I'm not really sure where to put this or how to do it, but I really want to say "thanks" to some people who have given me the ability to do this web site . . . and, most of all, to know God.  Because I know I did not get to this place myself (I'd tried for years and had just about given up) . . . God did it all, and He used some pretty good "assistants" to help Him:

• First of all—always—the thanks go to God for loving and pursuing me so stubbornly for so long (36 years!) until I finally stopped to look—and saw The Light of the World, who showed me His wonderful truth and Who gave me life!   Goodness, what an intricate, personal plan You laid out for me over the years to get me to that point.  Only a Parent would do something like that.  You are amazing!  Words from one of my favorite Christian songs express my love and praise to you so well:  "I am the heart, You are the heartbeat; I am the eyes, You are the sight....  And I see clearly I am just a body, You are the life!"  See this web site as my praise to You—"bragging" on my wonderful God.  But You're the only One Who can make it work, so it's Yours to use if You can use it.
  Jesus, I constantly thank you for the joy and the life you've brought me—and for the unbelievably extravagant price You had to pay for me.  You bought me with Your blood, You own all of me, and I'm so excited about it that I can hardly sit still.   Anything good that I ever am or do is because of You—I'm everything I am because You loved me.  I can't think of anything I'd rather be than the Bride of Christ—and every time I "see" You, I love You more.   (And I just knew You had a twinkle in Your eye!)
  
  
• Bruce Marchiano—How can I  EVER thank you for what you have given to me—and continue to give?  You were the one that finally made me SEE Jesus and His Father, and made me absolutely fall in love with Them at a level of love that I didn't even know I had.  Thank you for doing whatever God asked you to do and, through that, delivering the greatest Gift I could ever get through "Matthew," your Footsteps book, and your willingness to personally tell anyone about your Jesus in any way and any place necessary—to bring this Jesus to everyone.  I see Jesus so easily through you ... every time I hear you speak or read your words—even if I've heard them before—I am in love with, and in on-my-face awe of, Jesus even more.  It's all I can do to resist pumping my fist into the air and yelling, "YES!!!"  or weeping with joy at what I see (and sometimes I do it all anyway).  I was shy for most of my life—but how could anyone not get excited after seeing this Jesus?  Bruce, Jesus gave me His joy and enthusiasm through you and through my Paw Paw Thomas, whom you remind me so much of—and you constantly help me to "always keep my eyes fixed on Him."   I am in awe of your simple, powerful, personal ministry that focuses people on HIM; and I so look forward to talking and laughing and praising with you AND our wonderful Jesus in our Father's big house someday—soon.  
  
  And thank you, yet again, for so willingly giving me permission to use so many passages from your In the Footsteps of Jesus and Jesus...Yesterday, Today, Forever  books on this site.  They are a critical part of my message here; I often find myself directing people directly to the excerpt pages instead of to my home page.
  
  
• Regardt van den Bergh—the director of "Matthew," who believed that God wanted him to make a movie "that would reveal a joy in Jesus Christ of Nazareth that has never been seen before."  Regardt said that God gave them a promise before they started shooting the movie . . . this passage from Isaiah:

On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.  On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever.  The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth.  The LORD has spoken.  In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us.  This is the LORD, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."  
(Isaiah 25:6-9--Old Testament)

Well, Regardt, this promise was for me.  What was my reaction the second I first accidentally saw a clip of "Matthew"? 

(From My Story)  "The first 'Matthew' scene I saw literally took my breath away—from the second I saw this Jesus.  I froze in my tracks, I gasped, my jaw dropped, and I started to cry.  There He was!!!  There was my Jesus—the one I'd always been hoping for!  It was as if I recognized Him.  I said out loud, 'I can't believe it!  It's HIM!  It's really HIM!'

If that's not my paraphrase of "Surely this is our God" from that Isaiah passage, I don't know what is.  And several months later—after a very moving, overwhelming experience in which I finally realized all that God had done directly in my life—I kept describing that experience as feeling like "a sheet was jerked off my head and I could now SEE what God had done for me."

Thank you, thank you, Regardt, for going along with God's plan for "Matthew."

