Terry Thompson’s Blog

As explained in my last post, I am coordinating the participation of five other authors at next week’s Oshkosh AirVenture 2009.  Since mission aviation is a main theme at the show this year, EAA invited mission aviation authors to a special table in the Author’s Corner.  These authors and their book titles are as follows:

Gracia Burnham: In the Presence of My Enemies

Ruth Scheltema: In the Air for Him

Dietrich Buss: Flying High, the Story of Betty Greene

Dane Skelton: Jungle Flight: The History of JAARS

Steve Saint: The End of the Spear

Of Course, I will be there again with my book: The Aviator’s Devotional

If you are at Oshkosh next week, come by the Author’s Corner and meet these talented writers and discuss their books.  If you can’t make Oshkosh, Google these books and see which ones you need to read.  They make for a super learning experience about the brave people who fly for the Kingdom in the mountains and jungles.

I leave Saturday on the annual trek to the aviator’s closest thing to heaven on earth.  This year’s AirVenture at Oshkosh, Wisconsin will be especially interesting with mission aviation being a major theme.  Missionary pilots from all over the world will descend on this biggest airshow and exhibition in the country for a full week.  Every aircraft type flown in the mountains and jungles of the mission fields will be on display.  A large tent full of exhibits by numerous mission aviation groups will be sponsored by the International Association of Mission Aviation (IAMA). 

This will by my third year to be invited to the EAA Author’s Corner at Oshkosh with my book, The Aviator’s Devotional.  However, this year, I was asked to coordinate the inclusion of specially invited mission aviation authors in the Author’s Corner.  I will provide more information in tomorrow’s post about these authors and their books.  If you are going to Oshkosh, please come by the Wearhouse next to Aeroshell Square and meet these authors.  I hope to see you there.

 If any of you planning to go don’t have a place to stay yet, the family my wife, Linda, and I stay with has an extra bedroom and bath that they rent for $85 a day.  That’s a real bargain at Oshkosh during AirVenture.  And it is only 5 miles from the action.  Shoot me an email to: terry@bountypublishers.comif you have any questions about AirVenture, Author’s Corner, or the accommodations.  Hope to see you there.

Along with millions of other Americans yesterday, I watched the the non-stop replays of the first man on the moon as we celebrated the 40 year anniversary of the amazing feat.  Perhaps the pinnacle of mankind’s pursuit of flight, this mission was followed by the shuttle mission, and the scientific breakthroughs from it all has been truly a blessing from God.

The Creator has revealed Himself to man in the last generations like never before in human history.  Some might view this as man attempting to get into God’s realm.  I view it as God allowing a broader view of Himself and His power.  Parallel revelations of fulfilling prophesy relative to the end times is also playing out before our eyes as we observe international events and geo-physical phenomenons.  I believe God is showing us that the time is drawing near for the second coming of His Son, and is also giving us accelerated insight into His greatness.  Perhaps the mind-boggling experiences and knowledge from our space exploration are giving us a last chance to see and acknowledge Him in ways that were never imagined by our ancestors.  He must be saying to us, “Look at the order of My creation and the awesome things I have made for your pleasure.”

Paul wrote that unbelievers would be without excuse because of the nature of their surroundings.  They certainly should find every reason to believe after considering today’s space age.  I find myself without excuse just flying my little suborbital Bonanza.    

Our human nature, at the core, is to be rebellious against God.  Even though the light beckons us, we are tempted to live in the darkness.  John 3:19 says that we love darkness rather than light.  However, God instills in us a need for His light.   Again, this truth is evident in the realm of light.  We need light.  If a night emergency required an immediate landing, we would desperately scan for the lights of the nearest city, hopefully picking up a rotating beacon there. One of the worst emergencies associated with night flying is loss of instrument lighting.  We carry a flashlight, readily accessible, to counter that potential loss.  Lights on the ground confirm most way points and destinations.  Red flashing lights warn us of dangerous obstructions, parallel rows of lights align us with the runway, and our landing lights illuminate the welcoming landing zone.  Without light, the aviator is lost and helpless in a dark world.  We depend on the light to get us through the darkness that envelops our flight environment, and we depend on THE LIGHT to get us through dark times of our lives.

Do you know that, when you take off on a night flight, that vast sky of darkness does not exist?  Darkness does not exist!  It is just a name we have given to the absence of light.  Scientifically, darkness has no energy–no essence–it only results from the lack of light energy.  Think about it.  You can’t turn off the darkness, but you can turn on the light.  You can’t turn on the darkness, but you can turn off the light.

The darkness of Satan’s realm of evil engulfs us only when we choose to shut out the light of Jesus Christ.  The only way out of that darkness is to turn on His light.  What a simple, but enlightening illustration of God’s Kingdom.

I will be at Oshkosh AirVenture 2009 again in just a couple of weeks.  If you are there, drop by the Author’s Corner and let’s chat.  I’ll be signing my books all week.

You know, our lives are lived in two elements: light and darkness.  God’s nature is revealed in our interface with the presence and absence of light.  He has always been made known through light. The Bible’s account of the creation relates that there was total darkness until God spoke “light” into existence.  Psalm 56:13 says that He gives us the light of life. When Jesus came to earth, He described Himself as the Light of the World. He said if we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.  First John 1 explains that if we live in the light, Jesus purifies us from all sin. 

Given the choice, I think all of us would prefer to fly during the day rather than at night.  We should prefer, no insist, on living in the light where everything is visible, beautiful, and safe.

My most memorable night flight was years ago while cruising just south of Greenland.  The darkest dark is over the ocean at midnight.  It seemed so eerie.  The only sound was from the engines, and the only light was from the instruments.  Unexpectedly, the horizon began to illuminate through our left side windows.  Soon, the northern night skies put on the most spectacular light show imaginable.   The aurora borealis!  Flowing ribbons of multicolored light draped the horizon and stretched as high as we could see.  A bored crew with tired eyes became awed spectators of one of nature’s most indescribable displays.  What a welcomed relief from the ubiquitous darkness.

God’s creation displays its most splendid sights by the medium of light.  Think of the rainbows, the sun, the moon, and the stars.  How about lightning?  Light gets our attention and leaves us spellbound.  On the other hand, darkness is boring, constraining, and depressing.  God describes Himself as light and Satan as darkness.  In that comparison, we see God as beautiful, exciting, liberating, and motivating.  Yet so many people choose darkness.  Live in the light!