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.

Candle Bible for Kids: Toddler Edition

This little story Bible is full of beautiful pictures that are sure to draw your toddlers eyes and have them asking questions about what the pictures mean.    The pictures are bright in color and very detailed.  My 2-year-old enjoyed looking at this book and carried it around for many days. 

The stories are short and a little more concise than I enjoy but my daughter seemed to like it.  It did make it easier to read just one story a night.  I also liked that it had the Biblical account located at the end of each story so that we could read it in its full version for my 4-year-old to enjoy.

This book is definitely a good read for toddlers, but I would say that children over 2 wouldn't enjoy this books as much.  They would like the pictures, though....or at least my son does.

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I received this book free from Kregel Publications in exchange for my honest review of this book.

Live to Give by Austin Gutwein

As I was reading this book, I found myself forgetting that a teenager wrote this book and was impressed at what this young man has learned in such little years in his life.  He has grasped something that many people have yet to grasp about Christ, sadly.

Austin talks about who we were made to give.  He reminds his readers that God didn't have to use us.  He is very capable of fixing things and doing things on His own.  However, He doesn't want to.  He WANTS to use us to accomplish His goals.

At the end of each chapter, there are study questions that can be used in a group setting or individually.  Reading through the questions, I was impressed with the thought that went through these questions.  They weren't cheesy questions, but questions that were well-thought out and were written with the intention of you really thinking about it and figuring out for yourself what God is asking for you to give.

The readers of this book will be asked over and over to answer two questions..."What is it that you HAVE been giving" and "What is it that you were meant to be giving?"  He challenges age because he, too, is a young man who founded Hoops of Hope and has already written a book.  His gift was playing basketball and he used that to raise nearly $3 million for AIDS relief in Africa. 

Encouragement is all throughout this book, as well as things to watch for when you give.  You can see Austin's sweet spirit of giving in the pages as you're reading.  You can tell that he really does enjoy giving of his time, his talent, and himself.

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To read more reviews on this book, visit http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13528976/livetogive

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I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Names of God Bible

I have been purposefully seeking out names of God and their meanings for a variety of reasons.  One of them is because I think it reminds us of who we are worshipping and you can't help but praise Him when you say the names of God.  With that said, this Bible TREMENDOUSLY helped me, as you can imagine by the name of the Bible. 

Written in the God's Word Translation, which uses the "closest natural language that is equivalent to that of the source meaning in the target language that is equivalent to that of the source language.  It seeks to express that meaning naturally, in a way that a native English speaker would speak or write.  Finally, it expresses the meaning with a style that preserves may of the characteristics of the source text."  I had honestly never used this translation before because I prefer the NLT or the ESV.  However, I like this Bible as a good study help, kind of like the Message.  It doesn't sum it up like the Message does, but it reads easily.

My favorite part of the Bible?  It translates the names of God throughout so that while you are reading, you know which name of God is being used. If you don't know what the meaning of God's name used there, you can flip to the front and find the listing with the definition.  I love it!  Sometimes, knowing what name of God is used in a passage helps provide more understanding and insight.

It's not a study Bible of passages, per say, but it is a Study Bible when it comes to the names of God.  Before each book of the Bible is a name of God with the definition, praying to that particular name of God, and what it means, as well as Scripture references to just a few places that name can be found.

Throughout the Scriptures, the names of God/Jesus are written in read so it stands out easily and makes it easier to pick out which name is being used.

If you are in any way interested in the names of God, get this Bible.  It's a great supportive resource to enhance your Bible study time.

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

Baby's Little Bible

Small and filled with Bible stories ranging from the Old Testament to the New Testament, this little Bible is perfect for little hands. Both my 3-year-old and my 1-year-old carry this Bible around and is often the source of many arguments!

I received the pink Bible for girls and it is full of pictures and short sentences, which make it easy to read in the short segments that a child allows. And priced less than $10, around $8 in most places, it makes it a great book to give for baby showers or birthdays.

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