Reading, Writing & Pondering

      I recently received two devotional church year journals to review. One is for adults and the other is for children. What I like about the adult journal is that it follows the liturgical year. The book itself is beautiful. The readings are in a larger print, which I personally like, as they are easy to pick up and read. At the front of the book, there is a page describing how to use the journal and then a few that explain what the church year is.  The other nice is, is that this book starts right out with Advent so it is ready to use right now. The Advent readings include Bible verses, commentary, hymns, prayers and space to write. All of the readings for various events throughout the church year include a similar style. I really like this style. They give a lot of food for thought and space to write. The Enduring Grace Church Year Journal For Kids is a larger workbook-sized paperback book. This is a book for elementary-aged kids and their families to read throu...

God, You Are: 20 Promises from the Psalms for Kids by William R. Osborne is written by a pastor as a devotional. There are 20 short "You are" devotionals written to help children understand the character of God. Each reading starts with a Bible verse, then there is a short devotional reading, followed by a prayer. God You are Holy, My Deliverer, a Shepherd, My Shield, and Everywhere. These are just a few of the 20 topics addressed in discussing God's character in this book. There are beautiful illustrations by Brad Woodard for all of the devotions. I think this a a nice devotional that could be used for family devotions, home-school devotions, Sunday School devotions or for another similar group of children. The book is 48 pages long and is about 7.2 by 8 inches in size. It is hardcover but does not have a dust jacket. God You Are is aimed at children ages four to eight but I think it would be good for the whole family if you use it in a family setting. I received a copy...

  I have always enjoyed Sarah Young's books. Many times they make me think and we have also used her children's books when I was homeschooling my son. We went through Jesus Calling and another book following that one. The readings in those books are all from the perspective of Jesus talking to the reader. What I like about Jesus Listens is that it is from a prayerful perspective and Jesus listening to you. In the introduction, the author says that she hopes that the daily prayers to Jesus in this book would be just a starting point. She hopes that they will invite the reader to share their thoughts and feeling as well as other things happening in their lives. She says she hopes that the prayers in the book will be just the start of conversations with Him. I like that idea. Sometimes written prayers don't quite fit your own situation and this invites the reader to make it their own. There are 365 daily readings that all start with a Bible verse, then the prayer to Jesus and ...

  Are you children fans of VeggieTales? Mine sure were. Now, VeggieTales God's Word for Me: 365 Devos for Boys and 365 Devos for Girls are available. These devotional books include short devotions for boys and girls ages four to eight.  Each version of God's Word for Me measures about 5 by 7 inches. They are a good size to carry along in a backpack or book bag as well as fitting nicely on a nightstand. Each book has 365 devotional readings that include a Bible verse, a short reading, a though of the day and a short prayer. The pages are colorfully illustrated with Veggietales too.  I know my son would have enjoyed these readings when he was young. He had a hard time sitting still and he liked Veggietales. This would have been a good book for him as the readings are short. They also are somewhat interactive as the thought of the day is often a question or something to do. This Veggietale devotional is something we may have also used before homeschooling or before bed. I t...

  I don't know about you but I have been a fan of coloring since I was little and could hold my crayon. Coloring God's Love for Me: 100 Devotions to Inspire Young Hearts by Janae Dueck is a quality coloring book that combines coloring with devotionals to inspire children ages 6 to 9--but I think it is inspiring for older children and adults too. Coloring God's Love for Me has brief devotionals written in language that early elementary children can understand and relate to. Each one starts out with a Bible verse and follows with a short reading that relates to every day life today. Along with the coloring pages, there are also a number of activity pages that include journaling, mazes, drawing and more. It is a fun book with readings that could both inspire young hearts to learn and encourage them to grow, as well as help them express a creative side while they do it. Coloring God's Love for Me would also be a great book to use for devotions while Homeschooling.  The p...

      Sometimes growing up is both hard and scary. Roar Like a Lion by Levi Lusko with Tama Fortner is a book of 90 devotional to help kids feel more courageous in the faith as they live in this world today. Roar Like a Lion is written for kids ages 6 to 10 years old. Lusko talks about lions in the introduction and I learned quite a bit about lions in this short space. He also tells us that he wrote this book in honor of his daughter, Lenya, who passed away. At the end of the introduction, he tells readers that there are twenty anchors hidden throughout the book and invites kids to find them all. He writes one devotion called, The Anchor, in which he explains why anchors are an important symbol to him in his Christian faith.  Each of the 90 devotionals starts with a Bible verse, includes a Christian reading to relate to verse to what kids may be facing. Some readings include a Did you know? section with some real life history to learn, while others include a small ...