God

Splendor of Seasons

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

“Because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.”

Galatians 6:8-10 CSB

Dear Danielle and I have been doing a ton of gardening. We’re both jumping into this thing full swing without a huge knowledge base of what we’re doing, all while learning a ton along the way. I’ve really enjoyed it, minus the humidity and billions of gnats that fly into my eyeballs, but it has been a blast because we get to prepare the soil, sow the seeds, and then harvest something beautiful.

I think that’s beautiful. Scripture continually uses imagery of agriculture, and I believe this is intentional as it continually reminds us that life is about cycles of sowing and reaping.

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Imago Dei

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

“So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.”

-Genesis 1:27 CSB

“God saw all that He had made and it was very good indeed.”

-Genesis 1:30a CSB

I love this moment that we read in Scripture, the creation of humans. I love this moment because humans have the distinction that we are all made in the image of God and therefore are image bearers of the creator of the universe. The story goes that God’s original plan was for us to live in a beautifully created world and take in all of its gifts.

Then, sin enters the picture, distorting the original plan and creating a separation of us and God.

But God made a way.

His beautiful creation made in His own likeness, He made a way for each of us to be made whole again through the death and resurrection of His own son, Jesus, paying the price.

This is the love story that is written for us, and it is also the start of our calling. To make disciples, helping others be made whole again. Why? Because every person bears the image of God and deserves to be made whole again.

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No Rain, No Flowers

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Hebrews 13:20-21

In 2019 I wrote a post called, “No Rain, No Flowers,” it was a result of me coming out of a very hard season where I didn’t feel like there had been a lot of direction and then found myself in a place of passion for helping others. As I look at the stats of this blog, I am able to see that this post gets frequent traction and views, almost 6 years later. That makes me feel old, but more importantly, it shows that the heart of that writing still rings true to people today.

When I wrote it, I had come from a place where I didn’t feel valued and needed to remind myself that God determines my worth, not people.

We are created and made by God, loved more than anything, and anyone that tells you the opposite is a liar.

Life will throw many things our way, but much like the flowers of a field, without the rain from storms, no life will grow.

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fear is a liar

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

Over the past year I have entered the new phase of my life of being a parent. It’s an exciting and amazing thing to be, and I have always wanted to be a dad. Sweet little Violet is such a joy, and this past weekend we got to play around in the snow and watch her experience a brand-new thing. Seeing her eyes filled with so much wonder and excitement, taking in all kinds of information for the first time in this exciting world.

I often forget to look at the world like this. Either stress of the busyness of life can get me distracted from the true joy around me.

Then there is fear, now fear is something that can often steal a lot from me, and I let it do that all too often, but the truth is, fear is a liar.

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joy in the seasons

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

I’m writing this after an incredibly busy year. I haven’t been able to do much of this, partly due to the new responsibilities of being a dad, but also due to my mental bandwidth not having much fuel in the tank. This happens a lot when I’m stressed or been running on empty in a spiritual sense, and often leads me to veg out or nap along with sweet Violet.

The year has been filled with so much, the blessings of our little family growing and the pains of outside forces I couldn’t control. I like control, as much as I want to say “I give it all to God!” The truth is that I like having a hold of all the pieces in front of me, and when I don’t, dread creeps in. This feeling is scary and causes me to freeze, even when I know I should stand and face it head on. I just can’t. But God is good and hasn’t failed me yet.

He reminds me to have joy, so much joy despite what I feel or what comes my way.

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Thanksgiving

/ Joshua Thomas / 1 Comment

I am very thankful for this season of life. A lot has changed for both dear Danielle and myself, as well as so many of you. At the time of this blog being posted, we will be on the road back to North Carolina. We’re not sure of what’s next for us, but we know that God has got a plan for our lives. I have been thinking back to our time here in Florida, and I am overwhelmed with thanks. This season is good for reflection, living a thankful life allows me to have a clear mind and see all the growth that has happened. That’s what this thanksgiving holiday has always meant to me, I think about all that has happened and have a chance to look back with thanks for all the joys in my life.

