Review: Alexander Maclaren Study Bible

Hello, Dear Readers!

I am back with another Bible review, the Alexander Maclaren Study Bible, NKJV, HarperCollins Christian Publishing. 

I was intrigued by this Bible, because although Alexander Maclaren was considered by many to be one of the best preachers of the 19th century (he was known as as the "Prince of Expositors"), and held positions in the Baptist Union of Great Britain, I was not particularly aware of him historically, being much more familiar with his contemporary (the "Prince of Preachers"), Charles H. Spurgeon. 

I was also interested, given my background as a Baptist PK (Preacher's Kid), in that he would have been a contemporary of my GGG-Grandfather, Hugh Duncan. Hugh, who would emigrate to Montana and become a Methodist circuit-riding preacher was born two years before Maclaren, also in Glasgow, Scotland. Just a lot of connections that I find interesting, and I only wish my dad was still around to have a conversation with about Maclaren.  

A little more background on Maclaren, before I dive into the review of the Bible. As mentioned, he was a contemporary of Spurgeon. They were both highly acclaimed ministers in Great Britain. Maclaren was more of the quiet, scholarly type, focusing on exegesis (critical explanation of a text and what its original intent and meaning is), and his published sermons were globally received with acclaim for remarkable biblical insights delivered in a poetic style vs Spurgeon's active ministry, which included traveling and preaching to large crowds, and establishing a college, orphanage, and publishing house (you could say he was the Billy Graham of his day). That being said, scholars continue to read and study Maclaren's works, and their poetic, timeless relevance are now available for us to enjoy in this new study Bible. 

Now about the Alexander Maclaren Study Bible. 

• Physically, it is very pleasing and impressive. The copy I was sent was the Black/Gray Leathersoft Comfort Print (It also comes in Brown Leathersoft, a light Blue Leathersoft, and a Hardcover version). 
• Little aesthetic details that I appreciate~ there are two bookmark ribbons (of different colors), and the gilt edges of the pages, which in this case are silver with a design.

• 
  The easy to read 9pt "Comfort Print"font used in this Bible is "exclusive to Thomas Nelson Comfort Print® type fonts uniquely created for the NKJV, KJV, NET, NIV, NASB. These exclusive family of fonts are expertly designed reflect the history and legacy of each translation, and also use the latest in the art and science of typography design to create a smooth reading experience."*
  
• 
  One of the first things I noticed was the huge concordance in the back. One of my favorite tools to use when using a study bible, and although not exhaustive, quite convenient!
• 
  Center-column cross-references that link topics throughout the entire Bible. 
  
• 
  Book introductions exploring each book’s background and key themes with insights from Maclaren’s work
  
• 
  Bottom of page study notes (over 1,400) in Maclaren's words gleaned from his over 1,500 published sermons. 
  
• 
  380 Christ Connection notes showing the relevance of Christ to all Scripture
• 380 Life Application notes to help you live out the Bible’s principles
  
• 209 Passage Outlines based on Maclaren’s sermon outlines help to guide in a systematic study of key texts
• 
  Index of Features just pior to the Concordance shows where the 3 previously mentioned features, the Christ Connection notes, the Life Application Notes, and the Passage Outlines can be found in each book of the Bible.
  
• One of the features mentioned talks about 8 included essays, but I was only able to locate 2 of them, curiously enough also the only two that are pictured on the website~ so, something to look for, I suppose? 
• p820 (in Isaiah) What is the Significance of Christ's Death?
• p1436 (in Hebrews) Why Did Maclaren Regard the Bible as Unique?

Ultimately, I am looking forward to using this Bible more, to discover fresh insights from a preacher that might have been a friend of my GGG-Grandfather! 

