Member Spotlight: Myron and Rachel Weaver, Share-A-Care Publications
Marcia Krahn · Jul 01, 2013
When Myron and Rachel Weaver named their printing company Share-A-Care Publications, they were stating their life’s goal. God combined their interests and dedication to help others through a process of see a need, meet a need to create the ministry they have today.
Myron began his career teaching in a small, private Christian school. Convinced that every subject should be taught with excellence, he grew concerned that art curriculum was almost non-existent and had “no scope, no sequence.” He realized that his fellow teachers were usually “doing whatever popped into their heads—not a good way to teach any subject.” Myron wanted an approach that gave art the justice it deserved as a way to glorify God.
At the same time, as a way of stretching their budget, Rachel began making her own greeting cards. Her thoughtful cards garnered the attention of many, and Myron began having them printed as a way to supplement their income and provide uplifting cards to encourage and comfort others. When the printer raised his price, and no profit was left for them, Myron contacted a printer who lived a couple hours away and offered to buy the press if the printer would show him how it worked. Share-A-Care Publications was born, named for the purpose and impact of Rachel’s cards. Because Myron knew little about the printing process, he experienced some frustrating times of learning a new trade. But he soon started printing for his church and eventually began custom printing commercially.
As no one else he knew had yet seen the importance of an art curriculum for homeschools and small Christian schools, Myron created and published his own curriculum to teach drawing basics and increase the student’s artistic ability. Art with a Purpose was the result. Rachel drew the lessons and Myron organized the material.
The Artpacs contain 36 simple, easy-to-use lessons at eight levels, comparable to school grade levels, beginning with coloring and cut and paste, and advancing to basic composition, shading techniques, calligraphy, and pen-and-ink illustrations. The curriculum has been updated and revised, now illustrated by their children as well as by Rachel. Art with a Purpose is sold across the nation and Canada and remains one of the Weaver’s main publications.
While Art with a Purpose flourished, Rachel was pursuing another interest and need she saw in life. She followed midwives in the area, working with and learning from them. Friends and family started asking her questions about health issues, and she was able to provide help because of the intense study she had begun into herbal remedies. She read several books and took courses on natural remedies.
The demand for Rachel’s growing knowledge mushroomed, spread by word of mouth. She was surprised at the number of people who came to her and at the results they experienced based on her suggestions. Their success stories motivated her to keep studying. When she discovered a certified correspondence program through Dr. Christopher’s School of Natural Healing, Myron told her to “go for it.” Through the years, Rachel has passed on “common sense information that is the result of common sense living” to countless people across the U.S. and Canada. Many of those she helped begged her to write a book that they could keep on hand.
Rachel realized the importance of not allowing all the knowledge she had gleaned to die with her, and Myron encouraged her to “teach people how to use God’s gift of herbs.” She wanted her book to sound like a “cozy chat,” not a textbook, and to include her own recipes so that others could make them. Be Your Own “Doctor” became another Weaver family project—written by Rachel, illustrated by their children, and published by Myron.
In recent years, Rachel has revised that book and written two others. Be Your Child’s Pediatrician is “a wealth of information … packed with practical advice and personal stories, and spiced with the humor of daily life.” Back Yard Pharmacy, illustrated with full color photographs, explains how to use many plants—even those we call weeds—for healing. These books can be ordered online through Share-A-Care Publications.
The Weavers have been SMI members for eight years. Myron says, “I was against the insurance mentality, but felt my family needed some back-up plan. I wanted something with a Biblical perspective, and need sharing provided what I was looking for.”
Myron and Rachel Weaver are living out their Share-a-Care philosophy of life, seeing the need before them and meeting that need out of hearts dedicated to helping others in every way they can with the resources God has supplied. In their way of thinking, that’s the least they can do to help others “know the Lord Jesus, Who is our source of strength and help.”
Marcia Krahn and her husband, Tim, are Communications Specialists at SMI.