Minecrafters Bible

• This Bible has not left my son's side all day. I knew it would be difficult to track this Bible down once he got a hold of it!

I was very hesitant at first to request to review this Bible because I'm not one to mix hobbies with the Bible. I'm not sure why I don't particularly like it, but it's just not something I typically do. So when I saw Minecraft on a Bible, I wasn't certain whether to go for it or not. However, knowing my son's love of Minecraft, I decided to get it to see if it was something I'd let him have.

I'll be honest. I had my review written in my head a few days ago. My mind was pretty much made up and I had even told my husband what I intended to write in my review. However, once I got the Bible, held it in my hands, and looked at it, my review completely changed. The reason I was so certain my review wouldn't be glorious is because it had said it came with gaming pages inside. I wasn't all for that. In my head, I guess I was picturing gaming pages of things that had nothing to do with the Bible. Oh, did they have a surprise for me!

Having read this particular version before, I didn't spend too much time going over the Scripture because I knew I'd obviously approve of that part of it. I searched out the gaming sections first. I mean I really flipped through each one and I got more and more excited to give this to my 7-year-old. I knew he'd be so excited.

The gaming instructions are beautifully done in a way that leaves the boys (and girls) wanting to hop on Minecraft and build the tabernacle, or the Garden from Genesis. I loved how they brought these stories to life in a way where they can read it, build it, and it sticks with them. This is another way that I can get involved in discipling them. I'm not much of a Minecraft person, but I can definitely talk about the Bible with them as they create the scenes from here. 

So from a sceptic, well-done. I should get bonus points for sneaking this out of his room after he fell asleep just so I could write this review. In fact, I've never had a review written as quickly as this one!

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I received this book free from Zondervan Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this Bible.

Women's Devotional Bible (ESV) from Crossway

I saw this Bible several times in the store, but never opened it because I'm not a big fan of the devotional Bibles. It's good for some people, but I tend to like Bibles without a lot of clutter, lots of note-taking room, and not many study notes. I like digging and finding the background myself.

With that said, I received this Bible in the mail and thrilled for several reasons. One of the reasons is because I knew that several godly women, whom I enjoy reading their books, had written devotions in here. I also was excited because it looked pretty and was well-laid out. It was very aesthetically pleasing for someone who is studying God's Word. There wasn't a lot of "clutter" on the page. The down-side is that there isn't a lot of white space to take notes, but I have my other Bibles that I use that for.

This is the perfect size to carry places. It's the typical size of the Bible, but is crammed full of helpful things. I love the dictionary in the back that explains Bible terms in a simple way. I really liked the devotional that are tailored to women and really encourage women straight from the text. It's not as if the devotional takes a Scripture verse then turns it into a lesson to fix yourself. The devotional focus on God, and through that, the woman is challenged and encouraged. I greatly appreciated that difference in this Bible vs. other devotional Bibles I've seen. It keeps the focus on God, not on me.

After using it for several months, one thing I think would be extremely helpful is a concordance or some sort of system to find other scriptures related to the individual verses. There are some, but not many. There's not really a concordance, and I find there are times when that is actually helpful. I'm sure that would greatly increase the number of pages in the Bible, but that was one thing I found lacking.

Other than that, I have used this Bible non-stop. I like the layout, the neutral colors, and it is so easy to find what you need. There is so much packed into this Bible that has greatly set it apart from other devotional Bibles. I plan to use this Bible for many years to come. Once again, Crossway has put out another helpful resource that is biblically sound and God-centered (as a Bible should be).

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I received this Bible free from Crossway Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this Bible.

Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin

My passion is for women and children to know the word deeply and to love it.  I have long been frustrated that so many times we aren't taught to study our Bibles, but to take our pastor's word or our Bible study leader's word for what the Bible teaches.  I'm very picky when it comes to Bible studies and books about Bible studies because so many times the books talk about how the Bible is about us.  It's not.  It's about God.

Thank you, Jen Wilkin, for a wonderful book on how to be a woman of the Word.  She was clear, concise, and spoke in everyday language.  She challenged me and affirmed me at the same time. I like how she reminded readers that the Bible is not about us.  It's about God.  We have to know who God is so we know who we are. 