Purchase your copy of the Alexander Maclaren Study Bible today on Amazon or Thomas Nelson!
US residents can also enter my giveaway for a copy of the Alexander Maclaren Study Bible. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Blessings~

 

Many thanks to HarperCollins Christian Publishing for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

#MaclarenStudyBibleMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

*https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/comfort-print/

Adored: 365-day Devotional (Review and Giveaway)

Looking for a gift for your teen (13 - College) daughter, niece, granddaughter, friend that will offer a dose of daily spiritual uplift? I'm looking forward to sending this one back to PA with my daughter this January when she returns to college!

Adored: 365-day Devotional from Zondervan is a lovely book in shades of blue, white, and gold with (mostly) one verse devotionals written for young women of today. There are a variety of topics addressed~ some are more generally related to knowing and understanding more about God and His Love for them. Others include some that younger teens may be experiencing for the first time, like bullying and dealing with social media, while there are others that are still very applicable to older teens/college aged young women as they tackle friendships and dating.

This would be a lovely gift for any young lady in your life, and while it can be started any day of any year, the new year is always a good time to put devotional habits into practice!

List Price $14.99
Purchase at Christian Book Distributors
You can visit Zondervan's Adored Devotional page and receive a free 7-day download to get a feel for what is offered in the entire book.

You can also enter my giveaway for a free copy of Adored 365 Devotions for Young Women if you wait just a minute or the rafflecopter form to load.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blessings~

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

 #AdoredByGod #FlyBy

My Holy Bible for Girls, Journal Edition (Review)

Have you, your daughters, nieces, friends, cousins, mothers, aunts, etc. been intrigued by the current Bible Journaling trend?  I *love* that there is a trend out there concerning reading the Bible! How awesome is that?  Well, I was sent a lovely Journaling Bible for review, My Holy Bible for Girls, Journal Edition, and I want to share some photos and my thoughts on this particular Edition (and suggest that it is for girls of all ages, not just the young'ns. :) )

The cover of this Bible is a sturdy turquoise hardcover with a lovely foil design, featuring gold, white and pink accents.

The spine is pretty, too! 

The attached pink elastic band holds the Bible closed when not in use (Which is helpful in protecting the spine of hardcover Bibles), and the turquoise passage marker ribbon helps to keep your place.

The text is the very readable NIV, and while not the version I use to memorize, a very good version for general Bible use/journaling. There are no additional printed notes or study aids, so this will become a personalized Bible with the addition of your notes and thoughts. 

The pages are thicker than the typical Bible, which allows them to hold up better to highlighting, underlining, note-taking and drawing. I will observe that you can still see the text through from the other side, so I wouldn't recommend using extremely bold coloring, unless you don't mind it showing through.

Each page has a nice wide, lightly lined column to use for writing notes, thoughts, or adding drawings to the passage. I particularly appreciate that the lines are not heavy or bold, so that if you wish to exercise your artistic abilities, the lines won't really detract from that.

Although my daughter had received a journaling Bible previously (I purchased it when there weren't many options out there, and I will add that it was the version she memorizes in), she very drawn to the sparkly cover with it's butterfly and doily-like decorations~ again, definitely not a "little girls" Bible only.

If you are contemplating using a Bible devotionally, and planning to add notes or artwork, this would not be a bad choice, and I think it would also make a lovely gift for someone, either as an encouragement or to mark a special occasion. Side note: this Bible comes with other cover options: pink, minty white, and purple, if the turquoise isn't quite what you're looking for. :)

Blessings~

Thank you to Handlebar Marketing for my review copy

New Year, New Beginnings, New Beginner's Bible! (Review)

I don't know about you, but in our house we have always enjoyed a good storybook Bible for our children. Each of our kids has grown up with nightly Bible stories, and in fact, my youngest refused to go to sleep (no matter what the time) unless we read "Bible." 

He's a little old for our latest review, the 25th Anniversary edition of The Beginner's Bible from Zonderkidz, but he has a young friend with whom he is excited to share this Bible. 

This is a revamped version with updated artwork and a colorful cover. The text is simple and while not entirely an independent "Beginning Reader," it is a good version to read with a beginning reader, assisting with words that are more difficult and harder to decode, while offering confidence boosting success with a majority of easy-to-read text. 

