The Vision

Recently my daughter Grace put together a YouTube video for SongintheNight.net. It beautifully expresses the calling of Song in the Night to promote the gift of life in our world. It is our prayer you will be inspired and encouraged by The Vision.  

Guest Blog by Samantha Thorson

If you read Never Underestimate Jesus, you learned about a very special answer to prayer in our lives.  You are in for a treat in meeting this amazing young woman of God.  Samantha is a program intern at a Christian camp on the Oregon coast.  She is also my niece and one of my great joys.  Today I have the honor of having her as a guest on 'Til Dawn Comes.  I'm sure you'll be refreshed and blessed by her honesty and faith.

Faithful, Faithful God

Good evening, dear souls about to read these words.  I want to invite you into my life as it is right now, I hope that's okay.  My dearest auntie Pam asked me to write something for her blog, and I wanted to write something personal.  Thus, I invite you to brew some tea, get cozy in your chair, and enter my world and my thoughts for a few moments.

It is a quiet evening here in my home.  A candle is burning - the aroma of mangoes and papaya swim around my nose.  My living room is lit with a few lamps setting a cozy mood.  I can barely hear the wind blowing, the sound of the ocean is a dull, distant roar; perhaps the loudest thing is the clacking of my laptop's keys as my fingers type out my thoughts.  This day and the majority of the previous four days have all been very quiet.  I became quite sick Tuesday night, and now this day being Saturday, I am only now on the road to recovery.  In more ways than one these have been long, monotonous days spent horizontal in bed.  When I am honest, it is perhaps my soul that has needed this pit stop on my journey even more than my body (rest assured, my body also needed it.)

You have the setting, now onto my thoughts.

Life in full time camping ministry as an intern is quite busy.  There are always projects on my to-do list that need my attention.  Cabins need to be cleaned, dishes washed, brochures created and mailed out, youth pastors need to be called, e-mails must be sent, data needs to be stored one way or the other, our summer programs need planning and, of course, the long list continues.  Don't get me wrong, it can be pretty glamorous, too.  I live on the Oregon coast and get to see God move.  Who wouldn't love that?

As any Christian knows, the daily act of picking up one's cross and following Christ is both a heavy and a light burden.  It is pure joy to be here, I know without a doubt that God has called me to this enchanting world.  On this earth to truly experience, understand, appreciate the good, we must tango with the bad.  The bad I dance with these days is my flesh.

My aunt Pam's words in her blog post, Never Underestimate Jesus, resonated keenly with me.  I, too, know that trip through the Columbia River Gorge so very well.  I have been on that road countless times my twenty-two years of life.  It is a well-known path to me.  I can fail to recognize the beauty of that trip because it can be monotonous, draining, as my aunt said, but I can also fail to recognize the beauty because I'm distracted with myself, my flesh.  My anxieties, stresses, worries, burdens, my temptations, distractions, sins, my heartaches, sadness, woes, grief - all of it consumes me from time to time.

It parallels my life here.  Ministry is fraught with things that cause anxiety, stress, worry, burden, temptation, distraction, sin, heartache, sadness, woe, and grief.  There are troubles all around.  I am constantly distracted by my flesh.  I fail to recognize the beauty all around me - what God is doing; what he generously offers me to be part of.  I forget to remember there's something bigger than all of this, bigger than cleaning toilets, washing dishes, e-mails, programs.  There is a story unfolding here in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, and all around the rest of the world...a story of a broken world being reconciled to its grand creator through a selfless son and savior.  Stop and savor that for a moment...isn't it a wild thought?  It's the Chronicles of Narnia on eighteen thousand cups of coffee.  I love it.  I awaken to that reality from time to time.

Reading what my aunt wrote made me stop, think, and have such an awakening.  The fact that I came to know Jesus Christ as my savior was an answer to her prayers.  I was the product of someone's prayers (well, and obviously so many other things, but you know).  What beauty!  What adventure!  All of heaven sings when a heart and soul is reunited with its Creator.  And yet how quickly my flesh forgets, how easily distracted I am by the world.  But it's okay, in a way.  We do get distracted; we get consumed by other things; we forget abut the grander scheme of things.  But when we remember the adventure, when we have those moments that draw us into the Kingdom of Heaven, when we catch those glimpses of eternity it is all the more glorious for the time we've spent listless, distracted, monotonous, and horizontal in bed.  I do sometimes tire of this flesh and this world, I do sometimes tire of ministry and camp, and I do sometimes tire of the same old scenery on the same old road that I have seemed to travel so many times.

But then I set myself aside and I commune with the Holy one of ancient days and I awaken.

My salvation was an answer to my aunt's prayer.  The ministry I am doing is a dream I had for three years come to fruition.  This cozy, quiet, perhaps monotonous evening in my home is a precious pit stop on my journey along a familiar, yet ever surprising road.  What an awakening.  What a world.  What an adventure.  What a beautiful gorge.  What a faithful, faithful God.

