It's All Grace

a journey with the Thomason family

A (Mon)Day of Rest

With a full week of conference behind us, my family and my team took today off for a little rest. It was nice to sleep in a bit today (whatever that means with little kids running around the house) and just spend time together as a family. I did my best to stay away from email, but I must admit I had a few things to take care of and made sure I wrote some people back that had been waiting on things from me all week. Mostly we lounged today, did some laundry, cleaned the house a bit, and I began reading a new book I got called Gospel-Centered Counseling by Robert W. Kelleman. We even had time this afternoon to watch Wall-E and that’s just a great movie. It was a nice Monday of rest.

This morning Titus came to my desk where I was sitting and reading and said, “Dad, you gotta see this” and grabbed my arm to pull me towards the other room. Upon arrival to the living room he said, “It’s a battlefield!” That’s when I saw what you see in the photo above. Like a scene from Braveheart, all of his toys were standing on the floor ready for some kind of fight. I’m pretty sure I heard Olaf yelling “Freeeeedooooooooommmm!!!” Titus really should’ve been in school today, but he’s sick right now which is a bummer. I think it’s just a bad cold, but he’s got a cough that’s bad enough that it caused him to throw up today which is a bummer. Avery had the same thing yesterday so we’re pretty sure it’s just something that’s going around but hopefully won’t last too long. We’ve been so blessed with good health for the past 6-7 weeks so we’re thankful for that.

Late this afternoon after we all had taken naps, Bethany made the comment, “I could really just go for a Starbucks today.” In the States that may have been a normal comment, but since Starbucks is about a 30 minute drive from us it’s a pretty rare treat. But something in me just thought, “let’s do it!” and I told her, “Yes! Let’s go and we’ll just have dinner out there.” So this evening we decided to take a little drive and head in to the big city that is Ostrava and enjoy some family time there. With such a full week and with me already feeling guilty about the lack of Mother’s Day celebration, it seemed like a fun thing to do and I knew it would bless Bethany. When we got there the kids somehow convinced Bethany to let them get “shakes” (aka: Frappuccinos) from Starbucks. To my knowledge this is the first time they’ve ever had them (editors note: they only ordered the non-coffee based ones…we’re not that dumb!). After take her first sip Avery said, “This is the best treat ever!” Here’s a few photos of them guzzling.

After enjoying our family Starbucks, we went over to the play place that the kids love so much. Since it was a Monday, it wasn’t very busy which was nice and the kids just love going up and down the huge slide. Next to the play area is a little store where you can get cosmetics and other things that you can’t get at a regular store, so Bethany went in and got a few things that are not easy to find. I was glad she had a little time to do that and more glad that she was able to find a few fun things for herself. I think it was a fun night for everyone.

That’s all for this Monday!

May 11, 2015
Mother’s Day and the Last Day of Spring Conference

I’m back writing again from my desk at home as today was the last day of Spring Conference. Above is a photo I got today of Dave Patty teaching the last session on family traditions and I thought it was a fun and helpful session. At one point he passed the mic around to people to hear their different traditions and it was great to hear all the different things that families do in their homes and when they go on vacation. This is an area that Bethany and I feel we could do better in. For instance, family vacation has been harder to think through as everything is still so new and we don’t always know where to go or what it’ll look like. No matter what we want to try something this summer and just see what might work for us here in Europe.

Conference ended with a big performance from all the JV school-aged kids that they had been preparing all week. Our kids are still too young to be involved with it, but they had fun watching it (actually, Avery wasn’t feeling amazing and fell asleep in Bethany’s arms, but Titus sat down in the front of the room and watched). It was full of singing, dancing, and even some skits that the kids did a wonderful job at. Even with just a few days of preparation these young kids had memorized lines, hand motions, and even dances and I was really impressed with how well they did! Apparently this is something that happens every year among the missionary kids and I’m sure it’s something they also look forward to. Well done, kids!

Above is a photo I took of one of the photos that the men gave to all the ladies today at the Spring Conference in honor of moms on Mother’s Day. I have written already about how amazing Bethany has been this week with all the full days we’ve had and my limited time, and that’s just worth repeating. She has been amazing considering she’s only a few weeks away from having our third child and how involved I was with conference this year. I’m sad to say I didn’t have anything for her by way of a gift today not because I didn’t think about a week ago, but I just didn’t make the time to plan for it. It’s something I am not proud of today, especially considering just how much she has helped me and our family this week. Even this morning Avery threw up during breakfast so Bethany stayed with her, thus missing the last session of conference. Wife, I love you and you’re an incredible mom to our kids. Thank you for caring for us this week and always, and for how you are an example of Christ. I am reminded of Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” You are so like Christ in that you give your life for this family and for me. Thank you! I love you and happy Mother’s Day!

May 10, 2015
Spring Conference Day 4

It’s weird that Saturday feels like Thursday. I’ve been thrown off with the days all week because the conference started on Wednesday night and the days have been full. Today was probably the fullest day yet, but it was another good one!

Today was just non-stop with two main session in the morning. During the first session this morning our friend Tanya Miller who serves in Poland did this incredible recitation of Scripture called The History of Redemption in which she literally was just quoting a series of Bible verses for at least twenty minutes straight, all set to music and accompanying artwork. It was a very moving and rich time of just listening to God’s Word being recited. The verses are all organized in such a way that it goes from Creation to Revelation and walks through the redemption story. Towards the end when she was reciting from Revelation I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the room including her own. It was an incredible thing to witness and both Bethany and I were in awe of the amount of work that must have taken, but more importantly with the truth of the Scripture.

After lunch today I went from rehearsal to a meeting and then to a larger “Communications” meeting that I spoke at. As the director of the communications team for JV I got the opportunity to speak to a number of different communication areas and get the whole JV family excited about different things we’re working on and serving them in. I had fun with them and hopefully they enjoyed the meeting and left with a few things that are helpful to them in the future.

