The Same River Twice - Every soul longs for a father's love

By Mark Medley

Description:

A far-off continent, a remote village, an impossible coincidence… is this what it takes to discover what’s inside a man?

The death of his wife, a painful past, and the promise of bringing hope to a distant people plunges James Merritt into the rhythms of the Tsanga Valley in Central Ghana.

In this tale of fathers and sons, orphans and mentors, James embeds with the Suti tribe on the mighty Volta River and must face his own fears and learn to love and be loved.

James’s ingenious water invention promises to bring a new quality of life to the Suti. But a volatile land dispute between tribes, a fiery female mission worker, and a shocking revelation from his past will cause the Suti to alter James’s life in more ways than he will alter theirs.

James risks everything to gain redemption from a checkered past and find the true heart of a father. But just as he discovers what to live for, he faces the ultimate question. Is it worth dying for?

Book Takeaway:

When you understand that you are a son of the Father, you know that you are not abandoned, that you belong—and that changes everything.
God is a God of generations (Abraham, Issac and Jacob); there are even generations in the very nature of God (the Trinity).
The dreams God has given us are too big for us alone; it takes the next generation to realize your dreams (think of David’s desire to build the temple of God and Solomon’s completion of it).
Fathering isn’t simply about providing materially; it’s about being present; being a present influence in the life of the son.
Fathering isn’t for cowards. Fathers are required to lay their lives down for their sons.
We need spiritual mothers just as much as spiritual fathers.
Pouring our age into youth is our highest calling: the most important thing to live for is what you will leave behind.

Awards:

Why the author wrote this book:

I love to tell this story. My wife Melissa and I homeschooled our four children and our youngest, Zac (who is less of a book guy and more of a hands-on guy), was in his senior year. We were looking for an English curriculum that was more participatory and less conceptual. We found One Year Adventure Novel by Daniel Schwabauer. Through a series of videos and workbooks, the author takes the student through a process to write a novel in one school year.
I told Zac, “Good news… you don’t have to read any books this year for English class.” (Yes!) “But you have to write one.” (NOOOO!!)
But I assured him that I would write one with him. We watched the videos and went through exercises and by half way through the school year, I realized that I wasn’t just jumping through the hoops — I have something in my soul that needs to be said. It was like a burden in my heart began leaking through the pages I was writing. The burden comes from my experience as a father, a pastor, and an international trainer of leaders.
I am a father of four and the grandfather of three (currently). So I understand the challenges of each season of parenting and the importance of the role of a father.
I have been in pastoral ministry in my local church since 1989. I have seen the devastating effects of lack of true, active fatherhood in generations of families.
I have been privileged to travel to dozens of countries and experience many diverse cultures. The problem of fatherlessness is universal: it exists in every culture I have experienced, without exception. Andre’s Story.
There is an unreported worldwide crisis - not a political or economical or health crisis, but a spiritual, generational crisis - it is a famine of fatherhood. And it is a complex issue. So today we have a fatherless generation with no identity, no purpose and no understanding of how to live with purpose.

There are many ways to be fatherless: divorce, desertion, death, drugs or alcohol abuse, impossible to please (can never measure up to expectations), physical or emotional abuse, silent.
Orphan hearted people have: no solid identity; their value is based on their performance; they carry a scarcity mentality and fear of the future.
In The Same River Twice, there is a matrix of fathers and sons, mentors and orphans, so I deal with most of these situations in the book. And more, I deal with the answer to these problems.