Dear Lord; As You obviously are aware, today is a very important day in America. Today we once again celebrate the Free Will You’ve lovingly bestowed upon us, and come together to elect representatives that we hope will better our society. Please help guide our choices that we may see past the deluge of rhetoric that surrounds these proceedings, and make the best possible decisions to move our Country forward. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; This morning, I want to apologize to You for something, and at the same time to thank You as well.
When my son Jonathan came into the world, he was born with a very rare and very serious disease called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis which threatened to take him from us. He was on chemotherapy and a variety of other stringent treatments starting at 10 weeks old, and we spent the following year and a half basically living in the Oncology Ward at A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children. It was a terrifying time for my Wife and I, and we lived every day not knowing if he was going to be with us much longer. Like many others have in that position, I asked You WHY, WHY, WHY were you doing this to us… No answer came.
While we were staying there, I was introduced to the Pastor for the Hospital. He was a quiet man, and although he walked through a place where there was immeasurable sadness and suffering I remember that I always felt an aura of peacefulness around him. He tried very much to comfort me at the time, but my heart was not ready to hear what he was saying, so I simply informed him that “God and I were having a difference of opinion at the moment as to what was and wasn’t reasonable.” He smiled, and said that he understood but that when I was ready, he’d be there. While I didn’t realize it at the time, this was the start of my Spiritual Awakening.
Time passed, and my little angel bucked all the odds and not only came through the treatments, but managed to thrive in the process. He’ll be 11 soon, and has been in consistent remission for a little over 9 years. He is very likely my greatest Blessing, and I thank You from the bottom of my soul for continuing to allow me to have him in my life.
Anyways, to get back to the statement I began the email with, during that period of my life I can honestly say that my Faith was at it’s lowest point. I felt angry, tired, and persecuted and blamed You for all of it. However, from all of the time we spent at A.I., my eyes were truly opened in a way that I never thought possible. We witnessed tragedies, and miracles, and amazing acts of compassion and sacrifice. What I came to realize was that while I was busy blaming You for all my fears and problems, You were actually teaching me about myself, and WHY my Faith is so important. So Father, I’d like to apologize for my misdirected emotions, and at the same time Thank You for all you taught me through the process. Amen.
~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; Well, the weekend is upon us once again Lord. It’s been a challenging week for many, and I thank You from the bottom of my heart for helping us get through it. This is of course, a fun weekend for many filled with costume parties, trick-or-treating and the celebration of “things that go bump in the night”. Throughout all this nighttime reveling, please watch over us and keep us safe. Help us make good judgments, and keep the spirit of the festivities light hearted and fun for all. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; This morning I’d like to lift my prayers to you for some people I’m very fond of. Today they’re beginning an exciting and well-earned family vacation. Please protect them throughout their journeys, and fill their hearts and minds with Your Presence so they may enjoy this trip to the fullest and come back satiated and refreshed. In addition, I pray for Your Comfort and Guidance to be given to their two dogs as they spend this time without the ones they love. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; I want to Thank You for the strength You’ve given me recently. It’s sometimes easy to miss when the world seems to be crashing around me, but while sitting down and meditating on the blessings in my life, I realized that even with all the turmoil I’ve been through as of late, I’m still very much in Your Care. As always, You Rock. Amen. ~Phather Phil
Dear Lord; Now and again, we all have times where we suffer from some level of self-doubt. In my case, challenges and burdens from the last couple of weeks caught up with me over the weekend and shook my self-confidence quite a bit. While there’s no way to just “get over it” when it comes to confidence issues, I have found that retuning my focus can help substantially. By shifting my attentions to helping someone else with their problems, or doing things from which I feel some personal accomplishment I can usually shift my thinking to be more attuned towards success. Heavenly Father, please help those who are living with self-doubt and fear feel Your Light. Let them, if only for a moment see themselves from Your Gaze, and know they are worthy of success. 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. 
