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The Master's Place is the ministry of Rev. Thomas M. Parsons of Columbus, Ohio, and is an independent, personal ministry that has no organic ties to any other ministry, denomination or local church. TMP does not seek nor accept financial donations from anyone. We do, however, appreciate your prayers. Write to tom@tmpministries.com and let us know you are praying for us.
Photo c. 2010 Thomas M. Parsons. All Rights Reserved.
This breakwater with its white, operating lighthouse, reaches out into Lake Michigan and protects the harbor at the city of Frankfort in northwestern lower Michigan. It serves as the location for an important scene in our new book The Missing Person scheduled for publication this summer. Check it out
My Mother's Writing
My interest in writing most certainly came from my mother, Edna Marie Parsons. Though never published until I included some of her work in my book Windsor's Child she wrote poems and short stories to entertain her children and grandchildren. I have included some of them here. Read My Mother's Writing Pictured here with granddaughter Jenny in 1978.
This Little Life of Mine
An autobiographical series of articles about things the Lord has done in my life, from my childhood in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to the present. To see a list of all the chapters in the series, click on my high school graduation picture on the left. You can read the entire series here on our website for free. The series includes my article about the reasons people like me write about their lives and the people and events that are part of their lives. It is called Why Write?Windsor's Child: What God Did in a Small Boy's Life
What God did in my life when I was a small boy in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. You will read about a war, a tornado, a car accident, and a serious illness, and how God used each of these to reveal Himself to the small boy who lived in a small house on Windsor's Westminster Avenue.
Joy Comes in the Mourning By Barbara J. Forsyth
A friend of ours from our Lincoln Park, Michigan days, from First Baptist Church there, has written a book about grieving and how God wants to turn our grief into joy. Barbara J. (Gurney) Forsyth, who now lives in southern California, has maintained a ministry to grieving women and their families for several years. A retired elementary school teacher, Barbara uses this book in her ministry. I had the privilege of serving as its editor.
He Will Be Here
This story about an accident Barbara had on California's Mt. Baldy is an excerpt from her book.
Two
A short story about Jonathan and Anna, a husband and wife, who are celebrating their wedding anniversary.Index To This Website
This page contains links to every article, every series, every blog, every video - everything that appears on this website or our associated websites. You can also read about how to obtain permission to use any of the materials copyrighted by us and others that appear on the site.
Tell Us How You Met Your Spouse
Tell us how you met your husband or wife, and read the wedding stories of others. It is a blessing to read the different and creative ways God used to bring a man and a woman to marriage.
My Brother's Photographs of WW II
Ronald Parsons, my brother, served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. I told his story in Windsor's Child. Here are some photos he brought home from the war.
William Parsons: A Family Hero
My grandfather, William Parsons, is a family hero. On June 2, 1911, he made a remarkable sacrifice that may have saved my father's life when he was just seven years old. It was the day the circus came to Detroit, Michigan, the day a pair of spooked horses threatened the lives of nearly a hundred people along Jefferson Avenue near Belle Isle.
Tributes to My Wife's Parents
John and Nellie Hubble lived in central Indiana and raised two daughters. One of those daughters, Linda, became my wife. John and Nellie are both now home with the Lord. Read these tributes to the couple who raised and gave their eldest daughter to me.
The Church of My Youth
For five years, from 1960 to 1965, I was a member of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Park, Michigan. A few years ago, Linda and I attended the church's 80th anniversary celebration. Here is my account of that celebration, along with a couple of photos from the event.
Write Your Story
I am an advocate of each person writing their own story, especially if they are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an excellent way to have future generations undertand what God did in their lives. If you would like to write your story, here are some suggestions and an offer of help from me if you are interested.Who We Are
I graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. I then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to enroll at Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary (now Cornerstone University).
While a student at GRBS, I met a lovely young lady named Linda. She was a student at Grand Rapids Baptist College which shared a campus with the seminary. We were married in December, 1968. I graduated from the seminary in 1969 with a Master of Divinity degree in Pastoral Studies.
In 1970, Linda and I moved to Flint, Michigan where I became the Assistant Pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church. I was ordained in this church in 1971.
The Lord led us to the small town of Oglesby, Illinois in 1974, where I became the Pastor of the First Baptist Church there. While we were living in Oglesby, our three daughters, Mandy, Jenny, and Kathy were born.
A new ministry opened for us in 1995 when the Lord brought us to Columbus, Ohio to teach at Maranatha Christian School, a ministry of Maranatha Baptist Church. I taught English in grades seven through twelve, as well as Bible classes to grades ten through twelve.
