Emails to God
Each weekday I transpose and share the whispers and messages God places on my heart in the form of “Emails to God”.
I Get So Clumsy
Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father! Well Lord, I had every intention of writing You a completely different post today. It came to me this morning, I thought about it throughout the day, I researched the Scriptures involved at length, and then… You shifted gears on me. It happened while I was driving back from picking up a prescription refill at our veterinarian this afternoon. I’d elected to take the back way there; giving myself a little added “quiet time” to gather my thoughts and contemplate my post a bit. There I was, riding...
read moreThankful Thursday: Drawn Closer With Every Word
Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father! Looking back over the last year Lord, so much has transpired here at PhatherPhil.org. Hundreds of “Emails to God” were shared, precious connections with fellow Christian bloggers were formed, friendships were developed and nurtured, and each word I wrote drew me ever closer to Your side. It’s been a powerful first full year Father, and I’m excited to see how You’ll use this ministry in the coming months. Continuing my weekly tradition into the New Year Lord, I present You with the first...
read moreLet Go, and Let God
Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father! This morning Lord, I spent some time chatting online with a friend regarding some trials she and her family were going through. We were discussing the importance of remaining open to finding Your assistance in unexpected places, and a story I’d heard some time ago came to mind… There was a man whose farm was located on the banks of a flood-swollen river. As the water rose, a neighbor drove up in a Jeep, urging him to leave before the farm was flooded. “Oh, no,” said the man confidently, “God will...
read moreMeditations Monday: The Year of Drought
Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday, and Happy New Year Father! As we bid farewell to 2011 Lord, I confess that my feelings on it’s passing are somewhat conflicted. In a number of respects, this past year brought with it some of the most difficult trials our little family has experienced in quite some time. And yet, along with those stresses and struggles, I can honestly say that Your presence in our lives has never felt more powerful, or been more obvious… In the midst of our fears, You comforted us. When we struggled for direction,...
read moreThankful Thursday: A Shift in Vision
Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father! Today Father, we come to the final Thankful Thursday edition of PhatherPhil.org for this calendar year. When I began this recurring post 31 weeks ago (whew!), I honestly never expected the profound impact it would have on me, or that it would draw me so much closer to You in the process. As I sit down each week to write out my list Lord, my mind drifts back over the past seven days; revisiting those moments that left their marks on my heart. What I’ve found in doing so Father, is that even in...
read moreThe Gift of Reflection
Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father! Well Father, to start off our week together I want to thank You wholeheartedly for the wonderful Christmas weekend You Blessed my family and I with. Saturday evening we attended a beautiful candlelight service at Ewell’s-St. Paul UMC, followed the next day by a lovely Christmas morning with the kids and a trip to my (earthly) father’s house for a family dinner. And most importantly Lord, I was Blessed to have three whole days spent wrapped in the love of my wife and children. It was an absolutely...
read moreThankful… Friday?: That Greatest of Gifts
Dear Lord; Happy Thankful… Friday? Well Father, as You’re no doubt aware I didn’t manage to get my Thankful Thursday post out yesterday afternoon. Instead however, of going into the Christmas weekend without listing out some of Your many Blessings in my life, I decided to make this “Thankful Friday”. 🙂 As we focus our hearts on celebrating the miracle of Christ’s birth Father, it seems only fitting to mark the beginning of this weekend by giving thanks; thanks for the daily Blessings You grace our lives with, and thanks for...
read moreThe Light of a Star
Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father! So many Blessings Lord… So many… And yet, I’m unsettled… And tired… And anxious. In times such as these Father, When my brokenness overwhelms me, When Your voice seems distant, And Your presence evades me, I need You all the more. And yet, Through the self-imposed haze between us, Shines a light; The light of a star, Guiding me, Leading my heart, To the foot of a manger. And there, Wrapped in the Stillness of Your Holy Gift, I find Your peace, And I can rest, Safe in Your embrace. Amen. ~Phather...
read moreMeditations Monday: The Simplest of Beginnings
Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father! Well Father, once again You’ve Blessed my family and I with a lovely weekend. Jonathan’s sleepover birthday party Friday night was a marked success, and the boys all seemed to have a wonderful time. Once all the “overnighters” had been picked up by their well-rested parents (smiles), we packed up and headed out to spend the rest of the day at the home of some truly wonderful extended family (eg. Good friends) celebrating the birthday of their foster son. It was a lovely visit, filled...
read moreThankful Thursday: Grumble, Grumble, Grumble…
Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father! Grumble, grumble, grumble… This Father, was the response (the nicer version of it anyways) that greeted me upon trying to wake my “just turned twelve” son Jonathan this morning. Now, he’s always been a little sluggish getting moving in the morning, but last night he ended up staying awake far later than usual to try and finish some homework, and this morning when I tried to get him up for school… Arguments… Attitude… And Grumbling. After much cajoling, some veiled threats of...
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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. 