It is never to early to begin reading stories taken from the Bible about God's love, protection, and the Good News of Jesus' Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection. Each story is treated "gently" with the young sensibilities in mind, which I definitely appreciate.

25 years ago if you purchased The Beginner's Bible you had a great Bible Storybook with colorful (if somewhat silly to the adult eye, but very popular through a child's visual filter) illustrations. In and of itself a very good thing. A quarter of a century later, however, things have changed, and multi-media is the norm. In keeping with that, The Beginner's Bible now offers both a website and an iPad app.

The webpage has a boatload of resources to enhance your child's Bible Reading experience, and includes the following: 

40 Coloring Pages 

3 Search and Find Activity Pages

6 Drawing Activity Pages (Some as simple as adding an item to the drawing, others asking the child to draw something on their own)

8 Maze Activity Pages

4 Let's Read Together Activities (Rebus Style)

1 Connect the Dots

1 Crossword Puzzle

5 Matching Activity Sheets

8 Writing Sheets (Copywork) 

The iPad app is intended mostly for children under the age of 5. The first story pack of 6 stories is free, and includes the narrated stories, coloring pages, puzzles and a game. Additional story packs are available for $1.99 each, or the complete Bible is available for $19.99. 

On looking over the Bible, some of the things my Youngest thinks his friend will particularly enjoy: 

It will be a good Bible for my friend, and I think he will like it. The pictures are colorful and the stories are a good length for reading right before bed.

Additional information: There is also a Curriculum Kit which is intended for Sunday School use, and covers 30 of the 90+ stories in the Bible. You can check out sample lessons and see if this would be a good value for your family or church.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Zonderkidz
• Product: The Beginner's Bible
• Ages: 4-8
• Price: $16.99 (With bulk pricing available for orders of 10 Bibles or more, in case you are part of a ministry that would be interested in that)

You can visit Zonderkidz/Zondervan on Social Media: 

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram

Please click the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

#HSReview, #TheBeginnersBible, #FaithBuilding, #Zondervan, #childrensbible, #nonfiction

Bible Journaling Kit (Review and Giveaway)

Bible Journaling is something that has intrigued my Artsy Eldest for awhile now, and in fact one of her favorite Christmas gifts last year was a journaling Bible (Currently on sale! No #aff link for this one). She has enjoyed using her creativity to illustrate passages from Sunday Sermons and the occasional Youth Group study as well. One thing she didn't enjoy was carting her bulky pencil case along (particularly to Youth Group~ she usually settled with just a pencil or two most of the time), so she was excited to learn that we had been chosen to review a Bible Journaling Kit (an Ellie Claire product, a division of Worthy Publishing Group~ provided to my by Propeller Consulting, LLC). 

Almost everything in the kit can be stored in the lovely lime green pouch with an adjustable elastic strap that should fit most Bibles. Items included in the kit are:

• 1 fine line black journaling pen
• 8 colored pencil twists
• 4 sheets of alphabet stickers
• 4 sheets of word stickers
• 24 tab stickers
• 1 ruled page protector mat with tracing lines

Personally, Eldest doesn't use the ruled page protector mat (In part because it is larger than the area of her Bible, so isn't compact enough for her purposes), but I can see how it could be very helpful for different options, including helping to place some of the stickers neatly.

Close up of some of the stickers and tabs for your convenience. ;) 

Eldest really appreciates the ability to slip the pouch over her Bible when heading to church~ no need to carry a bulky bag of any sort, and she has everything that she needs at her fingertips. ;) 

I will mention my only pet peeve with this kit is that I wish that the zipper zipped UP instead of down~ (note the photo on the right in the image above). It would be more pleasing to the eye, while being utilitarian in keeping items inside with partial access. However, that doesn't really affect the usefulness~ simply an aesthetic thing.  We both like the cheerful green and blue design, with one of our favorite verses on the front! 

