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; Happy Monday Father! To begin with Lord, I want to thank You for another lovely weekend with my family and friends. I was able to get caught up on quite a bit of housework, did a little cooking, had fun time with the kids and even went out on a great date night with Shannon. All in all, a productive and relaxing couple of days away from work. Thank You so much for that much-needed respite!
This morning Father, I was thinking about all the different ways You and I communicate. Throughout my journey to You, I’ve found that the more “in-tune” I become with Your Presence, the more ways I see and hear Your Guidance in my everyday life. I’ve come to rely on Your Voice more and more, and love finding Your influence in the world around me during the course of the day.
So today, I thought I’d run down some of the places and ways I find Your Messages to me each day. Lets see…
Through reading and hearing Your Word; Whether it’s hearing verses quoted on the Christian Radio stations I listen to, reading passages in my Bible or finding quotes while searching the Internet, Your Book brings such amazing Guidance for all facets of my life.
Through Christian Music; Music gets into our soul in ways that not many other things can. The Godly messages and themes present in Christian Music help keep me focused, uplifted and energized over the course of my day.
By reading and interacting with Christian Devotional Blogs and their authors; The blogs I read each day and the wonderful people I’ve met by doing so are an amazing resource and Blessing for me Lord. They give me perspective, encouragement and an online fellowship that has been invaluable in my walk with You.
Through Prayer; Along with our conversations on this blog Father, prayer is my lifeline to You. Whether silent or verbal, much of the guidance and direction I receive from You over the course of the day comes from our “prayer connection”.
By the words and actions of others; As I’ve written to you so often Lord, I see Your Love and Influence in the actions of others. We’re surrounded by miracles every day, and the closer I walk to Christ’s footsteps the more obvious those wonders become to me.
Obviously Father, this isn’t a complete list by any means but these examples are what first came to my mind as I thought about our talks. I love the deepening connection You and I are forming, and I crave for it to expand more each day.
Your Son phrased it perfectly when he said :
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” – John 10:27-29
Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your Loving Presence and Guidance in my life. The more I open myself to You, the fuller and more complete my life becomes. Amen.
Dear Lord; Well Father, I want to start today by thanking You for Your Healing Light; Shannon and I are both feeling much better today. And more importantly Lord, I got Your point from our illness. Through all the stresses, difficulties and worries in our lives we are absolutely Loved and Blessed. What an amazing feeling! We had such an exceptional outpouring of love and concern that both of us could feel Your Presence in abundance, and we’re very grateful.
Today however, I’ll admit to be feeling a little overwhelmed with my earthly realities. Between the demands at work and Christmas being only four short days away, Shannon and I are struggling to not allow our time and money constraints to overshadow the amazing Blessing this Season of Celebration brings to us all. As You know, one of the things I use to keep my spirit focused on what’s truly important Lord, is music. Today, You kept bringing one specific Artist to my mind; Kathy Mattea. Her “Good News” Christmas Album has long been one of my favorites, and today this song just spoke to me :
Thank You Father, for all the Miracles You bring us each day. Help us all lay our worries and burdens at Your Feet and go forward in Love to Celebrate the coming of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; First off Father, if I seem to ramble a little this morning, please forgive me. This nasty bug that Shannon and I came down with Sunday morning has hit us so hard and so fast that I’m a bit disjointed at the moment. However Lord, although all my body wants right now is to go back to sleep my heart cried out to speak with You about something wonderful that happened to us yesterday.
This was to be a busy weekend for us. Friday night, we had Jonathan’s 11th birthday party at the house and a number of his friends stayed overnight with us. It was a bit on the crazy side with that many pre-teen boys running through the house, but everyone had a good time and we survived the onslaught. Saturday afternoon, our boys then went to stay overnight with Aidan’s Godparents as Shannon and I had an “Adults Only” Christmas Party to attend, and it was to go quite late. The party was lots of fun, and we got home somewhere around 2:30am Sunday morning. Around 4:00am, both of us woke to fevers, chills, severe body aches and coughing. This lasted throughout the rest of the night, and well into the morning.
As I mentioned, this was intended to be a busy and productive weekend for us, including Sunday. With the hectic schedules we both have we were behind on all the typical household chores (laundry, dishes, groceries, etc.) as well as helping Jonathan with a school project due Monday and preparing a huge amount of homemade foods for Christmas gift baskets. Sunday was set aside to be the day to get all that accomplished, and with us both in horrible shape, it was looking very unlikely most of those things would get done. Being this was the last weekend before Christmas, this was a devastating blow to Shannon and I.
And then You intervened.
We have some friends that we’ve become quite close with over the last couple of months. They’re good people, but have been dealing with one nightmare after another for some time now. Their plate is more than full Lord, it’s overflowing. And yet, when they found out that Shannon and I were down for the count, the next thing we knew the wife of the couple was at our door.
We helped as much as we could Father, but she ran the show. She took Shannon to the grocery store, helped do the necessary cooking, did a number of loads of laundry, and even found time to help Jonathan with his project; All the while insisting that we rest and try to recuperate. She was in every way Heaven Sent Lord, and I can’t tell You how much it meant to both of us.
Therefore Father, my prayers today are very focused. Please bestow Your Love and Blessings on this wonderful lady and her family. Continue to fill her heart with the Love of Christ, and give her Peace knowing that she is indeed Loved and Appreciated in so many ways. Amen. ~Phather Phil
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. 
