David answered my ad on Craigslist and was keenly looking over the tractor. I was eyeing him over, knowing that he would most likely try to talk me down on my price. I figured he wasn’t a farmer or in any type of construction when I shook his smooth, un-calloused hand. I had to wonder what he was going to use the tractor for. The name tag on his shirt had the logo of the company he worked for. It also had his name and the words “Life Coach,” which piqued my curiosity.
I asked David, “What exactly is a “life coach”?
He explained that it was his job to assist people who were going through extreme life changes. He helped them get their life back into order, allowing them to function in society on their own. He said that most of his clients were fresh out of prison or addicts that had been dropped off because they had severe addiction problems. In some cases, loved ones had dropped them off at the center and in others it was a judge’s order that they spend an allotted amount of time at the facility as part of processing them through the system.
I felt the gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit as I listened to him, and when David had finished, I went to the house and got a copy of Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day. The Lord had just sold the ranch and I was liquidating equipment for the new assignment He had me on. Only a month before, He had instructed me with His soft, still voice to get this book to people on the street, in prisons, and to the homeless.
“Read this book, David. You might be able to use it with some of your clients.” I offered.
David looked the front of the book over and read the back. “Hmmm… We cannot give any material to our clients in regards to Jesus or God directly, but I can suggest it for reading on the side,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Let me read it and see if it will work with the clients I work with.” David reached in and set the book on the dash of his truck.
A couple of days later David bought the tractor and I figured that would be the last I heard from him. A week later I got a text from him. “Can you talk for a minute?”
I called him back. David was very excited. “You’re not going to believe what just happened!”
“Oh no! Did you flip the tractor?” I replied, “I warned you that it could pick up more than it could handle!”
“No, Bill, your book!” he replied excitedly.
David went on to explain: “I never got a chance to read your book. It sat on the console between the seats for several days. One day Tyler and I went to get an ice cream cone. Tyler is one of our regulars. He has been in and out of the facility multiple times. We try to work with him, but in all honesty, his brain has been totally fried with Meth. His concentration level is minimal. I have never been able to get him to focus on anything constructive in the four years I have been at this facility. We really don’t know what to do with the guy. Anyway, Tyler and I were talking while we were waiting for an ice cream cone when he noticed the Skies book sitting between the seats. He picked it up and read the cover and asked where I got it from. I told him I got it from you and then he asked if it would be okay if he read it. I agreed, figuring there was no way he could get through it, but what could it hurt?
“Tonight, I was finishing up with some paperwork in the office when I heard all this commotion. Tyler was running down the stairs, screaming, ‘I got it! I got it! Mr. C, I get it now! It’s all right here! I understand what you have been trying to tell me all along! It’s right here in the book!’ Everyone in the entire complex, hearing the screaming, was gathered around us.
“Bill, I need 30 more books. Everyone wants to read it now.”
I gave David half a case of books the next day.
Meanwhile, the following Sunday, I had given a friend of mine from church, Judy, a few copies of the book. Judy belongs to the local women’s Garden Club in town and the president of the club, Beverly, stopped by to visit. While they were talking, Beverly noticed a copy of Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day sitting on the counter.
“What’s this?” she asked, as she searched the cover and the back page. “I would like to read it.”
“Take it– I can get another,” Judy told her.
At six the next morning Judy called me, very excited. “I am telling you– that book is a soul-seeking missile!”
“What?” I said.
My friend Judy had just gotten off the phone with Beverly, who was in tears. Beverly had stayed up most of the night reading the Skies book. When Beverly left Judy’s house the night before, she was headed to an Al-Anon meeting. She was running late and had material that she wanted to share at the meeting. In the midst of the rush, Beverly had inadvertently left the Skies book in the stack of material. It sat on top because it was the smallest of the books. When she went into the meeting, she sat down in the only seat that was available, which happened to be directly across from a young unkempt man and his girlfriend who were new to the group. Throughout the meeting, the young man stared at Beverly and back to the bundle of material sitting next to her on the floor. The dreadlocks in his hair and the tattoos covering his body added to the intensity of his stare, making her very uncomfortable. His girlfriend wore loose-fitting clothes and no makeup, and her hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed in a while. They appeared homeless. After the meeting the man approached Beverly and pointed, demanding to know where she got the Skies book.
“My friend knows the man who wrote it, and she gave it to me,” Beverly responded nervously.
“You know the person who wrote that book?” the man said, his intensity softening. “I love that book. I have read that book five times. See?” The man pulled a tattered copy of the Skies book from his backpack “I take it with me everywhere I go.”
Beverly’s uneasiness dissolved when she saw the tears welling up in the young man’s eyes. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Tyler.” The man replied.
Beverly went home that night, unable to shake the encounter at the Al-Anon meeting. She sat down to read Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day, wondering what it was that had touched that young man so dramatically. Tyler’s girlfriend reminded her so much of her own daughter, who was addicted to alcohol and living in Florida. She finished the book at 2 in the morning and called Judy early the next morning, thanking her for passing the book on to her. Beverly sent the book to her daughter that afternoon.

It amazes me the letters I get from people who have read the book and the stories of what they have been through. These are people I would never run into in my daily routine. Yet somehow, some way, God uses the stories of what He did in my life to touch these people in a significant way. I am here to tell you, God will use your testimony, no matter what it is, to bring hurting people to Himself. All He asks is that you share it! I encourage you to listen closely for God’s prompting and step out when you feel the nudge.
The Skies book is my testimony; I will give this book to whoever wants to read it. The only thing I ask is for it to be passed on just like it was given to you. I am confident that the Lord will show you whom to give it to.
After all, Judy might be right… it just might be a soul seeking missile!

William H. Cox is the author of Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day. The Lord prompted him to write and give it away to people on the street, in prison, and to the homeless. In 2015, Bill threw out a fleece to the Lord. If the ranch sold in 30 days, he would have 10,000 copies of the book printed and would deliver them to rescue missions and prisons across the country. He got an offer in 28 days. Bill quit his job, and with the help of the Body of Christ, in six months had all 10,000 books in almost every Gospel Rescue Mission west of Colorado, and many throughout the rest of the country. Denominational walls disintegrated as people read the book and took it upon themselves to help get it out. Bill continues to give this book away to anyone who would like to read it. For more information on the 10,000 book giveaway, please go to the website below. The Steward Foundation, a non–profit organization, has offered to print the book and will take tax- deductible donations to help print it. You can pick up a free copy of Skies Are not Cloudy All Day at North Summit Church in Sandpoint or at Kokanee Coffee, also in Sandpoint. Bill also sells two other books he has written to offset the cost of distributing Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day to folks who cannot afford to pay for postage. The other two books, A Dogs Love and The Last Cast are available at: www.rustyironranchllc.com. You can contact Bill at:
jumpcreek113@yahoo.com or
P.O. Box 1582,
Sandpoint, Idaho 83864