Why do I write Fresh Heart devotionals? Let me try to answer that question…

I’d like to slow down a bit in this devotional… catch my breath and step back and ponder what I’ve been doing for the last eighteen years

My first post was in 2003 and I had no particular goal to reach. Just hearts. Hearts probably very much like yours. Hearts that needed encouragement – which I love to give. Other hearts needed direction, to hear God speak and point at the same time. There were hearts that had lost someone very close and needed to hear God speak special promises into their desperate ‘aloneness’

Those are some of the gifts I love sharing. But at times I felt God prodding me to issue, not so much a warning, but perhaps a caution. Somebody was about to make a mistake that would bring pain down the road a bit.

The challenge in writing a weekly blog addressing those issues is that not all need the same thing at the same time. Some open the devotional on Monday morning thinking, “He’s handing out Kleenex again. When’s he going to get tough and set some parameters?”

That observation is in contrast with others who would like me to be less aggressive in promoting righteous living and cut them some slack. (After all, you’re an encourager, right?) To add to the mix, my readers are doctors, housewives, a few CEOs, ministers, missionaries and enough additional careers to open a job-finding site! Do I expect everyone to receive exactly what they need every week?

I don’t. That’s why I occasionally say, “If today’s post didn’t touch you, your message may arrive next Monday!” And it’s another reason why I have published two books of daily devotions, gathered from the more than 850 devotionals that I have posted. (Fresh Heart For A New Day, Volumes 1 and 2)

A parting word: My deep desire and prayer is that God will use something I write to do several things:

• Enrich your walk with God and make Him a real person, not just a religious icon
• Remind you of his love and plans for your life
• Keep you centered on the eternal component of your life… the part that will never die
• Put your attention on those around you who need to know your God
• At times, just put a smile on your face and spring in your step as you move through your week.

I commit myself to pass on to you what God turns my attention to. Thanks for joining me on the journey. There is joy in it!

“… encourage the hearts of your fellow believers and support one another,

 just as you have already been doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11 TPT