Sidetracked: Getting Sidetracked Can Lead You to Where You Belong

By Brenda Spearman

Have you ever been in the middle of doing something and became distracted? After you were distracted, was it hard to get back on track? Consequently, you must have forgotten what you originally purposed to do.

Miles Martin, the main character, experiences unwanted change. His life seems to be falling apart, but God is behind the scenes, orchestrating his life. Through prayer, Miles begins a new life. It is only when he experiences distractions that things begin to fall into place. Getting sidetracked leads him to exactly where he belongs. Consequently, distractions in his life lead others to where they belong too.

The characters live in different statesAlaska, Portland, and Atlanta. The main scenes are in Alaska. They all have different ages, but they all have one thing in common. Oppositions are present in everyones life.

Sidetracked is written for anyone who has ever experienced opposition and wondered, Why, Lord? Read and find out what Miles finds out about life and its lessons.

Look out for sidetracks! They might lead you to where you belong.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543438406

Brenda Spearman

As a new author, Brenda Willis Spearman aim to speak to the hearts of those who are hurting about everyday issues. The stories in her writings are filled with love and adversity but equip the reader with the power to understand and overcome struggles. She uses her character’s experiences to exemplify the power of God’s word through prayer to obtain the victory. Love for God and family inspired her to write a book with a title everyone is familiar with, “Sidetracked.” Her faith, family and careers have influenced her perspective on life, which she shares with her audiences. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and the youngest of seven children from Roberta, Georgia but has lived in Atlanta, Georgia for over thirty six years. Brenda’s education includes, Mass Communications, journalism and public relations. Her careers have mostly been on the on front line of organizations in customer service. Deciding to step outside of her comfort zone she began to travel with her husband. She pursued her passion to write about her explorations in stories surrounded by the awesomeness of nature. “Sidetrack” is her first published book. She hopes you will enjoy reading the content, just as much as she took pleasure in writing it.

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Copyright © 2017 by Brenda Spearman.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2017911396

ISBN:             Hardcover                           978-1-5434-3842-0

                      Softcover                             978-1-5434-3841-3

                      eBook                                 978-1-5434-3840-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified Bible, New Testament copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Rev. date: 07/20/2017

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1   A Call to Help

Chapter 2   Purpose in the Pain

Chapter 3   The Seed

Chapter 4   Derailed

Chapter 5   The Other Side of the Tracks

Chapter 6   All Aboard

Chapter 7   Moving Forward

Chapter 8   Change

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To my heavenly Father, I am forever grateful for Jesus and his love for me and the power of the Holy Spirit, who guides and comforts me. God, in your sovereignty, you are continually behind the scenes, orchestrating my life and protecting me and my loved ones from the unseen forces of this present world. Thank you for helping me to complete this book because without you, I can do nothing. God, you are not fictitious. I give you the glory in all your works.

To my father, Willie Frank Willis, in whose memory I dedicate this book, and to Mamie Lee Willis, my mother, who is ninety-five years old, thank you for teaching me and my other six siblings to love God and family, get an education, do the right thing, and not let our hands be slack. Without your love and direction, especially during hard times, I never would have made it.

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FOREWORD

I KNOW THAT READING Sidetracked will have the same positive impact on your life that its author, Brenda, has had in my life. Because of her unique insight and her being a woman of God, this book will touch you as well as entertain you.

Brenda has helped me grow as a Christian. Our love for each other was birthed from our mutual love and gratitude for God. When we met, we were both sidetracked. That season in our lives brought turmoil, distress, relocation, and uncertainty. Dreams were deferred, and we were both unsure of our futures. But God had led us to each other. My first interactions with Brenda revealed her as a sincere, mature, and humble Christian. Our continued talks centered on our gratitude as we witnessed God moving in our lives. He continually answered prayers and made his presence known. Brenda was always quick to say, Look at God.

Our marriage is a testimony of God’s grace. God has restored all that the enemy attempted to steal. He has brought our blended family together, and our children are such a blessing. Brenda refused to stay sidetracked. She knows the power of prayer and God’s unwavering love. Enjoy this book and be blessed. I know you will!

I love you, Brenda.

James Spearman

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T O MY LOVING husband, James Spearman, I am blessed to share our love and interests in common, such as our relationship with God, which is the greatest. As we travel as husband and wife in this journey of life on earth, I am thankful for you being a man who seeks God for direction for our family. Your prayers, suggestions, and encouragement to never give up on our God-given dreams are appreciated. Thank you for allowing me quiet time to write. You helped me with ideas and with getting materials forwarded to my publisher. I love and appreciate you for all you have done to help make Sidetracked a suc cess.

To our adult children, I thank God for you all because you guys make life for me and James worth living. I am grateful for your greatest accomplishment. Each of you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, which brings joy to my heart.

I thank my sons Minister Sean Howard and Stephen Howard (and Mahersala Howard, his wife) for encouragement.

My son Sterling Howard, thank you for helping me with my computer problems, especially when my computer would not cooperate with me and I thought I lost my entire manuscript.

My daughter, Kia Spearman, thank you for the bubbles of excitement I heard in your voice when I asked you to read my manuscript.

I thank my grandchildren, Emma, Mimi, and Stephanie, who bring their energy into our home.

To all the pastors who have planted and watered the Word of God in my life, especially senior pastor Dr. Reginald P. Garmon, who is my current pastor at the Word of Faith Love Center in East Point, Georgia. Thank you, Dr. Garmon, for bringing forth the Word of God and being transparent with me and James. Showing us genuine love as a spiritual father has contributed to our growth.

A special thanks to everyone at Xlibris Publishers, especially Reyna Lace and Kim Lacey, along with the support team.

INTRODUCTION

B EING SIDETRACKED HINDERS the body of Christ in our journey to pursue our God-given purpose. Perhaps by reading this book, you will be inspired to write that book God has called you to write, open that business, continue your education, continue trusting God for your mate, or whatever God has placed in your heart. God put that desire in your heart. The Bible states in Psalm 37, Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Trust in Him and he will bring it to pass. I believe God will bring your dreams to pass, but trust me when I say, You will get sidetracked along the way. There will be obstacles to challenge you when you get s aved.

I received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior at an early age, and I have helped many people. I have studied God’s Word through church attendance, Bible studies, seminars, and conventions. I became involved by volunteering my time in ministries, such as helps, intercessory prayer, prison ministry, and women’s ministries, along with church administration. Years later I began teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to women and young girls who were hurting. We live in a society where both men and women are hurting.

When God called me to be an author, I became sidetracked along the way by distractions in the world. Since I have struggled in this area, the desire came to me to write about people being sidetracked. I am using fictitious characters, but the principles are universal, and God’s Word is true.

The character Miles represents the average person who is trying to get back on track but has responsibilities. With this in mind, he seeks to understand God and his will for his life.

To the reader, just remember there are two ways of being sidetracked. One plan takes us toward God’s plan. We are on God’s timetable instead of man’s. When we allow God to work behind the scenes for us, he will direct us. As we seek