Dear Lord; You know Father, it’s fascinating to me where I find inspiration from You these days. Last night for example, it was in a bowling alley.
As You’re aware, I bowl on a league on Thursday nights. I’m not particularly good, but I’ve been improving a little at a time throughout the year and no matter what, I enjoy doing it. Anyways, over the last few weeks I’ve been struggling to find consistency with putting the ball in the “sweet spot” of the pocket to get the stacked strikes I need to improve my score. It’s been a bit frustrating, but last night I realized that maybe I’d been dissecting it too much, and possibly was missing the forest for the trees. One of my teammates who’s a much better bowler than I am had said something to that effect the previous week, and for some reason I overlooked it until last night. He told me I was fighting the ball too much, and that if I just find the correct path and relax, the ball would do the rest. Now of course, the correct path is different for every ball, lane setup and bowler but the idea is that once you find and follow the proper path, down those pins go.
Then it clicked… That’s also how we find You.
Ok, so maybe comparing a strike in bowling to living in Your Love is a bit of a stretch, but I think the analogy is valid. We all have different paths to a close relationship with You. Like adjusting for variances in lane setup and ball characteristics, we all have to find our own connection with Your Grace and follow it diligently, adjusting for changes and learning from our missteps. By examining our form and practicing we improve our throw, just like reading Your Word and conducting our lives by Your Will improves our ability to be Your Servants. And as my teammate so aptly stated, once we have the path figured out, as long as we don’t fight the ball’s nature, it will do the rest.
I desperately want that close relationship with You Father, and I’m working every day on finding and following the right path to Your Countenance. Please help guide us all to that Holy Strike Zone, and help us find the Light in Your Perfect Game. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; Last night, my family settled in to watch our favorite Christmas Movie…White Christmas. What a wonderful film that is! No matter how many times I watch it, I still end up with a huge smile on my face and find myself singing the songs for days afterwards. In the movie, my favorite song by far is “Count Your Blessings” sung by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.
Listening to that wonderful music last night, it dawned on me that there’s a great deal of wisdom in those lyrics. As I discussed in yesterday’s correspondence Father, there seems to be a lot of Your Children who are feeling very overburdened and lost at the moment. If along with laying those fears and doubts at the Foot of the Cross, we spend our time rejoicing and giving thanks for the Blessings You’ve bestowed on us, we’d all be closer in our walk with You. Thank You Lord, for all the Blessings both obvious and unseen that surround us all.
“So if you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.”
Dear Lord; Good morning Father! First off, I want to tell You how wonderful it was to have such an amazing outpouring of affection and prayers for Jonathan’s birthday yesterday. Between the phone calls, Facebook postings, Blog Comments and emails it was VERY apparent to Shannon and I how loved he is, and how Blessed we are to know so many good people.
Today Lord, I’d like to revisit a topic we’ve discussed before; The sense of despair I’ve been seeing in far too many people lately. The reasons for these feelings run the gambit from financial problems, to employment issues, to stressing over Holiday “requirements”, but it seems that even more than usual, many are letting these burdens overwhelm them. I’ll be honest Father, our year has certainly been difficult in many ways as well, however it really hasn’t felt as desperate for me as I would have expected. Thinking on this, and listening for Your Guidance I realized why… I’ve got Jesus in my heart! What a remarkable Gift You’ve given me! No, that doesn’t pay the mortgage or keep gas in the car, but it does put all those things in proper perspective. Matthew 11:28-30 reads :
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Thank You so much Lord! You make all my burdens feel so light when I lay them at Your feet!
Therefore Father, my prayer today is a simple one. Please let those who feel lost, overwhelmed and full of despair feel Your Loving Presence in their hearts and rejoice! May the Peace of Christ pass over all those in need, and bring them to Your Light. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; As you know Lord, today is an extremely special day for my Wife and I. 11 Years ago today, You Blessed us with our first son Jonathan. I remember his first year quite vividly Father. It was a complicated, and terrifying, and wondrous time. As I’ve mentioned before Lord, I consider that period to be the turning point to finding my path to You, and to some extent that’s made my bond to Jonathan even stronger. I see Your Light in him on a regular basis, and I can’t thank You enough for Blessing us by keeping him in our lives.
He’s a very special child in many ways Father, and while I know I’m biased I can honestly say that he’s been one of the most obvious examples to me that You have a Plan for all of us. He’s touched so many lives, and has an amazing inner light that seems to shine on those around him. For example, due to his medical history and some remaining “hardware” in his body, he’s been unable to go to camp with his friends during the summers. By Your Guidance, we were connected with an amazing organization called Kay’s Kamp which was setting up the first Oncology Camp in Delaware for kids a couple years back. We signed him up, and it’s been the most incredible experience for him. What was most remarkable for me though Father, was the comments I kept getting from the staff at the camp. Many of the other children are still on active treatment, or in serious condition with their futures very much in doubt. Over and over again, I was told how much Jonathan worked to raise them up, and make them feel like they were normal, and special. This year, it became even more obvious to me when one of the Kay’s Kamp kids from the first year was in the hospital, and we found out that there was nothing else they could do for her. We visited her in the hospital, and Jonathan went to her bedside and talked with her for a little bit. We didn’t hear what was said, but she and he both had smiles on their faces afterwards and when I asked him why he said “It’s ok… She’s going to be with God and won’t hurt any more.” As I said Lord, I see Your Light in him regularly and learn so much about You through him.
Heavenly Father, thank You so very much for bringing me this little miracle, and for using him to help me see Your Wonder and Your Love more completely. I lift my prayers to You for this incredible Blessing, and ask for Your Continued Guidance in nurturing him as he grows. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; Well Father, the wedding on Saturday went very well. Thank You so much for being there and Blessing the joyful proceedings. It was an amazing honor for me to be a conduit for Your Love, and I absolutely felt Your Presence throughout. Please continue to Bless the happy couple’s marriage, and fill their lives with Your Love for the rest of their days.
This morning Lord, I did something I very seldom do… I lost my temper. It was over a verbal personal attack that was made against me behind my back by someone I’ve known for a long time, and it absolutely incensed me. Father, with Your help I do what I consider a very good job at maintaining my composure and “turning the other cheek”, but I’m ashamed to say that this morning I failed in that capacity. Searching for my center in Your Book today, I found :
Proverbs 16:32 – Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.
So true Lord. Please Father, help me purge those feelings from my spirit and focus my energies on serving Your Will. Fill my heart with Your Love and Kindness, and please help me be an effective agent of Your Disposition to those in need. 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. 
