After Michael's contract with Costa was complete for the season, the Lord put it on Michael's heart to call some friends of ours in Arkansas, Dane and Heather, to pray about what God might have next for us. Michael was still considering giving up performing altogether, but after many months of prayer, Dane and Heather called and asked Michael to come and perform at a theater in a quaint, tourist town. We accepted, and moved our family to Arkansas.
Rachel's Raft Excerpt
Summer 2014
The day before we left for Arkansas I was reading in Psalm chapter 34. Many verses jumped out at me, but these spoke to me the most:
“The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them.”
I circled the word “rescues.”
Then I went on to read:
“The righteous cry and the Lord hears them and delivers them out of all their troubles.”
I circled the word “all.”
Then I read:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
I circled the word “all.”
“God, I pray that you would rescue us. I pray that you would help Michael. Set him free. Use him in the way you want to. Give him success and help him to provide for us.
It was normal for me to pray for Michael and to ask for favor and for the Lord to bless his shows and all his work. But this time I heard something that took me by surprise:
“It’s you I’m resurrecting.”
“What, Lord?”
“It’s you I’m resurrecting.”
“It’s me?” I wondered.
But it was such a clear answer and a thought I’d never had--I knew it was from God. It was the way He spoke to me--it was clear, out of the ordinary and it gave me a lot of peace and joy! For the first time in a while, I felt it was me God who was about to do a work in.
“It’s me You’re resurrecting? Okay, Lord. I’m ready.”
*****
Five days after we arrived I wrote in my journal:
I think I’m going to write a book, Rachel’s Raft.
I enjoyed writing the blog, which I had started three months before we moved, but all of a sudden, I had an overwhelming desire to get the entire story out in a memoir. It was like I couldn’t tell the stories fast enough--like I’d been held under water for a very long time, and our move to Arkansas was my first breath since immersion.
“I want to turn Rachel’s Raft into a book. What do you think?” I asked Michael.
“Sure! Go for it! It’s a great story.”
So my time down at the library went from writing posts to starting a memoir. The first day I sat down to write, I knew immediately where I was going to start.
Then I wrote and wrote. It flowed out of me—there was no stopping it.
And when I prayed about it, the only direction I got was to write it, and to trust God with all the rest.
“What will you do when you finish your book?” my mom asked me.
“I have no idea, I know I’m supposed to write it and that God is going to show me what to do with it when I’m done.”
“You think you’ll find a publisher when you’re finished?”
“Yeah, I think so. Actually, I think the publishing will be part of the story.”
*****
Rachel's Raft Excerpt
Summer 2014
The day before we left for Arkansas I was reading in Psalm chapter 34. Many verses jumped out at me, but these spoke to me the most:
“The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them.”
I circled the word “rescues.”
Then I went on to read:
“The righteous cry and the Lord hears them and delivers them out of all their troubles.”
I circled the word “all.”
Then I read:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
I circled the word “all.”
“God, I pray that you would rescue us. I pray that you would help Michael. Set him free. Use him in the way you want to. Give him success and help him to provide for us.
It was normal for me to pray for Michael and to ask for favor and for the Lord to bless his shows and all his work. But this time I heard something that took me by surprise:
“It’s you I’m resurrecting.”
“What, Lord?”
“It’s you I’m resurrecting.”
“It’s me?” I wondered.
But it was such a clear answer and a thought I’d never had--I knew it was from God. It was the way He spoke to me--it was clear, out of the ordinary and it gave me a lot of peace and joy! For the first time in a while, I felt it was me God who was about to do a work in.
“It’s me You’re resurrecting? Okay, Lord. I’m ready.”
*****
Five days after we arrived I wrote in my journal:
I think I’m going to write a book, Rachel’s Raft.
I enjoyed writing the blog, which I had started three months before we moved, but all of a sudden, I had an overwhelming desire to get the entire story out in a memoir. It was like I couldn’t tell the stories fast enough--like I’d been held under water for a very long time, and our move to Arkansas was my first breath since immersion.
“I want to turn Rachel’s Raft into a book. What do you think?” I asked Michael.
“Sure! Go for it! It’s a great story.”
So my time down at the library went from writing posts to starting a memoir. The first day I sat down to write, I knew immediately where I was going to start.
Then I wrote and wrote. It flowed out of me—there was no stopping it.
And when I prayed about it, the only direction I got was to write it, and to trust God with all the rest.
“What will you do when you finish your book?” my mom asked me.
“I have no idea, I know I’m supposed to write it and that God is going to show me what to do with it when I’m done.”
“You think you’ll find a publisher when you’re finished?”
“Yeah, I think so. Actually, I think the publishing will be part of the story.”
*****
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