Dear Lord; Good morning Father. First off Lord, let me apologize in advance. Last night was rough, and I’m not terribly “with it” today I’m afraid. As You well know, I’ve suffered with insomnia on and off since I was 12 years old. Well, last night it came back in all fervor and I ended up only getting a few hours respite before having to start my day.
This was an odd bout of sleeplessness Father. Usually, it simply manifests itself as my mind going a mile-a-minute and not being able to shut down. Last night however, I also had physical symptoms as well; My heart was racing, my chest was tight and I felt overwhelmingly anxious. I have no clue what brought it on, but it lasted for a good bit of the night. I tried praying in the darkness, slow breathing techniques, and finally resorted to a sleeping pill but nothing seemed to calm my restless spirit. Finally, plain old exhaustion took over and I passed out for a while.
It’s been ages since this has happened Lord, and I’d forgotten how unsettling it is.
This morning, I headed for Your “Instruction Manual” to see what wisdom I could glean about this recent development, and of course came away with some things to think about.
“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep tothose he loves.” – Psalm 127:2
Ok, I get it… Sleep is one of Your Gifts to us as well, and I need to remember that and Accept it from You (there’s that word of mine again…).
“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” – Psalm 4:8
I obviously need to focus on this as well Lord. With the turmoil in our lives today, we sometimes allow our worldly anxieties to overwhelm us, and I’m sure that contributed to the tumultuous night I had. I need to let go of the day’s struggles, and dwell in Your Peace when I lay down.
Heavenly Father, please help my mind be in steadfast focus on Your Everlasting Peace. May we all learn to leave our burdens at Your Feet, and Accept Your Calming Comfort in our lives. Amen.
Dear Lord; Good morning Father! Well Lord, my day started out with a lovely surprise gifted to me by a couple of my fellow Christian Bloggers. As I’ve mentioned to You more than once, the wonderful people I’ve met (virtually) while writing this blog have been an amazing blessing to me, and never fail to inspire and encourage me in my walk with You. Two of the sites I read each day; Mothers on Mission (co-authored by Kelli and Heidi) and Beautiful in Him (written by Allison) have passed along to me the “Stylish Blogger Award”. Thank you so much ladies… I’m very flattered by this wonderful complement. 🙂
Along with this award comes a few requirements. First, I need to list seven things about myself that not everyone knows (although I realize You know me completely Father). Funny enough, while that seemed like a simple enough request, I found it no easy task. Here’s what I came up with :
1. I’ve married my wife Shannon three times; An informal ceremony with just a few family and friends, a formal affair five months later with a larger guest list and a reception, and this previous year on our 15th Anniversary I surprised her with a Vow Renewal Ceremony at the same church we were married in.
2. For the original wedding ceremony, I was married in jeans and western boots.
3. In 2009 I wrote and published a book for Shannon as an Anniversary gift called “Musings of a Devoted Husband” containing family photos and the daily romantic and devotional quotes I send to her phone and publish to MyCoffeeCupHasFeet.com each day.
4. I own and operate a computer networking and service company in Dover, Delaware called Diamond Computer Incorporated.
5. I have two wonderful children; Jonathan age 11 and Aidan age 8, both of whom I love dearly.
6. I’m a science fiction junkie, and love losing myself in episodes of shows like Dr. Who, Firefly, Babylon 5 and Fringe.
7. I’ve been a player of the online game World of Warcraft for over two years now. While I don’t get the time to play that I used to, I still enjoy it when I have a few quiet moments.
Wow… That took more than I thought it would. While it’s probably a good exercise, I always find writing about myself to be a terribly difficult thing to do.
The other responsibility of this award Father, is to bestow it on some other blogs that I enjoy. There are so many that I’ve gained insight and inspiration from that this could be a long list, but some of my favorites are :
Heavenly Father, I thank you for connecting me with these wonderful people in our Online Fellowship. I’m humbled to have met them through this journey, and pray that You continue to bestow Your Blessings on all those who strive to bring Your Message of Love to others. Amen.
Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father! To begin with Lord, I want to thank You for another lovely weekend with my family and friends. I was able to get caught up on quite a bit of housework, did a little cooking, had fun time with the kids and even went out on a great date night with Shannon. All in all, a productive and relaxing couple of days away from work. Thank You so much for that much-needed respite!
This morning Father, I was thinking about all the different ways You and I communicate. Throughout my journey to You, I’ve found that the more “in-tune” I become with Your Presence, the more ways I see and hear Your Guidance in my everyday life. I’ve come to rely on Your Voice more and more, and love finding Your influence in the world around me during the course of the day.