All three daughters met and married their husbands while I was teaching at Maranatha. In 2004, however, the church decided to close the school due to declining enrollment. I was 63 years old at the time, so I decided to retire. My first day of retirement was my 63rd birthday, June 5, 2004.
I started this website, The Master's Place, in 2004, and turned my attention to writing, which had been a life-long passion. In 2007, I published my first book, Windsor's Child. This was followed in 2009 with the publication of The Foolish Galatians. My third book, Come, Lord Jesus was published in 2010.
In 2011, a friend of mine from Lincoln Park published her book Joy Comes in the Mourning which she had asked me to edit for her. All of these books are now available from our Bookstore and from Amazon (Create Space).
I am currently a member of Faith Writers, a community of Christian writers. I also am working on my fourth book, The Missing Person which I hope to publish in 2012.
WINDSOR'S CHILD: What God Did In a Small Boy's Life. When I was growing up in Windsor, Ontario, God was working to reveal Himself to me. Although I did not know it then, I can look back now and see what God was doing. This book features family stories from Windsor in the 1940s, during and after World War II. Author: Thomas M. Parsons 191 pages.
You may read the first ten pages of this book. CLICK HERE
JOY COMES IN THE MOURNING. The author, who has a ministry to grieving women near her home in southern California, has collected stories and poems from her own life and from the lives of others, all to show how God wants to turn our grief and sorrow into His joy. Along the way there are provocative questions to help the reader to think through Scripture and apply the Word to his or her own situation. Author: Barbara J. Forsyth. Editor: Thomas M. Parsons 200 pages.
COME, LORD JESUS: UNDERSTANDING REVELATION. It is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and the last book of the Bible is far more than just a prophecy of a series of scary events in some distant future. It is a revealing of the heart of God and the tremendous culmination of God's ages old dealing with sinners. The prayer that occurs near the end of the final chapter has challenged believers for two millenia with its simple statement of faith: Even so, come, Lord Jesus. He will. Soon. Author: Tom Parsons 200 pages. This book is currently being used in a Ladies' Bible Study in Ontario, California. Special pricing is available for use of any of our books in Bible studies or other situations where multiple copies are being purchased. Please send an email to tom@tmpministries if you are interested in using any of our books in your ministry.
COMPELLED TO LOVE A STRANGER. What can Katie do to protect him from certain and serious harm? Lucas, an embittered widower, is willing to do almost anything to earn a coveted promotion. But the odds seem insurmountable. When the lives of these two strangers cross, we see
how God's sustaining grace can conquer our nearly hopeless situations. By a twist of His marvelous providential fate, we are brought to the mountaintop to experience the joyous conclusion of this first novel. Author: Teri Sharbaugh. 203 pages.
THE MISSING PERSON. Tyler Williams did not know where he was born, nor who his parents were, nor why someone left him in a car parked near to the City Hall in Frankfort, Michigan. And it seems that God is not intending to reveal the truth to him though he desparately wants to know. He risks his future and his growing relationship with Kristen to find out. But only when he commits to accepting God's will for him does the story of his past begin to unravel. Author: Tom Parsons. This book is currently being developed. Watch for announcements about its release here.
RED SKY'S ABLAZIN'. Biblical prophecy is a challenging but rewarding study. Combining prophecies from the Old and New Testaments, the author weaves a compelling commentary about the future of planet earth. The Bible depicts a glorious future for one whose faith is in Jesus Christ and thus a recipient of God's merciful grace. For those who have neglected or refused to establish that faith relationship with Jesus, what is coming is the full wrath of God poured out on an unbelieving world. Author: Norm Sharbaugh 197 pages
THE FOOLISH GALATIANS. The believers in the churches of Galatia had allowed false teachers to move into their midst and preach ideas that were contrary to what had already been revealed by God. Paul said it was foolish to exchange the good news of the Gospel for the transitory ideas of man. This book is designed as a Bible study and could be used for a thirteen-part series of studies with a group. Author: Tom Parsons. 50 pages
the grace of God.
THE TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. A religion teacher at a Catholic school in Grand Rapids, Michigan started reading the Bible, not as a text book or as a source of proof texts for what he was teaching, but as the written Word of God. The result was that the teacher put his faith in Jesus Christ as the living Word of God. God then led that teacher to commit his life to preaching the simple message of God's plan of salavation, not through good works or through membership in a church, or through baptism, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Here in his own words is that evangelist's story. Author: Norm Sharbaugh 128 pages
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Copyright © 2012, Thomas M. Parsons, All Rights Reserved.
