February 2008

Dear Friends:

NEW BEGINNINGS
The opening weeks of January were amazing! The money came in to catch us up on unpaid balances from last year and to allow us to order 1000 discs of TRACKING WITH TRANSFORMATION, as well as 300 companion The Dining Car Study Guides. Praise the Lord! As our family drove the master DVD disc to San Jose for replication, we noticed a technical glitch that we didn’t want to copy a thousand times, so a series of phone calls started the process of re-re-mastering a replacement disc. God provided a teammate to bring the fixed disc down to me the next morning on his way through to Monterey. The whole project had been truly graced by God, but those last few days were grueling. God protected us on that trip as a vehicle pulled right up next to us, swerved into our lane and then veered out of control across 4 lanes crashing into the cement barrier along the right shoulder. Angelic protection and human teamwork – we needed it all!

BIRTHDAY BLESSING
My wife’s air miles got me a plane ticket to the INTERNATIONAL TRANSFORMATION summit in Hawaii. So, yes, I was splashing in the warm waves the day after my birthday and enjoying a grand ol’ time. The conference learned me good. I picked up some great insights from my father’s ITN group, the Transformation Hawaii team and Ed Silvoso. The Lt. Governor of Hawaii was there, bold as ever, as was the mayor of Honolulu, a few senators, councilmen, educational leaders, pastors galore, and marketplace ministers of all types. Even the QB of the Hawaii University football team shared his heart about the spirit of ALOHA and the transformation movement’s impact! But while in sunny Hawaii, my thoughts were not far from snowy Shasta County. We shall reap a harvest if we don’t give up. As we align, the acceleration will come.

STANDING ROOM ONLY!
80+ leaders from across the spectrum of callings, denominations and geography piled into the Shasta Builders Exchange on Jan 31 to enjoy a delicious meal, Kingdom vision, and fresh testimony of what God is doing in the region. Sheriff Tom Bosenko spoke on the favor he is enjoying and his recent visit with President Bush regarding the county’s drug eradication progress. Supervisor Les Baugh shared that God has positioned people in such a mind-blowing way AT THIS EXACT MOMENT, for a key purpose, and we all know what THAT is. We also promo’d, the Tracking with Transformation DVD and the TODAY CARD. There was a sense of agreement there that we ARE A TEAM who are united in bringing the Father’s heart and ways to bear all over the community.

FATHERING TRANSFORMATION
How will transformation happen? The FATHER will orchestrate it through all of us! As we express His heart and His love in every environment, His AGAPE will draw men to Jesus and open new avenues for His Kingdom solutions to change this region! Together, we form a company of loving “moms and dads.” We simply need to see one another as a team and intentionally mobilize in walking out this vision in real-time. (The DVD will help there!) The Lord’s prayer opens the DVD and those first 2 words say it all:

OUR – He belongs to all of us. He’s not MINE-exclusively. We share Him, just like the region is OUR region, not MINE alone! This puts us on common ground and gives identity to us all!
FATHER – our protector, provider, lover, a self-sacrificing/caring leader, a firm/bold/fearless example and model. A father sets the tone, the pace, the boundaries. He keeps watch and secures the environment, he fixes stuff, he “calls out” sons and daughters, he disciplines with patience and wisdom, he embodies 1 Cor. 13. The absence of this is “fatherlessness,” which leads to ruin. All the other names and traits of God come under the “Fatherhood” category.

When God wanted to change the world, He sent Jesus, the Son. He is the One who modeled how to apply the Kingdom of God to everything around him! And He is the One who said, “PHILLIP, IF YOU’VE SEEN ME, YOU’VE SEEN THE FATHER!” I am see-through. How about us? Are people seeing the heart of the Father applied to our world through our lives? Are we “see-through?” As we love and care with the Father’s heart, people will experience the Father through us. The net effect will be that people get drawn to Jesus, because ONLY the Father can do that! John 6:44.

He has salted us throughout the region in various callings and places of influence. Practical, sustainable transformation occurs as we bring the Father heart of God to the PEOPLE and SYSTEMS we are touching on a daily basis. And it won’t feel contrived nor forced, but authentic and grace filled.

There’s more to this discussion than this letter can bear, but our goal is to lay a foundation across this region that encourages people in every calling to FATHER their sphere of influence toward the end goal of bringing Kingdom transformation everywhere. Youth can do it; mayors can do it; businessmen can do it! You can do it!

FOR THE NEW YEAR
Over the past 6 months, God has given us a GRACE to do what needed to be done with shooting and editing a full length DVD. Now, He is giving us a new cloak of grace for the next assignment. You know, if God graces you to do something, you can do it! If He doesn’t give you the grace to do something or carry something, you best not try, si? Well, we are sensing that the new grace is for a season. Pray for us, as we pray for you, to walk boldly in that grace!

Now the message is accessible in one place (check out our new website at www.weR1net.net. I am so proud of Tyler Shuster, our faithful tech support person, who designed and executed this with the ease that only a teenager can have on the web), and it’s LOOSE on 1000 digital discs (that can play while I sleep!). Thanks to all of you for believing, praying and standing with us in so many ways. For those who desire to spread the message and engage, please consider purchasing a DVD ($15) and a study guide ($5). You can call now to order yours, and both will be available soon on our website. The footage is beautiful, the content is engaging, the study guide is stimulating, the cost is minimal, the host is wonderful – well…… the message is timely.

The region is ripe, the future is BRIGHT, the TEAM is sharp and in condition for the new season. Rejoice with us!

Enjoying the pace of the race in grace,

Jon & Natalia Thompson

Team Leaders, Redding Transformation & weR1net

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