Rescued

By Michael Tirone

Rescue story of three boys growing up in poverty in NJ with an alcoholic, abusive father and how God used a small local church to rescue and redeem them. The church set them on a new path and impacts their families for generations to come. See how God performed miracles in each of their lives, including a car accident, where a little girl was struck in the street and the words "God don't let her die!" turned into a modern day Lazarus story. This testimony will inspire those in difficult situations and will help spur churches to continue reaching out to their communities. The results are life changing not only on individuals, but generations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781644684962

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Rescued

Michael Tirone

ISBN 978-1-64468-495-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64468-496-2 (Digital)

Copyright © 2020 Michael Tirone

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Foreword

My grandpa Mike Tirone is the most godly, Spirit-filled person I know, but since he is also the most humble, modest person I know, I am taking it upon myself to brag on him a little. I know that he would never do so for himself. I have never known a more genuine person who is so in love with the Lord. You see it through his tear-filled eyes and hear it in the passion in his voice as he speaks about the goodness and provisions of our Heavenly Father. It is clear that he does not think of God in a purely abstract, intellectual way, as if God was some distant and mysterious being or merely a theological topic to study. Instead, he knows God in a personal way.

Last October, I called Poppy to wish him a happy birthday. Although I have always known him to be a joyful person, he was exceptionally exuberant on this particular day. In the past, he has shared with me how he often has difficulty sleeping through the night, finding himself quite restless at peculiar hours of the night. Yet he sees God’s faithfulness even in the midst of these sleepless nights, for he has told us that on many occasions he has felt God’s presence near or received a word from that still, small voice while he is awake.

While on the phone with him, he shared what had happened the previous night. In the early hours of his seventy-sixth birthday, he found himself struggling to go back to sleep after waking up, but in this, he had a sweet encounter with his Heavenly Father. He told me, God spoke to me again last night. I felt His spirit whisper to me, ‘Happy Birthday.’

When Poppy told me this, I could not help but smile at the purity and sweetness of his relationship with the Lord. God knows his rough past and gifted him with something that only a close Father would know he needed. As you will read in the upcoming pages, my grandpa’s upbringing was marked by neglect and abuse from his biological father. Though his mother loved him dearly and worked tirelessly to make ends meet, his birthday was never celebrated.

In fact, his first birthday cake was made by his then-girlfriend, my grandmother, when they were dating. How beautiful it is thinking of what the Lord said. How precious is my grandfather’s childlike faith. How sweet is the mutual love Poppy and God share for each other. That is what decades of faithfully abiding with the Lord looks like.

In this book, you will see how Poppy got to this point in his walk with the Lord. The highs and lows, victories and shortcomings. The most beautiful part of Poppy’s story is how he looks back over the course of his life and sees the presence of God in every part of it, desperately depending on Him and loving Him with his whole heart.

By journeying down this path with him, your faith will not be left unchanged. It will leave you wanting to know the God that Poppy knows with the same depth and zeal. It will plant a desire in you to not just believe in God’s existence, but to believe in His power and goodness. Perhaps it will open your eyes to how God is working in the seemingly mundane apects of your own life. Poppy’s life is a testament to how God is still working in the world today. I pray that you will get to know the true character of God through this story, just as I have. What a privilege it is to introduce you to my wonderful, fun, joyful, passionate, wise, faithful, and loving grandfather Mike Tirone. I know you will grow to love him just as much as I do.

Veronica Seder

Dedication of the Book

Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.

-Proverbs 31:29-

I dedicate this book to the girl I met in high school sixty years ago. She was shy, yet beautiful, full of kindness towards all people. Her pleasant appearance was surpassed by her noble character. She went out of her way to befriend all who were in need of a friend. She exemplified love and kindness. She had a glow that attracted me to her from the moment I noticed her at a high school dance.

When we met, I was a soon to be a seventeen-year-old senior at Lyndhurst High School and Michele Santulli was a foureen-year-old freshman. It was September 1960. My father was no longer part of my life, leaving me with deep emotional wounds, but to Michele, I seemed like a normal high school teenager. She knew nothing about my past struggles and rough home life since the insecurities that had developed in me were well hidden.

