First off Lord, I want to thank You for a lovely weekend. Jonathan was feeling a bit better, so we were able to get out to visit with some good friends Saturday night and then spent Sunday afternoon and evening with my father (the earthly one… 🙂 ) and his wife. The children love visiting with their grandparents, and it was wonderful to be able to get out and spend time with them. All in all, a very restful and enjoyable couple of days and I thank You for that time of respite.
This evening Father, I’d like to discuss something that’s been on my heart quite a bit as of late.
A couple months ago, I was contacted via email by a lady I hadn’t met before about possibly presiding over her upcoming wedding. She was a friend of a very good friend of mine, so I asked some questions to make sure it was feasible for me to do so. The date seemed fine, but she really didn’t have much of an idea of what kind of wedding ceremony she was interested in. I pointed her to some online resources with sample ceremonies and told her to look through them to get some ideas about what fit her and her fiancée’s wishes. Last week, I finally got around to reading my emails on that account and found that she’d sent me what she deemed the “perfect” script for her special day.
There was absolutely no reference to You in any way, shape or form.
The ceremony she’d chosen was a completely secular proceeding, save for an “optional” prayer at the end. Now Father, it was a lovely, very sentimental and poetic script to be sure, but in my mind it completely misses the point; marriage is of Your Design for us:
“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female’. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh.Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” – Mark 10:6-9 (NIV)
I sent the bride-to-be a politely worded response that although it was a lovely secular ceremony, it was my responsibility as a Christian Minister to bring Your Presence to the proceedings, and that I wasn’t able to represent Your intentions for the Holy Bond of marriage properly with that script. I hold marriage to be one of Your most personal and intimate Gifts to us, and I feel it’s very important to honor that Blessing appropriately during the formation of that union.
Needless to say, I haven’t heard back from her as of yet.
But this got me to thinking Father… Aren’t we doing the same thing in many other ways as well in society today?
We’ve removed open prayer in schools and many other public places as to not “offend” anyone.
Television commercials are being banned from airing during certain popular television programs to avoid giving a “platform” to any religious groups.
The Pledge of Allegiance has been under attack because the words “under God” upset some people.
It’s disturbing to say the least Father, and I’m seeing more and more signs of it each day. In an effort to not be “confrontational”, we as Christians in many cases “drop the ball” when reflecting Your Light and passing along Your Message of Love and Hope to others around us.
Heavenly Father, You’ve Blessed us all with remarkable gifts. Please help strengthen and embolden us to carry the lantern of Your Light proudly in front of us so that everyone may see Your Wonders and feel Your Presence. In God we Trust. Amen.
Well Father, it feels a little odd to be writing to You on a Saturday morning. As You’re aware, I’m a reasonably schedule-driven person, so when I got home last night and heard You tell me to “just rest” it went against my grain just a bit. But I listened, and I’m thankful for Your Guidance. Between sleep deprivation from a week of insomnia, hectic work schedules and the daily family and household duties, I was truly wiped. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to just curl up on the couch with the kids and enjoy a movie together. I’m glad You always know what I need, especially when I’m too stubborn to admit it.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
What a beautiful and powerful promise Lord! Only in You do I find the comfort and rest I need for my tarnished spirit. Thank You so much for Your Faithful Care of us all.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your Guidance and Support in this season of my life. I pray that we all can experience the rest You Provide us, and find strength and delight in Your Divine Presence. Amen.
Tonight Father, my prayers of thanks are directed towards Children’s Tylenol.
Earlier today, I received a call from the school nurse that Jonathan was in her office. She explained that he’d come in a little while ago with tears in his eyes, complaining that his head was really hurting him and that when she’d checked he was indeed running a low-grade fever. She promptly called me, and while I drove over to the school to retrieve him she gave him some Children’s Tylenol to try to knock down the fever and the associated headache. By the time I got there, he was still not a happy camper but he said his headache seemed a little better.
