You can find out more about Harley and other rescues at
http://www.arcofmecostacounty.com.
Mecosta County, Michigan
My guest today is Andrea Jo Rodgers, author of Heaven-Sent Miracles and Rescues, true stories that Andrea has seen from the frontlines in her work as a volunteer EMT.
Andrea, thank you for being my guest today. Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I’m happily married and feel blessed to be the mother of teenage twins as well as two “fur babies” (Dachshund and Shih Tzu rescues). I love working part-time as a physical therapist in a hospital-based rehabilitation center. I’ve been a volunteer emergency medical technician on my local first aid and rescue squad for thirty-five years and have answered over 9,000 first aid and fire calls. This is even more special now because my twins recently joined too, so I get to spend quality time with them while we’re helping others. I enjoy writing books about my experiences as a volunteer EMT, some of which carry over into my job as a PT. I’ve also written two middle grade action-adventure novels. I enjoy watching my children play sports, day trips, reading, walking, playing with my dogs, and spending time with my husband and friends.
It sounds like you have a very full and fulfilling life. Let’s talk about your book, Heaven-Sent Miracles and Rescues. What is your book about?
Do You Believe in Miracles?
For more than three decades, Andrea Jo Rodgers has served her small-town community as a volunteer EMT. Over the years, the incredible events she’s witnessed have taught her that behind the scenes of every dark and dire situation waits a God capable of doing the impossible to help, protect, and save those He loves.
In Heaven-Sent Miracles and Rescues, Andrea shares tales of amazing and supernatural occurrences she’s seen from the frontline. From breathtaking water recoveries, to heroic battles against housefires, to astonishing interventions against medical crises, Andrea’s accounts of emergency rescues will have you reading at the edge of your seat while reassuring you of God’s awe-inspiring power over every circumstance.
Whether you’re searching for affirmation that miracles still happen, or you simply love reading exciting and inspiring true stories, Heaven-Sent Miracles and Rescues will leave you uplifted, encouraged, and on the lookout for God’s divine handiwork in your own day-to-day life.
This book sounds like something I would enjoy reading. I love to read true and inspiring stories.
What inspired you to write Heave-Sent Miracles and Rescues?
Years ago, when my son was nearly three, we were in a life-threatening accident in which our elevator crashed and filled with water. It was truly a miracle we survived. That event made me step back and take a close look at my life. I thought about my relationships with God, my family, and my friends.
I also thought about my goals and aspirations. One of my lifelong dreams was to write a book. The accident inspired me to pen my first book, At Heaven’s Edge. I’ve been writing ever since. Heaven-Sent Miracles and Rescues is my fourth book about my inspirational experiences as a volunteer EMT.
What was the catalyst for your interest in writing?
I recall being a voracious reader by first grade. Even before I could read, I was fascinated by picture books. I wrote my first story when I was in the first grade. It was about how my mother rescued a baby duck from our town’s lake. So, I suppose you could say writing about rescues has been in my blood from a very young age. As I got older, life got busy, and I put my pen down for many years. The elevator accident re-ignited my passion for writing.
Do you have a day job? If so, how do you find time in your day to write?
When I’m not writing, I work part-time as a physical therapist. I specialize in women’s health, urinary incontinence, lymphedema, osteoporosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Most of the time, I work in an outpatient facility, but sometimes I work in the hospital, treating everything from trauma patients to tiny infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Volunteering with the rescue squad also keeps me quite busy, as I answer about 300 calls per year.
Over the past few years, I spent a great deal of time creating a 13-hour continuing education course for rehabilitation professionals about handling medical emergencies in the workplace. I’ve enjoyed teaching it, and soon I’ll be recording it for a company that specializes in online learning. It’s challenging to find time to write, to say the least. I write a few minutes here and there, so I always make sure to have a pen and paper with me in case I have any downtime. I’ve written in waiting rooms, airports, and even at sporting events.
