Well Father, I couldn’t have asked for a lovelier weekend. Coming off of a tiring and complicated week, Shannon, the boys and I were all well-worn by the time Friday evening rolled around. With that being the case, we made the decision to spend a good bit of our “down time” as the description implies… down. Friday evening we curled up on the couch together and watch movies until bedtime. Saturday morning we lounged around the house in the morning, and then headed outside to do our “Fall clean up” of the planting beds along the house. The rest of the day was split between miscellaneous housework, and more movie-time with the kids. Sunday morning began with an uplifting service at church, then back to the house for a tasty, fun breakfast of Cinnamon Roll Pancakes (Thanks for pointing me to the recipe Alida :-)). Jonathan, Aidan and I then gave Mommy some quiet time and headed out to Blackbird State Forest for a long walk in the beauty and abundance of Your Creation. The rest of the day was spent finishing up some odds-and-ends around the house, and then yet another quiet evening on the couch with the boys. This was the first weekend in quite some time where we didn’t have a packed schedule of activities, and it was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. Thank You so much for that much-needed respite Lord!
This week’s Meditations Monday Scripture is actually inspired by something John Waller talked about at the worship concert we attended last Thursday. One of the songs he played discussed his desire to be used to bring Your light into other people’s lives. The song is appropriately titled “Somebody Else’s Story”:
Out of all the wonderful music he shared with us that night Lord, this is the one that really hit home with me. As a Christian, I can think of no greater joy than bringing Your message to the hearts of those around me; to show them the true wonder of Your love for us, and to share the gifts You’ve Blessed me with in Your service.
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” – Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
I take that Commission very seriously Father, and when I get the opportunity to be a part of someone else’s “Story”, It’s a Blessing beyond words for me. Mr. Waller’s song captures that desire beautifully, and I thank You for placing it in his heart to share with us.
Heavenly Father,
As we begin the week Lord, please help guide our choices and actions to best reflect Your desire for our lives. Inspire us to reach out and share Your message of love and redemption with those we encounter each day, and to faithfully serve Your will.
To begin with Lord, I want to thank You for this morning’s time together. As I explained in yesterday’s post, I’ve been feeling convicted as of late that I wasn’t spending adequate “still” time in Your presence. Following Jesus’ example in Mark 1:35, I got up a good bit earlier than usual this morning, and spent that time quietly absorbed in Your Word. It was a wonderfully refreshing way to launch the day, and will be my “new normal” going forward.
Last night Father, we were Blessed to host the first of six gatherings to go through a Small Group Study called “Treasures of the Transformed Life: Satisfying Your Soul’s Thirst for More”. It was a wonderful group of people, and while our children played happily together we spent the evening in fellowship and exploration of Your desire to bring us closer to You.
The message title for this week was “Priming the Pump”. In a nutshell, the author of the study teaches that in order to satisfy our thirst for Your presence in our lives, we need to first “prime the pump” before Your Living Waters will begin to flow. We do that by making a genuine and real commitment to seeking You; deliberately putting Your desires for us first, and allowing You to guide our lives along Your path. As part of that commitment, he emphasized the need to determine our role in the Body of Christ, and to step out in faith, working together with others to accomplish Your work on earth.
“Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.” – Psalm 37:5-6 (ESV)
The information presented was quite thought provoking, and it led our group to branch out and discuss a variety of tangential topics about seeking Your presence, and more thoroughly involving You in our daily lives. It was a truly enlightening and Blessed evening Father, and I thank You for bringing us together to share in that fellowship.
Heavenly Father,
We thank You Lord, for being so powerfully present in Your Children’s lives. We thirst for You Father, and pray that You will continue to fill us, that we may more fully quench our need for Your presence each day.
As I sat here this morning, quietly contemplating what to chat with you about today, I received a conviction on my heart that I hadn’t expected.
“You’ve really glossed over Me today…”
Instant ouch!
Thinking back over my morning though, I realized the comment was well-earned.
Many mornings I pray silently in the shower, preparing myself for the day ahead…
I didn’t today… My head was focused on the tasks ahead of me.
Before heading off to the office each day, I read the daily devotional message in my Stand Firm magazine…
I felt rushed this morning, so I skimmed over it but didn’t spend time to absorb the message.
When I pull into the parking lot at work, quite often I’ll say a quick prayer for the day before going in.
I was running a few minutes late, so I just went inside.
