Every Breath is a Blessing
Autumn Grace Thomas. If God is leading you to help with financial needs for her ongoing treatment, please click the picture to open her GoFundMe page.
Caroline and I want to thank you thank you for your prayers for our newest granddaughter, Autumn Grace Thomas, born last Wednesday (Sept 15) to our daughter Rachel and her husband Robert. Autumn remains in neo-natal ICU today at a Portland hospital. Rachel has been released from treatment, but she and Robert are at the NICU for hours each day to provide comfort and nourishment. Our beautiful Autumn has Down Syndrome and a heart defect which will require surgery sometime in the first year of her life, but we are counting every blessing: she is now breathing without additional oxygen, her bilirubin count has decreased a bit, and she has begun nursing a little each day (while most of her feeding is still through a nasal tube). Baby Autumn reminds us all that every breath and each day of life is a gift from God. His love, expressed to our family by many of you in these past few days, has been amazing. We thank you and praise Him!
Coming Up Soon:
READ OUR LATEST MINISTRY NEWSLETTER
The printed version of InFaith: Northwest Oregon’s Fall 2021 Newsletter will be mailed at the end of the month, but you can read it today by clicking on the picture to the left. The newsletter went to the printer before Autumn Grace’s unexpected early arrival, but we were able to include a note about another blessing of life in our family: our fourth grandchild, Sophia Johansen, was born to our daughter Emily and her husband Alex on August 12.
But enough about our family! The main article of the newsletter looks at ways some of our local churches are reaching outside their walls to share the love of Jesus in their communities. We pray the Lord may use these ideas to stimulate some of your own, as we work together to share Him with our neighbors.
Worship in the Park with Mtn Home Church
It will be my pleasure to speak this Sunday at 11:00 with Mtn Home Church, meeting for their morning worship at Clackamas County’s Metzler Park. The worship service will be the culmination of their men’s retreat, but the whole congregation will be joining in.
Pastor’s Prayer Meeting Sept 30
I am looking forward to meeting with pastors from our Portland area fellowship churches on Thursday, September 30th at 10 AM at Woodland Park Chapel. Our monthly prayer meeting is being held a bit late this time (because of babies and other blessings of the summer). You are invited to join us as we bow our hearts before the Lord and ask his blessing on the many ministries we represent.
It has been a busy summer.
Now, Take a Breath
Our recent experience with baby Autumn reminds me of a linguistic “coincidence” that popped up when I first started studying Biblical languages. Of course millions understood the concept before me, but it was cool for me to learn for the first time many years ago. The Hebrew word “ruach” found in the Old Testament can mean wind, breath or spirit. In the New Testament, the Greek word “pneuma” means exactly the same thing. And both words are used in various places to speak of God’s Holy Spirit. In Genesis 2:7 a different word “neshamah” is used when God literally breathed the breath of life into Adam. But in Genesis 6:17 the same concept is a expressed with “ruach” in discussing “the breath of life” in all living things. All this and more came back to my mind as we have been praying for God’s Holy Spirit to continue to strengthen little Autumn, one breath after another. As He sustains you today, pause, take a deep breath for yourself. Now another. Continue. Appreciate the peace and calm that replaces the turmoil of the world when you focus on the breath of life, the gift of God, and the Work of His Holy Spirit in you. Every breath is a blessing. Be sure to thank Him for it today.
Tom Hiscox, NW Oregon Area Missionary thiscox@infaith.org