I have finished the first full draft of my next book. And I want you to tell you about it. 

Most of you know that in the 1990s and early 2000s Mark and I and our two young sons lived and served as global workers in Indonesia. And you probably know that we experienced some adventures and tragedies during our 12 years there. Some of you prayed for and supported us throughout that time. 

After we returned to the U.S., I wrote a short devotional (which I know some of you read) telling some of the stories and describing the lessons that I learned from the Lord and from his word as a result. 

I have long desired to write a more complete devotional memoir, if you will, to follow the example of the psalmist:

I will REMEMBER the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago … We will TELL the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done … So the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.”

Psalm 77:11; 78:4, 6, 7

For the past seven months I have poured over old letters written to my family (thank you to both my moms for saving them), Burkholder Bulletins (our newsletter), prayer updates, and journals. I discovered, dictated, and organized stories and details worth remembering and telling. I discussed topics with my husband and sought his input since this book expresses our shared experience.

I finally landed on Remember and Tell (working title only)—a 12 week devotional memoir remembering the deeds of the Lord while we served in Indonesia and telling of his love and goodness to the next generation.

Each week starts with a liturgy—a written prayer—introducing the broad topic for that week, followed by six stories loosely in chronological order. The daily entries begin with a theme verse, a recounting of what happened, followed by what I learned about God, myself, others, and serving him. 

I conclude the daily reading with more scripture references, a reflection question, and prayer of response. Then I ask the reader to recall a story, event, or time in their life when they learned that same character trait or principle about God and I encourage them to tell someone in the next generation. 

The book is far from done. It now needs serious editing. I need to collect endorsements, let my previous teammates read it for their corrections and additions, and submit a formal proposal to the publisher. 

Thank you for being part of the stories along the way, for praying, for being interested, for encouraging me to remember what God has done and tell the next generation.