“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” – Psalm 18:2 (ESV)
Life is unpredictable. From one moment to the next, we never know exactly which way our paths will turn… But thankfully, God does. Instead of clinging to the constantly moving targets of this world, when we anchor ourselves firmly to our Rock, we gain His strength, His stability and His peace.
Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!
Well Father, to start off our week together I want to thank You wholeheartedly for the wonderful Christmas weekend You Blessed my family and I with. Saturday evening we attended a beautiful candlelight service at Ewell’s-St. Paul UMC, followed the next day by a lovely Christmas morning with the kids and a trip to my (earthly) father’s house for a family dinner. And most importantly Lord, I was Blessed to have three whole days spent wrapped in the love of my wife and children. It was an absolutely joy-filled time of respite and celebration Lord, and for that I am truly grateful.
Today Father, I’m very Blessed to have the opportunity to share a guest “Email to God” from a dear lady and fellow Christian Blogger; Jean Wise from HealthySpirituality.org. Jean’s posts never fail to inspire and encourage her readers (including me), and I’m excited to have her sharing her prayers here today.
Happy New Year, Lord!
I love the end of December – watching the transition from one year to the next. It is a time of new beginnings and renewed energy. You invite me to sit with You, reflecting on the past 12 months and praying about the coming year.
Lord as we “harvest” my journal, sort through my emotional ups and downs, and dig deep into my past experiences, help me to remember You were with me then, You are with me now, and will stay by my side into the unknown future.
I pause and lift up 2011 and my entire life journey once again into Your hands. With a highlighter and my favorite pen in hand, what shall we look for?
Lord, be my companion, teacher, and guide as 2012 unfolds. Let this coming year be filled with warm relationships and the strength and wisdom to help those You place before me. Help me to love You more, love others as You do, and to love myself as only You can.
And Lord I ask for a bit a whimsical joy in 2012. Give me childlike wonder to see your creation with new eyes. I ask that You lavishly send love, peace, kindness, and patience to fill my heart and remove the pettiness, greed, and jealously that I hide in its corners.
The gift of 2012 is not for me, but an opportunity to serve You, love You, and give You glory. Father, the One who “makes all things new,” help me keep my eyes only on You the coming twelve months.
Thank You for being the God of our yesterdays, of our todays, and all of our tomorrows.
Amen
~Jean Wise
http://www.healthyspirituality.org
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Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!
I Father, as You know, am a creature of habit.
Every day during the work-week, I leave my house and travel a quiet series of back roads to reach my office. There’s only a few “blips” of significant traffic at the major intersections, and other than that it’s a generally straightforward ride.
One day last week however, I needed to make a stop before going in to the office so instead of my normal, peaceful morning commute, I was forced to travel the main roads in through the city of Dover. Now, Dover’s not exactly a sprawling metropolis by any means, but it’s certainly a good bit more hectic than my usual quiet country roads.
As I sat in the stop-and-go traffic, my mind drifted a bit and I found myself noticing how cluttered and complicated the roadways seemed as opposed to my normal route. With all of the multi-way intersections, turn lanes, and bypasses, it dawned on me that without the plethora of road signs dotting the highway, it would be quite easy to get lost in the chaos…
Hmmm… Kind of like the “Road Signs” You’ve give us in Your Word Father…
No Stopping Any Time : “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)
Yield : “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” – Proverbs 3:5-7 (ESV)
One Way : “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” – John 14:6 (ESV)
Water on Road : “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.” – Isaiah 43:2 (ESV)
Quiet Zone : “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 (ESV)
Share the Road : “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
Thank You Father, for giving us Your Word to guide us safely along the road of life we travel. I pray we see and recognize all Your “Signs”, and that at the end of our journey here on Earth, we haven’t made too many wrong turns along the way. 🙂
To close our conversation out today Lord, I want to take a moment to thank You for one of the biggest Blessings in my life.
Twelve years ago today Father, You brought into our lives a very special, and precious little boy named Jonathan.
He’s a remarkable child Lord; filled with a beautiful sense of wonder and imagination, and the light of Christ in his heart. In this past year, I’ve seen him take amazing strides towards growing into the resilient, caring, compassionate, godly young man I know he’s capable of becoming. Please continue to keep him in Your embrace Father; guide him, nurture him and bring to him that strength and peace that only Your presence delivers.
In Jesus’ Name we pray,
Amen.
~Phather Phil
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Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!