Whiter Than Snow

Until this week, the Idaho Panhandle had been having an uncommonly mild winter. In fact, until this week, the cheatgrass around our house had sprung up to declare an early spring, and one little miniature rose bush in our garden had been stubbornly holding on to a last vibrant show of tiny orange-gold blooms.

But this week, winter caught up with us in a big way. We awakened this morning to find that a big, beautiful, fat, snowfall had blanketed the landscape. The snow covered the blemishes of the dead garden and hid the bare, frozen ground beneath.

It was a transforming snow, softening the weedy, rocky hills that form the canyon of the Clearwater River. Even the straggly pines along the banks of the river became lovely sculptures under its graceful hand. It also threatened power lines and turned the roads into ice skating rinks. I always marvel something so delicate and fragile can change a landscape and transform the course of human lives so dramatically.

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7

No wonder God used snow to describe one of His most amazing attributes: the purifying power of His mercy. Snowflakes are intricate, fragile, and exquisitely lovely particles of frozen vapor possessing the collective power to alter everything upon which they rest. In like fashion, mercy falls delicately from heaven upon our frozen, barren lives. It covers our sins and imperfections and powerfully transforms even our bleakest landscapes into works of beauty.

Have mercy upon me, O God,
...According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Psalm 51:1

Mercy, like a snowflake, is a mysterious force; individual in nature; completely unfathomable; so totally new and breathtaking every time it falls. Its mere presence inspires awe. It reflects the light by day and makes even the darkness bright. It arrives at the season of our lives in which everything has died and turned cold. It comes in abundance, obliterating past footsteps and covering our dirt. Blemishes become completely white. The parts of our landscape that cannot be changed are softened by its hand.

"Come now, and let us reason together,"
says the LORD,
"Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow...."
Isaiah 1:18

This afternoon, the snow has let up a bit. My husband has been out clearing the pathways. Man and animals have trampled the snow and marred the pristine landscape. But another snow is coming. We will probably awaken tomorrow morning to find that a brand- new snowfall has repaired the damage to its beauty. Once again, everything will be sparkling.

Clean.

Renewed.

Exactly like us when we look to the sky for God's mercy to fall. It never fails. Dirty, bedraggled, cold, and dead, we lift up our faces to the heavens, and before long the first delicate flakes caress our faces: pure, amazing, gentle, powerful mercy.

The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:23

Christmas in a Changing World

In a nod to our changing world, this 1900's era bunkhouse at Arrow now displays a sign
from the Arrow Museum dating back to the early 1970's and modern LED decorations.

This holy season closes a year of many challenges and victories for our family. As many of you know, in August I completed a punishing year of nursing school. I passed my board exam in September to become licensed as a nurse in the state of Idaho.

Long hours at school meant the rest of the family had to take up the slack at home. The family rose to the challenge, quietly adding my burdens to theirs without complaint. Graduation in August was a celebration for everyone!

Aaron's mother fell in March and broke her hip, necessitating a total hip replacement. During this time, my step-mom had a total knee replacement. Continuing health problems for both moms have kept the family busy and praying.

The rest of the family is well. Eldest daughter Jen and her husband Scott juggle two jobs, studies, homeschooling duties, and community work. Granddaughters Rebekah and Vanessa are becoming accomplished in piano and Taekwondo. Our eldest son Erik and his wife Rachel work two jobs while transforming the Arrow "homestead" and serving on the worship team at their church. Our sons Kevin and Dan continue to build an online presence for Dragonfly Core, working this year on a popular series for Discovery's Military Channel. Kevin's Christian music website, CMADDICT.com, featured exclusive interviews, news, and reviews from the Christian music world throughout the year. Dan plays drum for the worship team at church. Youngest daughter Grace helps with Sunday school and enjoys being a member of the young adults' group. She is preparing for a much-anticipated trip to Japan in 2012.

Aaron has become the anchor person at home, keeping things running smoothly at Arrow. He continues to be the night "watchman" and sits up every night to keep guard over a sleeping household, ensuring Kevin (and the rest of us) are safe.

I have recently resumed work on a personal project: compiling the history and stories of the people of our beloved Arrow community. This is a project I began before nursing school intervened, and I am eager to complete this work as a tribute to the people and area I love.

On the eve of Christmas, our world sits at an uncertain moment in time. Nations and governments hang at the brink of disaster. The changing face of our world is a constant reminder that security in this life is an illusion. As one tired old year is put to rest, no one knows what the new year will bring.

But we have learned uncertainty only brings into sharper focus the hope and promises of the One whose coming we celebrate at this season. The appearance of the Deliverer split history into Before and After and brought with Him the gift of Forever to all who yearn for deliverance.

It is my prayer that you experience God's peace and complete provision every day of your new year in 2012. May His power and strength keep you and protect you. We appreciate every one of you more than you can ever know.

