Blog posts by Joseph Thiessen

  Year In Review What a year 2022 has been for both the ministry of First Stone and for me. FSM's Highlights God's Voice Conference in April - Oklahoma Leaders On Fire at the State Capitol - Oklahoma Family Under Fire Conference - Idaho Multiple speaking engagements in and out of Oklahoma Support Group runs through the end of May 2023. Joseph's Highlights December '21 - January '22 - Home re-piped for natural gas. (Emergency expense) January - October - I participated in a 12-step support group through my church called Re:Generation . While it's quite different than the groups FSM does, I really loved it and have developed friendships with men from my church. April - With a major expense behind me, I hired a contractor to fix my back entry/utility room foundation. Thankfully, it wasn't terribly expensive and I'm glad I didn't try to tackle this myself! I prefer their solution over what mine would have been. The rest of the work I wanted them to do ...

  PERSONAL UPDATE GRIEVING & FAMILY Most of you already know this but my mom passed away on February 12 of this year. While I’m grateful she’s no longer suffering in a frail body, I miss her sorely! She had a rapidly growing cancer that spread throughout her body. Afraid of dying, she submitted peacefully to the doctor’s bad news that there was no more therapy for her. Just a week before passing, God made a way for her to share something on her mind. Her room was filled with visitors and quickly became empty with only Stephen Black present. She propped herself up and confessed that her pursuit of physical health came before her pursuit of making Jesus her first love. Stephen’s unique familiarity in comforting those who are grieving made him the perfect person to pray with her. She asked the Father for forgiveness and His presence filled the room and them both. It was a strong witness that the Father indeed forgave her and was there for her in her own regret and sorrow. ...

  Whew, What a year! I think we can all agree that 2020 is nothing we have ever wanted. At the onset of the year, our staff prayerfully wrote the following as our keystone for the year, 20/20 Clarity of Vision in Defense of Our Faith. Looking back, I might add that we would gain a clear perspective on where our feet must be planted in this day and age and to live out of that from our very core. So many voices echoed around us this year. Voices filled with anger, disappointment, tattling, loads of fear, caution and woe. I witnessed media calling the plundering of cities a mere protest. Media telling us how awful the virus is and how careful we better be. Governments responding in ways that resemble a police state from decades past. People trying to divide us on every front over matters that only the Cross upon which Jesus gave His precious life can remedy if we look wholly upon Him and trust in His mercy for our own wrongs. So much fear. So much division.  Earlier this year I d...

My title isn’t original. It’s of the podcast I just listened to by Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries. I barely know who she is but I first heard her last fall and I’ve been listening to her more and more since. Upon listening to today’s post, I wanted to share it. But rather than just sharing by posting a link to social media, I wanted to echo some of the things shared in the podcast. Jan Markell spends the hour with Michele Bachmann discussing the turmoil of our times. How far will today’s lawlessness go, which is but a foreshadowing of what happens in the Tribulation? And how are some church denominations promoting some of the escalating evil? There are a couple of notables mentioned that I think are important, and hopefully will draw you to listen to the podcast: The uprising in our nation is not just anger over the unjust murder of a black man. I’d say a majority of people in our nation can see that all people matter and that our laws are capable of delivering justice q...

  I enjoy Waffle House! Although I’ve eaten there for years, I got into the habit of going to a particular location near my doctor’s office. I eventually started going weekly and sat at the high counter where a waitress who went by Ms. Pat often served me. I once felt impressed to ask her if she needed prayer for anything. Over the years, I’d be praying for various family member’s health to improve, mainly her mom’s and dad’s. One day I was told I missed an eventful morning where a local prostitute had given birth in the parking lot. Ms. Pat’s, daughter (God-daughter, but there was no delineation in her mind), was present that morning and accompanied the mother and child to the hospital. When the mom refused rights to her baby boy, Ms. Pat’s daughter, Stephanie, stepped up and said she wanted to adopt him! Several weeks later it was legally settled. David is a cute kid and is thriving in his new family! A few years ago on a Wednesday in July, I was on my way to work from when I liv...

 

  What I’m learning in my recovery from pornography addiction is this: what I need in healing is to be reintegrated into healthy family. More precisely family that reflects God’s intent for family. This iteration of family that our crazy society is pushing upon children removes that altogether. In their world, there is no simple, whole-enough family anymore. Leave God out of it. Remove all sense of the binary. Smear it into a mess of this plus that and leave us feeling more alone and more unlike the binary that we really are. It is evil to promote difference in this way! They want to appear to be loving and inclusive, but the reality they promote is quite the opposite! If I sterilize my existence into being non-binary and communicate instead that my father and mother are just my parents (removing gender from how I see them), then I’m more lost than ever without an anchor for myself. I don’t know how else to say it. Instead of feeling more grounded and whole, I would feel more isola...