While I was reading this book, all I wanted to do was to go back and study the Bible! She tells her readers how to study the Bible with: purpose, perspective, patience, process, and prayer.  I have taken those into my own quiet times and have been purposeful about adding all of these to my quiet time. It's so easy to rush through and I appreciate her reminders not to do so.

I also like the section for Teacher Help.  It was very informative on leading a group of women and things you could do and things to watch out for so as not to do.

I would love to use this study in discipleship, either with a group of women or one-on-one.  It's a good book for personal use, too.

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I received this book free from Crossway Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

The Family of Jesus by Karen Kingsbury

Wow!  After having spent this whole year in the book of Matthew for my personal study, I'm so glad this book came at the time of my final few chapters of study.  This was a beautiful way to end my Matthew study.  I came to love Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, James, and John the Baptist in a new way.

I think it's easy to de-personalize the characters in the Bible since information about many of them is limited.  Then there's some who were so close to God or so close to Jesus that we forget that they could possibly be scared or have normal feelings like we do. 

One person I always did that to was John the Baptist.  I never stopped to think about his lonely time in prison and how he was left with his own thoughts. I'm sure he battled fears and disappointment.  I loved stopping to really ponder who these people were and remind myself they were, in fact, humans too. 

There is a Bible study at the end that you could easily do as a small group study, Women's study, or personal study.  It has personal questions for personal study and then group discussion questions.

It's hard to beat the Baxter series, but I think this book is my favorite so far.  I hope she does more with the people in the Bible, such as others in the line of Jesus.  There's a hint of that happening with this being part of the Life-Changing Bible Study Series.

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I received this book free from Howard Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Finding Spiritual Whitespace by Bonnie Gray

Bonnie Gray writes this book with such honesty.  The pages are filled with her own personal journey with PTSD and anxiety. Not only that, but the book takes her on a journey to rest. I want to go back through this book at a slower pace and spend some time journaling and reflecting on the things mentioned in this book.

I was challenged by the idea of rest. We all know we need it and hear that we are to rest in God. However, how many are truly doing that? Rest is a word that I really want to study and meditate on. I think this book jumpstarted my study! 

There was so much reflection that each chapter in this book offers. There are both practical, physical things to consider and spiritual things that we need to look at.

The thing that I thought a lot about as I was reading is that if I'm honest with myself, idols interfere a lot with me resting in God. I don't think that we realize just how much "stuff" we cram into our lives and how little "Jesus" we give time for. We fill it up with good things, but not necessarily with Jesus. We do and forget that in order to do, we have to know Him. Knowing Him comes with those quiet times.

This would be a wonderful study with a women's group or with a small group of women. There would be a lot of time for reflection and discussion.

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I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung

This is one book that was perfectly timed for me.  I had already recognized the problem in my life, confessed it, and have been seeking Biblical wisdom as to how to handle some of these issues in my own life.  I respect Kevin DeYoung and am so thankful that God had prepped me to hear from him.

Crazy Busy doesn't give you a 5-point plan on  how to get out of the business of life.  It doesn't tell you how to manage your time better.  It does tell you 7 pitfalls to watch for as you go about your busy life.  It reminds you of the things that really aren't important but that we think are important.  It reminds us that if we are too busy to sit at the feet of Jesus every day, then we're never going to get through the craziness of life.  It reminds us how important rest and sleep are, both of which we seem to diminish the importance of at different times of our lives. 

I personally found the part about the parent report card among kids very convicting, because I have recognized for a while that when I am tired and stressed I tend to take out my anger and frustration on my children.  I loved how he reminded me that my kids will remember my character more than anything else about me. 

I appreciated the honesty in this book.  It's written from a personal perspective and I loved the section with Mary and Martha. I have struggled with the same thoughts over Martha because I am wired more like her.  It made me feel so much better to know that I'm not alone in my thoughts over how I would have responded if I were Martha.  But I loved the reminder about Mary.  That has stuck with me.

This book is going on my shelf and will be pulled out many times.  It's already been recommended to many that I know who are struggling with busyness. I appreciate how the focus is on Christ and not our abilities, because we will never have the ability to control the busyness.  I love how he always pointed to Jesus as the example and not some man.  The biblical examples were perfect and not taken out of context.  I'll ever be grateful that this book was written and came at a time where God had prepped me to action and has since given me the peace I had been searching for after wrestling with Him over decisions.  Thank you, Kevin DeYoung!

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I received this book free from Crossway in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.