Amy

Amy Donohue is one of my "new" daughters acquired when Ruth and I married in October 2008. She has a birthday on April 24th. Amy is married to Bobby Donohue and has four sons, Andrew (16) Anthony (14) Avery (9) and Aiden (8). They live in the mountains above Knoxville, Tn. near Smokey Mt. National Park.

Amy works part time as a hair stylist, teacher's assistant, and staging homes for sale. Most of her time is taken up with her busy family. She is a wonderful Christian lady with a heart for helping people in need. Most of all, she is her mother's dear friend. They talk by phone almost every day. It is a joy to watch Ruth's eyes light up when Amy calls and to listen to their loving conversations.

Amy was the first of Ruth's family for me to talk to....she wanted to know "my intentions" and grilled me for several minutes on the phone. I must have passed the test though, because she has received me warmly and treated me with daughterly respect.

I feel blessed and greatly enriched for having her in my family. Thank the Lord for this added benefit to being married to Ruth!

Heather Fawn

She arrived late in the afternoon after hours of labor on Wednesday, April 9, 1975 at Garland Memorial Hospital. My friend Robert Yarbrough and I had to wait in the hall while she was born C-section. The nurse brought her out in a rolling incubator and she was protesting loudly. Later, as we watched her in the nursery window, people around us remarked at what a beautiful baby she is, to which we agreed whole heartedly. No brag, just fact. Over the years, Heather has made a profound impact upon everyone she has met. There were no strangers. She has always been bright, talkative, talented, and smart. Way too smart sometimes. She came to know the Lord personally at 3 years and has loved Him and served Him faithfully since. She is the family historian, scribe, and maintains relationships better than anyone I know. She has much of her mother in her and grandmothers, grandfathers, etc. It is hard to tell which one she is the most like. Some say that she even has some of her dad in her too. Heather has done just about everything that can be done in the church to help us out. She spent many years with her Mom on the worship teams and taught classes from when she was just a teen. Today, she has converts and disciples all over the world who look to her for godly advise. I know this one thing for sure, I am very proud of her! Probably the most wonderful thing about her is her love for the lost and total commitment to winning them to Jesus. She is a soul winner. Can't think of anything that could please me more (and God too). Happy Birthday Heather Fawn!

Aaron Lee Thomason

My son, Aaron Lee, was born on March 3, 1978 at Garland Memorial Hospital in Dallas County, Texas. Our first child, Heather, was born cesearean section, so when Aaron came along, we just made an 8:oo a.m. appointment and he was delivered by 8:30 a.m.

I remember waiting in the hallway outside of the operating room (in those days Dads were not allowed in operating rooms) with my friend Robert Yarbrough. Robert was also with me when Heather was born. The nurse brought Aaron out wrapped in a white blanket and let me hold him briefly. He was small, red and quiet (Heather was not). Later when we saw him in the nursery window, he reached over and pulled his blanket over his naked body as if to say, "How about some privacy please!"

Well, Aaron is now 32, married to a wonderful lady (Stephanie) with two children, Ethan (8) and Marlee (1 yr 11 mos.) He is a great guy and good friend to his dad. He leads our worship services at church and works as a claim adjuster for an insurance company. He loves Jesus and is a true Christian man. I am very proud of him.

We see each other pretty often at church and family gatherings. It is fun to watch him interact with people. He is a true leader and commands the respect and admiration of all. I love to watch him with his true love, Stephanie, and witness the father's joy in his eyes as he relates with his children. Sometimes he reminds me of me, then other times I see his mother in him. Then on different occasions, I can see his grandfathers. He is truly MY son and their grandson!

With each passing year as he gets older and I get more sentimental, I have to pause and thank the Lord for this one very special gift that He sent along to bless me and the world.

Love

February is often called the "Love Month" because of Valentine's Day. I think it is always a good thing to be reminded of the importance of love and to reflect on the many loves one enjoys in this life; Mother's love, Father's love, sibling love, romantic love, etc. It is also a good thing to remember the Author and Source of love, God Himself. The Word of God states clearly that God IS love and if you don't love, you don't know God. The term that describes God is "agape" which is the highest and most wonderful form of love. It involves self sacrifice and faithfulness. God "so loved" that He gave His only Son to die for the sins of humanity. God's love is so intense that He loves faithfully throughout all generations. His love for Abraham extends to us today. We are blessed because of a special friendship between God and Abraham that took place thousands of years ago. God's love burns so hot that it never grows cold, even unto a thousand generations!

Romans 5:5 tells us that this great love of God is "shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost". Wow! Imagine the potential we have for loving people because His love fills our hearts. I am convinced that we have the capacity to love many more people than we think and the more we chose to love the greater that capacity becomes. It is like a couple with a growing family. They love the last child as much as the first.

That blesses me because the Bible says that Jesus is the "first born of many brethren" meaning we are born to the family of God. God loves us as much as His First Born!

