That's what my son says when he's in need of something he can't do or figure out himself. It's kind of funny the way he says it, but the truth is, he needs help.

Have you ever sat in a Sunday Worship with a child? Most of us have and do weekly. What do you do when someone steps up to lead the congregation in prayer? I interpret.

Have you ever tried to interpret a prayer up front to a child sitting next to you? My son has never said it, but I can see the look on his face... "Need a little help here!"

Next time you find yourself next to a small child while a prayer is being lead, lean over and interpret the prayer being said with words a child can understand. It helps you think about what is being said, plus, how you might communicate those "Big Church Words" to those not-yet-Christians.

I enjoy the special prayer time in church with my kids... I know they understand what's being said and that this prayer is for them, and from them to their heavenly Father.

peace.
johno~

I was about 14 and sitting in a church pew when the preacher told us to close our eyes and picture the scene of Jesus on the cross. He said, "How many of you see a hill far away with a cross silhouette on top?" I wasn't sure if we were suppose to raise our hands or not and I'm not sure if anyone did so, but the minister said, "A few of you... OK." Next he said, "How many of you see the cross a bit closer with more detail as if standing in the crowd. You can see Jesus, his wounds, perhaps his tears? Some more hands." Both of these images had been my own view of the cross at one time or another in my life. It was typical of many images I had see growing up. Yet, there was one more view I would be given that day that I had never seen or even thought of... He continued, "How many of you, when you close your eyes and view the cross, see it from the foot of the cross. So close you can touch the rough carving of the wood, smell the sweat, and hear His last words, His final breath. Can you touch the dirt, soaked with His blood?" I opened my eyes, “What kind of view is this?” I thought. It was that moment I realized that the cross of Christ was not a distant cross, not a distant silhouette, but rather a personal cross, one that could be touched.

The cross is a lot bigger up close than I thought. It's solid wood and heavier than it looks. It's rough and course, full of imperfections. It's porous and stained. It's a terrible tool yet simply crafted to fulfill it's designed. It holds nails without splitting. It takes the weight of a man without breaking. It offers no relief and it’s not possible to escape it’s hold… at least on your own. It's a wicked awful way to die.

Being at the foot of the cross for the first time let me see one more thing that I had missed by being so far back… This was my cross. Oh God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Psalm 51:1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

The cross to me is death. There's no way around it. However, Jesus on the cross to me is life. It is Jesus, Yeshua, that makes the cross powerful; it is not the cross that makes Yeshua powerful.

Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Jesus was life and He would come so that we could have living to the fullest. Each Child held, every blind man who saw, every crippled person who would walk, every thirsty woman filled and every tear that has been wiped away is the foundation of the Messiah’s cross that brings life and defeats death.

Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.

In 1707, Isaac Watts wrote “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” for a communion service. Many songs at the time were repetition of Psalms and doctrines. This song, by Watts, is the first known hymn to be written in the first person, introducing a personal Christ experience rather than limiting itself to doctrine. Isaac Watts penned his final thoughts on communion as one who has seen the cross of Christ. It’s a perspective that’s a wonderful reminder to me… when I close my eyes.

“Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

Peace.
Johno~

I wanted to update everyone on Adam... Today he went back to the doctors and weighed in at 7lbs. 11oz. Still not at his birth weight, but getting close.

It has been a busy time. We host a very special program this time of the year called "Night at the Cross." It has kept my schedule full and my blogging down. I also had to send my NEW camera back to Canon. Soft pics. Don't know if it's the lens or the camera. We'll see if it's the operator. I hope they can fix him if he's the problem.

Right now, I am "DOG" tired and must sleep.

Again, PRAISE GOD! Thanks for the prayers.

peace.
johno~

I would like to ask anyone who visits this page, to please pray for our newborn son Adam.
Adam has not gained weight since his birth. He was born at 8lbs. 1oz. and today was 7lbs. 4oz. This is below 10% of his birth weight, which is not what doctors like to see, so our doctor ordered blood work. The results came back fine... That still leaves the mystery of why Adam is losing and not gaining.

