It’s February 19th – and that means it’s my 59th birthday today. It’s been a great day. Usually, I confess, I get a little introspective a few days before the big day each year. For some reason, I start to thing about my parents and what it was like to have birthdays as a kid. Now, with both parents gone, the years click by and I always wonder how I will react on the morning that Feb. 19th rolls around. But this year, I had a pleasant surprise. Three of my friends called me yesterday and now, with the addition of Facebook for me this last year, many of you wished me greetings through social media. It was awesome – thank you…..
Each year, I realize more and more how much relationships mean to me. It truly is about the warm wishes of friends and family rather than the receipt of gifts. We had dinner with Kristin and Andrew; and their families, missing Jill and her son who will be here again in several weeks. In fact, when I awoke this morning, the first thing I did was to say a little prayer and thank God for another good year on this earth. He has brought us safely through trials and tribulations and is always my strength.
But today marks another anniversary as well. Because it was one year ago tonight that I wrote my first post and launched Transitions by The Book. It happened as a result of a small Bible I had on my desk last birthday and the inscription brought back memories of my grandmother. Who knew that that TBTB would actually last a year and still be going strong? We have survived illnesses, the death of a dear friend, changes in the family, and through it all, my life has been chronicled through Transitions. I hope that you have enjoyed it as much as I have.
Admittedly, at first, I thought the blog would only be about life transitions, but I have found that every day is a transition and I have to be in tune with God’s will for my life. So today I have been deep in thought about where we go next… Andrew thought it would help to share some statistics with me. For example, we have 100 likes on Facebook, and what’s interesting is that those people are connected to almost 32,000 others – so we need to reach some of them, pronto….. Also, we have had readers from all across the world, and in 49 of our 50 states. Know which one is missing? North Dakota – go figure. So, Fargo, if you are listening, try and help us find at least one person in your state to read a TBTB post by tomorrow and let’s see if we can claim readers in every state of the country within 24 hours. That would be awesome!
Then, and I really would like your help on this, I think we should try to ramp the readership up across the world this next year. I have developed a real heart for this ministry and I know that many of you have shared your commitment to read these posts. Thank you – now please help us grow! One of the thing that I have found over the years is that from time to time, it is necessary to re-dedicate my efforts to the Lord and today seems like the most appropriate day to do that. I hope that you will consider this as well.
On another front, we have been successful enough that we have become the target of spam and hacking efforts. This has made it necessary for us to upgrade our security and install measures to prevent people from destroying the site. Who would have ever guessed that we would become a target for things like this? Sometimes, evil just gets in the way of what we are trying to accomplish in God’s name. Despite the interruptions and unnecessary distractions, we commit to stay in front of people and maintain a safe environment for our readers to comment, submit prayer requests and promote the cause of Christianity across the globe.
The verse for tonight marks TBTB’s dedication to reaching people across the earth, from Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Therefore, as believers, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, we have a mandate from Christ to reach others for the cause of Christ. My encouragement tonight is to let you know that God will support your effort to spread the Gospel message. And my prayer is that you will join me in re-dedicating yourself to fulfilling the mandate to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. It’s been a great year – and we’re off to a good start. Please walk with me this next year and let’s see what we can do together. Just remember, we need North Dakota before we can get to the ends of the earth….. Grace and peace, and Happy Birthday, Transitions……
Hello from North Dakota and also Happy Birthday. My wonderful daughter-in-law Jaime Miller refered me to your website and I found it inspiring. A few years back, I repaired your childhood Christmas stocking. I have met your daughter and grandsons. Have a great week.
Hi Barbara- I remember you! Thank you for getting us over the top – we now have readers in all 50 states and many countries around the world. You are a life saver – for the second time. I distinctly remember you repairing my Christmas stocking made by my Aunt Lucille when I was born in 1953. It is great to re-connect with you and I hope that you will become on ongoing member of the TBTB family! Thanks so much for representing North Dakota. It’s going to be a great post!