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; This morning Father, I want to share a story with You; A very powerful story that brought both my wife and I to tears last night.
It was a long day yesterday Lord. Between the ice storm which led to school delays and then closings, and a number of other typical daily stresses, Shannon and I both came home a bit worn down. Grabbing the mail on the way in the house, Shannon spotted a hand-addressed envelope from the kids’ school. She opened it up, and inside was a letter written to us by one of the office staff regarding Jonathan. She quietly read the letter, laid it down and started to cry.
The letter was a personal note from one of the school administrative staff detailing a conversation she’d had with Jonathan the previous Friday. Apparently, Jonathan was assisting with shuttling some computer equipment between his classroom and the office, and helping with putting it away. At some point during this process, he started talking to one of the ladies in the office and asked her if she was familiar with a man called Jesus Christ. While surprised, she replied that yes, she was very familiar with Jesus. He then went on to tell her all about his disease (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis), his surgeries, treatments and chemotherapy as an infant, and how he’d gotten through all those trials and was doing very well now. She told him how wonderful he looked and that she was glad everything was doing so well, at which time he then left to go back to class.
What Jonathan didn’t know however, was that her husband had been battling two forms of serious cancers for many years, and that it was only through the grace of Christ that he was still alive. Along with that, she indicated there were others within earshot going through similar trials who also took interest in his story. She wrote that Jonathan’s unprompted testimony was exactly what she and others needed at that moment, and she was sure he was meant to be there to deliver Your message. Her faith had been renewed, by the witness and encouragement of our little boy.
When I came home shortly thereafter and read the letter, there were tears in my eyes as well.
I talked to Jonathan later that evening about the conversation that prompted the letter (of course, not revealing what she’d written to me), and asked him : “What made you ask her if she knew Jesus?”. He answered that he really didn’t know, and honestly didn’t remember what led up to it; It just came to him at the time.
You spoke through him Father, and to him it seemed perfectly natural and reasonable at the time. May we all be that open to Your Voice Lord, and not be afraid to share it with others.
Thank You Father. This touched me in a way that only You can. Please bring Your Healing and Comfort to those going through these trials, and let us all be as effective and powerful a witness to Your Grace as the words of a child were that day. Amen.
Dear Lord; Good morning Father… And a frozen one it is! The weather here has once again shifted and covered the Delaware landscape with Winter’s bounty. This morning though, it’s not snow that layers the ground, but a shiny frozen sheet of ice and sleet. This of course, makes traveling dangerous Lord, so please watch over those who are going out into this weather and keep them safe from harm.
As I was chiseling the ice from my “truck-sicle” this morning, waiting for the heater to add it’s inner glow to the effort it dawned on me that this was an interesting analogy to how You come into our lives (Ok, so this may be an odd tangent, but bear with me…). We’re like the truck shrouded in ice; spiritually cold and covered in misunderstanding, pain and sin. Little by little You scrape at our frozen shell, slowly revealing Your Light and Warmth to us until our inner heat kicks in and bridges that gap.
Ok. I said it was an odd tangent, but I think a valid one all the same. 🙂
Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your Diligence and constant Presence in my life. Please keep “chipping away” at my earthly shell, so that I may see You with more perfect clarity. 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. 
