Leona Mae "Grandma" Moats is no ordinary grandmother. Growing up in the heartland of the great Midwest in the 1920s and 1930s, she came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at the tender age of ten. Surrounded by loving family and especially her grandmother's devout Christian example, Leona set her heart on serving the Savior in every facet of life with every talent given to her by God. An avid reader from her earliest days, Leona also loved the art of putting pen to paper-the craft and skills of writing.
Leona's writing became a grace-filled creative expression of learning to know and love the Lord Jesus and to follow him along all of life's paths. Thousands of letters sent to family and friends over more than thirty-five years present a window through which we witness a life filled with the joys, comforts, trials, and challenges of the gospel-filled Christian life. We are given an intimate view of the hand of God in this faithful servant's sojourn on earth; the delights and struggles of marriage, working, and raising children; reading, studying, and applying God's Word to all areas of life; the necessity and power of prayer in all things; the joy of serving others-being "Christ's hands, feet, and heart"-in thankful obedience to God for his gift of salvation; concern for the lost and for the gospel call to repentance and faith in Christ; steadfast care for her family and for those of us in the larger household of faith.
This loving tribute is a testimony to the vitality of a godly foremother's example in living the Christian life. Leona's unique witness of faith and service gifted to us through her writing reaches back into the historical past and then forward into our lives, urging us to persevere in the faith and to dwell in reverent service to God. Through a modest, humble, devoted servant comes extraordinary encouragement to follow the Lord wherever he leads and to live in grateful response to the good news of the gospel.