Simple Pleasures

Posted on 2011/03/08 by Shawn Thomas

A few days ago, the preschoolers from the First Baptist Academy were going out to the playground, which is just behind my office.  As it had recently rained, when they came through the gate and entered the playground, one of the little tykes gleefully exclaimed: “Good mud!”  I smiled to myself, and thought, ah, the simple pleasures of life!

A couple of days later, it was one of those Saturday mornings when I did not have to be up particularly early.  That was nice.  Even more, it was raining!  I LOVE to sit and watch — or just listen — to the rain. Continue reading →

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“A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste!”

Posted on 2011/03/03 by Shawn Thomas

“A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste” — I couldn’t help but think of that old college fund commercial the other day.  I was at my office at church, just getting ready to go home, and I saw C.S. Lewis’ book, “The Screwtape Letters”, on my bookshelf with Lewis’ other books there — I have most of them.  I thought, “You know, after all these years, I never have finished that book.  I have read the first half of it, multiple times, but never finished it.  I am going to go home and do so forthwith!”  So I put “Screwtape” in my briefcase and brought it home, resolved to end this glaring deficiency. Continue reading →

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Let God speak TO you, not just THROUGH you

Posted on 2011/02/24 by Shawn Thomas

I started reading through the book of Hosea the other morning in my devotional time, and something jumped out at me right off the bat.  The first chapter opens by saying in :2, “When the Lord first spoke THROUGH Hosea, the Lord said TO Hosea …” and it went on to describe what He told him to do.  I thought the wording there was very revealing: that when God spoke THROUGH Hosea, He spoke TO him first!  Continue reading →

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Basebaal Strikes Out

Posted on 2011/02/19 by Shawn Thomas

Did you catch the sad interview on the news the other evening, when former Philadelphia Phillies baseball manager Dallas Green was asked about the death of his granddaughter in the recent Tucson shooting rampage?  The multiple deaths were, of course, tragic in and of themselves.  But the comments of this grandfather reveal an even deeper tragedy.  Asked how he was going to cope, Green said: “We hope we can all get through it … and get through it with the help of baseball.” Continue reading →

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Minor Emergency Clinic

Posted on 2011/02/17 by Shawn Thomas

“Wow!” the nurse practitioner exclaimed as she listened to my lungs.  I was actually somewhat gratified to get some kind of response — you know, that it was truly worthy of a trip to the clinic at 10:30 at night! 

I mentioned in my last India blog that I had finally caught something the day of the Pastors Conference, the Tuesday before we left there.  I have been struggling with it ever since — along with the jet lag — and the coughing has been getting worse and not better.  I told Cheryl I would go see the doctor if I got a fever, and finally tonight at  10 I did, so I went over to the Clinic.  Continue reading →

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Jet Lag

Posted on 2011/02/11 by Shawn Thomas

Some assorted notes while I am up with jet lag …

Pretty much all of the team had jet lag while we were over in India, waking up at 3:00 or 4:00 every morning, being up for a couple of hours, and then sometimes going back to bed for bit before starting the day.  This is understandable when you have gone halfway around the world, and are living on a schedule pretty much opposite from the one you have been used to.  Now, after leaving India at 1:50 a.m., flying back halfway around the world, and getting a couple of naps on the plane, I’m not sure what my new “sleep schedule” is going to be.  Well, I guess I have a clue: I am up now (3:00 a.m.!) Continue reading →

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The Conference

Posted on 2011/02/08 by Shawn Thomas

For a one word summary, I guess “wow” would do …  We had the most incredible day at the Pastors & Leaders Conference hosted by our partner pastor in India, Sanjay Charan.  When all the ladies in the hall left early for lunch, I counted about 60 men present, and there were more women than men, so attendance totalled more than 130 in all.  These are pastors, house church leaders, and their wives, many of them new in the ministry and some of them not very old in the Lord.  It was a great opportunity to share things that can help shape their ministries for years to come, and encourage the spread of the gospel in India. Continue reading →

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Monday Interlude

Posted on 2011/02/07 by Shawn Thomas

I usually suffer a “Sunday hangover” on Mondays after I have preached on Sunday in the States, and I am here to report that it is no different in India!  I had to drag myself out of bed — I think most of us did today.  But thankfully, they had planned a light day for us.  Continue reading →

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Not Your Typical Sunday!

Posted on 2011/02/06 by Shawn Thomas

Where do I start with today — Sunday in India? The short version of it is that it may have been the best single day the Lord has ever given me in ministry! The long version, however, may be more than I can handle in my present state! I’ll give a shot at a brief report before I crash: Continue reading →

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Preaching The Gospel

Posted on 2011/02/05 by Shawn Thomas

I came to Saturday with great anticipation: evangelistic meetings at two different locations in the same part of Delhi: Aali Village and Gautam Puri — historically tough areas that are just beginning to open up to the gospel. James, Larry & I would go to these meetings, while the FBCMB ladies would minister to groups of women in two different homes. (I just heard the ladies get in as I was writing, so I have no report from them about today. I won’t make any jokes about how perhaps their meeting went long because of the way women talk or anything like that …)

James, Larry & I rode to Aali village and arrived early, before the meeting was ready and the people had gathered. So we were ushered to the home of couple in the church there. But first you must understand the setting: Continue reading →

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