I can't answer this for others! However, there have been times in my life that are marked by growth and strong desires to write. I am in one of those times of life right now! Very thrilling and not a little exhausting.  You may ask, "What sparks these times in your life, Mark?"  Even if you didn't, "I am going to tell you."  Which you no doubt knew!

High School and College

It first happened after I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was 18 years old, right before my Senior year in High School.  I enrolled in college prep English because I wanted to understand my Bible better and thought, "Maybe I should go to college!"  I was like a sponge that year. I'll never forget the look in Mr. Nolet's eyes when I was the first one to class on that first day.  I marched right up to the front seat which was right in front of his desk. Sat down and looked him in the eyes.  No words were exchanged between us. His expression said it all, "What's up with this kid?"  This was a time of amazing growth in my life that continued all through my college years.

Stepping Down from Pastoring

At the end of 2010, I resigned from pastoring a small congregation in Dillon, Montana which I had served for 6 years.  That was when I started the research and the writing of the "God Is" devotionals over a period of 2 years. I did my own Hebrews 11:6 adventure to know God better which began to change my life.  I then messed around with a blog for a number of years, but desire for writing began to fade.

After a Great Time of Loss and Healing through God Given Circumstances and Counseling

This was when I picked up the "God Is!" manuscript again and felt the blessing and anointing of God to reorganize and rewrite every chapter with what God had been teaching me about him and myself.  My pastor at the time recognized God's call on my life and asked me to present each chapter as it was rewritten for our men's Thursday morning devotional and prayer time at my local church.  Such great times of fellowship and feedback greatly helped in the eventual publication of "HE IS!" This devotional theology book was written in a group context and is presently being used in small groups in local churches for the edification of others.  God can bring something good from the pain and bad of life.  Praise God!

During the Covid Lockdown of 2020

For the whole month of April 2022, I wrote and wrote about the people who had influenced me in my life and of all things for which I am thankful.  I published these memoirs of my life on my personal Facebook page and was shocked at the responses that grew with each post. I recently read through the manuscript that I had already compiled and thought, "I should publish this in a short book for my family and friends."  Something else to someday do!

And Presently After a New Friendship with Indie Author Connie Cook

I have enjoyed a correspondence friendship with Connie and have now read 4 of her books in the following order:

• LOOK AROUND!  Ten Observations That Lead to One Conclusion
• Mae and Me
• The Ex-Factor: Why Do So Many Leave the Christian Faith? And Why Stay?
• Symphony: God's Sovereignty through Human Freedom

Connie's writing is sometimes raw and certainly real.  You can tell she is working things out for her own self as she writes. It's not just an academic or intellectual pursuit for Miss Cook.  She is searching to know God and herself better and you are along for the ride as you read her writing that is personal, enlightening, and sometime simply profound.   Connie Cook is an Indie Author that needs to be discovered!

Her writing has inspired me to start writing again for which I am thankful.  Presently, I am reading through the Gospel of Mark.  Most crazily, I am waking at all hours of the night with an insatiable desire to write devotional thoughts concerning one's choices in life.  One of the common themes in Connie's books is about human choices (Freewill) and God's sovereignty and how this works out in our lives. I have come to believe and understand in a deeper way that our choices in life really do determine who we become.  This has opened up my understanding of the Gospel of Mark in a new, fascinating, and life changing way to me.  New author inspiration for me to write!

Invitation

I invite you to follow me on my personal Facebook page or the "HE IS!" Facebook page to get in on what God is teaching me in a devotional way about our choices in life.  I am fairly certain that this may be my next book!  Humm! Let's think of a working title: "Life Directing Choice!  A Devotional Reading through the Gospel of Mark"   I am open for any ideas and your feedback.  I hope you will join me over on Facebook.  I'll confess, my editing is a little week as a I focus on content. And I usually write my thoughts pecked out on my phone while still in bed.  TMI? Sorry!

Thanks for reading.  Blessings!

Sincerely, Mark R. Worden

"LOOK AROUND!" is the perfect prequel to "HE IS!"

One of my mentors and I believe that Connie's book, "LOOK AROUND!" is probably her best book and is the one you should read first.  We highly recommend this book for your reading and to give to others who may be searching for meaning and purpose in life.