Over the years, Ann Spangler has read through the Bible several times, plowing straight through from Genesis to Revelation. But like many people who tend to be self-critical, Ann found it easier to absorb the harsher-sounding passages in the Bible than those that speak of God’s love and compassion.Then one day, Ann listened as her friend Joan talked about a time in her life when she became convinced of God’s love. Ann expected her friend to reveal something complicated and difficult, a tragedy perhaps that God had brought her through. But Joan had simply decided to set aside one month in which she would act as though God loved her. And that settled it for her—for good.In the months that followed, Ann decided to develop a remedial course in which she could reflect morning and evening on the most tender words of God in the Bible. She prayed that God’s penetrating Word would transform her as she hunted through Scripture for words of mercy, compassion, peace, and protection. The Tender Words of God is the result of this process, offering ninety days of devotional readings on some of Scripture’s most encouraging words. While the core of the book is Scripture, each week contains reflections and daily prayers that chronicle Ann’s struggle to know God better. These are included not because she believes her quest is all that remarkable, but precisely because she knows it is ordinary, expressing as it does our common longing to love and be loved, especially by the One who made us. Ann invites you to join her on this journey to know God better, to let his tender words become like guardians at the beginning and at the end of each day, convincing you once and for all of his faithful, committed love.