What does your family think of your writing?
I’m fortunate to have a family that supports my writing career. My husband Rick is my “tech support.” He designs and updates my website www.andreajorodgers.com and also creates my bookmarks. Rick and my sister proofread my books, and my children enjoy reading them.
What’s next for you as an author?
I’m currently working on a fifth “heaven” book that includes more inspirational experiences as a volunteer EMT with my rescue squad as well as true stories about guardian angels and near-death experiences.
Thank you for joining me today, Andrea, and sharing details about your inspiring book. Before we go, where can readers find you online?
Readers can find out more about me at my website, www.andreajorodgers.com. It also includes information about my books and links to interviews. They can also find me on Facebook: : https://www.facebook.com/AndreaJoRodgers/ and can learn more about my experiences from my latest guest appearance on “At Home with Jim and Joy” earlier this year. https://bit.ly/3TTAwnN
I don’t know if my faith has ever been tested as much as it has been in the last three months. After I lost my husband in 2010 I spent many years in grief, then a lingering depression. Yet in all those times I never doubted that God was with me and had a plan for my life.
As recently as July of this year, I felt that God had brought me out of the dark times in my life and I was now living in the light of His blessings. Things were going amazingly well.
Then in August, my tower of faith began to tumble, one brick at a time. I’ve shared much of the struggles over the past few months in previous blog posts, so I won’t get into the details here.
I think my faith was tested in every way possible.
Well, I thought it had been every way possible.
Now as I face a health challenge and uncertainty about the results, I find that my faith is wavering.
The “What-Ifs” are building up this health problem into the worst case scenarios even as I try to tell myself it’s probably nothing and will easily be resolved. It’s human nature to worry, to want to control the outcome anything we come up against.
Then as our plans start to crumble, we realize how little control we have over some areas of our life.
God is faithful.
He is a good God.
He has a plan for my future.
He is my Provider.
He is my Healer.
I believe these promises for a fact.
Yet I know that everything doesn’t go according to “MY” plan.
I can’t see beyond today to know what “HIS” plan is for me. But I can trust in His unfailing love.
Good Monday Morning 10-24-22
22 years ago today, my youngest son was born at 4:00 in the afternoon. After having labor induced and receiving an epidural to manage the pain, labor was dragging on until it was getting dangerous for the baby.
By that time the epidural had worn off and I felt the pain as I pushed a third child into the world without the benefit of medication to dull the pain.
The first child was born on the day he was supposed to have been induced. I woke up in labor. I couldn’t figure out how to breathe during the Lamaze classes and anything I did learn was forgotten when the labor pain became intense. When the nurse told me it was too late for pain medication and my doctor would be very upset if they gave me something at that point, I panicked. Needless to say, a short time later I screamed as my firstborn came into the world.
With my second, eighteen months to the day after the first, I woke up in labor and sat up most of the night by myself. The pain wasn’t bad. But by the time I woke my husband up and we made it to the hospital, I knew I was in trouble. I asked for pain medication, as the contractions were getting intense by that point, but my baby was already crowning. The doctor broke my water, and my daughter was born twenty minutes later.
I said to my husband, “Let’s not do this again for at least five years.”
Six years later, I found out I was pregnant but the fetus never developed and it wasn’t a viable pregnancy. I miscarried a few weeks after I took the test.
A few months later, when my cycle was regular again, my husband and I talked about it. We knew we needed to take precautions if we didn’t want another child. Instead, we decided to “see what happens.” Both of us had always said we wanted three or four children (my husband would always add, “or half a dozen.”)
It was no surprise when I became pregnant a few months later.
As mentioned above, by the time he was born, I was in pain and exhausted.
My son was born on October 24, 2000.
I loved being pregnant, and I loved my babies. But I knew I couldn’t go through another labor and delivery.
Besides, I was 35 years old. We considered our family complete and took permanent steps to make it so.