And once again Father, we come to the Thankful Thursday “edition” here at PhatherPhil.org. Today, I’m picking up where I left off on my list two weeks back, as for Thanksgiving I was Blessed to be able to present You with lists from Shannon and the boys instead. You graced us with a truly wonderful holiday weekend Father; filled with family, friends, fellowship and the beautiful promise that the beginning of Advent brings to our hearts. So much to be thankful for Lord, so much…
And on that note Father, continuing from where we left off, this past week I’ve been especially grateful for:
406. An absolutely beautiful Thanksgiving gathering with close friends and family.
407. You Blessing me with exactly what You know I need, when I need it. (Not to be confused with what I think I need, or what I want…)
408. Having close brothers and sisters in Christ to help keep me accountable.
409. An inspiring and encouraging Small Group gathering Tuesday evening as we delve deeper into the “Plan B” study.
410. Getting the outside Christmas lights up last weekend.
411. The spark of anticipation that this Season of Advent places in my heart.
412. Time spent with Jonathan putting up the Christmas lights.
413. Seeing the joy on Aidan’s face as he helped put the lights on the Christmas tree for the first time.
414. Turkey Club Sandwiches made with the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner.
415. That no matter how “out of control” life can seem to us, You’re never shaken.
416. Snuggling up with the kids on the couch to watch Christmas movies.
417. Having a group of our church family over for a fellowship brunch after services last Sunday.
418. The opportunity for our family to light the first Advent Wreath Candle during the church service last Sunday.
419. The “Blue Glow” that covers our house during the Christmas Season.
420. A beautiful guest “Email to God” written by my friend Kandi this week.
And the list continues to grow Lord, with no end in sight… 🙂
Heavenly Father,
We thank You Father, for the multitude of Blessings you bestow on us each and every day; both those that shine brightly with Your radiance, and those that uplift us quietly from the shadows. As we rejoice in the anticipation that this Season of Advent signifies, please open our hearts Lord, and fill us with wonder and gratitude at the coming of the Christ Child.
In Jesus’ Name we pray,
Amen.
~Phather Phil
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Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!
Today Father, I’m Blessed to share an “Email to God” with You written by Kandi, from “Get Out of the Boat”. Her posts always exude such an intimate connection with You Lord, so I was absolutely elated when she agreed to bring her prayers here today.
Good morning Father,
Well, at least it’s morning when I am writing this, very early morning, it is 1:00 a.m. right now, that seems to be the magic hour for You and I, I write so many of my blog posts this time of morning, when the world is still and silent. I am thankful for these times when it is just quiet, when it is just us spending time together. It is this time of morning when I do not have to strain through the voices of the day to hear Yours. So I sit here, fingers on the keyboard wondering what words are going to find their way onto the page.
A few years ago, I remember seeing the words “survival of the fittest” splashed across someone’s social network page. I remember thinking how strong and confident the writer of those words probably thought they sounded, and all I could think to myself was how hopeless that was. That was back in my infancy days when I first came to You, the days when getting on my knees before You seemed to exhaust my physical limits, when the tears flowed so freely it felt like I were shedding the three plus decades of my life that I spent without You, those four little words that in this world represent a sense of strength in ourselves, yet is void of any hope. Yes, there is the hope of something better, there is the hope that the dreams and passions of our deceptive human hearts will come to fruition, and for some they will, but there is no hope in You, in death it will all become meaningless and left behind. Those whose hope rests squarely in arms of You Father, the One who gives meaning to our lives, begin to see a bigger picture, that there is a greater purpose beyond what we can see. We know that You will never leave us or forsake us, You know the plans You have for us and that they are good, that You have gone before us, You have made a way, You have already made the our path straight, even when it looks so very crooked laid out at our feet, we know the only truest and purest form of hope is in You Father. We cling to You and Your promises, because we know that only You can take the ash and mold it into something beautiful, we know only You can make something new again, when we hope in You, our lives and the meaning of them begin to look different, when we frame them in the hope of You. There are places You want to take us that not even the strongest hands can touch because the greatest of human strength is like a pebble at the bottom of the ocean compared to Yours.
Father, You have blessed us with so many great scriptures of hope in Your word, but it is this one from Isaiah 40:31 that You keep placing in my path, I think this is one of my favorite scriptures that describes what our hope in You looks like.
“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 40:31 (NIV)
Father, when I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior four and half years ago, I would have never imagined being in this place I am today, I never thought it possible, Father, I love You so much, I can’t imagine doing life without You, I can’t live without hope in You.
Amen… Thank you Kandi!
🙂
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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. 
