Dear Lord; Good morning Father! Today Lord, I’d like to start out with an apology and to pray for your forgiveness. Yesterday, things were a little crazy at the office and I ended up having to put aside my plans to run out on to a client site over an hour away to deal with an unreasonable customer. The problem took all of five minutes to remedy on-site, and was absolutely something that could have been handled over the phone had we been allowed to. And while I didn’t show my anger to the client, I certainly blew my top when I got back to the car. Father, I said and thought some truly terrible things about that person that in retrospect I realize was sinful behavior on my part. Please forgive my stress-induced outburst of malice, and help me retain my composure in the future.
Now, on to some positive thoughts for the day Lord. As You know, I’ve been listening to a lot of Contemporary Christian music over the last couple of weeks, and it’s been a wonderfully uplifting change to my days. One song however, really hit a chord with me and I’ve had the lyrics running through my head quite a bit. The song is called “Lead Me” and is sung by the group Sanctus Real.
As a father, it resonates with me at a very fundamental level. The lyrics describe some of my deepest wishes and prayers beautifully. The closing verses to the song are :
“So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I am called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won’t You lead me?
To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing dreams 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”
This is my prayer every day Lord. Please lead me to be the best husband, father and servant of Your Will that I can be, ’cause I can’t do this alone. Amen.
Dear Lord; Good morning Father! Yesterday, our conversation focused on the events of the year we’re about to leave behind, and what I’ve learned from it. Therefore, today I thought we’d talk about moving forward, and some of the things I’d like to focus on for the upcoming year.
In holding with the last few Holiday posts I’ve made, I’d like to let my boys send their thoughts to You as well. To that end, I asked them this morning what they were hoping 2011 would bring and what they were going to focus on to help make a positive change in their lives.
Here’s what they said :
Jonathan ( Age 11 ) – “I’d like to be able to spend more time with my family. I want to learn how to do karate. I want to spend more time with our friends and relatives, and have them over more often. I’m going to be more involved in taking care of our animals. I want to finish the new Bible I got for Christmas and learn more about God. I’m going to work to be more thankful for the things that I have.”
Aidan ( Age 8 ) – “I’d like to see less crashes happen (car crashes) because I don’t want people to get hurt. I want me and my friends to have a fun time in school. I’d like my family to spend more time together. I want less animals to get abandoned. I’m going to finish reading my new Action Bible with Daddy and really want to learn about God. I’m going to work to get better at reading so I can read bigger books. I want to spend more time exercising. And I want to wish God a Happy New Year.”
They’re still one of my biggest inspirations Lord, and I see so much of You in them each day.
As for myself, well I’m not big on New Years Resolutions but there are some things I’m planning on focusing on this coming year.
As I mentioned yesterday, it’s been a rough year for my business. I’m very much dedicated to it’s success, and I’m going to work diligently to get it back to the stability it once had.
Although we are Blessed to have a very stable and wonderful home life, there’s always room for me to improve my contribution. I’m going to continue to work to be a better husband and father, and set as positive an example for my boys as I can.
2010 was an amazing year for my personal growth in You Lord, and I want very much to expand on that in the coming year as well. The closer I work to walk in Christ’s footsteps, the more I find the rest of my life gains meaning and direction. I’m also dedicated to bringing Your Light into my children’s lives, and teaching them the Love and Guidance You provide us every day.
Heavenly Father, I humbly pray that over the coming year Your Amazing Gift of Grace is felt by all Your Children. May we all experience the Joy in Serving Your Will, and walk the Path that Jesus has set for us in Your Holy Name. Amen.
Dear Lord; Whew… What a crazy morning it’s been Father. In addition to the normal first-thing rushing around to get everyone ready for work and school, today we had to contend with a grumpy almost-11-year-old who apparently was still disgruntled from an argument over homework with his mother the night before. His mood of course, did nothing to expedite all of us getting out of the house on time, and we found ourselves running to get out the door. In the car on the way to school, I got the chance to try and talk with him about his behavior and when that was met with resistance, I hit him with the bomb; “Jonathan, if Jesus was standing next to you right now, how do you think he’d feel about your behavior?” That got his attention. He looked down at his lap and mumbled something about how he knew Jesus wouldn’t approve, and his demeanor seemed to lighten a bit. I challenged him to think about that question more over the course of the day, and told him we’d talk more when I got home.
After dropping the kids off at school, I started playing things back in my head and thinking about the question I asked him in a larger context. It dawned on me that this was really an inquiry that we should all ask ourselves on a more regular basis. Yes, I do try to make decisions based on what my beliefs say are correct and I do try to listen for Your Guidance over the course of my day, but I certainly know I’m imperfect and don’t always make the right calls for every situation. Therefore Father, over this Season of Celebration I’m going to try to spend more time putting my actions and judgment to the same litmus test I asked of my son this morning. My hope is that by putting myself under the proverbial “Holy Microscope” more often I can gain further understanding of Your Will, and be a better husband, father, businessman, and Child of God. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; Eight years ago today, You Blessed me with my youngest son Aidan. He’s a remarkable child Lord, and although he’s extremely good at driving me crazy I love him to no end, and am VERY proud of him. Thank You for the amazing Gift that he is, and for continuing to Bless our lives by having him in them.
As I sit contemplating the last eight years, it very much comes back to the email I sent you a couple of days ago. Becoming a father has by far changed my life and directed my path more than any other single factor. I imagine, in a limited way my love, cares, fears and wishes for my two boys must be similar to the way You feel for all Your Children. I realize Your Perfect Love is infinitely more robust, but when I think about how deeply my two children affect me, my mind reels at the thought of being a Father to all the people of the world. You are indeed a Wonderous God, and an amazing Father to us all. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; As I’ve mentioned to You before, I think becoming a father was truly the starting point of my Spiritual Awakening, and the path to growing my relationship with You. In fact, this morning while searching for inspiration for our correspondence, I kept coming back to the relationship I have with my children. That got me wondering, if being a father to my two boys was so powerful a force in my life, how must it feel to be the Father of all of us? I worry endlessly about my kids, revel in their successes, cringe at their pain and watch them grow with adoration and fascination. I can’t even imagine experiencing that on the scale You have. Well, as one of Your Children, I just want to say Thank You for all you do Father; Your unending Love, Your sacrifices, Your Grace and Your bountiful Blessings in all our lives each day. And Lord, I especially want to thank You for allowing me the Blessing of being a father myself. It has truly opened my eyes and my heart to You more than ever before. 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. 
