Hi! I’m Raynene Burgess and I’m so glad you stopped by!  I’d like to share some information about myself, so here goes…

I live in Columbia, SC with my parents and my poodle (Fifi), originally growing up in south Florida and moving to SC in 2006.  I’ve been married and am divorced since 1999, being now happily single.  That’s not to say that can change, but God hasn’t brought anyone into my life and until He does, I’m content as I am.  I have a B.A. in American History and a Master of Arts in Religion – and am currently working on my Master of Divinity degree.

I love Jesus Christ with all of my heart and can’t imagine a day of my life without Him.  He teaches me something new about myself every day.  And most days, those lessons aren’t all that easy to learn.

During the day I’m a customer service agent for a local manufacturer here in Columbia; during the evenings and on weekends, I’m a writer.  How did I come to be a writer?  Well, here’s how it all began…

In 1989, I noticed that I enjoyed writing for my church newsletter; I later contributed to the Advent devotional booklet that was printed for my church.  I began to take notice of things that I read and pondered during my morning quiet time.

As I journaled each morning, I began to notice that I was writing in a devotional style as I thought about the Scripture for each day.  I started keeping a separate devotional notebook and soon I had six month’s worth of devotionals.  I got serious about writing; whatever I heard at church or in a conversation that I thought would be of help in a day’s writings was put on paper.

In 1991, I finished my first 365-day devotional book and wondered what to title it.  The answer was given to me one night as I was thinking about what I had written in my journal that morning.  I realized that every day I began my journal notes with “Good morning, Father!” and then went on to my study and notes.  There was my title!

I completed Heartsongs in 1995, which is a daily reading in the book of Psalms, taking the reader through the complete book of Psalms over the course of a year.  I looked at the daily readings that I set up and decided to look at each writing as one of praise, for that is what the Psalms are all about.  They speak of life in verse and song; they speak of joy, hardships, trials, patience, and waiting on the Lord in the midst of daily living.  I looked at how the writers of the Psalms felt and what the situations were when each Psalm was written. 

I have worked in desktop publishing since 1992 when I began compiling and editing the youth pages of my church’s newsletter.  From 1996-1998 I was contributing editor, copyeditor and publisher of a 26-page monthly newsletter at the church where I worked.  I thoroughly enjoyed writing a brief monthly devotional on various spiritual issues each month.

Presently I am working on a third yearly devotional based on the gifts we receive from the Lord, such as love, faith, families, His creation and so on.  I have tentatively titled it The 365 Days of Christmas.  I am looking forward to spending time on this manuscript.  Stay tuned for more on this one!

Excerpts from both Good Morning, Father! and Heartsongs have been published as Advent and Lenten devotional booklets at three United Methodist Churches I have attended since 1994.  My devotionals have also been used as bulletin inserts. 

I’m always looking for ideas for devotionals and usually apply my own experiences to my writing.  If you purchase a copy of either of my books currently out, would you let me know what you think?

Please enjoy exploring my website and the links I’ve provided.  May God bless your life journey.

In His Service,