CONTENTS
Guide
E ricka Andersen is a freelance writer who also serves as the digital marketing director at the Independent Womens Forum and as a consultant for The Steamboat Institute. She previously wrote for and was the digital director at National Review magazine. Before that, Ericka was the digital manager at the Heritage Foundation and worked in communications for Vice President Mike Pence at the GOP conference. She attended Indiana University. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband and children.
![2018 Ericka Sylvester All rights reserved No portion of this book may be - photo 2](/uploads/posts/book/363738/images/title.jpg)
2018 Ericka Sylvester
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Published in association with the literary agency of Legacy, LLC, 501 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite #313348, Winter Park, FL 32789.
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIVand New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version, which is in the public domain.
Epub Edition May 2018 9781400208289
ISBN 978-1-4002-0827-2 (HC)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018932502
Printed in the United States of America
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I have always known God was in the redemption business, but reading about the miraculous healing in Rick Sylvesters life confirmed it once more. Ericka Andersens graceful deep dive into her husbands traumatic life story is a heartbreaking account but reveals the hand of God watching over us in even the darkest of times.
When I started pastoring National Community Church two decades ago, I had no idea the way God would use this ministry to impact the lives of the most broken among us. Ericka and Rick attended NCC for a number of years when they lived in Washington, DC, but I didnt know that our church was the first church Rick had set foot in for over a decadeor that my book The Circle Maker would be part of his redemption story. Im incredibly grateful, but not surprised, because God works in strange and mysterious ways!
While Ricks life was shaped by a multitude of painful factors as a childfrom his fathers abandonment to his mothers addictionsEricka writes of that cast of characters through a graceful lens, never letting readers forget that every person is a beloved child of God. And no one is without hope if they build their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
The books focus on the power of prayer is compelling, and I know from personal experience, that its the key to transformation. Prayer was the catalyst in Ricks life, even in the midst of his struggles. As he dealt with depression, anxiety, and other disturbing effects from his childhood, he discovered only one thing that felt like solid groundand that was faith. It took faith to continue going back to prayer, time and again, even as he stumbled. This book showcases how God is fighting for us, even when we dont realize itand that He honors bold prayers.
Ricks persistence and faith led him to the transformational healing that truly broke the chains of his past. This book so beautifully demonstrates the tangible presence of God as our Father, even when our earthly parents fail us. It shows the power of how God uses individuals to work in the lives of their loved ones. And it leaves no doubt as to the signs of the Father weaving together a life story in which His overwhelming love would prevail.
I believe everyone can benefit from reading this book, a story that reveals Gods ability to restore, renew, and replenishnot to mention fulfill ones wildest dreams. Ricks dreams were simple: happiness, love, family. Hes living them out each day by the grace of God, and thats a hope everyone can believe in.
Mark Batterson
New York Times bestselling author of
The Circle Maker
Lead Pastor of National Community Church
M y husband, Rick, is chasing our eighteen-month-old around the staircase in our recently purchased two-story house in the suburbs of Indianapolis. Im upstairs working but keep hearing incessant bursts of laughter from our son, who squeals in delight every time his dad rounds another corner to surprise himeven though he knows perfectly well that his dad has been there all along.
Rick is also cracking up with every belly laugh Jacob lets out. Baby laughsarent they the quintessential expression of joy? The worst day of your life could be improved by a hearty belly laugh from a baby who doesnt know any better. A baby the harshness of the worlds edges havent yet cornered, for whom everything can be made better with hugs and warm milkor Puffs cereal and a cartoon on the iPad.
If there were any baby pictures to compare, no doubt people would mistake our son and Rick for twins. The golden-blond hair, the lake-blue eyes, the round grin, the face as friendly and sweet as a baby koalas. They are both excessively cute, one of those father-son pairs young moms gush over when the two are grocery shopping together or playing at the park.
Jacob is the smiliest of all toddlers, quick to practice his waving skillsa tiny wrist flipping up and down and up and downand winces away in faux embarrassment when a delighted stranger waves back with a winking reply. He ducks his head into a parental shoulder for a moment before whipping back around to charm his new friends at Walmart or Target. I am biased, of course, but I have a hunch this one rates high on the universal scale of adorableness.
And RickRick is the wonderful costar of our little world. A loving husband, a fantastic father, a good provider, and a lot of fun. If you met him at the park or at church, you would probably never guess that his own start in life was completely different from that of our well-loved, carefully nurtured one. He is determined to ensure Jacobs childhood is the opposite of his own. By all accounts, my husband should be one of the lost ones, a child of Americas forgotten underbelly, destined to inflict the pain and dysfunction of his upbringing onto the next generation. The generational curse ended with him, though. Only by Gods grace is he breaking that cycle. Only by grace and his own resilience is he the man Im raising my children with.