What Really Matters

Dave Branon retired in 2021 after a 40-year career as a writer and editor with Our Daily Bread Ministries. With more than 1,200 articles so far, Dave continues to write for the Our Daily Bread devotional. He has also written 20 books, which include Beyond the Valley: Finding Hope in Life's Losses and Lands of the Bible Today. He and his wife, Sue, have four children and eight grandchildren, and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Bill Crowder joined the Our Daily Bread Ministries staff in 2001 after more than 20 years in the pastorate stretching from West Virginia to southern California to west Michigan. Over the years, Bill has spent much of his time in a Bible-conference ministry around the world, serving ODBM offices and their outreach to their local communities.

Bill is a contributing writer for the Our Daily Bread devotional and has written many Bible study booklets for ODBM's Discovery Series. He has also published a number of books with Our Daily Bread Publishing, including Wisdom for Our Worries. Bill also serves as cohost on Discover the Word, a podcast and daily radio program heard nationwide.

Now semiretired, Bill and his wife, Marlene, live in North Carolina. They have been married for over 45 years and have five adult children and a growing legion of grandchildren. To relax, Bill enjoys playing golf whenever possible, and following sports, especially the English Premier League's Liverpool Football Club.

James Banks (D.Min, Gordon-Conwell) makes his home in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife, Cari, where James is the founding pastor of Peace Church. James's adventure with writing started in 4th grade when his teacher discovered it was a great way to keep him out of trouble! He loves to encourage others to draw close to God through heartfelt prayer and fresh insight from Scripture. James's books have been translated into many languages and have touched the lives of over half a million people. They include Prayers for Prodigals, Praying the Prayers of the Bible, Prayers for Your Children, Peace Through Prayer, Hope Lies Ahead (which he co-wrote with his son Geoffrey), and others. You can find teaching from James through Our Daily Bread University's popular Prayer Basics series and the Praying with Jesus DVD. James is featured weekly on the Encouraging Prayer radio broadcast and podcast and is a much-loved speaker for churches and retreats. You can find out more about what James is up to lately by visiting JamesBanks.org.
Julie Ackerman Link was a popular author with Our Daily Bread readers, and her insightful and inspiring articles have touched millions of lives around the world. Julie worked in publishing and started her career at Zondervan, where she served as managing editor of devotional and self-help books. She authored Above All, Love. After a lengthy battle with cancer, Julie went to be with the Lord in April 2015. Her books Hope For All Seasons and 100 Prayers Inspired by the Psalms were published posthumously.
Xochitl (So-Cheel) E. Dixon, a regular contributor to Our Daily Bread and God Hears Her, is a disabled Mexican author and speaker who enjoys serving Jesus with her beautifully diverse family and her service dog, Callie. She contributed to Tyndale's NLT Go Bible for Kids and is the author of Sacred Strides: Walking in the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit and Waiting for God: Trusting Him for the Answers to Every Prayer. Xochitl also celebrates God's multiethnic, multicultural, and multigenerational family while increasing disability awareness through her children's picture books, What Color Is God's Love?; Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown; and the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist, Different Like Me. With a passion for spiritual growth, discipleship, and prayer, she connects with readers at www.xedixon.com.
As a "third-culture kid" (parents from one culture who raised him in another), Tim Gustafson attended eight different schools in his first nine years of schooling, plus a "semester at sea" that comprised first grade. His adoptive parents were missionaries who traveled several times by ship. The penchant for traveling didn't stop with adulthood, and it's served him well as he continues his career as a writer and editor. A military veteran of three deployments, Tim and his wife, Leisa, have eight children--seven of whom are boys--and a granddaughter.