I’m blessed to be the mom of three adult children. Since 2010 I’ve been a single parent. Their dad would be proud of them for the wonderful people they are today. They are supportive of me and also protective. They are worth every moment of pain that I bore to bring them into this world.
Happy birthday, son.
And may God’s blessings be upon you, your sister and brother from this day forward.
Title of Lesson: Passport Journey #1: Abraham’s Journey
Scripture Verse: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Introduction to Lesson:
We are taking a pretend journey in the Old Testament of the Bible.
Our story begins after the Great Flood. Noah’s sons and their wives had children, who had more children, and families grew. They started to spread out across the land.
HERE IS A COPY OF THE MAP FOR YOU. (The link to this map will be provided when the curriculum is published.)
The land of Ur, where our journey begins, is in the region that is present day Iraq.
If you were traveling to a foreign country today, what would you need to take with you?
A passport
For our journey through the Bible, we are also going to carry a passport.
(HAND OUT PASSPORTS – Instructions on how to create passports will be provided when the curriculum is published.)
Now we’re ready to travel with Abraham and his family.
WALK ALONG HALLWAY, STOP IN FRONT OF CLASSROOM DOOR.
Let’s check our mailbox for a message from God’s Word that will tell us which land we are entering.
Message from God’s Word:
Genesis 11:31
31 Terah took his son Abraham, Abraham’s wife Sara, and Abraham’s nephew Lot. Together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. (Although Abram’s name has not been changed to Abraham yet, I have included the new spelling to make it consistent throughout the curriculum).
(SHOW HARAN ON MAP)
Passport Stamp: Haran (Passport stamps will be explained when curriculum is published)
Introduction to Story:
A man named Terah and his family came from the land of Ur of the Chaldeans. He wanted to move his family to the land of Canaan (SHOW ON MAP).
But they settled in Haran.
It was a long journey. Do you think they had buses back then?
Trains?
And definitely not airplanes, right?
How do you think they got from one place to another?
Walking, riding donkey/camel, cart
What did they need to take with them to survive the long journey?
shoes good, comfortable clothes, provisions like water and food
Bible Story:
Read aloud Genesis 11:27 – Genesis 12:5
After story:
Abraham went from the land of Haran to the land God promised him. What was this land called?
Canaan.
Today you get a second sticker on your passport for the land of Canaan.
Story in Action:
Use picture cards (These will be provided when curriculum is published.)
We’re going to go on a “journey” around the room.
First person is Abraham. Draws card. “I’m Abraham, and I’m going to the Promised Land. What or who am I taking with me?” Says what’s on the card.
Second person draws a card. “I’m going with Abraham and we’re going to the Promised Land. What or who am I taking with me?” Says what’s on the card.
Third person draws a card. “I’m going with them to the Promised Land. Who or what am I taking with me?” Says what’s on the card.
Continue until all cards are played, even if the players have to start over with number one person again. Play until all cards are played.
Lesson Point:
God made a promise to Abraham. God promised Abraham that He would give Him a land that would belong to Abraham and his descendants.
What are descendants?
Abraham’s, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and so on.
God told Abraham that his descendants would be like the stars in the sky, too many to count.
The Bible tells us that Abraham believed the Lord. Abraham had faith that God would do what he promised.
God had a plan for Abraham, and God has a plan for your life, too.
Our Bible verse today is from Jeremiah 29:11. (Read aloud).
You were not put on this earth by accident.
God created you with a special purpose in mind.
God isn’t asking you to physically move. He wants you to trust Him with the things that come up in your everyday life.
You can ask for God’s help to make good choices.
Craft:
Print off a picture of Abraham and the stars. (Link will be provided when curriculum is published.)
Color, place gold star stickers on stars in picture and sandpaper or brown paper torn in pieces to glue over the ground for sand.
I will make an announcement in mid-November about the details for how you can purchase the curriculum for use in your church’s children’s program.
Inspirational Author 