I had a series of booked appointments already scheduled, so we headed back to my office and he quickly laid down on my couch and fell fast asleep. The fever appeared to have subsided at that point, and he was able to get some much needed rest.
By the time we got home this evening, the fever had returned with a vengeance.
We got some liquids and food into him, along with some more fever-reducing medication and once again his temperature eased back and he was able to relax a bit. By the time he headed to bed, he was holding close to normal once again.
“The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
and restores them from their bed of illness.” – Psalm 41:3 (NIV)
Thankfully, Shannon was able to take tomorrow off from work so she can get him over to the doctor to be checked out. From the symptoms, it seems to be a nasty sinus infection, so with Your Healing and some antibiotics I suspect he’ll feel much better in a couple days’ time.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the Blessings that modern medicines afford us. When our little ones are hurting, there’s truly nothing more miraculous than some respite to their pain. I pray that You will please grant Jonathan some relief from the discomforts of this illness, and that You hold him closely in Your Embrace while he recuperates. Amen.
Wow Father, what a long and tiring day this was. I started the day at a client’s site at 7:45 this morning, and finally drove into my driveway at 8:45 tonight. I’m wiped.
Heading home this evening, I was driving along some back roads while Andrew Peterson’s “Counting Stars” CD massaged my mental temperament following the day’s toils. It was a dark and clear evening, and the stars seemed especially bright away from the street lights and incursions of blatant civilization. My mind drifted a bit, and I found myself pondering how much I actually enjoy driving at night; soaking in the Stillness and clarity of the draped surroundings.
And then track 9 started up…
It always fascinates me Father, how You manage to guide my thoughts and link them up with external reinforcements to get my attention. In this case, it came in the form of a song on the CD called “In the Night My Hope Lives On”. From my own thoughts of how in the Stillness of night I find comfort in Your Presence, this ballad reached in and awoke my spirit. What an amazingly powerful song this is Lord:
The lyrics are truly wonderful Father… such a potent description of the Hope we find in Your Love for us.
“I can see the crowd of men retreating
As he stands between the woman and their stones
And if mercy in his holy heart is beating
Then in the night my hope lives on
I remember how they scorned the son of Mary
He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb
He was beaten, he was crucified, and buried
And in the night, my hope was gone
But the rulers of the earth could not control Him
They did not take his life–he laid it down
All the chains of death could never hope to hold him
So in the night my hope lives on”
What a perfect way to end my day Lord; focusing on the Hope You so freely gifted us with. And in the night, my hope lives on.
Ah Lord, spring is truly here in all it’s glory; the grass is growing, the trees are sprouting, the flowers are starting to bloom…
And the pollen is everywhere.
Heading out to work and school this morning, we exited the garage and were faced with a lesson in color manipulation; my nice dark blue SUV had turned a fuzzy shade of green. The dusting of yellow pollen was so thick across the skin of the vehicle that it literally looked to be a different color.
Yuck.
The golden film held on all throughout the day, leaving the truck feeling dingy and old.
Driving home from a client’s office this evening, the colorful allergen’s grip on my vehicle was torn away as the skies opened and a cooling spring rain began to fall. The coating was quickly flushed off the surface of the truck, and everything once again seemed bright and clean.
Now, this seems familiar I thought…
Sin does to our souls what pollen did to my truck; it coats, and covers, and dirties and distorts. And like the cleansing rain, Your Grace washes that sin from our beings. We are made fresh and new in Your Love, and able to see Your Path more clearly.
“Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” – Psalm 51:2 (NIV)
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.
A couple months ago, I was contacted via email by a lady I hadn’t met before about possibly presiding over her upcoming wedding. She was a friend of a very good friend of mine, so I asked some questions to make sure it was feasible for me to do so. The date seemed fine, but she really didn’t have much of an idea of what kind of wedding ceremony she was interested in. I pointed her to some online resources with sample ceremonies and told her to look through them to get some ideas about what fit her and her fiancée’s wishes. Last week, I finally got around to reading my emails on that account and found that she’d sent me what she deemed the “perfect” script for her special 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. 
