Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father! Once again Lord, You Blessed me with a lovely couple days respite filled with family, good food and good friends. Thank You so very much for that time!
Well Father, today we celebrate Valentine’s Day. While the true origin of this holiday seems to be clouded by historical variations in the chain of events which formed it, today we observe it as a day to focus on and express the love and affection we feel for those we’re closest to. In addition to the amazing love You’ve shown me directly Lord, You’ve also Blessed me beyond words by surrounding me with a significant number of loving, caring people…
And at the center of this group, is my wonderful wife Shannon.
I see Your Light in her in so many ways Father. She’s my partner in every respect; A true soul bonded to my own with whom I can share my innermost self without fear of judgment or rejection. She’s a phenomenal mother to our two sons, and has proved her mettle and devotion to our marriage and our family time and time again. She’s been the anchor when I’ve been adrift, and the harbor when I’ve needed rest and comfort. She gives of herself freely to help others in need, and brings her loving spirit to all that she does. She’s the first person I think of to share my joys, and as You know, the focus of many of my prayers. I am a much better man Lord, with her by my side.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” – Ephesians 5:25
Heavenly Father, I thank You for Blessing our Union as Man and Wife and for seeing us through the trials we encounter along our journey together. Please continue to let her feel the warmth of Your Loving Embrace, and watch over her throughout her days. Amen.
Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father! To start with Lord, I want to thank You for Your Gift of rest to me last night. This morning I awoke with a smile, and feel quite refreshed. 🙂
Today Father, I have the honor of being featured over at the “A Moment with God” blog. Lisa’s site is truly a Blessing to me Lord, and she’s always been a wonderful source of encouragement and inspiration to me in my walk with You. Please continue to shine Your Light through her, and assist her mission to bring Your Word and Message to others. 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.
Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father. As always, I’d like to start today by thanking You for the Blessings You bestowed on me this past weekend. While we had some disappointments in regards to plans that had been made, I did get to spend quite a bit of relaxed time with my family and some friends. All in all, it was a quiet but happy couple of days and I thank You for that.
This morning Lord, I’d like to talk about honesty if I may. It’s been a topic on my mind the last couple of days, as our disruption in plans this past weekend appears to have been the result of some deceit from someone Shannon and I had trusted. We haven’t been able to confirm our suspicions yet, but it’s extremely likely that we’re correct in this case. Either way, the situation got me thinking about the importance of truth in our lives in general, and how as Your Children we need to focus on it in our lives.
To begin with, I have to beg Your Forgiveness Lord. When I started going over the whole subject in my head, I put myself and my actions in a “litmus test” against Your Law and I found myself lacking. While I like to think of myself as an honest individual, if I truly subject myself to Your Absolutes I lie nearly every day in some fashion. Whether it’s a “little white lie” to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, or telling my secretary that I’m out if someone I don’t want to hear from calls, they’re lies no matter how you slice it. And when I expand that examination outward, it appears that we’re a dishonest society in general Lord.
Wow… What an intense realization for a Monday morning.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:16
Ah yes, the good old 9th Commandment. Although we all know this one, we also all violate it at some point as well. There are many other edicts about misrepresenting the truth in Your Book as well Lord, including :
“Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.” – Leviticus 19:11
“The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.” – Proverbs 12:22
“Those who walk righteously
and speak what is right,
who reject gain from extortion
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,
whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail them.” – Isaiah 33:15-16
Forgive us Lord, for in this respect we have lost our way.
Heavenly Father, please forgive us for our misdeeds. Purge our fragile hearts of dishonesty, and help us focus on Your Guidance and Light as we go about each day, so that we may serve Your Will with honesty and Integrity. 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. 
