This morning Father, I had what I think is an important realization; my life is noisy.
Each morning, I’m awakened by an alarm clock which at the same time starts an hour-long process of dogs barking to go out, my smartphone reporting to me all the things that I missed while I slept (or tried to anyways), and the daily rush to get our family moving forward with the day. Then I don the mobile headset for the ride to school and the office, on goes the radio and all the while I’m serenaded by the beeps and blips from the boys’ Nintendo DS’s from the back of the SUV. Once at work, the constant sounds of phones, computers, streaming radio, and a plethora of other office chatter persist throughout the day. The ride home is spent back on the headset along with the radio helping me to drown out the commute noise. Evenings at home are filled with more barking dogs (yes, we have little yappy dogs… lol), television, phones and other such sounds of modern life.
As I said… Noisy.
I’m beginning to think that the struggle I’ve had with insomnia over the years may be partially related to the amount of constant noise in my day. In the wee hours of the night, I can truly find the Stillness and quiet to properly direct my thoughts and listen to Your Voice.
Hmmm… Stillness… It’s been a while since I’ve truly had some.
“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”” – Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Well Lord, this weekend I’m going to try and focus on that. It’s supposed to be nicer weather the next couple of days here, so I’m planning to try and take advantage of it and visit one of the few places I can almost always get the Stillness I need to hear You; Blackbird State Forest. It’s been months since I’ve been able to go and just walk in Your Splendor, so I’m going to do exactly that.
“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55:12 (NIV)
Dear Lord; Good morning Father! Well Lord, my day started out with a lovely surprise gifted to me by a couple of my fellow Christian Bloggers. As I’ve mentioned to You more than once, the wonderful people I’ve met (virtually) while writing this blog have been an amazing blessing to me, and never fail to inspire and encourage me in my walk with You. Two of the sites I read each day; Mothers on Mission (co-authored by Kelli and Heidi) and Beautiful in Him (written by Allison) have passed along to me the “Stylish Blogger Award”. Thank you so much ladies… I’m very flattered by this wonderful complement. 🙂
Along with this award comes a few requirements. First, I need to list seven things about myself that not everyone knows (although I realize You know me completely Father). Funny enough, while that seemed like a simple enough request, I found it no easy task. Here’s what I came up with :
1. I’ve married my wife Shannon three times; An informal ceremony with just a few family and friends, a formal affair five months later with a larger guest list and a reception, and this previous year on our 15th Anniversary I surprised her with a Vow Renewal Ceremony at the same church we were married in.
2. For the original wedding ceremony, I was married in jeans and western boots.
3. In 2009 I wrote and published a book for Shannon as an Anniversary gift called “Musings of a Devoted Husband” containing family photos and the daily romantic and devotional quotes I send to her phone and publish to MyCoffeeCupHasFeet.com each day.
4. I own and operate a computer networking and service company in Dover, Delaware called Diamond Computer Incorporated.
5. I have two wonderful children; Jonathan age 11 and Aidan age 8, both of whom I love dearly.
6. I’m a science fiction junkie, and love losing myself in episodes of shows like Dr. Who, Firefly, Babylon 5 and Fringe.
7. I’ve been a player of the online game World of Warcraft for over two years now. While I don’t get the time to play that I used to, I still enjoy it when I have a few quiet moments.
Wow… That took more than I thought it would. While it’s probably a good exercise, I always find writing about myself to be a terribly difficult thing to do.
The other responsibility of this award Father, is to bestow it on some other blogs that I enjoy. There are so many that I’ve gained insight and inspiration from that this could be a long list, but some of my favorites are :
Heavenly Father, I thank you for connecting me with these wonderful people in our Online Fellowship. I’m humbled to have met them through this journey, and pray that You continue to bestow Your Blessings on all those who strive to bring Your Message of Love 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; 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; Good morning Father. Today Lord, I want to follow up on a discussion we had earlier this week where we talked about finding my “One Word Focus” for this year. You and I have been “chatting” a lot about this over the last few days, and my mind’s been flooded with so many words describing parts of myself that I know could use work. Throughout all those deliberations and prayers however, I keep hearing one word in the midst of it all :
Accept.
Ok, message received… “Accept” it is. I’ll admit, it’s not quite along the lines of what I had originally conceived when I started down this path but I’ll Accept Your Guidance :-).
So this morning, I started contemplating what the word Accept means in relation to my life, and the more I thought about it the bigger the scope grew. There are so many things that I currently Accept (and possibly shouldn’t), and so many more that I need to work on. For example, as we discussed yesterday I need to work on the fact that my nature is to try and fix everyone’s problems, when obviously that’s not a realistic perspective.
I need to Accept that I’m not in control and that I can’t fix everything.
Wow… So, I’m starting to understand why you put this word in my heart Lord. I guess there are more things in my life that I haven’t fully Accepted than I had originally thought. This is a truly powerful word, and I thank You for seeding me with it.
Heavenly Father, thank You so much for instilling this focus in my heart and mind. As I contemplate and pray about this direction over the coming year, please lead me to recognize and Accept all Your Truths and proceed with them in Your Love. 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. 
