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.
First off Father, I want to take a moment to thank You for a truly marvelous weekend. For once, we didn’t have much in the way of plans laid out in advance, so we used that wonderfully uncommitted time to spend enjoying each other’s company, sharing a meal and some laughter with friends, and reveling in the Blessings You’ve given us. It was a joy-filled, productive weekend Lord, and I thank You very much for that time of respite.
Last Friday Father, as I was driving to our veterinarian’s office to pick up some medication, Jason Gray’s song “Remind Me Who I Am” began to play on the radio. Now, I’ve heard this song more than a few times Lord, but for some reason this time the lyrics came alive for me and I found myself drawn into the song’s poignant message…
After a week comprised of what seemed to be a never-ending series of struggles and trials Lord, this simple reminder wrapped in verse made a wonderful connection for me. It brought to the surface an inescapable truth that my mind had laid to the sideline for much of the week…
We’re Your Beloved Children. Broken, hurting, rebellious or doubtful… You love us all the same.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” – 1 John 3:1 (ESV)
Through our rebirth in Christ, we exist as genuine Children of God; adopted completely into this divine family through the mercy of Your Fatherly love and grace. We walk in faith, knowing that the lure of this world need hold no control over us, as Your love has set us truly free. We live to be…
Your Beloved.
When the world seeks to draw me from You Lord, please, remind me who I am.
And today Father, we come to the original Thankful Thursday… Thanksgiving! On this day each year, here in the United States we take time to put aside the normal activities and concerns of daily life and focus our attentions on Your abundant Blessings.
As we’ve discussed many times Lord, when I begin counting my Blessings my wife Shannon and my two boys Jonathan and Aidan immediately spring to mind. They’re truly one of Your greatest gifts in my life Father, and I can’t begin to thank You enough for my life with them.
As precious as they are to me Father, it seems fitting that on this day where our focus rests in gratitude, that I share our conversation with them as well. Therefore, for this Thankful Thursday“Special Edition”, I present You with some things that my cherished family members are grateful for:
Jonathan (Age 11)
– Having the choice to follow the Lord.
– Having friends and family over for Thanksgiving.
– Having parents that are still together.
– Having the opportunity to get an education.
– That all my sins are forgiven.
Aidan (Age 9)
– For my family.
– For our home.
– For good food to eat.
– That I have people that love me.
– For the fun I have building Legos.
Shannon (Older than 11 :-))
– The love of a grace-filled man.
– Empathetic children who give their birthday money to help fill a church food pantry.
– Recipes from the past that shine like new.
– Music to share in ALL aspects of my life.
– Craft links on Pinterest 😉
Heavenly Father,
As we focus on Your many gifts in our lives Lord, Your love for us is so apparent. Open our eyes and our hearts Father, that we better recognize Your Blessings each day, and realize that Thanksgiving isn’t only once a year, but every day that we dwell in Your tender mercies.
Tomorrow Lord, as You’re well aware, here in the United States we’ll be gathering together with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. And while I absolutely love having that time to focus on togetherness and gratitude Father, for many this Holiday takes on an entirely different focus…
Details.
Instead of dwelling in Your many Blessings and focusing on spending time with those we love Lord, for some the Holidays become a flurry of “to-do lists”, household chores and shopping trips. And while some preparations are certainly necessary to host our festive gatherings, it’s very easy to allow the myriad of details to overwhelm us, and to take our eyes off the One who made it possible.
And while getting ready for work this morning Father, You decided I needed a reminder.
Standing in the shower, my mind wandered; so many things to do before tomorrow… I started a mental list, carefully going over all the details of the day ahead, and trying to work out exactly how we’d complete everything in the time we had remaining…
“Like Martha and Mary…” You whispered.
Ouch!
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”” – Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)
Okay, okay… Point taken Father. 🙂
It’s not about the house being spotless…
It’s not about mountains of carefully prepared food…
It’s not about a meticulously laid-out table…
It’s not about being the perfect host or hostess…
It’s not about the details…
It’s about You Lord… All about You.
