Anniversary Joys!

Today is the 4th of July Independence day celebration in our nation but for me it is also another celebration. It's the 5th Anniversary of the Tabernacle for a Shadow publication! It is a good time to reflect on this past year. It is amazing to me to see the process of this journey. Looking from my perspective, it sometimes seems like a slow moving turtle, but I am thankful that God has given me the opportunity to see the movement of the book from His perspective. This adventure is not about how quickly the book moves, though I am grateful that it IS moving in a way that I can see - by numbers and countries, but about the faithfulness of God as He moves in my life and the lives of others through this process.  I can see the blessings that it brings to others, such as Reza Karg who sent the message shown on "Languages" posted today.  God not only gives me an opportunity to learn and teach with the book, but also I get a great blessing and joy from seeing others learning and growing by the book. Reza volunteered to translate the book into Dutch the day I met him. (you can see his picture in the archives of this section dated 4/26/11. He is seated on the far right of the top picture and I am standing behind him pointing my finger at him!) I think he surprised himself when he realized what he had offered to do, but I know the Holy Spirit led him and so the journey began. Since Reza lives in the country of Suriname, I have not seen him again, yet God has tied our lives together in a way that serves His purpose. Thank you Reza for your willingness to serve God in this manner.

Much like what Joseph did when taking the book to Germany and giving it to Chaplain Major Colin Grossruck, US Army,  and then finding out that he was a colleague of Chaplain Major Bill Coker, US Air Force, who took the book to Iraq, (see "Fingerprints"), God blesses us with connections to others in the body of Christ. This has been a wonderful year as Joseph has led the way for many books to get into other countries. As a teacher himself, he has sent books to teachers in Africa and other countries. I am very grateful for all he has done to promote the Gospel using the Tabernacle for a Shadow book. He has rallied many to see what God has done through this book and I am very grateful.  I am also grateful for the many others who bought books, even several years ago, and have kept them until a time that God has led them to give them to others. What a tremendous blessing you all are to me! THANK YOU!

As I reflected back on my writings over his past year, I came across many of the trials I endured throughout the year. The Lord showed me many of the ways it has cost me to follow Him. In May, 2008, I had written what He had asked me, "Will you continue doing the work for me no matter what it costs?" I had answered "Yes" even as I wondered just what costs they would be. Would it be the cost of caring for my mother as she slipped deeper into dementia? Would it be the cost of losing my job? Would it be the financial burden I would carry?  Would it be problems with my health?  Yes, it would be all these things and more, but it didn't matter. Nothing would be worse than what I had already experienced in my past : darkness and separation from God. The burden Jesus carried for me as He carried that cross to Calvary to free me from sin would be far greater than any cost I could bear. He is my savior. He is my God. He is in control. He can do anything. He has done everything. He has died for me. I will live with Him in eternity. He is calling all to Him. Can you hear?