And that leads me back to feeling unsettled Lord. I’m not unsettled because of all the stresses, worries and complications my day has in store; I’m unsettled because I’ve allowed those things to infringe on my time with You. As my days have become more scheduled and complicated, I’ve allowed our time together to suffer as a result. Sure, I sing Your praises along with the Christian radio station on my way to work, I say silent prayers throughout the day, and we certainly have the connection that writing these posts each day establishes, but I’m thirstier than that for Your presence…
…Time to make some changes.
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” – Mark 1:35 (ESV)
I need that dedicated quiet time with You Father… Just You, and I, together.
And while I don’t think my couch qualifies as a desolate place Father, it should serve nicely for spending time with You all the same. Tonight, I’ll be setting my wake-up alarm to be a half-hour earlier …
Last night Father, as I was preparing to shut down and head to bed for the night, a message appeared on my Facebook wall that made me pause, and then to pray.
On August 15, I wrote to you regarding an inspiring story of faith I’d heard on 88.7 The Bridge on my way to work that morning. It described the Baptism of Kim Miller; a young lady dealing with terminal cancer, who instead of dwelling on the terrifying and painful nature of her situation, chose to give thanks and praise for Your Blessings in her life. The church she attends made a video of her powerful testimony, which was then shared on the radio that morning.
Following that conversation Father, I emailed Kim on Facebook to let her know that her story had touched me, and that I was praying for her. We ended up “friending”, and I’ve been following her journey since.
Last night, the message came across my screen that Kim had gone home… Into Your waiting arms Lord. And while my spirit aches knowing the hole this undoubtedly leaves in her family’s hearts, I’m rejoicing in the knowledge that she’s arrived in the one place where her pain and troubles are surely at an end.
“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”” – 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NIV)
Kim’s powerful and courageous testimony of faith touched so many lives Father, including mine. Yet while we nurse the sorrow of her passing, Kim has achieved that victory the Apostle Paul spoke of, continuing on alive and well in her eternal home.
Death has no sting for those who dwell in Christ. You’ll be missed here Kim, but we’ll see you again soon enough.
Heavenly Father,
We thank You Father, for the victory over death You delivered us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray that You keep the family of Kim Miller wrapped in Your holy presence, and comforted in the knowledge that she rests in Your loving embrace.
This past weekend Lord, was absolutely wonderful. Friday night we enjoyed a tasty dinner with friends at our home, and got some much-appreciated assistance moving furniture around for the upcoming Small Group Study we’re hosting which begins next week. Saturday we joined some friends at the Chesapeake Celtic Festival in Snow Hill, Maryland. While it was a little on the chilly side (which I was just fine with), we had a fantastic time watching the demonstrations, perusing the crafters’ displays and sampling some period food and drinks. Sunday began with a rousing church service at Ewell’s St. Paul UMC, followed by an afternoon of catching up on housework, schoolwork and finding time for some much-needed rest. All-in-all, it was a weekend filled with Your Blessings Father, and I thank You for that time.
As I’ve mentioned Father, it’s been getting progressively chillier here as we edge into Fall’s grip; a very welcome change in my book, I must say. Well, this morning when I went to take the dogs out back for their morning run, I was greeted with a familiar sign of the season. As I exhaled, my vision was temporarily clouded as my breath hung in the air before me.
“There’s a lesson here…” I heard You whisper.
“There is?” I thought. Well Lord, for much of the remaining morning my brain got in the way as I diligently tried to work through what You wanted me to glean from condensing water vapor in the morning chill. I ran through passage after passage in my head, and finally resolved that You’d let me know when You were ready.
Walking into my office this morning, You once again broke the silence with a simple message:
“Seen, or unseen.”
Ok, that was Scripture I recognized…
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
Reading that Father, I understood exactly what you intended to get through to me this morning…
Sometimes, what we can’t see is far more important than what we can.
Your Holy Spirit is very much like the breath within me; I go through each day rarely considering the necessity of those gasses bringing vital oxygen to my lungs, but without them I would very quickly cease to function, and die. Unlike this morning, in most cases I can’t see the air I breathe, but it’s there sustaining me all the same. Along that same line of thought, without Your Holy Spirit within me, my connection to Your eternal presence would be severed, and death would truly be a final act.
It’s absolutely no accident that the Hebrew word for spirit “ruach”, is also translated as “wind”, or “breath”… Just like the cloud that escaped my mouth on this chilly October morning.
What a wonderful lesson to start my week Father. 🙂
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. 