Thank you for your prayers.

peace.
johno~

How many people have you shared Jesus with? What happened in the end? Do you know? Is it OK not to know?

I love Hebrews chapter 11 because of the story of faith. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

I have always tried to share Jesus with people I know and love and those who are strangers. Be it Whitney on the road to Slidell, Bob, the guy at the end of the off ramp in Hood River I bought lunch for or Hannah, my oldest daughter. I just believe I should share Christ.

Last summer, I had a conversation with Donny at a summer camp waaaaaay up north. I had a "feeling" that I should take some time to talk to him about how he was doing and how he was growing in the Lord. The conversation went well... He had some doubts and had stopped going to church all together. I told him he needed to reconnect. In the end, I shared with him about a wonderful church plant in his neighborhood and told him to check it out. This guy has some real God talent. When I got back I called the minister who leads this group and told him to "watch for this guy." Well, Donny never showed up and months went by and things moved on. and... I forgot.

In October of last year I saw this Donny in Portland and asked how things were going... He said well and that he had just visited Renovatus. I said, "good." I wasn't sure what that meant, but that's OK. It was good to hear he was finally went. I called the ministry leader, Kevin, and told him about his visitor... However, Kevin was out of town and missed meeting him. :-( And so it goes. It doesn't matter who we are or what we think we are... It's who God is and what He is and what He has planned.

This last week out of the near blue I received this email. It is a wonderful testimony and encouragement so I asked Donny's permission if I could share this email.

Hey I wanted to stop and write to you, thanking you
for putting me in a position to at least think about
going to church again. I'm going to be honest with
you that I didn't ever contact Kevin about going to
Renovatus. I actually was invited by a friend and
from that point on I've been going regularly.
Looking back I remember what my emotional state was
and it was looking pretty dismal. I was very negative
and bitter towards many things in my life and not just
my spirituality. I wrote myself a letter in late
September describing all the things that were negative
in my life and some of my thought processes and I'll
tell you now that it isn't pretty. The letter was
sort of a self-examination/self-reflective discussion
that I had going on in my head and one of the things I
wrote down was: "My spirituality is none-existent, not
because I don't believe that God is real or that He
loves me, but because I don't care. I go to church
occasionally and to Monday night devo at Cascade only
because it's what people want to see and not because
of any desire to be there. I find it easier to live
the lifestyle that says either 'God doesn't exist', or
'I don't care'. This is probably why I'm so angry and
bitter and depressed."
That was in September of last year. Shortly after
that is when I started going to Renovatus and I can
honestly say that it truly has changed my life.
Lately I've gone through another one of those
self-examination/self-reflective discussions and I
asked myself the same questions I asked before.
Questions like, "Why am I in Vancouver? Do I belong
here? What is the purpose of all this? and Why am I
in the situation that I'm in at this moment?" Back in
September the answer was a bitter, costic, "I don't
know and I really don't care." Now the answer is, "I
don't know and I'm ok with that." My attitude about
life in general has changed dramatically and when
people ask how I'm doing I can honestly say that I'm
doing great; I'm doing just fine. And the answer to
this change is the church that I'm involved in.

So I wanted to drop a line saying thank you for at
least pointing me in the right direction. I don't
think I would've stayed there if I didn't sort of
already know about it. So, thank you.

God says, "Have faith..." I say, "What if I die never seeing the promise?" His response, "It doesn't matter, just have faith." And that's it. Share Christ and His promise in everyway. If someone comes back to say thanks, take the blessing and be convicted to press on and continue to share your faith because you are just part of the story. Tell people about Jesus. Let Him do the work. God never promised you would know the end of the story with everyone you've talked to.

