Author: Mark R Worden
Located in: Dillon, Montana
Submitted: February 19, 2024
Tell us a little about yourself. My younger years were spent growing up in beautiful Southern Oregon, but since that time I have lived in four other amazing states and spent four hot and lovely years in Manaus, Brazil. Presently, I have lived in Dillon, Montana for the past 19 years. In my spare time I like to grab a fly rod and launch my drift boat on one of 5 blue Ribbon trout rivers within a short drive from my home. Naturally some fishing stories made it into my first book as illustrations. I also share some stories from my days in Brazil as a missionary to make my non-fiction book about knowing God more practical and down to earth. I have been involved in various ministries over the years and enjoy teaching the Bible having received a B.A. in Bible and a M.A. in Teaching Bible. Publishing my fist book was a dream come true and I thank those who helped throughout all the stages of my life all the way up to the publication of "HE IS! Knowing God through Fifty Scriptural Meditations."
What was your motivation behind this project? The challenge of Hebrews 11:6 was my motivation to start writing devotionals, mainly for my own growth and desire to know God better. What I was learning from the Scriptures about God, as I searched for all the "God is" statements I could find, was too good not to share with others. My blog and email readers were saying, "Mark, someday you need to turn this into a book!" After many trials and hardships of life, I finally did when the devotional theology book was published in July of 2022.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? My hope is that people in reading, "HE IS!" will not just gain a deeper knowledge about God but a deeper relationship with Him by thoughtfully answering the reflection questions and reading the other verses listed for further meditation. The book is marketed as a devotional but as one blogger observed, "The author is really asking more out of the reader than a devotional normally does."
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? This book changed my life in the writing of it and it continues to change my life in sharing it with others. I am still on the Hebrews 11:6 quest of knowing God more intimately and encourage others to start or continue their journey of faith by considering a read that will take you though over 800 verses of Scriptures to see for yourself who God reveals Himself to be through HIs inspired and preserved book, because truly, HE IS!
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? My biggest inspiration is God, Himself! He communicated the stories of His relationship with humans in the Bible and gave me many stories of His grace to share from my own life. We all have stories to share. There is power in a story. The purpose of life is to know and be known in loving relationships with God and others. Those relationships make stories that need to be told. If God has given you a story of His grace to tell, tell it with the ability that He gives you for His honor and glory. Besides the Bible I have also been greatly influenced by C.S. Lewis, J. I. Packer, and A. W. Tozer. I guess I really go for the abbreviated first name authors.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: My English and Bible teachers would probably consider my self-publishing a book a miracle. I do. They really worked hard in teaching this dyslexic boy. By God's grace, I kept working at it. Without them, I could have never achieved this dream. The shock to me is that my book has been a finalist or a placer in 6 book contests. "HE IS!" is now a 6-time award winning book and I'm told that I am now an award-winning author, but I am still just a man seeking to know and please God as I follow Him, because HE IS! To God be the Glory!
- American Writing Awards 2022 Finalist in the Religion Category
- Readers Views Bronze Medalist in Religion/Spirituality/Inspiration
- Christian Indie Awards 2023 Finalist in the Devotional Category
- Ames Award Winner in 2023 for Courageous faith in Devotional-Personal Growth
- Readers' Favorite 2023 Silver Medalist in the Christian-Devotional/Study category.
- 2023 Pen Craft Awards, First Place for Literary Excellence in the Religious Genres
This devotional Theology Book can only help those who choose to read it. I hope you will make that choice. To God be the Glory!
