Reading, Writing & Pondering

I have Irish ancestry and was SO excited to receive a copy of May The Road Rise To Meet You by Jennifer Deibel. As the sub-title states, this book is "A 31-Day Devotional Inspired by Irish Blessings. Today, this book is available for purchase. A purchase link is included at the bottom of the devotional. This author spent several years living in Ireland and is the author of fiction books set in Ireland too. Each devotional in May the Road Rise to Meet You features an Irish blessing, Scripture references, a short devotional written by the author that relates to the verses and the blessing. Then the reading for the day concludes with an application section with a question or something to think about. I like to journal, so I think this is a great aspect of this book. There is space to write in the book. However, for me, this book is too pretty to write in so I just use my journal alongside this book. Writing helps me process what I am learning so I like the space to do that. If you ...

  I listened to Growing Up Saved  audiobook read by the author, Kristen LaValley. Hearing her share her stories along with how she has been healing from church hurt and trauma over the years was so helpful to me. Since I was often drinking my tea as she read, it felt like she was right alongside me drinking her own beverage and sharing like a heart sister. Like Kristen, I have my own church hurt and trauma. Maybe many of us do? I like how the author shares her truths and her heart with honesty but yet she continues to also show us that God loves us dearly. One of the things I was told when I was a young girl is that when I die, I will have to stand before God and tell the whole world all the bad things I ever did. As a result, I tried so hard to be good and was such a people pleaser from a young age. Trust me, living with this mindset of fear, wasn't good. Kristen shares her own stories along that line. Along with her stories, she shared how instead of thinking the worst about...

    Are you a woman who needs a new Bible? Or maybe you want to give a woman you know a special Bible. You may want to consider the new Every Woman's Bible in the NLT version from Tyndale House Publishers. This Bible is both beautiful and practical. It is also unique in that it is aimed specifically at women. Over 100 women from various walks of life are contributors to this Bible. Many of them are scholars. They offer  serious study and deep reflection will help you clarify your calling through personal stories, insights, inspiration, and study notes that dig into personal needs during your Bible reading—all created by women, for women. How great is that? I love this and find the information to be fascinating. It offers a new perspective for me on some Bible verses. I also understand that men have appreciated seeing a woman's point of view in this particular Bible, so this Bible may also interest the men you know for that same reason.  Physically, this Bible isn't ...

Tyndale House Publishers has had Inspire Bibles available since 2016. I bought one early on as I like to journal and art journal so this Bible was up my alley. I would have loved the Inspire Bible for Kids if it had been available when I was growing up as I loved to draw and color, besides growing up going to church and Sunday School.  The Inspire Bible for Kids is aimed at children ages seven to twelve.  Whether on their own or together with family, Inspire Bible for Kids invites children to meaningfully engage with each other and God’s Word. This Bible contains the full text of the New Living Translation and so much more to help boys and girls learn from the Bible and bring it to life. Inside this Bible, it has wide margins for taking notes, journaling and for coloring in over 400 ready-to-color line-art illustrations that are in the margins, throughout the Bible and on the end papers.   It also has all of these features:  300+ devotional readings and trivi...

  Are you a Christian who struggles with diets and eating? Fully Nourished by Brandice Lardner may be a book that you would find helpful. I like to read health-related books so I have read a lot of them. I point that out because I didn't learn a lot from this book for that reason. I thought the book was well-thought-out and the steps the author included could be helpful to the person who has these struggles. I am not that target audience though. I haven't struggled through diets. I grew up in an era when it was "in" to be skinny but I was already skinny and active so not really an issue for me at that time. However, having gone through menopause, I can say that I had to change how I then had to change how I ate to maintain the weight I wanted but it wasn't a real struggle. The author of this book has struggled with weight and body image throughout her life. She then became a health coach and personal trainer who has lived what she teaches. She is also a Christian...

  Draw Close to Jesus is a different kind of Lenten devotional by Heidi Chiavaroli. This author writes beautiful historical fiction. In this devotional, she puts her talents to use and writes devotional Bible stories based on Scripture--Biblical fiction stories in devotion.  The book starts off with an introduction where Chiavaroli shares how she came to write the book and what she hopes you will glean from these 40 Lenten readings. I also believe that God is a God of stories. I love how Jesus used parables and stories to reach people These stories are likely to bring the Bible to life for you as you read about: Joseph, Ariel, John, Tirza, Simon and more.  Each reading in Draw Close to Jesus is followed by reflection questions and a prayer. This would be a good time to do some journaling if you like to do that sort of thing. Then, if you would like to, there is also a list of more Bible verses to read to support the day's reading.   I received a copy of this bo...