Heavenly Father,
We thank You Lord, for the multitude of Blessings You grace our lives with each day. As we prepare for the upcoming Holidays Father, please help focus our hearts to see past the tasks at hand, and prepare a spot at Jesus’ feet where we might rest, and listen…
Today Lord, we’re celebrating at the Malmstrom home. Nine years ago today at 12:23pm, You Blessed us by bringing Aidan Patrick Malmstrom into our lives. 🙂
I love both my children dearly Father, and over the years each of them has brought me unique perspective, as well as taught me some valuable lessons. In February 2005, I wrote a blog post for another site about my experiences taking care of Aidan while Shannon and Jonathan were at A.I. Dupont Hospital for a few days. It described the unique little boy he was at age 2, and some of the things he’d taught me at that point in time:
Lessons from a Two-Year-Old
Over the last several days, I have been privileged to be instructed in the ways of the world by a mind so uncluttered that my perspectives have likely been forever changed. I’m speaking of course, of my two-year-old son Aidan.
It all started when Jonathan (my older son, or as some know him Mini-Me) was kept at the AI DuPont Hospital for Children for a three-day stay. Jonathan was born with a rare and serious blood disease called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) which nearly took him from us shortly after he was born. Thanks to the responsive and meticulous care of the Hematology and Oncology staff at AI, he recently celebrated his 5th birthday with us in December. However, as this disease is not clinically curable, whenever Jonathan develops any inexplicable or significant medical symptoms he’s carefully checked for any potential re-involvement of the ailment. Therefore, when he started showing flu symptoms and his blood counts were suspiciously low last week, back to AI he went. With Shannon staying close to Jonathan’s side, my attentions were now redirected to care for our younger son (and future NFL linebacker), Aidan.
To any of you that don’t know us, my wife and I very definitely have his-and-hers children. Jonathan, in a nutshell, is me. I understand nearly everything he does and why he does it. Aidan however, is a male version of Shannon with a slightly destructive twist. Don’t get me wrong, I love both my children to no end. However, sometimes I have problems relating to the thought processes that dictate Aidan’s actions. He’s a wonderful child with an incredibly warm heart and a seemingly endless reserve of energy. It’s just that his methods for getting from point A to point B sometimes serve to confuse me completely. Therefore, while I was in sole custody of this little enigma I took the opportunity to carefully follow and analyze some of his daily routines. From this, I learned some important things.
Let’s call this list “Everything I need to know, I learned from my two year old” (Ok, so it’s not terribly original, but you get the reference.)
1. An object is not necessarily made from the sum of it’s component parts. In fact, it’s very likely that if you smash it repeatedly into something else, it will have a whole new set of parts you knew nothing about.
2. Poop is funny stuff. In fact, it’s even funnier if you squish it around until it’s coming out of every seam of the diaper trying to contain it.
3. A child’s hearing ability is inversely proportional to how badly they really want to do something they aren’t supposed to.
4. An item’s original intention is never as interesting as the myriad of things you can make it do outside those boundaries.
5. The word “No” can be an entire language onto itself if said with varied volumes, tones and facial expressions.
6. Perpetual Motion can be achieved through the right balance of chocolate milk and mac-and-cheese.
7. Computer wires look exactly like the ropes that “Dora the Explorer” uses to swing across rivers and such.
8. Drawing and coloring should never be restricted to something as unimaginative as paper.
9. Do everything with a sickeningly cute smile and 9 out of 10 times you’ll get away with it. On the 10th time, run faster than daddy.
And I’m learning more every day…
God I love my kids.
~Phil Malmstrom
Therefore Father, to mark Aidan’s Birthday today I thought I’d share some additional “chunks of wisdom” that he’s enlightened me with since that time.
Lessons from a Nine-Year-Old
1. Laundry baskets are far too structured an idea for truly free thinkers.
2. With the right combination of Lego parts and some cheese quesadillas, you can in fact create sentient life.
3. The time required to shower is directly proportional to how much hot water is available and how many good songs are playing on the radio.
4. The response “One more minute” is actually a phrase apparently derived from some other language meaning “When I feel like it…”.
5. When you have HUGE dimples, you can get out of amazingly difficult situations.
6. If you want to stay up a little bit later than regular bedtime, the phrase to use on dad is “Can I just go read my Bible for a while please?”.
7. With the proper amount of barbecue sauce, almost anything is edible.
8. The word “no” is simply the beginning of the negotiation process.
9. If negotiations don’t go well and finally break down, it’s still good to be able to outrun daddy.
And I’m still learning more every day. 🙂
Heavenly Father,
I thank You Lord, for Blessing our family those nine years ago by placing Your child Aidan into our care. He’s a kind, smart, fun little boy Father, and I feel privileged to be his earthly father. Please continue to watch over him Lord, and guide him to grow into the godly man that I know he can be.
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.
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;
Quiet Zone : “Be still, and know that I am God.
Share the Road : “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
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. 
