Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Do you have favorite books in the Bible? Proverbs is one of mine. I like the practical day to day advice. Today, Joyce Meyer's new book about Proverbs releases: In Search of Wisdom .  In Search of Wisdom is a straight forward book with a chapter on each of the 31 chapters of Proverbs, an introduction and a conclusion. In the Introduction, Meyer encourages readers to read each book of Proverb before reading the corresponding chapter. In each chapter, Meyers then shares commentary on verses throughout the chapter. She also asks questions to inspire you to think about how you are living your life with respect to the wisdom of the verses in that chapter. Meyer emphasizes how important wisdom is to living a life for God throughout the book. In the conclusion, she once again illustrates just how important it is. I appreciate how practical and easy to read In Search of Wisdom is. Meyer always offers straightforward commentary and does  a great job of helping readers understa...

Did you know that there is only one prayer in all of Proverbs? In The Prayer of Agur , Jay Payleitner talks about this prayer and the rest of the proverb written by Agur. The Prayer of Agur is a small book with a big message. I spent most of last week reading through this book in the mornings. I enjoyed looking at the 30th Proverb from his perspective. Payleitner breaks the Proverb down in to sections and gives the reader insights into both the writer and the wisdom from this Proverb. In the back of the book, he also includes a complete NIV version of the Proverb and discussion questions for each chapter. I think The Prayer of Agur would be a great book to use for Sunday School or small group to study together. I did enjoy the author's insights although I think they could be expanded on within a group context. He talks a lot about discovering your sweet spot in life and being where God wants you to be. He makes that sound fairly easy in the book but I think as we live life...

I have watched Dr. David Jeremiah on TV for many years. I always appreciate his Bible wisdom and how he tells a story in his sermons. I was excited to get a copy of The Jeremiah Study Bible: Psalms and Proverbs edition. The Psalms and Proverbs edition of The Jeremiah Study Bible is in an easy-to-carry-around size at a little over 5 by 8 inches. It comes in the English Standard Version and has an elegantly bond durable cover that I think is leather. Inside it is a mix of dark easy to read print and red letter for heading and Book introduction written by Dr. David Jeremiah. At the bottom of each page are study notes and there is also some cross referencing. Side Bars are also prolific throughout the book and full of good information like Why do bad things happen to Believers?, Why we should praise God, Why pray? Along with the Scriptures, Dr. David Jeremiah gives a lot of food for thought in these short blurbs. I like this two-book edition of The Jeremiah Study Bible a lot. It was...

I think Proverbs are some of the most practical verses from the Bible to apply to every day life. I try to read some every day. 3 Proverbs to Light Your Path by Liz Curtis Higgs takes thirty-one verses from Proverbs, studies them, and then relates them all to modern life today. In 31 Proverbs to light Your Path, Higgs has a reading for each of the 31 highlighted Proverbs. She shares the verse and then relates a story that helps the reader relate that verse to real-life today. At the end of the reading for the day, she offers a prayer. There is also a One Minute, One Step activity challenge to act out what you have learned for the day. Higgs encourages you to really take the short amount of time to do these activities. "By moving straight from words to actions, we can immediately apply what we've learned and discover how God uses even the smallest steps to lead us in the right direction," she says. One of the last, and best, features of this book is a Study Guide. Hig...

Proverbs is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I like all of the practical wisdom this book has to offer for living life today. Street Smarts From Proverbs by Mitch Kruse with DJ Williams specifically focuses on the wisdom that Proverbs offers in the realm of conflicts. Kruse covers conflicts of all kinds--marriage and family, those at work, those with authority figures and more. Kruse suggests readers read a chapter of Proverbs from the Bible every day. He actually suggests 3 more ways to add to that plan if you want to step up your game and read through the whole Bible and learn more. I used to read a chapter of Proverbs every day and then I got out of the habit during our recent moves. This book reminded me of how much I had gleaned from that habit and has me reading Proverbs again. In Street Smarts from Proverbs , Kruse uses real-life stories, Bible stories and offers simple steps for remembering ways to use the wisdom of Proverbs in conflict management. Kruse introduces...