A divinely
inspired little book for children (and adults)
I’ve heard preachers and small group
leaders talk, and I’ve read books, about how God calls us and uses us if/when
we say yes. My understanding is that if we don’t say yes, God will call someone
else. Maybe He gives us time to reconsider; maybe He moves on immediately. I’m
guessing He does both depending on the person and the circumstance.
After hearing a sermon in the spring of
2021 about Jesus using Peter’s boat to speak to the people on the shore (Luke
5:1-15), I began to wonder if Jesus had asked anyone else about their boat
before He approached Peter. Perhaps Peter was still the chosen one and would
have followed Jesus after watching the miracle of the fish from the shore.
Perhaps there was indeed someone who turned Jesus down and missed this life-changing
experience and opportunity.
As John points out (John 21:25), the
Bible would have been huge if they had recorded everything that they witnessed
while following Jesus. I do wonder if one of the reasons God didn’t put every
situation and every outcome and every detail in the Bible was so that the
suppositions would inspire questions and conversations, especially ones with
Him.
This little book is my supposition about
what might have happened to one of the fishermen along the shore that day. My
hope is that readers will be transported, ever so briefly, to this scene so
that, when God asks, they will be inspired to say, “Yes, Lord.”
Publishing / Printing Information
When Nick called to say that the proof was
ready, Don and I dropped everything; and, as we were driving to the print shop,
Don said, “This is so exciting. Something that was in your brain exists now!”
We just kept looking over at each other shaking our heads. All of the talking
and figuring and creating and frustrations and excitements were now something
we could hold in our hands. He continued, “It’s how I feel about software that
I write. It doesn’t work that way with fixing a car because the parts already
exist. That book is totally raw Lyn Channon Culwell.”
As the idea began formulating in my heart
and mind, I thought of people who could bring my thoughts to life, but it was
interesting how those resources didn’t work out for various reasons. In order
to convey my idea to possible publishers, I drew scenes with stick figures.
Don, and those I showed the pages to, said they kind of liked my raw, childlike
images; so, I began sketching more seriously and learning (with Don’s help) how
to use online drawing tools.
After reviewing the proof, I found some
edits that I want to make, but I hope to send the final version to be printed
the first weeks of Jan 2022. Please
keep checking back to see when it is ready!