You can see in the image above some of Eldest's artwork in the top half, and some of my highlighting of verses in the bottom half. Neither of us has made use of the stickers as yet, but it is nice to know that they are available. :) (Mom-bragging moment~ doesn't Eldest's work look amazing? She isn't finished with this particular illustration, but she was so happy that the kit included a brown that worked for her pocket watch color, as none of her other pencils was just right. :)
I think this would make a nice little stocking stuffer for someone who already has a journaling Bible, or as part of a larger gift (with a journaling Bible), don't you agree? ;)

You can purchase this Bible Journaling Kit at Christian Book Distributors, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Books-A-Million
Remember reading about a giveaway when you clicked on the link? Well, you have not ONE but TWO chances to win a Bible Journaling Kit.

Worthy Publishing Group is giving away 5 different kits. You can also download some nice coloring pages (some with devotionals) at their giveaway page, so be sure to go check it out.
And I am able to give away one Kit to one of my readers (regular or new~ I'm just happy you're all here! :D). Please make sure the Rafflecopter has loaded, in order to enter! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blessings~

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the

Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.” 
#BibleJournalingKit #FlyBy

Chara Games ~ Commissioned ~ Cooperative Historical Strategy Board Game for Teens+

Does your family enjoy board games and family game nights?  The TOS Homeschool Review Crew was recently sent a game (that could end up on some gift lists for your older children?) for review. Commissioned is a cooperative, historical strategy game by Chara Games, intended for ages 14+ (Although younger siblings/children can be included in the play).

Top of box

Commissioned is a strategy game following actual experiences of the Apostles, where the players grow their faith (cards) and the church, (small white blocks), while overcoming trials and collecting the Canon of the New Testament.  

Board set up for play

The set-up is a little more involved than my mostly card game, word game, and  physical logic game playing family is used to, but should be fairly familiar for those who play more involved board games.  There are Faith Cards (with point values 1-4) and Apostle Cards (I didn’t realize they were in the same package, so it took a while before I figured that one out the first time playing), Trial cards, Church Member Blocks, Apostle Pawns, and Meeple Missionaries. There are also blocking tokens and other tokens that increase the complexity of play.

Close up of Apostle board, faith cards and apostle cards (Which all have the same back)

Each player chooses an Apostle “Board” and receives their 6 Apostle Cards, and two 2-point Faith Cards. From here the players choose one of 5 Game scenarios to play (some are more difficult than others, and we’ve only played the basic Acts of the Apostles so far), and choose a difficulty level for the trials (Disciple or Martyr level).

   

We found the instructions to be a little confusing, even after watching the half-hour introductory video, but I think that we have finally started to get the hang of it. There were also a few Faith Cards that we couldn’t really figure out, in spite of the extremely detailed Rulebook. However, instead of letting that interfere with our play, we just removed them from the deck, and put them back in the box.

Close up of tokens and board after some time playing

It is interesting to watch my kids play, as they are all quite competitive in their own ways, so playing a cooperative game was a new experience for them. My Youngest enjoyed being part of the game play, even if he didn’t totally understand it all. My Middlest found it the most interesting, and likened it to playing Risk, but with cooperation instead of competition, and a lot more strategy involved with the inclusion of the trial cards (the instructions suggest that this is a one hour game, but we found that it took us longer than that, although with more play there may be a reduction in time). 

    

My Eldest, who is very much a word game, fast-paced card game, strategy game with simple set up type of player would probably not choose on her own to play Commissioned, but could possibly be more interested in a new game which Chara Games has just released after a successful Kickstarter campaign, 3 Seeds. Some of the Crew members will be reviewing soon, so keep your eyes out on the Crew Blog for those reviews. It looks like it could be a nice option for a stocking stuffer if you do those, or even a shared family gift.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Chara Games
• Product: 
• Commissioned Ages 14+, $44.00
• 3 Seeds (I don't have the information for this game yet, so check back for the Crew Reviews later)

You can visit Chara Games on Facebook and Twitter

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~