Monday, December 10, 2018

Devotions from the Lake {a BookLook Blogger review}

Devotions from the Lake by Betsy Painter is a gorgeous book with one hundred devotions. Very peaceful devotions.

One of the hardest things for me with where we live is that I have to be so intentional if I want to hang out by water.  I don't just happen to run across lakes, ponds, or rivers in my normal life.  Not like when I was growing up.

Hanging out on a rock by a stream, reading a book -- that sums up my "perfect place" whenever I'm asked to describe such a thing.  Or walking along a shore, particularly somewhere that looks like the cover of the book.

I like bodies of water.  So I really thought this was a great devotional for me.


Each devotion is a two-page spread, with one of those pages being a beautiful photo. In between some of these devotions are two-page photos that are pretty incredible. Many photos are scenery, but there are also photos of things like relaxing in a couple of camp chairs or kids running through sprinklers.

The photos are awesome.

The actual devotional part starts with a title and a Bible verse. The verse is included along with the reference. There are two to three paragraphs of text that relates to the photo and verse. Each devotion ends with a short one to two sentence prayer.

As an example, the devotion titled “Where the Sky Meets the Ground” quotes Matthew 3:2. The photo is gorgeous, a green meadow stretching off, with a pretty blue sky containing fluffy, white clouds. The devotion talks about drawings, where there is a clear line separating earth and sky and how we often think this way about Bible stories too. Heaven and earth have a clear line between them.

The devotional goes on to talk about a more three-dimensional way to look at this, with air (heaven) in between every blade of grass. The final paragraph states, “We can ask Jesus to give us a back-porch view of heaven. Where we draw lines separating heaven and earth, He erases them so that heaven pours out over the earth and into our lives.”



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women {a Crew review}

I have been wanting to do something with Trina as a devotional reading, or just something about growing into a godly woman that isn't too cute and trendy.  Zondervan to the rescue! Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women is intended for girls ages 13-18, so Trina is just a bit "too young" for it, but this has been working great.

My plan, which I had announced to the Crew, was to go through this five days a week with Trina.  On the weekends, between church and pantry and everything else, I knew we would never be able to be consistent,  and I didn't want to feel guilt for that.  That means I didn't plan for that to happen at all.

Good decision on my part.

We failed at doing it every weekday too, even though the readings are super short.  Our problem seems to be that we simply are not getting in the habit.

All of that just proves how much we need it.

Snuggled up, reading, trying to ignore the photographer
The product name does a pretty good job of describing exactly what this product is.  A daily devotional, for young women.  Each day is a single page, starting with a Bible verse and ending with four lines that can be used to journal.  In between there are two or three paragraphs that absolutely relate to growing into a woman of integrity.

One thing I really love about this devotional is that it is not just random devotional thoughts.  The beginning focuses on "ideal" womanhood, and then there are a few about Eve (days 7-14), and Noah's wife (days 15-18) and it continues on through Genesis.  I love that you aren't just reading random thoughts here and there, but that it is more like a little story that continues from day to day.

Sarah, for instance:
  • Day 19: talks about the crazy promises of God, and how Sarah reflects huge amounts of faith, but also shows how not to respond to life events.
  • Day 20: talks about fear and leaning on your own strength instead of asking God for protection.
  • Day 21: talks about intertwined relationships, specifically Hagar and Sarai.
  • Day 22: talks about taking matters into our own hands.
I love that quite often, one day really does add on to what we read about the day before.

Looking ahead, there are some amazing devotionals that really mean a lot to me as well, not just my daughter.  Day 196 really hit me.  There is a string of devotionals talking about Hannah (mother of Samuel) and offerings and suffering.  And then... Day 196.


This one switches gears and starts talking about Peninnah.  Yeah, I didn't recognize that name either.  She's the other wife, the one spoken of in 1 Samuel 1:6 "her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her."

It's easy to be mad at Peninnah.  Like the devotional says, "Not cool, Peninnah."  But it immediately goes on to say,
But perhaps we should turn the magnifying glass onto ourselves before we judge Peninnah too harshly.  The ugly truth is that blessings can make us smug.  When the Lord has chosen to bless us with something - material wealth, talent, intelligence, beauty, opportunity - it's very easy to feel superior to those who don't have what we've been given.
Ouch.

So while this is written to teens, some of these devotional entries absolutely hit me as well.

Smug superiority.  Lord help me not display that, and even more, help me not to feel it either.

A few dozen folks on the Crew have been using Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women in their homes.  Go, check out the other reviews!

Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women {Zondervan Review}


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