The Most Important Stories of the Bible

The Most Important Stories of the Bible offers great insight and is an excellent concise resource for a bible stories. The Most Important Stories of the Bible looks at many stories of the Bible and shares them in a brief synopsis. The stories are arranged in (mostly) chronological order. 

I found the insight added to the Bible stories helpful. There are time lines with each section of the book (ie. the first one is Creation to the Tower of Babel). I appreciated the visual representation of Biblical events. This book is a handy resource for studying the Bible or a quick reference guide. 

I was given a free copy of The Most Important Stories of the Bible from the publisher for my honest review which I was happy to do. 

When Life Doesn't Match Your Dreams!

Wow! I had the awesome opportunity to read and review When Life Doesn't Match Your Dreams {Hope for Today from 12 Women of the Bible} by Jill Eileen Smith. First, I have to be honest. I started reading this book and it was not what I expected. I almost stopped. BUT, I'm glad I didn't! I kept reading and found it to be so good!

When Life Doesn't Match Your Dreams {Hope for Today from 12 Women of the Bible} is an amazing piece of work. First Jill takes you to the story of a woman from the Bible. (She starts with Eve.) She then imagines (based on the Bible and some creativity) how it would be for Eve. Then Jill relates the story to life today and often Jill's own life.  Jill then takes you back to Eve and finally back to life today. I would often catch myself to engrossed by the story of the women of the Bible! I had to keep reminding myself it was fiction!

I really appreciated how Jill weaved some of her own life into the book.

And I have to admit, this is the first book I've read by Jill Eileen Smith! I need to check out her fiction books. She writes in a way that inspires you to check out the Bible, see and understand what the women would actually be feeling. It gives you a whole new appreciation for women of the Bible, real women!

I highly recommend When Life Doesn't Match Your Dreams {Hope for Today from 12 Women of the Bible}. I was given a free copy of the book from the publisher for my honest review. Which I was more than happy to do!

The Wiersbe Study Bible - Be Transformed by the Power of God's Word

I had the opportunity to review The Wiersbe Study Bible (New James Version).  This Bible is loaded with great resources!  First, you need to know that this IS a study Bible. Therefore, it's not light, and not one that you would tend to carry around with you!

This Bible features Dr. Weirsbe's introductions to each book, an amazing concordance (!), preaching outlines, cross references, red letters (cue the David Crowder song), 7800 verse notes (you know, the "insight" at the bottom of the page!), along with wisdom from Dr. Wiersbe.

The Wiersbe Study Bible is a great tool to have for your personal study Bible!  I enjoyed the commentary, and especially the detailed concordance in the back of the Bible. Each book of the Bible has a "Book Outline" which shares a little about each topic.  Then there is a "Book Overview" offering insight on the book. Finally there is a "Be Transformed" section, which is a challenge for the reader.

One thing I really liked about this Bible was the font size and print. It IS readable!  (Cheaters only needed for the fine print of verse cross references.)

The Wiersbe Study Bible would also be a great reference for Pastors and Layleaders.  However, I'm not so qualified to speak on that, so I'll just say that I found it as a great tool for those not in full time ministry!  I love the subtitle too: Be Transformed by the Power of God's Word!  We know that the Bible is sharper than a two edged sword. It does have power. This is a great way to get into God's Word!

I was given a free copy from the publisher for my honest review! Which I was happy to do!

Check out additional resources here.

365 Trivia Twist Devotions

Time to review another book!

365 Trivia Twist Devotions: Fun Facts and Spiritual Truths for Everyday of the Year

Since this book is geared towards older children I am excited to have my 12-year-old daughter give the pros and cons of the book!

Her pros included:
1. It shows the National day (for example May 18 is “National Visit Your Relatives Day”), 
2. Relates to a lesson to that day
3. Gives a scripture verse or passage
4. Gives an additional “on this day” information, or fun fact. (Ie. May 18 is also when David Gochnauer finished swimming 55,682 miles in a 25 yard pool!). 
5. Has good illustrations 
6. Relates the fun fact of the day to scriptures. 

Her con and this was her only con was that sometimes the explanations are long. However this took a little bit to get out of her because honestly she didn’t really have a con!!!

From a parent perspective I love the fact that they give a fun fact or National Day and the way it relates to Scripture. It’s just a short devotional that you could do in the car rider line or while waiting for the bus. This could be a great discussion starter. This is definitely a book that could be a great resource for family devotions or dinner table conversation.

Therefore, both my 12-year-old and I recommend this book! I was given a free copy for my honest review. All opinions are my own as well as my 12-year-old’s!

Overwhelming, Power Packed, Comprehensive, and Informative! The Study Bible for Women CSB

Wow! I just received The Study Bible for Women Christian Standard Bible. This Bible is amazing. As a point of reference, I generally read out of the NIV (1984) and Message ~ parallel passage Bible. So I haven’t used a study Bible in a long time. This Bible is rather large. It is very comprehensive. Not one you would carry around with you all the time. However I do think it is very beneficial.

I will refrain from much discussion on the theology aspect. However I will say that it is definitely much more gender neutral. It is geared towards women. Which, let’s admit, makes sense as it’s a women’s study Bible!!!

This Bible is full of many features including a word study, in-depth introductions to each book of the Bible, a timeline featuring both world events and biblical events, devotionals, insight into biblical womanhood, maps, a comprehensive index, studies on the doctrine of God, character profiles, and much more! Wow! This Bible could be a little overwhelming. However I think you could pick and choose which features you wanted to use. You could spend days upon days, no make that years upon years, reading through this Bible and still not take it all in. I will admit it was overwhelming. However when you look at the price this is quite a deal for this type of resource.

This is a great Bile for any woman looking to go deeper in her Bible study. I was given a free Bible for my honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own!