No More Peanut Butter Sandwiches

 

Ask any adult over 30 if they remember where they were on the morning of September 11, 2001, and almost everyone can tell you the answer.

As the twin towers of New York City fell in a terrorist attack, I was passing through our den on the way to my home office. I sat down quickly in a chair, and I did not move for the next four hours.

As vivid as those memories are to me, I also remember the next day, September 12 just as clearly.

Still processing the memories of the day before and seeking a diversion, I went into one of my favorite Christian bookstores in Knoxville.

While standing in the aisle of the new releases, I so clearly felt the prompting from the Holy Spirit that I was being called to write a book. I knew it immediately in that moment.

God had given me the dream that day.

But it’s taken 13 years for God to give me the story.

Writing has always been my act of worship. It’s my offering to God. I feel like God gave me the gift to write. So when I write for his glory, it brings him pleasure. So I write about him, for his glory, and it then becomes my act of worship. It becomes my way using of his gifts for his purposes.

My first book, No More Peanut Butter Sandwiches: a father, a son with special needs, and their journey with God is now available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Most people think it’s our story.

The reality is that it’s God story.

It’s God’s story, as told through my experiences as a father of a son with special needs.

It’s a story for anyone struggling to find hope, struggling to understand your circumstances, and struggling to find God’s purposes through your pain, challenges, or situations in life.

Here’s something I wrote in the preface of No More Peanut Butter Sandwiches.

“Special-needs families are my people. I live, work, and do life together with people in the special-needs community.

“I wrote this book because my people are dying. Emotionally, relationally, mentally, and spiritually—my people are dying.

“I wrote this book to share my own experiences and try to give life to all those who are walking down this journey raising children with special needs.

“This book is for all of you struggling with your challenges and the journey you have been placed on by God. Raising a child with special needs can seem like such a burden to many people. I want to show you just how truly blessed you really are and help you understand the gift you have been given.

“Through this journey, you will experience pain, grief, and challenges. However, God is going to reveal himself to you in ways you have never dreamed or imagined.

“If I can write anything here to encourage you, inspire you, or give you hope, then I am honored. You definitely inspire me with the way you persevere, endure, and continue to love your children unconditionally.

“All of heaven stands and applauds for you, because every child is wonderfully made, created for a plan and a purpose, and destined to glorify God. “

I believe I was chosen to be the father of a son with special needs. I believe I was called to be Jon Alex’s dad.

I also believe God called me to write this book. I pray it reflects his story. And I pray you will use it and allow God to speak to you through it as well.

(You can purchase No More Peanut Butter Sandwiches, a father, a son with special needs, and their journey with God online at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and booksamillion.com.)