ven words, verses, and notes that I have been writing in journals, on pieces of paper, and in my Bible for a long time. In November 2016, I had open-heart surgery, and I remember very early the following morning after my surgery that they wanted me to sit up in a chair, stand up, and walk across the room. I was thinking, There is no way. At that moment, I prayed and asked God to let me feel His presence because I could not do this by myself. Immediately, I felt God's presence over my heart and entire body. He was with me every second of the day from that point on as I healed.

The blessings from God were and are daily; and I wanted to share my thankfulness with others for how God's presence, goodness, grace, and peace were with me then and still are today. I started compiling my writings into a devotional blog, and my brother Bill strongly encouraged me to put the blogs into a book. So, here we are!

Writing this book was full of challenges and harder than I could have imagined, but it was also full of God's blessings and rewards. I owe a great debt of gratitude to so many! A heartfelt and huge thank-you to my daughter, Cori, and her family; my son, Matt, and his family; and to my husband, John; their love, support, and prayers helped me through many rough days. I am especially grateful for my brother Bill and the encouragement and prayers from his family, my brother Frank and his family, my sister Faye and her family, my sister Jeanette and her family, and my best friend forever, Sheila. A big and special thank-you to my friend, Peggy, for her second set of eyes. To all my family and friends who have cared, prayed, encouraged, supported, loved, cried with me, and helped nurture my dream of writing From My Heart, I love you all so very much. I am deeply grateful to every person and every stage that transformed my rough draft into a book at Christian Faith Publishing, especially Jordyn, my publication specialist, who was always kind, helpful, and patient.

I pray this book will bring glory to God, bless you with His presence and peace, encourage you, and give you hope daily.

Love in Christ,

Tera