• The people at my church, 1998-2001—Christ Our King Community Church in Plano, Texas—how I stumbled over such a bunch of real people who love God even in the bad times, I can't figure out (but I know Who was responsible).  You people gave me a place where I actually discovered what worship is—and I saw you still loving God with all your hearts even when some of you were going through horrible personal circumstances.   God used you to teach me so much, so quickly, and in great depth, about His Word and, most importantly, Him.  You helped me past the handicap that I had struggled with all my life:  "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God."  (Jesus, talking to the Sadducees, in Matthew 22:29.)  Julie Borden, you and Pastor Garry Page and Pastor Randy Hill helped me dig so deeply into the Bible and into God's heart—and you brought out that same kind of compassionate, strong, "hero" Jesus that Bruce Marchiano does (and that I want people to see).  Pastor Garry, you've spoiled me permanently, I think, for other pastors—how could ANY be better than you?  And Julie, I'll NEVER forget the things I learned and saw in Jesus in our "John" Bible study in Spring 2000 . . . never.
  
  And the music in that place ... wow!  Before 1998, I had no idea you could hear that kind of music in church.  This was music you couldn't help but get excited about.  Walker Beach, it was your worship-leader musical style that I loved so much—you taught me how to worship as much as anyone did.  (You were only about 20 when I met you!)  I don't think you'll ever know on this side of heaven how important—no, how absolutely critical—this was to me.  So it's no surprise that one of your and my favorite praise-and-worship songs was the same, right?  ("When I think about the Lord, how He picked me up, and turned me around, how He set my feet on solid ground ... it makes me want to shout, 'Hallelujah!  Thank You, Jesus ...'")  And man, can you play that electric guitar!   
  
  And one of the best things of all may have been the women who were in this church—all kinds of real women who taught me far more than they will ever know.  You are one of God's best gifts to me.  Ann Meyers, you were my special buddy from day one.  Mickie Kennedy, you were my "mentor" and prison-ministry-trip roommate.   Sheri Rhoades, you taught me that God gives us all our desires and that we get into trouble when we pursue the counterfeits of what God wants to give us.   Cheryl Cooper, you always looked out for me and saw how I felt about God.  Ann Page and Dana Hill, you made this place feel like home to me (and I've told you that more than once).  Lynda Lindstrom, you were always someone I loved to talk with . . . and you always made me laugh.  (And Fred Lindstrom, I can NEVER thank you enough for how you took my older son under your wing in Royal Rangers when he was barely five years old.  He dearly loves you, Commander Fred.)
  
  Folks, I could NEVER thank you enough—nothing will ever change that.  I love you.
  
  
• My first real pastor, Reverend Jerry "Pete" Moore, of the little Direct Baptist Church near Paris, Texas, where I was baptized at age 12.  I realize now that in the approximately three years I knew you, you planted huge seeds of knowledge about God, Jesus, and the Bible that would finally explode into life more than 20 years later.  You were gentle yet strong, and both passionate and knowledgeable about God.  I never got the idea of "God the Policeman" from you, believe me.  You and your daughter Kelly, my high school classmate, are two of the most joyfully Christ-like people I've ever known.  (I always remember you both with a smile on your face and a twinkle in your eyes.)  And I'll never forget the first time I heard the first few sentences of the Gospel of John—I was completely astounded at what you were reading to me about Jesus.  They gave me chills of awe then and still do now because of the hugeness—the mind-boggling good news—of what they are telling us (the emphasis in this passage is mine):  

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. ...  He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.  He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.  Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. ...  The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.   
(John 1:1-4; 10-12; 14--New Testament)

• The "old" Visual Entertainment (The Visual Bible™) staff in their former Dallas, Texas, office, who actually asked me if I (with my husband's technical help) would be their web site programmer for 1999 through the first half of 2000.   You put a huge amount of trust in me as I got my initial, "official" experience with you designing/programming a commercial web site.  (Maybe you were willing to give me a shot since I was so supportive of your mission—I know firsthand the power your "product" has.)  And now, you've readily given me permission to use your "Matthew" photos on my web site.  Ric Alessio and Sherrie Mott, I've had a ball working directly with you two.  And Ric, I've had some great "bosses," but you're up there with the best.  What a kind, generous guy—and you and Sherrie both make me laugh.  What a deal!
  
  
• My husband, Todd—my super-programmer/consultant who's always right there "in my back pocket" when I need help.  I couldn't have found a more capable trainer/mentor/consultant if I'd hired a "headhunter" to find me one.  Sweetie, I am well aware that any of my startup web work would have been impossible without you.  Thanks for giving me what I needed to get started doing something I love so much.  (I'm going to continue using you, you know.)
  
