Who I Am With You

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I love it when a book comes in the mail – and you read it, love it – and it introduces you to a whole new author that you’ve not read before.  When I finished Who I Am With You – I read one of Hatcher’s Christmas novellas over the winter holidays.

Who I Am With You tells a story of learning how to move on after heartache – moving on after life doesn’t turn out how you think it is supposed to.  It is endearing and a good Christian Romance that isn’t too cheesy.

At 300 pages it is a lovely day read, curled up in a blanket on a couch!

Thank you Thomas Nelson for the book – and all opinions are my own.

Here is a giveaway where you can win a copy of the book!  Go check it out!

New Bible Study Helps

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If you are anything like me, sometimes you get in a rut with your time in the Word.  Maybe not, but I know I do.  If I always study the Word in the same way, I get stale (not the Word).

So, I thought I would highlight some new(er) Bible study helps. Maybe these will be new to you, maybe you will have tried them and love them.

KJV Know the Word Study Bible.  This is a new Bible from Thomas Nelson.  I grew u with KJV at my Christian school.  The verses that I have memorized over the years are a hybrid of KJV, ESV, NIV, NASB.  One thing I love about technology these days is to read the Bible in so many different translations – and the KJV is a good one.  This new Bible has topical study notes on subjects: the Trinity, Love, Covenant, Purpose, Church, etc.  These are helpful if you are doing a topical study in your Bible study.  There are helpful footnotes on the bottom margin so you can access it easily as you are reading.  This Bible has book introductions which are helpful if you are doing a read through the Bible, you are getting a brief synopsis and knowledge about the book before you read it. So, if you want a very neutral (not personality-driven study Bible) this new one is a good, basic one.

The Daily Grace Co.  Kristin produces Bible studies that I think are ideal for the beginner.

She Reads Truth – this is an easy app that you can have on your phone right when you wake up, get in the Word right away, or you can purchase their Bible studies.  Solid material.

What are some Bible study tools that you use?

Thanks Litfuse and Thomas Nelson for the KJV Bible.  All thoughts are my own.

The Bronte Plot

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I guess sometimes it is hard on your heart to read books about people who get to travel when you don’t get to do it anymore that often (and would really love to).

But, I really enjoyed the Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay.  Christian fiction without being sappy Christian-ese throughout the book.

A love of books and travel.

A family that has real problems – but not dismissing the problems but knowing that generational sin has an impact on us and what we do with it and its impact with shape our own lives.

Doubts with life and death.

And hope.  Hope is always fitting in a Christian fiction.  Not hope that all is going to work out perfectly.  But hope in a God who does all things well.  That’s of course where our hope lies.

I think my only thing I would do different in this book is not make the conclusion about 2 pages long.  I wanted a continuation of this book based on where it ended.  I would have liked that with her Dear Mr. Knightley too.  So, I guess that’s a good thing!  How about it Katherine Reay – sequels?

Dear Mr Knightley

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I think I might be becoming more of a fiction reader.  As long a its good fiction.

With being a mom and a creative and a wife, sometimes I don’t have the mental capacity to read a Christian living non-fiction book.  Its a lot of hard heart work.

And Christian fiction really doesn’t do it for me a whole lot because it is filled with cheesy loaded Christian-ese, and it is sorta predictable.

This is why I liked about Katherine Reay’s book Dear Mr. Knightley.  About halfway through the book I looked on the spine to see Thomas Nelson, a Christian publisher.  I was surprised.  I just thought it was a clean novel, chicklit, that was fun with a good story.

By the time I finished the book (2 days later), I had fallen in love with the author’s way of storytelling, loved her letter forms for this novel. and couldn’t wait to get my hands on her other books.

If you love non-overbearing Christian fiction, Jane Austen, books, literature, a good chicklit story without a bunch of sex and language – then this is your book.

What I loved about this book from a personal side : growth.  I thought back to what I was like when I was 23.  I had just started seminary.  I moved away from everyone I knew.  I was on my own.  I was thin for the first time in my life.  I could really choose to be anything I wanted.  I was growing.  I was growing in faith.  I had finally come to realize that the world as I knew it wasn’t perfect.

And you know what, I keep growing. I keep going through experiences and daily life that make me think, ponder, and grow.

I like reading books that help me think about who I am – and make it entertaining too.

Book Review and Giveaway: Read and Share Bible (Thomas Nelson)

posted in: Bible, Books | 5

The kind folks at Thomas Nelson Publishers recently contacted me about doing a book review on their Read and Share Bible and gave me one to giveaway to one of my readers.  So, to be elegible for this giveaway, just leave a comment about one amazing thing you do in your family worship or children’s worship at church to get the Bible into your children’s hearts.  These comments alone will be a blessing to me in the ministry I’m involved in.

I have to say there is one children’s Bible out there that I use as a plumb line for all others.  Unfortunately, this one doesn’t match up, but it does have some great qualities.  Here are the impressive traits about this children’s Bible:

1.  The amount of stories.  Some children’s Bible only has the “popular” stories or ones that are often told.  This Bible has over 200 stories retold by Gwen Ellis.

2.  I love the user-friendliness of this Bible.  There is a table of contents (including topics, Scripture passages, and page number).  Ok, I know this may not sound like much.  But, I find it difficult in other children’s Bibles to find the story corresponding to the passage in the “real” Bible.

3.  At the end of every story, there is a question.  So what?  This is a helpful tool for parents as they take the leadership in their children’s lives as their primary discipler.  Some parents have no clue what it means to teach their children about worship and Jesus.  Maybe they didn’t grow up in a home with Christian parents who led in family worship?  Maybe they are new believers who don’t know what that might look like.  Thankful these questions are there so parents can have a helpful resource for starting conversations with their children about what it means to treasure Christ.

So, what are your tips for getting the Word in the lives and hearts of children?  Leave your comment and I’ll choose a winner and send out the Bible on Tuesday, January 11th.

Thanks Thomas Nelson!