The 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 Phil

Thankful Thursday: No End In Sight

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

And once again Father, we come to the Thankful Thursday “edition” here at PhatherPhil.org.  Today, I’m picking up where I left off on my list two weeks back, as for Thanksgiving I was Blessed to be able to present You with lists from Shannon and the boys instead.  You graced us with a truly wonderful holiday weekend Father; filled with family, friends, fellowship and the beautiful promise that the beginning of Advent brings to our hearts.  So much to be thankful for Lord, so much…

And on that note Father, continuing from where we left off, this past week I’ve been especially grateful for:

406. An absolutely beautiful Thanksgiving gathering with close friends and family.

407. You Blessing me with exactly what You know I need, when I need it. (Not to be confused with what I think I need, or what I want…)

408. Having close brothers and sisters in Christ to help keep me accountable.

409. An inspiring and encouraging Small Group gathering Tuesday evening as we delve deeper into the “Plan B” study.

410. Getting the outside Christmas lights up last weekend.

411. The spark of anticipation that this Season of Advent places in my heart.

412. Time spent with Jonathan putting up the Christmas lights.

413. Seeing the joy on Aidan’s face as he helped put the lights on the Christmas tree for the first time.

414. Turkey Club Sandwiches made with the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner.

415. That no matter how “out of control” life can seem to us, You’re never shaken.

416. Snuggling up with the kids on the couch to watch Christmas movies.

417. Having a group of our church family over for a fellowship brunch after services last Sunday.

418. The opportunity for our family to light the first Advent Wreath Candle during the church service last Sunday.

419. The “Blue Glow” that covers our house during the Christmas Season.

420. A beautiful guest “Email to God” written by my friend Kandi this week.

And the list continues to grow Lord, with no end in sight… 🙂

Heavenly Father,

We thank You Father, for the multitude of Blessings you bestow on us each and every day; both those that shine brightly with Your radiance, and those that uplift us quietly from the shadows.  As we rejoice in the anticipation that this Season of Advent signifies, please open our hearts Lord, and fill us with wonder and gratitude at the coming of the Christ Child.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Choosing the Good Portion

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

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…

In Jesus’ name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Lessons from a Nine-Year-Old

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

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.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

The Brightest Star in the Sky

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

You know Father, with the multitude of Blessings You surround me with each day, I find it both fascinating and wonderful that when I allow my thoughts to drift and ponder those many gifts, my wife Shannon’s face is always the brightest star in the sky.  Of course Lord, I’m by no means discounting the other miracles You’ve placed into my life, but the longer that she and I are together and the more we go through, the more I realize that Your intentions for marriage are truly foundational.

And although I would never presume to comprehend Your scope on the subject Father, over the time that I’ve been married to Shannon I do believe I’ve come to understand some of the fundamental reasons why You’ve brought us together…

You desire that we should have intimate companionship.

Although obviously sex is a piece of this Lord, it’s not entirely to what I’m referring.  We’re Blessed with many relationships throughout our lives, but when we honor the divine nature of marriage by nourishing, encouraging and sharing completely with one another, it provides an amazingly deep, intimate connection that only You could have designed.

Marriage confronts us with the fact that we’re generally self-centered beings by nature, and helps us learn to place others first.

Our flesh wants.  It’s that simple.  From the first minute we become aware of ourselves, we’re driven by our earthly shells to seek gratification in the basic and flawed attempt to find happiness.  In many ways, it’s the ultimate paradox; to find the peace and contentment that a relationship with Jesus offers, we must first learn to see past our selfish natures and give of ourselves with a joyous heart.  In the same respect, for our marriages to live and thrive we need to learn to place our spouse, and our union, ahead of ourselves.

By joining us together as man and wife, You draw us closer to You through that union.

When we’re brought together through the union of marriage, we’re in fact taking on a third member of the family… You, Lord.  Through Your ordainment of a couple’s commitment to one another, You connect through that Blessing in an amazingly powerful way.  While it’s obviously important for each of us to seek and nourish a personal relationship with You Father, it’s no less important to cultivate and maintain a deep connection with You as a married couple.  By keeping You as an integral part of our marriages, we bring ourselves closer to one another in the process.

“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:12 (ESV)

Heavenly Father,

Through the gift of marriage Lord, You draw us together in example of Your love for us.  Please help strengthen our commitment to one another, and to glorifying You through our nourishing of this holy union.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil