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Volume 20 Issue 2 - February 2005 WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT Thanks to Flip Benham, National Director of Operation Rescue/Operation Save America, Liz now has a separate link on the OSA website. Flip has asked concerned brothers and sisters to write encouraging notes to Liz as she has suffered through this horrendous ordeal. It is written to honor her faithfulness as a helpmate, mother, friend, and servant of our Lord Jesus Christ. The following is a sample of notes sent by dear friends to Liz. If you would like to write something on Liz’s behalf please feel free to contact us by letter or e-mail. Thank you and please continue to pray for her intensely! My Dear Friend, It has been said that it is doubtful that God doesn’t use anyone greatly that hasn’t been hurt deeply. When I was at my sickest (not that I ever walked through the depths of illness that you are in now) I held on to that thought. It seemed that I was confronted not only with physical weakness during my battle with my illness, but also with my own nature. What I thought was something external that had a hold of me became apparent that through it all, God was going to deal with the "monster within." I know that many may not think that is encouraging, but for me it meant that even though doctors said there was nothing they could do, God was not done with me. It meant that the Lord of Lords had His hands on me. It meant that the Ruler of the Universe deemed me worthy of being able, by His grace, to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. When you peer into that valley, you come out changed. We all look to you as someone who exemplifies Biblical womanhood with the way you help your husband and love your children. There is such a sweet gentleness about you. There is a softness in your spirit that always convicts me in my driven personality to want to be more like you. You walk into a room and without a word that conviction is there. Those things will not change, but you will have fought and won a battle that no one enters into willingly. You will know beyond just theory of how precious life is and you are one who has already understood more than most. 1 Peter 4:1-2 says this, "Therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God." Hold on my sweet Sister! You have been chosen as one who is blessed by God to raise up godly offspring. They will contend with their enemies at the gates! They will understand the times in which they have been born! They will serve the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, and strength and they will remember the strength of their mother and all her self-sacrificing so that they may be mighty in the land! I love you – Kristene Precious Liz, Liz, I know without a shadow of doubt that our Lord Jesus wants you to be healed (John 10:10; Is. 53:5). Therefore I'll continue to persevere with confidence in my prayers on your behalf till we see our Lord's will accomplished. I love you and your dear family with all of my heart. Eva We have just spent three days with the Thomas Tribe. We are so impressed with the Thomas children. They are always very respectful, obedient and very willing to obey. This sounds almost abnormal, but they are all very normal, just well trained and disciplined. Liz is an inspiration to women and mothers. Her sweet, quiet, loving ways make her someone to be completely admired. You can see in her children a sensitivity to others and God and a willingness to obey God in each of their lives. Liz is very stable and effective in her parenting. She should give classes to other women on how to raise Godly children. The kids were all telling us how much fun their mother is. She tells stories that make them laugh and much of their learning is because of the joy in which it is presented. Thank you Liz for being such a blessing to me and others. Ruth Darr Liz Thomas...A total reflection of what God wants a wife to be...I see Liz as the helper that God wanted for Adam as He created the woman in the garden so long ago. Liz is so sweet and I see the smile that has always been on her beautiful face...I see Liz as the mother that God would like all moms to be...I have stood back so many times and watched her with her children...She has shown the love, concern and care for her children that God has for His children...I have seen her children return that love to her by their little hands touching her back or her arm or the little kiss on her cheek..Liz is and has been that example of what womanhood, motherhood and wife should be...To you Liz....Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth and the Light...This has to be true because God said so therefore when He said that" I took all your diseases" He meant just that. When He said" by My stripes you are healed" He meant that.....When He said "I want you to have a full and abundant life" He meant that ....God loves you and so do I...A very gentle hug to my sister in the Lord. Love Bonnie Behn Dearest Liz, You're sweet words to me last week ring in my mind and heart. In the
midst of your own battle you wanted to know how I was. That's so true of
you. You have the most precious spirit. I love you and just wish I could
hold you now. Your example of selflessness has always amazed me. Yet, you
exemplify such joy while serving. I've never heard you complain in the
midst of so much work. Be encouraged my sister. God is on the throne. Your
life has touched so many and still is. Your sister in Christ, When I think of godly womanhood, I think of Liz Thomas. Liz is one who understands what her role as a wife and a mother is and takes very seriously the task of teaching her children the importance of character and virtue. I remember spending a few days at the Thomas house this past summer to help mentor the Thomas boys. On night Liz was reading a book entitled "Personal Help for Boys". In one of the chapters, the book speaks of kissing one's mother. Liz sat in her favorite recliner with little Torah in her arms and read this paragraph: One way love can show itself is in a son's affectionate kiss on the cheek. When a boy thinks it is manly to quit kissing his mother he has made one of the grave mistakes of his life. Often that tender good-bye kiss is the cord which binds a boy to his mother. Mother will miss that kiss with an arrow stuck deep in her heart, if you quit kissing her - don't do it! Go nowhere you would not take your mother. She is a godly woman - she is entitled to a godly son." At the end of the reading of the paragraph, Liz, with a gentle smile and with the twinkle of a mother's eye, looked at all of her five sons (Elijah, Micah, Josiah, Valiant, & Jeremiah) and smiled at them. "How would you like to kiss your mother on the cheek boys?" she asked with a smile, placing her left hand index finger on her left cheek. At her request, not one of her boys hesitated! All ran for mom to give her that special kiss. I will never forget Liz's face as she smiled from ear to ear, receiving kisses, one after another from her boys. How she loves and adores her children! John Reyes IN HONOR OF MY WIFE "House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord." (Proverbs 19:14)The following are quotes or poems that capture the significance of what it means to be a godly women, faithful helpmate, and a loving, nurturing mom. Though Liz may be vaguely familiar with these quotes and poems, she is far more intimately acquainted with their truths and reality. "The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal
challenge of being a godly woman. The very phrase sounds strange in our
ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other type of women:
beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented
women, divorced women. But so seldom do we hear of a godly woman -- or of
a godly man either, for that matter. I believe women come nearer to
fulfilling their God given function in the home than anywhere else. It is
a much nobler thing to be a good wife, than to be Miss America. It is a
greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a
second rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the
realms of morals to be old fashioned, than to be ultra-modern. The world
has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing
to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It
needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular.