So today, I thought I’d run down some of the places and ways I find Your Messages to me each day. Lets see…
Through reading and hearing Your Word; Whether it’s hearing verses quoted on the Christian Radio stations I listen to, reading passages in my Bible or finding quotes while searching the Internet, Your Book brings such amazing Guidance for all facets of my life.
Through Christian Music; Music gets into our soul in ways that not many other things can. The Godly messages and themes present in Christian Music help keep me focused, uplifted and energized over the course of my day.
By reading and interacting with Christian Devotional Blogs and their authors; The blogs I read each day and the wonderful people I’ve met by doing so are an amazing resource and Blessing for me Lord. They give me perspective, encouragement and an online fellowship that has been invaluable in my walk with You.
Through Prayer; Along with our conversations on this blog Father, prayer is my lifeline to You. Whether silent or verbal, much of the guidance and direction I receive from You over the course of the day comes from our “prayer connection”.
By the words and actions of others; As I’ve written to you so often Lord, I see Your Love and Influence in the actions of others. We’re surrounded by miracles every day, and the closer I walk to Christ’s footsteps the more obvious those wonders become to me.
Obviously Father, this isn’t a complete list by any means but these examples are what first came to my mind as I thought about our talks. I love the deepening connection You and I are forming, and I crave for it to expand more each day.
Your Son phrased it perfectly when he said :
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” – John 10:27-29
Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your Loving Presence and Guidance in my life. The more I open myself to You, the fuller and more complete my life becomes. Amen.
Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father. As You’re aware Lord, I’ve had something on my mind the last few days that’s been bothering me. The funny thing is, my aggravations are regarding an event I’ve never really had much interest in; the Super Bowl.
I’ve never been a big football fan. In fact, other than a couple of games I went to when I was in college, I’ve never even attended a live game… It just never really caught my interest. This year really wasn’t much different, until I read a news story about a commercial that had been rejected by Fox Broadcasting Company for “delivering a religious message”. As I’ve seen some pretty racy and scary Super Bowl commercials over the years, I went and sought out the “offending” segment :
Really?? This was deemed to contain too much religious doctrine?? Wow… I am so terribly sorry Father. We’ve truly fallen from You as a society. From a country that has “In God We Trust” on our currency, this truly makes no sense to me. Fox certainly isn’t worried about offending viewers with the content on shows like “Family Guy” or Fox Sports’ Internet show “Cubed”, but they’re concerned that someone might take a reference to a Bible verse as an affront?
Fox issued a statement last week that stated :
“As a matter of company policy, Fox Broadcasting Company does not accept advertising from religious organizations for the purpose of advancing particular beliefs or practices. The Fixed Point Foundation was provided with our guidelines prior to their submission of storyboards for our review. Upon examination, the advertising submitted clearly delivers a religious message and as a result has been rejected.”
Ok, so the reason they’re airing commercials for the new movie “The Rite” is because it’s not from a religious organization? Wow… I’m completely at a loss on this one.
I realize that as a private company Fox has the right to choose what they do and don’t air on their network within FCC guidelines, but if a little of that “concern” about offending viewers were redirected to examining some of the programming and advertisements they do broadcast, I have a feeling the lineup would be far different than it is now.
Heavenly Father, thank You for letting me rant on about this today. As always, You’re a wonderful listener. Please fill our hearts and minds with Your Presence and Understanding, so that everyone can experience that Hope :
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
Dear Lord; Good morning Father… And a frozen one it is! The weather here has once again shifted and covered the Delaware landscape with Winter’s bounty. This morning though, it’s not snow that layers the ground, but a shiny frozen sheet of ice and sleet. This of course, makes traveling dangerous Lord, so please watch over those who are going out into this weather and keep them safe from harm.
As I was chiseling the ice from my “truck-sicle” this morning, waiting for the heater to add it’s inner glow to the effort it dawned on me that this was an interesting analogy to how You come into our lives (Ok, so this may be an odd tangent, but bear with me…). We’re like the truck shrouded in ice; spiritually cold and covered in misunderstanding, pain and sin. Little by little You scrape at our frozen shell, slowly revealing Your Light and Warmth to us until our inner heat kicks in and bridges that gap.
Ok. I said it was an odd tangent, but I think a valid one all the same. 🙂
Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your Diligence and constant Presence in my life. Please keep “chipping away” at my earthly shell, so that I may see You with more perfect clarity. Amen.
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. 
