The Story Behind Connecting With Christ by Yolonda Tonette Sanders

 

The Story Behind Connecting with Christ

By Yolonda Tonette Sanders

I appreciate reading material that supports my spiritual growth. Yet, I have at least a half-dozen daily devotionals on my bookshelf, and I have never finished a single one. The problem I have with 365 daily devotionals (especially when also committing to daily Bible reading) is that it’s easy to get behind schedule if one day is missed. One missed day easily multiplies to twenty, and then it becomes impossible to catch up. Or, if catching up is possible, reading becomes a checklist item to get back on par, and the spiritual nourishment becomes secondary or gets lost completely.

 

My goal was to create a yearly devotional that was both practical and applicable. It’s much simpler to commit to reading a weekly devotional than a daily one. Plus, the devotionals will not stand in the way of daily Bible reading. Let’s face it. Sometimes we don’t always get devotional lessons during the first read-through. I didn’t want anyone to feel rushed to complete each devotional just to keep a up with a daily schedule. I want the lessons to stick!

 

There are 18 authors, including me, who contributed to this project. The 52 devotionals are broken down into 12 over-arching themes. I challenged everyone to be real. I didn’t want any pie-in-the sky stories, but real-life accounts with which others could identify and find encouragement. As the editor, I’ve read each devotional more times than I can recall, and yet, each time I read something, it’s like I’m seeing it for the first time . . . even the ones that I wrote. This collection of works contains a level of transparency that is rarely displayed by authors. I hope that readers will enjoy Connecting with Christ. It’s raw, encouraging, and transformative.

 

 

Self-care is a buzzword often mentioned when people seek to optimize their health. Suggested self-care practices tend to include activities such as exercising, getting a massage, or eating a healthy diet. While all of these actions have their place, none of them are sufficient enough to provide the soul-care we need to maximize our self-care. Self-care without soul-care equates to temporary solutions that leave

us searching for the next new thing. However, when Christ becomes the center of our holistic health journey, we not only find fulfillment in Him but also a dependency on and trust in Him to truly live our best lives-emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

“If ever there has been a time in history when we need to connect with and cling to Christ, it is now. Loud divisive voices vie for our attention. World events distract. Personal challenges overwhelm. Staying connected to Christ takes effort, even for the most devoted believer. Connecting with Christ aids in fostering that connection. Yolonda Sanders chose contributors well, those who provide thoughtful, encouraging, helpful guidance in making connection to Christ a priority.”– Candy Arrington, author, Life on Pause: Learning to Wait Well

“Inspiration can wane when the winds of discouragement blow through our lives. Connecting with Christ offers 52 weeks of easy encouragement everyone can benefit from. Easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to apply to our wind-blown lives. Receiving inspiration from a variety of authors makes you feel like you’re family. Coming together to talk about life and how God’s truth plays an active part for all of us is priceless.”– Linda Goldfarb, Speaker-Trainer-Coach, Award-winning author of the LINKED Personality Series, helping you take your next best step- Relationally-Spiritually-Professionally (www.LivePowerfullyNow.org)

“Connecting with Christ is a unique, faith-filled, inspiring devotional designed to cultivate a thirst for the Word as you grow in your spiritual journey. You will feel the love of God and experience His goodness, grace, and faithfulness, which are woven throughout this work.”– La Verne Tolbert, Ph.D., author of How to Study and Understand the Bible (www.etaworld.org); Founder & CEO of Teaching Like Jesus Ministries, Inc. (http: //teachinglikejesus.org/); and host of Sunday School Made Simple (https: //www.youtube.com/c/SundaySchoolMadeSimple)

“Eternal, intrinsic, and unique, your soul is a touchpoint between you and God. A healthy soul is protection against agnosticism, hatred, prejudice, and superficial materialism. Yolonda Tonette Sanders and others provide a resource for the vital care and feeding of your soul and help you connect with the God who loves you.”– PeggySue Wells is the bestselling author of 29 books, including The Ten Best Decisions A Single Mom Can Make, and the founder of SingleMomCircle.com

Book Information

Release Date: November 30, 2021

Publisher:  Yo Productions

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1732850842; 212 pages; $14.99

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FoBsZh

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3I3410c

Walmart: https://bit.ly/3nk80xu

 

Yolonda Tonette Sanders is the CEO of Yo Productions, LLC and co-founder of the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival. Her writing portfolio includes academic papers, novels, short stories, poems, and other creative works. She is an editor for a national publication, a professor, and serves on several boards and associations. Yolonda holds two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s degree, and is currently completing her Ph.D. in organizational leadership. She treasures her relationships with family and close friends. Yolonda is blessed to be the wife of David; mother of two adults, Tre and Tia; “Nini” to her grandchildren, Khari and Khia; daughter of Eddie; sister to Milton; and dog mom to Paco.

Her latest book is the nonfiction/inspirational Connecting with Christ: 52 Weekly Devotionals to Nurture Spiritual Growth (Yo Productions).

Visit her website at www.yoproductions.net or connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.