Well Father, it’s certainly been a roller-coaster of a week. You’ve been extremely “chatty” with me as of late and while I don’t completely understand these urgings You’re placing on my heart yet, I’m starting to put some of the pieces together. Either way Lord, I am paying attention. 🙂
Today Father, I’d like to lift a dear friend of mine up in prayer. He’s going through a very rough time at the moment, and he’s hurting deeply inside. He’s been an incredible support and Blessing both to myself and my business over the years, and has always encouraged me on my journey to Your Service. Please bring Your Healing Presence to his heart Father, and grant him the comfort he needs to be strong during this time of trial.
To close out the week Lord, I’d like to once again share some music that uplifts and inspires me. One of my favorite Christian Artists for many years has been Mark Schultz. He initially grabbed my attention almost ten years ago with “He’s My Son”, which I first heard while Jonathan was going through chemotherapy. Recently however, he seems to be coming out with one amazing new song after another. One of those that truly makes my heart swell is “Love Has Come” :
He’s a truly talented artist Father, and I can feel Your Love each time I hear this song. The chorus says it all :
“Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
That God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free, every one will see
That God is love and love has come for us all”
Thank You Father, for yet another lovely weekend! Shannon and I were able to get out with some friends for a “date night” Friday evening, and on Saturday a friend of Jonathan’s from Kay’s Kamp came for a visit. He hadn’t seen Matthew since Kamp last summer, so it was a wonderful reunion and the kids had an absolute blast. As for me, with Shannon focused on her schoolwork I got to spend lots of time in the kitchen (the kids really enjoyed making fried wontons), got some housework accomplished and still had “down time” to spend on Sunday watching movies and playing with the kids. All in all, a busy but very satisfying couple of days.
One of the movies I watched on Sunday afternoon was an old favorite of mine (I actually have it on Laserdisc). It’s a 1992 film called “Leap of Fath” which starred Steve Martin as a con-man Christian preacher and faith healer named Jonas Nightengale who travels across the country hosting revivals and performing “miracles” for the crowd. On his way to Topeka, one of the trucks breaks down and strands the troupe in a depressed farming town called Rustwater. Jonas decides to do their show in the small town while waiting for the truck to be repaired, and is quickly met with resistance from the local sheriff (played by Liam Neeson) who seeks to expose him for the charlatan that he is. Jonas’ perspective however, soon changes when a local handicapped boy begins to make him examine his faith in a different light.
This is one of those films I can watch again and again, and yet gain something new from it each time Lord. It highlights some of the depths that in our brokenness we can sink to, and yet also delivers a powerful reminder of Your capacity for love and the spiritual transformation that can only come when we actively seek You. Watching this time, the thing that struck me the most was the look on Jonas’ face when he witnesses an actual miracle of healing during one of his shows. From the chasm of his self-centeredness and disbelief, he’s forced to see past himself and realizes that he’s truly not in control of things.
Mr. Martin does an amazing job portraying the character in this scene. The look of awe on his face at that moment describes quite eloquently the feeling I get when I spend time in Your Presence. 🙂
Heavenly Father, thank You once again for a rejuvenating weekend. It always refreshes me to find Your Messages to us in so many varied ways and places. You truly are the God of “Miracles and Wonders”. Amen.
This morning Father, my heart is troubled by some extremely disturbing events that happened yesterday evening involving a friend of ours. You know the lady and the details Lord; she’s in terrible emotional turmoil, and needs You desperately. As I’ve asked in my prayers many times today Father, please let her feel Your Comfort and Presence to guide her through this time of trial.
On a happier note, I thought I’d close the week with some joyous music! Jonathan and I have tickets to the Newsboys “Born Again Experience” Concert with Kutless, Disciple and Carlos Whittaker for April 9th. Jonathan is a HUGE Newsboys fan, and this is his first concert as well so he’s very excited (Ok, so am I 🙂 ). Anyways, they released a new music video last month for the song “Miracles” so I thought I’d finish our chat up with that :
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;” – Psalm 98:4 (NIV)
Over the last couple weeks Father, it seems that I’ve been performing more and more data recovery services at my office. It’s actually work that I enjoy; taking a damaged hard drive where the contents have been rendered inaccessible and extracting the client’s seemingly lost bits of information contained therein. It’s a puzzle sometimes, and each drive has it’s own nuances that requires specific “massaging” to get to the data.
For the client, it’s a time of trial to be sure. Critical business data, family photos, tax returns or years of childhood videos may hang in the balance. People tend to underestimate the importance and value of the information they entrust to their computers these days, and when it’s not there all of a sudden it can be quite a shock. In the end, It’s a wonderfully satisfying feeling for me to hand them back something precious that they thought was lost to them forever.
Hold on… That’s what You do for us!
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:4-5
We bring our lost and broken selves to Your Feet Lord, and through Your Son Jesus Christ we are “recovered” and made whole again. You return to us the most precious part of ourselves, and delight in doing so.
I never thought of you as a fellow geek Father… I like it. 🙂
Heavenly Father, thank You for “recovering me” from my sin and brokenness. Please continue to fill my spirit with new and beautiful “data”, and assist me in promoting Your Wondrous Service to others. Amen.
In recent months Father, my children have become much more observant of the people around them and the things they say and do. This of course has led to LOTS of questions about behaviors and mannerisms, and why people act in certain ways. Following a car ride we took over the weekend, I started thinking much more in-depth about what they’re asking and the responses I’ve been giving them.
“Why do people throw trash on the ground?” asked Aidan as he looked out the car window Saturday afternoon. “Because sometimes, people can be lazy and selfish I’m afraid.” I responded. A little further down the road, I put my turn signal on to move over into a different lane. When I did so, instead of making space to let me in the driver of the car next to me closed the gap between themselves and the car in front of them, effectively preventing the lane-change. Sensing my annoyance, one of the boys piped up “Why’d they do that?”. “Because sometimes people only think about themselves.” I replied.
As I look back on that ride, I’m a little disappointed by the answers I gave to the boys. These were prime openings for much deeper discussions about how our actions or inactions can affect others, and how with little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness we can make a real difference in the lives of those around us. Little things like holding onto your napkin from lunch until you find a trash can, or moving aside when you see someone with their turn signal on cost us very little effort, and yet can be the difference between a smile and “the last straw” of someone’s day.
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
In the same respect Lord, I am also convicted by my own words as well. In a rush to get to work in the morning, how many times have I cut someone off without thinking about it? How many times have I not stopped to help someone in need when I truly could have? How often have I focused on situations in my own life instead of trying to reach out to others going through difficult times? I do try to be a good person and show kindness and comfort to others, but if I’m brutally honest with myself I know I can do more.
Heavenly Father, please help guide me to be a source of compassion, support and understanding to those around me. Lead me to reach out in the spirit of Your Love, and to show that Light to others. Kindness is contagious Lord; Please aid me in starting an epidemic. 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. 