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Fear: King of the Monsters

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

It’s finally my favorite time of year! The start of the fall season always brings me joy. The crisp air and the changing colors, well, not really here in Florida, but the season always makes me so happy. A great part of this season, are all the spooky b-movies that I devour. Goofy, yes. Cheesy, absolutely! I always love watching b-movies, and October seems to be the perfect fit for them. I also love movies because they can teach us a lot about our own lives. So, today kicks off my b-movie series here on the blog, today we’ll be looking at the king of all monsters.

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Never Give Up

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

Life gets really tough sometimes. There are days were you just can’t take it anymore. I’ve had a lot of time to think, just like many of you have during this time of social distancing, and I’ve thought about the events that have led me to where I am now. Looking back, I’ll be honest, there have been a ton of times where I wanted to quit. To just give up and let go. In high school, I knew God was calling me to be a pastor, it’s the clearest voice I have heard. I had a passion to help people and a passion to help young people especially step into who God made them to be. From that moment I felt very weird, I am still so passionate about it, but when I have pursued it, I get push back.

Maybe you have been met with similar pushbacks, you might not have enough experience, might be too young or too old in the eyes of the person in charge, or maybe you’ve been told you don’t have the right x-factor or cool enough. I’ve faced these exact same challenges, but in it, god has been with me. He always reminds me:

Never give up.

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Know Your Worth

/ Joshua Thomas / 1 Comment

One of the biggest trends that is in the current forefront of culture is the idea of understanding yourself. We take tests, read books, listen to TED Talks all about looking at the “self” and revolving your life around what makes you tick. I know I’ve done many of these tests and listened to books. We have Strength Finders which gives you your top personality traits, for example mine are responsibility, strategic, developer, restorative, and individualization (So, like, please hire me). Then there’s the Myers Briggs test (INFJ, woot woot), there are tons of EQ (Emotional Intelligence) tests, and the current trend in the Enneagram (I’ve yet to take one). All of these tests to help us know, us. Why then do we struggle with finding our personal value? I think it’s a combo of self-doubt and words that have been spoken over us. One of the most annoying things I’ve had to deal with is the question of “what do you want to do?” My answer, and it’s always been my answer, is that I just want to be in full time ministry. Yet, over and over, people who have asked this of me, “forget,” or like to remind me just how hard ministry is. Like, yeah, I know how hard it is, my parents have been hurt in staffing positions twice now, and even myself have dealt with rejection. That’s the way I think about responding in my shower talks, you know, the conversations you wish you would have but it only comes out in the shower. What really happens is I get frustrated and then internalize the lack of care I think people should have.

I begin to forget my true worth.

Over and over we take tests to know how unique we are, but a simple conversation can have us doubt our worth and calling.

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Loved

/ Joshua Thomas / 1 Comment

I love powerful storytelling. I’m a big fan of books and movies because of the stories they can tell. I love stories, but I also really love true stories. Not so much history, but stories of people who have overcome and made something incredible. I’ve recently been reading a lot more, and it’s so interesting to see people’s stories and how they choose to press on even when things get tough. That’s one of the best parts about the bible for me. In Christian culture, people seem to have this idea of being perfect or fitting a standard, but that’s simply not true. Last week I wrote about how God designed each of us, but sometimes it can feel like we aren’t living up to how we were designed. I feel this way a lot, you feel like you have been made for a purpose, but that I don’t add up to what I’ve been called to. I look at my brokenness and don’t see how I can be used. The fear of rejection or that I’m not good enough give me anxiety and I question how God can use me. In these moments, I have to be reminded of true stories in scripture. One of my favorite parts in the bible, is found in the book of Hebrews. Written by an unknown author (so I’ll use she/her pronouns), she writes a section known as the “by faith” section. In this part she describes people in the old testament that chose to live by faith and listen to God. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit or the sacrifice of Jesus, they simply did what they were asked. The crazy part is, each of these people she writes about are broken people. They all had their individual struggles and dealt with crazy situations, but in all of it, one thing remains true of them and remains true for you.

Despite our brokenness, God says that we are loved.

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