BOOK REVIEW: Jesus Always By Sarah Young

Posted on by Mary

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Jesus Always is a devotional book with 365 days worth of thoughts focusing you on Jesus. Sarah is author of other books such as Jesus Calling, Jesus Today and Jesus Lives.

(Personal disclaimer: I have not read other books by Sarah Young, this was my first so this is completely unbiased and not based on the other works with like titles.) These devotionals are written as though they were personal notes written by Jesus encouraging you on your daily journey with Him. Most of the devotions are one page long. Now the book itself is lovely. It is small, a lovely shade of pearlescent purple and has a chalice and a loaf of bread on the front. The front cover is padded and the paper and print is high quality. I loved the feel of this book in my hands.

I must confess that it worries me when an author takes on the role of Jesus….talking to me as He would, however this book did not arise such concerns as I read the pages.

I honestly think the book is beautiful aesthetically and well thought out passages from the Bible included at the end of each days reading. However there is next to no scripture mentioned in the body of the devotion each day, so it is easily skipped and if the reader is not diligent the reader could loose sight of what is really important and inadvertently putting the authors words of the book over that of Scripture.

I loved the fact that these devotions were not entirely written in a script or italicized print and was easier to read in comparison to other devotional books. (this is huge since I am visually impaired)

I greatly appreciated Sarah’s writing ability and her ability to communicate God’s truths in such a way that made you feel as though you and Jesus were having coffee together talking about life. I sincerely look forward to re-reading this book in the future. and I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5.

This book was provided for review purposes by BookLook Bloggers This review is the honest opinion of the blogger and I am in no way compensated for positive reviews.

Book Review :NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible By Craig S. Keener & John H. Walton, General Editors

Posted on by Mary

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NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
By Craig S. Keener & John H. Walton, General Editors

This study Bible is based on the understanding the importance of context…and context is key..  Many Biblical scholars say this is key to understanding  the Bible…my husband is one of those scholars.  So of course I had him look at it and give me his honest opinion.  I have used it to study now for About two months.   It is chock full of helpful interesting information.  the Bible itself is designed well.  When you take the dust jacket off the hardcover you will quickly notice something unique.  Even though it is a hard cover the design on the cover itself looks just like a regular Bible.  There is another cover option as well.  I actually got to hold it in my hands this weekend at a local Christian bookstore,,,AND IT WAS GORGEOUS! it is a cloth  hard bound edition with a lovely teal-ish green  pattern with bound corners and spine!  I oohed and Ahhh’d over it a while in the store 🙂

The pages of the bible itself have a tan hue that graces the edge and the maps and pictures are of a very high quality.   I felt as though I was opening a true treasure as I flipped through it’s pages, exploring the details nestled deep within.

The content?translation.  The NIV is one of our top choices for translation and we base our choices on My husbands work with the Greek and Hebrew Texts and along with his studies  in Linguistics and Textual cricisim.  so of course when It comes to a study bible I am going to turn to him for advice,  He was very excited to see one of the authors was co-author of the Study notes section and was concerned with the other.  This is due mostly because this author has a tendency to weave his  pet issues as fact .    Upon reading the notes that pertain to his pet issues my husband concluded that he stuck with the facts and the context rather than go off on rabbit trails.  I am not trained in Greek, Hebrew, or other biblical languages as my husband is so I rely on his expertise to make sure these things are rock solid before I put my stamp of approval on them.    I have use the study notes as I have been working my way through Titus and I have found them to be informative and very helpful in understanding the context of whats going on the passage.

This Bible has potential of becoming a great to tool to both the scholar and the layman alike.  It is easily understood AND enjoyed.  It makes the Bible come alive as you learn about customs, cultures, and backgrounds of why things happened in the Bible the way they did.   I encourage you to check out this Bible, its what I would call a must have for Bible Study!

The only downside to the Bible in my option for this legally blind girl is the print is Soooo tiny, especially in the Study notes area.

I give this Bible a 5 out of 5 stars!!

 

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for providing me with a free copy for review purposes.  in no way is there a positive review expected  in return.

This Hula Hoop Girl Just Dropped Half Her Hoops

Posted on by Mary

 

This Hula Hoop Girl Just Dropped Half Her Hoops

My friend September McCarthy (who blogs at One September Day and is founder of the Raising Generations Today conference) wrote a book a while back called Hula Hoop Girl. You can find it on Amazon. (This is NOT an affiliate link) I think it is the first book I read on this journey God has taken me on over the last two years that looks so differently than I have ever lived. It has been a journey of letting things go. (Instead of piling things on and living at a level of insanity no person can handle

Ministries

Raising Generations Today coRelationships

Chores

and now something I REALLY enjoy.

I sit here tonight writing and I must confess….I. AM. EXHAUSTED. I like feeling exhausted…NO REALLY, it means I have accomplished something, however not my new exhaustion…not one bit. Matter of fact I hit this time in the evening and I feel plum tuckered out…and I feel as though the only thing I have to show for it is 4 children who are still alive. Three of them are VERY exhausted too, not of their own choosing either, their bus schedule is a MESS. (They have to get up at 5:30 to be on the bus at 6:30, then they get home at 4:30…) Yep that is a 10 hour day. Most adults only work 8 hours a day. the meltdowns and crabiness is unreal. They go to bed at 7:30 every night except Thursdays when we have AWANA. That night they go to bed between 8:30 AND 8:45. It is their only extracurricular activity.

