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; 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; Good afternoon Father. As You’re aware Lord, I’ve had something on my mind the last few days that’s been bothering me. The funny thing is, my aggravations are regarding an event I’ve never really had much interest in; the Super Bowl.
I’ve never been a big football fan. In fact, other than a couple of games I went to when I was in college, I’ve never even attended a live game… It just never really caught my interest. This year really wasn’t much different, until I read a news story about a commercial that had been rejected by Fox Broadcasting Company for “delivering a religious message”. As I’ve seen some pretty racy and scary Super Bowl commercials over the years, I went and sought out the “offending” segment :
Really?? This was deemed to contain too much religious doctrine?? Wow… I am so terribly sorry Father. We’ve truly fallen from You as a society. From a country that has “In God We Trust” on our currency, this truly makes no sense to me. Fox certainly isn’t worried about offending viewers with the content on shows like “Family Guy” or Fox Sports’ Internet show “Cubed”, but they’re concerned that someone might take a reference to a Bible verse as an affront?
Fox issued a statement last week that stated :
“As a matter of company policy, Fox Broadcasting Company does not accept advertising from religious organizations for the purpose of advancing particular beliefs or practices. The Fixed Point Foundation was provided with our guidelines prior to their submission of storyboards for our review. Upon examination, the advertising submitted clearly delivers a religious message and as a result has been rejected.”
Ok, so the reason they’re airing commercials for the new movie “The Rite” is because it’s not from a religious organization? Wow… I’m completely at a loss on this one.
I realize that as a private company Fox has the right to choose what they do and don’t air on their network within FCC guidelines, but if a little of that “concern” about offending viewers were redirected to examining some of the programming and advertisements they do broadcast, I have a feeling the lineup would be far different than it is now.
Heavenly Father, thank You for letting me rant on about this today. As always, You’re a wonderful listener. Please fill our hearts and minds with Your Presence and Understanding, so that everyone can experience that Hope :
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father! Well Lord, it’s seemed like a terribly long week here for some reason. I’m very much looking forward to the respite of some down-time with my family and friends over the next couple of days, and to some Stillness for You and I to spend some “quality time” together as well.
To finish up the week Father, I’d like to share a couple of things that have been on my heart the last several days. To start with, I’ve had a song running through my head very consistently all week. It’s a wonderfully heartfelt tune written and performed by JJ Heller called “What Love Really Means” :
This is a powerful song Lord, with an amazing message of Hope and Faith that touches me each time I hear it. It’s always wonderful to hear Your Voice through music. 🙂
Secondly, as I mentioned before Father, I’ve felt very drained this week. Searching for encouragement and focus this morning, I came across a passage from Isaiah which spoke to me :
“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-31
Heavenly Father, You are our Hope, and our Strength. In Your Powerful Hands I lay my Trust, my Love and my Burdens. You are indeed a Wondrous God. Amen.
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.
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. 