Tonight we had a special worship night in the big tent that we’re meeting in and I again had the privilege of playing the drums and being part of leading people in song. It was a family-focused event and so all the kids were with us and I got the above photo of them singing and playing in the front of the room near the stage. A little later they all congregated on the actual stage and we sang worship songs that were for kids and then for everyone. It was a sweet time tonight and I had a lot of fun.

Bethany has been having a lot more discomfort today than previous days in this pregnancy. She has been an absolute trooper with taking care of the kids and other things while I have been involved with various things at this conference. I have been so impressed with her this week and she heart has not been one of complaint. She’s a model of sacrificial love to both me and the kids and that couldn’t have been more true than today.

I really haven’t had much sleep this week, but I believe the Lord has really sustained me and given me the energy needed to serve the Josiah Venture family this week. It was one of my joys to serve and support others and I have been blessed this week just to be part of the conference. I go to bed tired tonight but hopefully that’s because I spent my energy on others and not on my self. As I’ve heard said by others, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

May 9, 2015
Spring Conference Day 3 and a Trip to the Science Center

Today was the third day of Josiah Venture’s Spring Conference and it was definitely a fun one. I had the privilege again this morning to play drums for the worship team and just really enjoyed that. At one point I looked out from the drums to see people just singing so loudly to the Lord. We ended the set this morning with “In Christ Alone” which is easily my favorite modern hymn and hearing everyone just belt it out was something special.

This afternoon was set aside for “Family Day” and everyone at the conference (I think it’s 300 something people?) went to a nearby science center which was a blast. It was an amazing place and our kids loved it. They had an entire hands-on area just for kids six years old and under which is almost hard to describe. They had a water area where you could play with water toys. There was a music area with keyboards, drums, and a recording booth for playing instruments. Everything inside was interactive and the kids just went wild on all of it. Here are a bunch of a photos I got from it.

There were a ton of places in the museum that we didn’t get to see, but we also went to this big steel manufacturing area which was just incredible. The sheer size of some of the equipment in there was overwhelming. But it was also interactive and kid-friendly so our kids played on everything and anything they could. We ended up going to that place twice, the first time by ourselves but then a second time with our friends the Wicks. It was great to catch up with them a bit and we enjoyed seeing our kids play together. Here’s a few more photos from that building.

Tonight after we got back Titus asked if I would be up for throwing him a few pitches so we found a nice spot on the lawn at the hotel to play some baseball. Zach and a new friend, Evan, came too and we had a mini baseball game. Titus sometimes asks if we can “do slow-mo” which means he wants to make a slow video of him hitting the ball. So Zach became the camera man and got the below video of Titus crush a “deep downtown” homer to right-center field.

More Titus Slow-Mo Baseball from Shay on Vimeo.

Tomorrow is my first morning off from leading music, so I might get an extra half hour of sleep which will be nice. We’ve had a full and busy time at conference but it’s been great to catch up with friends. I’ve got a presentation tomorrow for all the JV missionaries which will be fun so we’ll just see how that goes!

May 8, 2015
Spring Conference Day 2 and USA Hockey in Czech!

Today was the second day of Spring Conference and again I sit here tonight tired and worn out, but also super blessed. This morning was actually an extra special blessing because I had the privilege of leading music with my friend Zach. Zach and I have known each other since the fourth grade and been friends ever since. It’s an unbelievable blessing that we get to serve the Lord in the same organization and in the same country of Czech Republic today. It’s an even more incredible blessing that I got to serve with Zach this morning by leading music for the Josiah Venture family. In the photo above taken by our mutual friend Landen, you can see Zach and I playing guitar with another missionary, Christy. We did more of a “coffee house” feel for music today and it was a true joy to serve with Zach and to lead others in a time of worship.

But if that wasn’t sweet enough, I had the second joy today of taking Titus to his first ever hockey game here in Czech! Oh, and it just so happened to be Team USA playing against Belarus! I’m still energized by the fun we had this afternoon at the game and I honestly can’t believe that the USA was playing just 30 minutes from us. Above is a photo of us walking at the arena with Titus wearing a paper “helmet” that they were passing out to the kids. You can see how excited he was by the smile on his face.

The USA was playing Belarus today and sadly this was their first loss in this World Championship tournament. Despite the loss, however, we had a really fun time and it was quite the experience to see an international hockey game in Czech. Zach and Kara were the masterminds behind getting the tickets for us and putting the plans together and we had a ton of fun cheering for USA. Below is a little video I caught of the action and you see just how close we were to the ice!

USA vs Belarus in Ostrava, Czech Republic from Shay on Vimeo.

There were a surprising number of fans there supporting the United States, including two guys completely covered head to toe in American flags. I loved this guy sitting behind us that had an American flag draped across himself and the chairs.

Titus and I got up during the first period to get some food thinking we could just come back in and continue enjoying the game. But I guess the rules are different here because after loading up on hot dogs and sausage we weren’t allowed to take our food into the stadium. So we ended up eating and watching the game on the screens near the food area. Here’s a shot of Titus where I perched up on these standing tables.

I think the absolute highlight for us tonight was when we got this photo on the big screen at the arean TWICE! Look at Titus sporting his new USA scarf.

Here’s a couple more photos we got as we were leaving the game.

We made it back this evening to an excited Avery who literally ran down the hall to see us and give me a hug. We had an extra hat from the game that we gave to her and this is the photo I got.

What a fun day! So glad we got to make a memory like that today and enjoy rooting for our home country. Thanks to my friends Zach and Kara for inviting us with you today and for being awesome. It’s a joy to serve with you (and watch hockey games)!

May 7, 2015