For I, the LORD, do not change.
Malachi 3:6

Our youngest daughter has an old cat named Raptor. She's had her since she was a kitten. The first time we saw Raptor at the pet store, I picked her up and she growled at me, thus earning her name. In the twelve years Grace has had her, Raptor has kept up her reputation for being cranky. But with each passing year, the old girl has grown slower, pudgier, less sure on her feet.

Sorta like me.

But there's something about the annual Christmas tree that inspires our old kitty. I don't know if it's the scent, the organic connection to the outdoors she no longer roams. Maybe it makes her feel secure. Maybe she just likes being the center of attention along with the tree. Whatever it is, every year she claims it as hers as soon as the last ornament is hung. Or sometimes before.

A lot like me.

Yesterday we cut our tree from our fledgling forest. As soon as we got the Christmas tree skirt around the base of the tree - even before the tree was fully decorated, Raptor was hanging around us in anticipation. As soon as we had it lit, Raptor took up residence. Transformed into the picture of youth again, she batted around the one and only present under the tree. Then she circled around and plopped down on top of it to take her long afternoon nap. She tucked herself as close as she could get to the beauty and comfort of the season and reveled in the rest it offered.

Just like me.

Never Say Never

Congratulations to Daniel and Kevin of Dragonfly Core and to Jeff Boyer and JEDA Productions for their work on the next upcoming installment of Missions that Changed the War. It’s airing on the Military Channel November 18 at 8pm and 9pm EST. This next installment documents the sobering mission of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress bomber used to drop a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.

Dragonfly Core’s contribution to such a prestigious project is a testament to the tireless work, sacrifices, and long hours Dan and Kev have put into learning the art of 3D graphics and animation and building a partnership. Their dedication despite many trials and setbacks has been inspiring.

They’ve come a long way from the first time Kevin managed to move one finger just enough to click the cursor on his laptop. It was the first time he had done something for himself since his spinal cord injury in 1997. Back then, he was declared a “complete” injury, and we were told he would never move anything below his chin or shoulders. We were also told he would never breathe again on his own. He definitely could never return to the United States (he was injured in another country). He would never again live at home. At the time, it would have been absolutely laughable to suggest he would eventually partner with his brother to produce graphics and animation for an Emmy-nominated television series.

Of course, he did all those things. Really, one should never say, “never,” especially when God is involved. He totally delights in crushing the “nevers” in our lives. He lives to deliver those of us who have been given no hope. He rejoices in being worthy of our trust. For He is, after all, so very trustworthy.

Thanks, God, for being so amazing.

Thanks, JEDA, for giving Dragonfly Core a chance.

Thanks, Dragonfly, for giving my faith new wings as I watch you take flight.

Loyalty Lives

Today

Is my youngest son's thirtieth birthday. We were actually able to surprise him with a small party over the weekend. I worked really hard to keep him from discovering our plans, but I don't think I needed to worry. Between his part-time job, his care-giving, and his work as co-partner and effects modeler at Dragonfly Core, he was too exhausted to notice. The party went off without a hitch, he was adequately and genuinely surprised, and we had a chance to let him know just important he is.

Really important.
And amazing.
Did I mention hilarious?

Daniel always brings the party. Daniel's the smile-and-light-up-the-whole-room kind of person, the one with a good story and an infectious laugh.

He's also one of the truest examples of loyalty I know. At the age of fifteen, his older brother was nearly fatally injured in a fall. In the fourteen years since, Dan has never left Kevin's side. Neither has he left our side, sacrificing his own dreams to help us accomplish ours. His strength, his sensitivity to the needs of others both humbles me and fills me with pride.

It reminds me of a passage in Isaiah, in which God proclaims His loyalty to His people. Isaiah 46 draws a stark contrast between the idols of the people and the true God. Idols, we are reminded, are created by us. They cannot even move unless we carry them. So we pack them around on our shoulders, set them up where we want them, fall down to worship the creation of our own hands... only to act surprised when they leave us unsatisfied and empty.

God is the complete contradiction to this. He creates us and carries us from the womb. He never leaves our side...even in times of great brokenness. Because He is loyal to us, He promises to carry us on His shoulders from conception through old age (Isaiah 46:3-4). His deliverance is complete; His salvation powerful and perfect.

We are made in God's image; His attributes are displayed through us, as they are through all creation (Genesis 1:27; Romans 1:20). Those who have been born into salvation through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus become sons of Father God, partakers of His divine nature. As such we display those character traits that remind others of our Father.

In my son Daniel, I see the fierce and tender loyalty of God. I am encouraged to know that Daniel serves a faithful Father and Deliverer who promises to carry his burdens as he has faithfully carried the burdens of his family. I am comforted to know that Dan does not serve the things he has made, but the One who created him, bears him through every day, and who will never leave him forsaken.

Thank God that loyalty still lives. Thank God that He rewards those who live for Him.

Happy Birthday, Dan.