  
• My kids (who were only ages 5 and 1½ when this adventure started in spring 1998)—
  Oh, my ... I don't think God would have ever gotten through to me about the passion and depth of His stubborn, unconditional parent-love if I hadn't had you.  Without you, I might have never noticed "Matthew's" Jesus.  And what Bible-study partners you are!  Your little child's questions about God and His story cut straight to the point and make me look for the bare bones of God's message.  My older son:  Your profoundly simple yet correct answers to my own "God questions" constantly astound me.  You already have insight that most adults never have.  My younger son:  Your wholehearted delight and uninhibited love for all people of all kinds must be so close to what a little five-year-old Jesus was like.   (A few years ago, you told me, when I was a mess and complaining that I hadn't gotten in the shower yet at 2 p.m., "Mommy, you're even pretty when you're dirty!" . . . such a typical thing for him to say.)  Yet again, Jesus was so right:  

"I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children.  Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure."  (Matthew 11:25-26)

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
(Matthew 18:3)  

(And yes, I also have the pleasure—and sometimes frustration and pain—of seeing so many of God's lessons and truths played out in "parables" before my eyes, thanks to you two.  But even this just makes me love you—and Him—even more.)

• So where are Mom and Dad?  They get their own pages in the "Puzzles...and Surprises!" section.
  
  
• My "spiritual big sisters" Sally Phelps and Janis Hannes—for letting me bounce so much of my new understanding of God off of you.  You've enthusiastically "listened" and "talked" with me through countless email messages that probably no one else would have had patience for.  I'd say God considers you two some of His top-notch teaching assistants (and so do I).
  
  
• My Wisconsin buddies on the Discipleship Unlimited prison ministry team—God truly showers me with lavish love when He gives me women like you.  Linda Lentz, Kay Neumann, Donna Dixon, Laurie Watter, and Linda Strom . . . and all the others I'm getting to know THROUGH you.
  
  
• Max Lucado—I hope I get to tell you someday how you and your books laid the foundation for me to recognize Jesus when He finally came to get me in April 1998.  I'd never thought of Jesus as being compassionate, joyful, strong, even funny until I stumbled across your Six Hours One Friday book while waiting for my child's prescription to be filled around Easter 1995.  The crack you broke in my "shell" around my hard heart that day was all God needed to rip it wide open and kick it away three years later with "Matthew."  And thank you and your UpWords Ministries for giving me copyright permission to quote some of your work on this web site.
  
  
• Harvest House Publishers—I can't tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to give me permission to use all the passages I requested from Bruce Marchiano's books on this web site.  I am overwhelmed by your generosity and by how quickly you responded to my requests.  As far as I'm concerned, the book excerpt sections and various quotes from Bruce's  In the Footsteps of Jesus  and  Jesus...Yesterday, Today, Forever  books are an absolutely critical part of my message here.  And I am grateful!
  
  
• Lee Strobel and Josh McDowell—Is there any way we can get your material out to literally everyone?  Because of you, I finally realized the "Jesus story"—which had finally become a love story to me after seeing "Matthew"—was reality and not some sweet fairy tale/myth.  In fact, our relationship/life with God is more real than anything else we have.  (C.S. Lewis, I wish I could thank you, too, for the same reason—guess I'll have to wait until we're all living at Home together in our Dad's big House.)  And part of the reason all three of you were convincing is that you started out as atheists.
  
  
• The Christian musicians of the past 10 or so years—I know how to express worship now that I've discovered your music.  I had no idea you covered every musical genre, from pop to alternative rock to rap to love songs to orchestral/classical to country to heavy metal.  And for the first time in my life, I'm hearing lyrics (I was always an instrumental musician who loved all types of music).  I always hated most of the traditional church hymns/organ music in all the church services I'd ever gone to and wondered how anyone could ever get excited about praising God that way.  (But, guess what?  Now, even hearing many of those old hymns, like "Amazing Grace," chokes me up.  Maybe because I now identify so personally with what they're saying . . . "I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.")
  
  
• Now this sounds crazy, but I'm extremely, eternally grateful to Jesus' disciples/apostles—because it's their actions that convinced me that Jesus really did rise from the dead.  To see how you men went from denying Jesus and totally abandoning Him (during His arrest, crucifixion, and burial) for fear of what would happen to you—to openly preaching "Him crucified, buried, and risen again"  even in the Jerusalem temple only a few weeks later . . . and eventually dying horrible martyrs' deaths because no one could shut you up about your Jesus—is the evidence I couldn't get past.  People do indeed end up dying for lies if they don't know it's a lie—but you men were in the position to know whether Jesus' death and resurrection were real.  Then there's Saul/Paul, who went from killing Christians to being the biggest voice to take the Jesus story to the Gentiles (non-Jews)....  I can hardly wait to thank you guys in person someday; so keep on cheering us from the sidelines until we get there.  (But you'll have to wait in line behind Jesus—He gets the first hug, and it will be a long one.)