Abundantly Thankful

Matt Miles • November 22, 2024

As we approach Thanksgiving, my heart is full of thanks, not only personally but even more so in service to the Lord through Creation Truth Foundation. Over the course of this year, we have added to our productiveness by moving forward with the expansion of our Mobile Museum of Earth History (MOEH). This adds to a great staff, which is another thing for which we are thankful. And of course we are incredibly thankful for you, all of our supporters, who have been as faithful this year as any previous year, with an abundance of extra gifts to push us forward in ministry.

As you may know, Doc and Diane launched this ministry out of their garage over 35 years ago with a staff of family members. We are all exceedingly thankful for that call and mission to teach the importance of the Bible’s history so we can trust our promised eternal hope. I am more than thankful for our staff as they serve the Lord day in and day out, never complaining no matter what the task may be that is needing done. Every one of them has a servant’s heart for the Lord and ministry. Bob, our Vice President, has faithfully served for more than 23 years. I am so thankful for his spirit of diligence over the years to Doc and now to all of us. He’s always ready to share a witty comment that is needed for a laugh as well. We would not be who we are without him, and we are thankful to his family who has sacrificed days and weeks at a time for him to go and do ministry on the road.

Ryan and Amanda have been nothing more than a God-send since their addition in 2018. Ryan’s ability to preach the Word, sharing the truth of Genesis as well as the importance of history, is priceless. His genuine graciousness and love of people is unmatched as he brings them to the Truth. Our effectiveness for the Kingdom over the last several years is a direct result of Ryan’s passion for ministry. His wife, Amanda, is no exception. She too is gracious and humble in her quiet spirit. How she focuses on eight children and still has time to keep track of our books and resources is amazing. And I must mention the ongoing gift of hospitality that she bestows during every Cadre meeting as she provides wonderful meals that sustain us in our studies (many with her made-from-scratch cooking skills, I might add).

Megan, our new office assistant, joined us this spring. Her desire to serve has been evident from the beginning as she is always ready to do whatever is needed. From keeping our office clean and tidy to answering phones, receiving and making shipments, shrink-wrapping bundles of resources, being a road crew member, MOEH expansion assistant and seamstress as needed, to whatever else anyone needs done at a drop of a hat, she is willing and ready. Her defining task as she came aboard was to create the Sharp Library. Taking all of Doc’s books that have been collected over the many years of ministry and organizing them in a fashion for use was more than daunting to all of us, but Megan jumped right in. It was a labor of love to categorize and digitally catalog the books as she physically shelved all 2600+ volumes in Doc’s old office. Now CTF has a library that will be useful for years to come as a legacy to our Founder. She makes this father very proud doing “full-time” ministry in a part-time position.

Last but not least, Theresa quietly goes about her job of keeping track of our finances. She is not only the right person for the task from a skills perspective, but even more so from a discerning spirt of stewardship and faithfulness. Tackling the task of wrangling us for our monthly expense reports is a job she does not relish but knows we need to do to be faithful in our service. She is always an encourager to me, as I have experienced the lean years of our ministry, and that is always on my mind as I desire us to continue the mission which the Lord blessed Doc with years ago. Theresa continues to do the necessary job that Diane did for years in this ministry, and she encourages us with the faithfulness of the Lord through our supporters. We take our stewardship of resources very seriously, to be faithful to the Lord and you. Theresa is the God-given right person for the task, and the bonus is that I have experienced her faithful heart for ministry our entire 32 years of marriage. I am blessed and thankful beyond words.

I am so thankful for all the Lord has done this year. As Paul encouraged those in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 to give for the Gospel effort, he also gave thanks for those that had fulfilled that call of the Lord. I now give thanks to the Lord on for you and your support of this ministry. None of what we have accomplished this year would have been even remotely possible without your faithfulness. The CTF team is so thankful for the opportunity to continue impacting lives for the Lord. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

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June 2025 Printed Newsletter

June 18, 2025

Moses & History (part 3)

By Ryan Cox • June 18, 2025

Moses & History (part 3)

Dr. G. Thomas Sharp Library

By Matt Miles • June 18, 2025

Over the course of time a person can accumulate many things. Most of the stuff we collect is meaningless to most everyone else, but when a person collects books, they can be treasured for a lifetime and even beyond. In this age of digital media, physical books seem to be less important to many people. Digital books are searchable, and copy/paste functions make it easy to use those great quotes. Yet, there is still something great about a physical book, things you can’t get digitally: the turning of pages, the feel of it in your hand, and the “book” smell. For our founder Dr. Sharp, physical books could never be replaced by digital. While my collection of books is growing each year, it is dwarfed by Dr. Sharp’s collection. Over the years he collected thousands of titles for research and enjoyment. Through the course of his ministry he had to sell his book collection a couple of different times to support his family, only to start collecting again when he was able to do so. When Doc passed his office full of packed bookshelves to me and said he would clear the shelves, I laughed out loud at the prospect of having loads of empty bookshelves. So I urged him to instead leave his books for my, and anyone else’s, use. Little did I understand that the four bookcases in my office were only a fraction of his entire collection. A couple of years back when Doc moved from his house, it was decided that his book collection would be stored at the office. Our thought was to establish a library, yet none of us had time to plan, organize and catalog all 79 boxes of books. They sat piled in his office until last year when my daughter Megan joined our ministry. She has a love of books, both reading and writing. So we offered her the task of cataloging and establishing Doc’s library. Can you picture me, a bbq lover, being offered a table full of succulent smoked offerings - brisket, sausage, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, turkey and all sides? Yep, that was Megan’s response to the library. For over four months she cataloged and organized the entire collection. The Dr. G. Thomas Sharp Library was completed earlier this year in his old office space, with overflow into my office. The entire 2700+ volume agglomeration is digitally cataloged for searching and locating. As you might expect, there is an extensive collection of creation and evolution subject matter, yet the library is full of many different categories. It very much reflects Doc’s love of gaining knowledge and research. An extensive commentary collection and multiple Biblical reference sections are invaluable to our ministry. There is even a whole bookcase housing books that are over 100 years old. Our desire was not to just house books but to also make a place of honor and inspiration. One wall exhibits Doc’s many diplomas, and throughout the library we have placed personal memorabilia of the mission trips he took over the years. Come, grab a book, relax in the sitting area and allow Doc’s handwritten notes from the margins or post-it notes bring a smile to your face. For those who may be more ambitious, Doc's office chair resides at the credenza for anyone to sit and be inspired to study. This is a place to honor Doc’s life and love for books. We at CTF have already utilized this great resource for further study, and we are so thankful to Diane and their family for donating these books for continued Kingdom growth. Blessings.