Donny's story is wonderful and convicting. It's about God and His unending pursuit of this young man... It has everything to do with me and yet, NOTHING to do with me... Isn't that GREAT! How many other stories are there? I may die never knowing everyone, but that's OK, God never promised I would. So I press on in faith what is promised to me... Live my life and let God shine!

Listen to the Spirit. Who are you talking to today?

peace.
johno~

Things are going well here at the Thomas house. We had Adam's doctor appointment today. He was born at 8lbs. 1oz. and went down to about 7lbs. 3oz.. That's more than 10% of his body weight. Today he came in at 7lbs. 6oz. Good sign. He also failed his hearing test the first 3 times. We were told this is normal. They performed a different hearing test on him which he passed.

The first night he was up every hour... ;-( Dawnette stayed home on Sunday and rested, I took the other Thomas clan to church. Last night Adam started out fussy but ended up sleeping four hours. What a blessing.

Anyhow, I thought I would let everyone know where to check our pictures of the kiddos. I will try to keep them updated. You can download them and print them if you like. They are here, (Thomas Kids Photos) on my smugmug account. You can bookmark it and check it later. If you have RSS feeder you can set it as a feed site. I will still post shots here on this blog, but not as many as my photo account.

My children help me see where the Spirit of God is working in my life. It is a constant reminder of how much God loves me.

Thanks everyone for the prayers and the encouragement.

peace.

I knew this child would be a boy. I tried to fight it but I couldn't. Here's how I knew.

Before Hannah was born, we had a boy name but no girl name until the final days.
Before Miriam was born, we had a boy name but no girl name, until the final days.
Before Caleb, girl name no boy name.
As soon as I found out we were going to have another child I knew the name would be Grace... And Grace is not a boys name... or is it?

I'm on a "second journey" in my life. The rediscovery of God's grace and how beautiful and simple it is. I am not sure I understand grace, but, as I love my children and as I watch them grow, I see a quality of my Creator in me as a father. If I, though I am evil, know how to provide, how to love and how to forgive my children, how much more will God provide, love and forgive me? The answer? Amazing Grace!

Naming a child is a difficult thing. I know a lot of people. I'm not sure if you have ever known someone and you told yourself, I'll never name my kid that... They might grow up to be that person. Of course that says a lot about how shallow I am or shall I say we are. Think about it, how many children do you know with the name Judas? Someone does something that seals the fate of ever using that name again. Needless to say, knowing a lot of people with names, my list of names for boys was and is short. I wanted it to be biblical, so that eliminates a few, but what Bible names have not been used? Obadiah? I started a list. Levi... Judah... Israel... Isaiah... Jeremiah... Elijah... Adam. (This is not the entire list)
I found a plus and minus for each name. But none of them captured the point of Grace I was seeking in a name. Until one quiet time in which I found it. Words I've read many times before, yet, this time I read something I had missed in the past.

Psalm 103
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

When you google the meaning for the name Adam, you get 17,900,000 hits. A common theme is, "Adam, This is the Hebrew word for "man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew Adam meaning "to be red." Thus, most baby namer sites give the meaning "Red Dirt" or "Red Earth" But I wonder... "For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust."

God remembers how He made man and THAT He made man and chose us.
4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
-Ephesians 1:4-6

God knew, before He formed man and breathed life into him, that He would save Adam in Christ to have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Grace!

Grace defined is:

2. (Theol.) The divine favor toward man; the mercy of God, as
distinguished from His justice; also, any benefits His
mercy imparts; divine love or pardon; a state of
acceptance with God; enjoyment of the divine favor.

It's Amazing Grace that before Adam, God's grace was in place. God knew man would sin, that His only Son would be crucified and yet God still created Adam. Grace allowed the creation Adam, Adam created in the image of God and formed from dirt by Gods hand. Adam was created with Gods Grace in mind.

It might be a long shot. I might need a good editor or I might be up to late typing these thoughts, but, if there was a boy name that best fits the word Grace, I would say it's Adam.

peace.
johno~