Meditate on this for awhile and just see if you don't feel that love growing inside of you.

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Good Morning Bloggers!

A New Year

Now that 2009 is history, we focus on those things which are ahead of us. The past is something we learn from in order to live a more successful life today and in the future. We can learn from the good and the bad without carrying the burden of guilt, shame or regret for those things we can do nothing about. The best way to demonstrate true repentance for the mistakes we made is to not do them again. Jesus often exhorted those He forgave to "go and sin no more". That is what we must do in 2010. "Go" (continue to move forward in faith, trusting that we are forgiven and cleansed) and make the necessary corrections so that as we go forward we "sin no more". It is a clear Biblical principle that as followers of Christ, we can live without continuing to sin. Thank God for the gift of forgiveness and the power to begin again! Let's use this new year, new decade as a marker in our life for fresh starts. Success comes to those who fail and get back up to go again...and again...and again. You and I can, and must, WIN IN 2010!!! I would say "Good Luck" but we all know that there is no such thing. Instead we say, "God Bless You! for that is reality.

THANKING FORWARD

As October, my favorite month, winds down towards the 31st, I am looking forward to November, the Thanksgiving month. Active, living faith always moves forward toward God and His purposes for our lives. Giving thanks for what God has done and for all He has blessed us with is not only a duty, but an enjoyable part of worship. He is worth our gratitude! Faith empowers me to also give thanks for what is ahead and yet to come. There are many promises and prophecies from the Lord that are still being made complete in our lives. Giving Him thanks for the forward progress of our lives is essential for us to arrive on time and in full possession of His promises. Jesus, in His earthly ministry, was always in forward motion reminding His followers that there is more to come. He sent the Holy Spirit to us for a continual reminder of all that He said and to show us "things to come". In this function, just a few days ago, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me this thought, "This Thanksgiving you will have new and fresh reasons for giving thanks for what I am now doing."

While I reflect upon the past blessings and present benefits from the Lord, I am now looking more to the future with anticipation and a thankful heart!

I love October!

I was born in October, born again in October, Baptized in the Holy Spirit in October, called to preach in October, saved from certain death in a car wreck in October, married to Ruth in October....the list just goes on and on, but you can see why I love October.

My dad, Seth Thomason was born October 1, 1911 and he went to Heaven on October 22, 1985. My good friends Norma Ruth Davis, Cecelia Hopper, and Joyce Fleming were all born in October. I am sure there are others.

I like October weather too. In my home country (Texas Panhandle) October was truly autumn like with cooler temps and trees losing their leaves. In Broken Bow, Ne. we usually had our first snow by the end of October. In Florida, well....it is beginning to cool off and look more like Autumn. We have one maple tree that is shedding its leaves.

Something happens inside of me when October rolls around. I become much more expectant of good things happening and special surprises from the Lord. This October is no different. My spirit is all excited at what God is going to reveal in the next couple of weeks of October.....something good is about to happen!!! Then comes November, the month of giving thanks!

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Exactly one year ago today, Ruth and I were married in a Sunday morning worship service at Cornerstone Church, Jacksonville, Fl. with Dr. Don Normand officiating. Many of our family and friends were present to witness our vows and to send us off on our honeymoon.

It has been a wonderful year as we have witnessed God's hand in our coming together and in our becoming one as a new couple. After being alone (me 5 years and Ruth 8 years) we saw how miraculously God arranged our meeting, falling in love, and marriage in spite of coming from diverse backgrounds and experiences. We already see His hand in putting us together as a ministry team as well. When your life is in God's hands, He works all things out for good!

It has been a busy year. Trips to Oklahoma (family funeral), South Florida (Kingsway Fellowship, Int'l), Amarillo, Tx. (meet friends and family), Knoxville, Tn. (more family), Honduras (missions trips) and Ruth's middle daughter, Angielyn, was married in September to Matthew Hughes in Savannah. All this plus, we moved to a different place and of course, the church.

Everyone has been kind and gracious to us. Everyone loves Ruth! We are very happy together and know our destiny in God is in full swing. The future looks so much better now that we are together. Thank you Jesus!

Two Faced Face Bookers

I really like facebook for a lot of reasons. One reason was unexpected but I think it is a good benefit. Since I am the past or present Pastor of many of my young friends on facebook, I have noticed that once they accepted me as their "friend", suddenly their profile pictures and content became much more "Christian" than before. I think knowing that Pastor is looking on provides an accountability factor that is helpful to these young ones who have not yet developed an "inner-governor" to keep them from going "buck wild" on the internet. Sad to say though, I have had to block some of my young friends from my site due to their unseemly behavior on line. I am thankful for the most of them who are just wonderful clean hearted followers of the Lord Jesus. Just remember this, "there is an all seeing eye watching you" and it is not Pastor Thomason, it is the Lord God with whom we all must give account. :-)