Drawing Closer to God 365 Daily Meditations on Questions from Scripture

by Dianne Neal Matthews

Matthews, Dianne Neal

Genres: Devotional, Christian, Inspirational

Hardcover

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Dianne Neal Matthews started daydreaming about being a writer in first grade, when she learned the joys a chunky pencil and lined tablet can bring. In her mid-forties, she finally attended a writers’ conference (Write-to-Publish, Chicago area). When the Warner Press editor read Dianne’s short piece about a spiritual lesson from her cat, she said, “I think you may be a natural devotional writer.” That meeting led Dianne to begin writing devotionals for the backs of church bulletins.

Two years later, at that same conference, Dianne received the 2001 Best New Writer of the Year award for an article published in Focus on the Family magazine. Five years later, her first book earned her the Writer of the Year award. The One Year On This Day (Tyndale House) is based on holiday origins, historical events, and pop culture trivia. It has since been updated and is available as On This Day: 365 Meditations on Holidays & Historical Events.

Since then, Dianne has published three other devotional books: The One Year Women of the Bible (Tyndale), Drawing Closer to God: 365 Daily Meditations on Questions in the Bible, and Designed for Devotion: A 365-Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation (both by Baker Books). Designed for Devotion won a 2013 Selah Award. Dianne also collaborated with Ron L. Deal to write Daily Encouragement for the Smart Stepfamily (Bethany House).

Dianne has been a contributing writer for Guideposts’ Mornings with Jesus since the 2013 edition. Other compilations include Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace; Christmas Classics: True Stories of Holiday Cheer & Goodwill; More Christmas Moments; Writing So Heaven Will Be Different; and the newly released Arise to Peace: Daily Devotional. She is also a regular contributor for The Quiet Hour quarterly magazine (David C. Cook).

Her articles and devotions have appeared in LIVE, The Christian Communicator, Focus on the Family periodicals, and Guideposts magazine. Dianne frequently writes guest posts for bloggers and content for websites including More to Life and CBN.com. She has also written Bible studies, newspaper features, and she even sold a poem once.

Please visit her at www.DianneNealMatthews.com or connect through her Facebook Author Page (https://www.facebook.com/DianneNealMa...).

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read a daily devotional book before, and found this a good, sometimes profound, exercise. I don't know that I will do so again...I would rather read and study the source (the Scriptures) and perhaps begin writing my own daily devotionals, if only for my own use. Nonetheless, these daily readings were often thought provoking, sometimes so much so that I reflected on them often throughout my day.

For example, in one she talked of falling prey to what Charles Hummel called "the tyranny of the urgent" in his 1967 essay of the same name...that is allowing things that are seemingly urgent to crowd out things that are more important (e.g., the gospel basics, such as prayer, scripture study, etc.). In another, she notes "that nagging feeling that something isn't quite right [which] may be a warning from God's Spirit. "God promises to give us discernment, but it's our responsibility to ask for it."

And I loved this moral tale she told: "When a young wife moved to a new neighborhood, the woman next door came over to introduce herself. The newcomer was dismayed, however, when the older woman leaned forward and confided, "Let me just warn you about one of your neighbors." After rattling off a list of annoying traits and shortcomings, she sat back and smiled. 'Now that you understand some of my faults,' she said, 'I hope that we can become good friends.'"

Though I disagreed occasionally with the doctrine expressed in portions of the book, there was a wonderful spirit to it, and numerous insightful gems of wisdom. It is worth reading.

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this daily devotional -- definitely eye-opening to my own life sometimes! Really, you can read it at any pace that you prefer -- it doesn't have to take 365 days. The chapters are very short, and I finished it in 8 months, rather than take the whole year (you CAN read it faster, if you want though).

The devotions did draw my thoughts toward God and I found myself seeing new things in scripture that I hadn't noticed before. Each individual devotional highlights either a story in the Bible or a random scene that the author wrote to illustrate scripture. Although I preferred the actual Bible stories, I did like the author's creativity.

I do consider it to be light, "fluffy" reading. Although the format of answering questions from the Bible worked well, there wasn't much space each day to truly expand on all the answers. (I did enjoy having something quick to read either in the early mornings or before going to bed at night!)

*Recommended for adults or older teens only, as occasionally a chapter shares a story with mature content.

"Whenever we take a step in obedience, God will provide what we need to see the journey through." (May 24th, Drawing Closer to God)

[Lillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than reading the book as a daily devotion, I read it straight through. I wanted to finish the book during my Lent reading program. It worked well reading as I did, but it would also be a good daily devotional. Each devotion is based on a question from the Bible. Each meditation begins with a short example of something related to the question of the day followed by a lesson learned, a prayer, and a short Scripture. Each devotion is short but substantial.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this daily devotional focusing on questions found in scripture. Each day focuses on a different question and offers guidelines for applying the truth from scripture to our daily lives. Excellent short devotions that range from a wide variety of topics!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never did read this all the way. It is a good devotional I am just not a committed daily devotional reader.