God has really taken me on this Journey for two years now of just letting things go. Hula Hoops if you will. I have let ministries go that I was just doing because they needed somebody to fill the gap. I wasn’t good at that nor did I enjoy them.) I have let gardening go, because that is what was programmed into me that every good wife and mom does…..even if you aren’t good at it, don’t have time to learn to be good at it…and hate it. Yep you read that right. I don’t like to garden and for the last decade I have killed my back and knees doing something I dread….(not like high school and college where I killed my knees doing something I LOVE *basketball* !!

But tonight as I sat contemplating something that is begging me across the room, my planner, what’s more is it is IN my planner. It is my goals list for 2016. I am a goal driven person by nature. I have to-do lists coming out my ears and I work hard on them all. Its how I feel accomplished, like Im getting somewhere. BUT here’s the glitch….I CAN’T. I have moved past the stage of overwhelmed and now I am just being REALISTIC. This hoop has been a pleasure thing for me, but it has also been a part of my growth as well. So there are 42 books on that list…ranging from classic fiction to Great Christian authors whom I know and love. 42 books has been reached before. BUT in my current place in life I am only being realistic when I say I can’t…at least not now. So just like the heap of other hoops on the ground I’m tossing the hoop of my reading list to the ground. I can always pick the hoops back up again. I am pretty sure this one is the hardest though because this one I actually enjoy….I love to read. I love checking books off the list. Don’t worry though my title of book nerd will still be proudly worn. I’m not giving up reading…oh no, however there will be no list (EEEK did I really just say that?) I will be shooting for 2 books a month rather than 4 (there’s that Goal thing slipping in) and I will be choosing said books as I go….and as for the rest of this year? I think Im going to focus on finishing books Ive already started and a few new ones that have caught my eye (that I already own.) And most importantly I’m not going to stress. I’m actually going to take the lists out of my planner altogether. I’m sure that at some point in my life I will again pick up that shiny purple and green hula hoop and give it a go again but for now in this present season, it can sit on top of the heap of other broken worn out hula hoops and I am content.

True Confession: On Brokenness and Breaking the Silence….

Posted on by Mary

brokennessBrokenness comes in all shapes and sizes.

Sometimes it comes in the form of a diagnosis that we believe ends in no good for our future. I received such a diagnosis at ripe old age of 16. I had been diagnosed since the age of 13 with age-related Macular Degeneration. You may ask how on earth could you be 13 and have anything age-related? But the dilemma came with the type of Macular Degeneration I have. There are two forms, Wet and Dry. Juvenile on-set is Dry. however Age- related is either Dry or Wet, Well I have wet, and since the age of 13 I have had the eyes of a 65 year old. Minus a year and a half after I had surgery but I still had a shadow. An ever constant reminder that something could and did show back up again. At 16, or the month before I turned 16. All I could think about was the freedom that came with a car. Then I got scared. My freedom stripped away. Who wanted a damaged girl.? (My husband of now 13 years did that’s who.) What had gone wrong to make God mad at me? I heard nothing about grace in the church I grew up in. All that echoed through my head was countless Sunday school stories that said if you sin, bad things happen. And bad things happen, when you sin. I thought my life was over. And in all honesty there were days I thought about ending it all. I would be forever legally blind.

Then there are the phone calls people dread….all people. You know the ones, I’m sorry honey but Gram passed away. Did I mention that it was phone call #11….in a year!

And then there is the moment you hear the service coordinator (you have already worked with the previous two years) as you explain what’s going on (what you already know in your soul) as she says, oh Mary I am so sorry I think we missed it. I am pretty sure he has AUTISM.

Or two years later when you are standing in your church and your little boy runs out of a classroom yelling the most awful thing you could ever imagine……your head swims. Continue reading “True Confession: On Brokenness and Breaking the Silence….” →

TRUE CONFESSION: On Being Distracted….

Posted on by Mary

DistractedAre you distracted? I know I am. I have been distracted for as long as I can remember. Think I’m exaggerating ?Ask my mom….NO JOKE. Homework in the afternoon after school I’d rather be doing a million other things besides that! Or how about my teachers, or you could just look at the comments on my report cards. I probably could have been diagnosed with ADD, matter of fact I bet I could pass the test for adult ADD, or As I like to refer to it as ADOS – Attention Deficit, OHHHH Shiny- Thanks Mark Hall from Casting Crowns (see his testimony for more explanation)

Oh wait what were we talking about? Oh right, DISTRACTIONS!

I even get distracted from sleep..no seriously, IT JUST HAPPENED. I have planned into my time here at camp for naps. One a day. Every day. I set my alarm because then I won’t sleep too long, and I really want to sleep at night. Anyway in order to actually hear my alarm I have to have the sound turned up. I keep my sound turned down for both services and while I write and read…BECAUSE IT DISTRACTS ME! It keeps me from getting the things done I need or want to accomplish. I don’t need to jump at every ding, or dong….BUT today I was so close to being sound asleep then I heard the ding. SCARED ME TO DEATH! I tried my best to ignore it, but I. Just. Couldn’t. Do. It. So I grabbed my phone.

Voicemail.

Listened to it.

“Try again”

Yep that is all it said. “TRY AGAIN” I didn’t recognize the number, it was out of state. GRRRR. And when I jolt out of sleep there is just no going back so here I am.

Writing.

Something I LOVE to do.

But in all honesty this isn’t exactly the type of distraction I want to talk to you about. It actually happened in my reading Yesterday I was reading The Battle Plan for Prayer by Stephen and Alex Kendrick. and They made a statement that left me with my mouth gaping open. “no Church program, religious event, political effort or humanitarian cause can trump the awesome power of what God can do in the response to the prayers of his people.” Now this struck a much deeper chord with me and Im going to take this a little deeper than they did. So let’s ask this question…..what is the opposite of distraction?

Continue reading “TRUE CONFESSION: On Being Distracted….” →