Local Author Pens Inspirational New Book: Dying to Live

  • By Lisa Amstutz
  • November 3, 2011
  • 329
                        
Summary: Local author Rob Yoder will release his inspirational book, Dying to Live on Nov. 12. The book chronicles Yoder’s spiritual journey from his Amish upbringing through his subsequent rebellion and encounter with Christ, offering encouragement and inspiration along the way. Yoder will sign copies of the book at Gospel Book Store in Berlin on Nov. 12. Main article: The son of an Amish preacher, Rob Yoder spent many years rebelling against God. Seven years after his father’s death, he encountered Christ on a lonely strip mine road and his life was forever changed. Yoder shares the lessons he has learned on his spiritual journey in his new book, Dying to Live. “The main theme of the book is God’s love for us and what that entails through personal experience,” he said. “It grew out of the passion I’ve had for people to know the living Christ and have a real relationship with him.” In the book, Yoder (now a grandfather) reflects on his Amish upbringing and turbulent young adulthood that included struggles with relationships and alcohol. After his encounter with Christ, he turned his life around and became a husband, father and active member of his church and community. He lives in Apple Creek and is owner of R.J. Closets. The book is dedicated to Yoder’s father, Jacob A. Yoder, known in the Amish community as “Orpha Jake.” Yoder’s sometimes rocky relationship with his father is chronicled in the book, and he credits his father’s love and prayers with bringing him back to God. Yoder said his father’s own experience with Christ started a chain of events that ultimately led to his parents leaving the Old Order Amish church. Prayer was so important to Jacob Yoder that he even built a cabin in the woods just for that purpose. “I’ve wondered recently if God would have done what he did in my life if my dad hadn't been obedient to what he felt God calling him to do,” Yoder commented. Yoder started writing Dying to Live three years ago after a family member loaned him an advance copy of a book by Paul Stutzman during a visit to Florida. “I couldn’t stop reading it,” Yoder said. “That book gave me the inspiration to start writing. I got up every morning at 4 a.m. the rest of my time in Florida to write.” He wrote most of the book in longhand and worked with local editor Elaine Starner, who encouraged him and helped him shape the book. While some parts were difficult for him to talk about, Yoder said, “if one person is saved through what was done in my life, it will have been worth living it.” The vision of Christ that Yoder experienced was hard for him to describe. “It was so dramatic and real, it’s hard to put down in words. I hope people reading it can get a sense of what it was like to be transported, to have an out-of-body experience.” It was such an emotional experience, Yoder said, that he didn’t talk about it for a long time afterward. Yoder’s relationship with his own children is an important piece of his journey as well. In the years since his daughter survived a cardiac arrest caused by a genetic heart condition, he has felt called to a ministry of prayer. Much of the spiritual content of the book came to him during his prayer times. “Writing this book has been a journey of faith and trusting God,” Yoder concluded. “I definitely felt God calling me to write it. As far as what will happen with the book—I’ve given it over to God and will let him take it where he wants it.” Yoder will be signing books at the Gospel Book Store in Berlin on Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information or to purchase Dying to Live, contact R.J. Enterprises at P.O. Box 132, Berlin or email rudyingtolive2@aol.com.


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