Lyndhurst High School had dances in the gymnasium on most Fridays during football season as a pep rally for our usual Saturday afternoon games. When I noticed Michele at one of these dances, I mentioned to one of my friends, Look at that pretty girl over there. She sure is cute. The next thing I knew, my friend was introducing me to her saying, Mike, meet Mike. You are going for pizza with her tonight. It was the last dance of the evening and we awkwardly danced the Reunion Waltz together. Afterwards, eight of us piled into a small car, everyone crowding onto one another because of a lack of seats. Michele sat stiffly on my lap, neither one of us saying a word since we hardly knew each other. I felt incredibly uncomfortable because of a painful charley horse in my leg. Fortunately, the pizza parlor was just a five-minute ride away from the school. That was the start of our ongoing story together.

Michele would later become not only my best friend, but my wife. At the time when we met, I carried with me heavy baggage and deep scars from my childhood, but God gave me Michele to help me develop into the person I am today. God picked us for each other. Her gentleness, forgiveness, patience, and love aided me through the healing process. The Holy Spirit was working in her life before either of us knew anything about the fruits of the Spirit. Michele is the perfect helper and partner that has loved me patiently and graciously throughout our 60 years of knowing each other.

As I began leading Bible studies in our home, Michele’s hospitality and generosity perfectly complemented my love for teaching. As we ministered together by inviting people into our home, Michele served in a way that paid special attention to the individuality and uniqueness of each person. Though she went to great lengths in order to make people happy, she never let them know how much effort she put into planning the gatherings. No one was ever disappointed by what she served. Everyone left filled and satisfied, generally taking home their favorite part of dinner as leftovers for the coming week. Somehow she knew exactly what each person preferred and ensured that there would be something special available for each person. I used to wonder how she knew what everyone wanted; eventually I simply gave up trying to figure out how she knew... she just knew! This quality of thinking of others first is as true today as it was early in our life together.

Michele is the glue that holds our family together. She has been a constant source of unconditional love and unrelenting faithfulness, even through difficult times. Never once, despite our humble beginnings, did she complain about our circumstances. Without the availability of a car, she watched over our three children, who were all under the age of four at the time. She took them to parks and shops walking everywhere with strollers. Her committed perseverance and unwavering care despite difficult circumstances speaks volumes of her character.

To say more about her would be to repeat myself over and over again. She complements me, and I cannot thank her enough for the joy and peace she has brought into my life. Although it has taken many years of learning, I have been developing into the person God wanted me to be for her. Over time, my pride and stubbornness has melted away due to her great love and compassion.

I love you Michele!

Michele Tirone, Mike Tirone

Preface

They triumphed over him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony.

-Revelation 12:11-

In the summer of 2013, I was inspired to create something for God as an overflow of my gratitude towards Him. While reading Mark Batterson’s Draw the Circle: The Forty Day Prayer Challenge, I came across a chapter entitled Memorial Offering. In reading it, a desire was laid on my heart to craft my own memorial offering to the Lord to commemorate all the wonderful things that He has done. A memorial offering is a way of permamently remembering the Lord’s kindness that we present to Him. Acts 10:4 describes our works becoming this type of offering by saying,

Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering to the Lord."

The things we do for God are a manifestation of our thankfulness for all the ways He has loved us. Our good deeds are not an attempt to earn something in return; they are done in recognition that we have already received everything.

What God did in the lives of me, my mother, and two brothers was miraculous; my thankfulness abounds to Him. Because of Him, we were rescued from severe circumstances. Our home was behind a church where we were introduced to the love of God. He provided for us through the loving care of the church. Because of Him, three fatherless children grew up to achieve a measure of success and have blessed families. Without His intervention, this would have never happened.

Though I did not know what my memorial offering would look like specifically, it remained a desire of my heart from the time I first read it. Unfortunately, my lack of direction combined with a busy life of serving in ministries and investing in my family left me little opportunity to bring this idea to