It needs more who are pure. We need women, and men, too, who would rather
be morally right than socially correct."-Peter Marshall MOMMAS: THE SHAPERS of ETERNAL SOULS ================================================ "Oh, mothers of young children, I bow before you in reverence. Your
work is most holy. You are fashioning the destinies of immortal souls. The
powers folded up in the little ones that you hushed to sleep in your
bosoms last night, are powers that shall exist forever. You are preparing
them for their immortal destiny and influence. Be faithful. Take up your
sacred burden reverently. Be sure that your heart is pure and that your
life is sweet and clean."
TEACHING BY LIZ Since we have just celebrated the Fourth of July, I thought it would be fitting to start this message with a quote from one of our Founding Fathers. This was spoken by John Adams, our nation’s second president, "From all that I had read of history and government of human life and manners, I had drawn this conclusion, that the manners of women were the most infallible barometer to ascertain the degree of morality and virtue of a nation. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public spirit and their republican forms of government when they lost the modesty and domestic virtues of their women." Think about that. What is he saying? People can look upon the women of our culture, the way we act, dress, speak, and the way we manage our homes to judge our nation’s morality and virtue. He also gave a profound warning. When the modesty and domestic virtues of women are in decline, this is clear and present danger that our Republic is in serious jeopardy. Now that’s a scary thought when one considers the untold horrors the feminist agenda has unleashed against the mere notion of Biblical femininity. President Adams had a keen understanding of history, which affirms the teaching of Scripture. The book of Proverbs states that a woman has the power to be a virtuous crown to her husband or become as rottenness to his bones. With wisdom she can build her house or with her very own hands she can tear it down. (Proverbs 12:4) How does it say she can accomplish these things? By either being an excellent wife or one who causes shame. You see, it is not a question of women gaining power as the feminists would have us think. We already have the power. God tells us that and history confirms that. The question is how will we use that power? The manners and influence of a woman can cause a man to do things he never dreamed of doing. What we must ask ourselves is, what does our life bring out in the heart of our men? Does it inspire chivalry and courage, such as the men who gave up their lifeboats on the Titanic, crying "Women and children first!" as they plunged to their watery grave? Or does it cause them to resent even being in a position to have to care for a wife and family? Unfortunately, a poll was taken recently to ask men if they would give their lifeboat to a woman if they were on the sinking Titanic. Many responded to this affect, "They’re always fighting for their rights, let them find their own lifeboat." Does our life inspire men, such as our Founding Fathers, to pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to obey God and form a nation for generations to come. Men who would sacrifice all for a people they would never even meet? President John Adams’ wife, Abigail, was one who inspired greatness in her husband. She wrote him constantly, letters that encouraged, enlightened and cheered his heart in times of great stress which, ultimately, affected the entire nation. She once wrote to him in the midst of one such occasion, "I am a mortal enemy to anything but a cheerful countenance and a merry heart, which Solomon tells us, does good like a medicine." Her letters were always filled with her affection towards him and the children they shared as well as Scriptural admonitions. Her husband returned the inspiration with letters exhorting her to exalt the mental capacities of their children as she gave her life to educate them. He referred to her as a "thinking woman, a reading woman." Her life must have inspired her children as well, as her son, John Quincy Adams, became the 6th President of the United States. Modesty and domestic virtues would no doubt be considered outdated and irrelevant in the day in which we live. A day where women are thrust, either willingly or of necessity, into the workplace in a day to day competition with men. In a day where colleges teach in their courses on "Women’s Studies" that marriage is institutionalized slavery, marital intimacy is legalized rape, and that Christianity is a patriarchal religion that suppresses the potential in women. Oh, how they bite the hand that feeds them! Yet our freedom as women actually lies in Christianity. Therein lies our purpose, protection, and respect. It is in women exhibiting godly attributes that create an atmosphere for men to find the destinies that God has ordained for them. Feminine women who inspire men to be chivalrous and courageous. Men who will rise up to protect women and children, instead of being predators who use and abuse them. God admonishes us to be separated from this world and the world system. We must lead a modest life filled with domestic virtue in front of a world who knows nothing but lust and perversion. It is a calling card to a generation without hope. In Titus 2, Scriptures encourage the older women to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, and to be teachers of good things. Our life must be our message. We need to teach by our lifestyles as well as our words. We as older women should be teaching and modeling before younger women their need to be lovers of their husbands, lovers of their children, discreet, and chaste. Why? So that the word of God be not blasphemed! We do our daughters a great injustice when we do not teach them these truths. What power do we have?! We women can affect our nation without even leaving our homes by the words we say, the clothes we wear, the way we act, and the home we build. May everything we do honor our Lord and I do mean everything!-Liz Thomas IN KING JESUS' SERVICE, Rusty, Liz, and the Thomas Nation |