You, it’s upsetting to say the least. I felt lost, and embattled. For my human frailties Lord, I apologize and thank You for being ever faithful to me during my moments of weakness.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
Thank You for Your Comfort and Strength Father, and Your Unwavering Dedication to Your Children. We are truly Blessed.
Now Lord, if I may, I’d like to shift the subject.
As I mentioned yesterday, over the weekend I got a chance to head out with Jonathan and Aidan to Blackbird State Forest for a photowalk in the woods. It wasn’t overly cold per-se, but the wind was in upwards of 40mph, providing a stark reminder that while the temperature was up a bit we were still in the grips of winter. I hadn’t been there during this time of year before, and it was a truly different place with the foliage stripped from the trees and bushes. The veil of green we were accustomed to seeing was cast aside, and had been replaced by a vast sea of towering gray trunks reaching into the sky.
Life seemed to have packed up and left for warmer climates.
And yet, as we walked through the silent, barren trails we were greeted with some signs of rebirth. Through the carpet of fallen leaves and pine needles poked streaks of color; tufts of early grasses and fungi protected by and feeding on the remains of the previous year’s abundance. Like our spirits journeying to Your Light Lord, the forest was quietly feeding and nourishing the life it held hidden beneath the surface.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)
Heavenly Father, that walk opened my heart to the transitions You’re making in my life. I pray that You continue to feed my hunger for Your Presence, and nourish my imperfect and yearning spirit so that my human failings are no further impediment to Your Plan for me. Amen.
Dear Lord; Good morning Father! On the heels of our discussion yesterday Lord, I’d like to follow up by talking with You about one of the most personal and effective ways You’ve brought Your Teachings and Guidance to me; through my children. I know we’ve covered things they’ve said and done more than once, but there were a couple glimmers of Your Light in them the last few days that I’d like to share. I still find it fascinating that even though You’ve put them in Shannon’s and my care to raise, I learn at least as much about You from them as they do from me.
To begin with, Friday night Jonathan was reading our discussions from the prior few days and informed me I had missed something. In the post “Better Than a Hallelujah”, I neglected to include his favorite song in the list. It’s from the Newsboys, and entitled “He Reigns” :
I have to agree with him, it’s a wonderful song. The lyrics that really get my attention are :
“And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they’ve just heard
‘Cause all the powers of darkness
Can’t drown out a single word”
Amen! If we fill the world with our praises of Your Glory, no dark force stands a chance. Nice choice Jonathan. 🙂
He and I also had a reasonably deep conversation about You that evening Lord, during which he made a statement out of the blue that just made my heart jump. He looked up at me and said : “Dad… I crave God.” Wow… I’ve never heard him use the word “crave” before, but from the lips of my 11 year old it was an amazingly powerful statement. Once again Father, you’ve used him to make me see Your Light. Thank You so much for this.
Not to leave Aidan out of the “influence loop” Lord, he gave me a good smile last night as well while he was reading his Action Bible and telling me all about it. He recanted the story described in Judges 6-8 in which Gideon’s army was reduced from 32,000 to a force of 300 men, and then by Your Power he prevailed against the Midianites much larger force. Aidan was completely captivated by this, and when we started discussing it he informed me that You were better than all the superheroes put together. Seeing him absorbing Your Word just brings joy to my heart Father. 🙂
I love my children to no end Lord, and seeing Your Light in them affects me more than almost anything else. Thank You so much for bringing them to my life, and staying by their sides each day. I pray that I can honor Your Gifts to us as they deserve, and that they never lose that craving for Your Love.
“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” – Psalm 127:3
Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father! As I was driving in to work this morning Lord, the song “Better Than a Hallelujah” by Amy Grant came on the radio. While the inspiration of those wonderful lyrics settled over me, it started me thinking about some the other fantastic messages I’ve received through Christian Music as of late. As yesterday’s discussion we had was about the disturbing direction some media has taken, I thought today we could focus on the positive message that these songs bring to us instead.
“We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah”
What a wonderful way to say that You love us for who we are, and when we honestly seek You that our plea comes through loud and clear. It’s a beautiful song, and always warms my heart when I hear it.
Another one I’ve become extremely fond of, and actually posted the video of as a dedication to my wife on Facebook the other day, is “Dancing in the Minefields” sung by Andrew Peterson. Towards the end of the song, the lyrics contain the following verse :
“Cause we bear the light of the son of man
So there’s nothing left to fear
So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands
Till the shadows disappear
Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos baby
I can dance with you”
I love this! What an amazingly powerful metaphor connecting marriage and the way that You love us. It just makes me want to hold Shannon tightly when I hear it… What a wonderful message.
One more for the day Lord, and it comes from the song “Lead Me” as performed by Sanctus Real :
“To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up
I’ll show them I’m willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone
Father, lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone”
We’ve talked about this song before Father, but this truly represents my hopes and prayers as a father and Your Child so well that it can’t be repeated enough. I see this song as a prayer from my heart, and strive daily to be the man this verse describes.
There are many more examples as well Lord, but these are a few that touch me the most. It’s comforting to know that while Your Word may not be on millions of TV screens this Sunday, the airwaves do still carry Your Message of Love to us each day. Thank You for reminding us of Your Love and Aspirations for us through these talented artists. 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. 
