Straight From the Mouth of 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.

About the Author

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.