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. :) ) 2025 UPDATE: It appears that this specific Bible is no longer readily available, but I did find one that is almost the same ~ changed the link to go to Amazon *affiliate link) 

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
*Amazon Affiliate link~ purchases through my link are appreciated, but not necessary. :) 

Apologia Journeys of Faithfulness

One of my all-time favorite Homeschool "how-to"/"inspiration" books is "Educating the Whole-Hearted Child" by Clay and Sally Clarkson (I reviewed the updated version of this last fall, which you can read by clicking the link). However, I had not read any of the books written by their daughter Sarah, so I was pleased to be given the chance to review her devotional book for young ladies, Journeys of Faithfulness, published by Apologia.

The goal of Journeys of Faithfulness is to use accounts from the lives of Mary and Martha, Mary the mother of Jesus, Esther, and Ruth to encourage our daughters in their walk with Christ. The style and format is a little different from what we are used to.

Each chapter starts with a "Historical Fiction" account from the Bible~ Sarah takes the Scripture, and fleshes out conversations and emotions as they might have been, reading between the lines.

From there Sarah shares a personal account~ painting a word picture of how she came to see a Spiritual Truth, and allow God to work in her life.

Following that is a short Bible Study that directs the reader to 3-4 Scriptures followed by personal application questions.

The last bit of each chapter contains a few blank pages for journaling.

Our take~
While "Biblical Fiction" is something that my daughter has enjoyed in the past, she didn't feel that it worked very well in this devotional book~ She felt that the selections were a little too long for a "Daily reading" that wasn't actually Scripture.

The personal account section is headlined as a "devotional," but I have a hard time using that term for  a 2-3 page story. To me a devotional is short and to the point, while emphasizing scripture. I felt that these would be more reasonably considered slightly chatty (which I like) "Inspirational applications," but not devotionals.

The Bible Study portions are probably my daughter's least favorite aspect~ she is a black and white "What does the Bible Say?" sort of girl, who doesn't like to answer the "What do you think this means for your life?" sort of questions. However, her best friend would probably love that aspect!  Hmmmm~ we need to work a little more on application! ;)

I do have to say that it was a little difficult to figure out how to approach each chapter~ My suggestion was: The Longish Historical Fiction reading on day 1, The "Devotional" on Day 2, and spend Days 3+ on the Scriptures and questions (With journaling, if so desired~ not a regular occurrence in our home). We never got into a good "flow" with it, but that is most likely a personal method issue.

At the moment, I think that we have determined that this sort of study is not Eldest's favorite style, but perhaps we'll give it a try again sometime down the road, because the content is good! I'd also like to see Sarah try her hand at a Biblical Novel, and a stand-alone book of "Inspirational Stories" from her life, as I think those would work well. :)

You can download the Table of Contents, and a Sample Chapter to see if this might be a good fit for your family~


Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Apologia
• Product: Journeys of Faithfulness (stories of life and faith for young christian women)
• Ages: Girls 12+
• Price:$13.00

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~

Disclaimer: I received this/these item(s)/service for free as part of the TOS Review Crew Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Truth & Dare ~ A Year of Dynamic Devotions for Girls

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Ann-Margret Hovsepian

and the book:

Truth and Dare Devotional

David C. Cook (October 1, 2011)

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ann Margret Hovsepian is a published author, freelance writer and editor and amateur artist. She has published more than 210 articles for dozens of Canadian and U.S. print periodicals and has become a sought-after author of pre-teen girls’ devotional books. She has published Blossom: The Complete New Testament for Girls (Thomas Nelson, 2006) and The One Year Designer Genes Devo (Tyndale, 2007). She speaks at conferences and events and is actively involved on the board of Canadian Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Hovsepian resides in Montreal, Canada.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Is your pre-teen daughter ready for more—more excitement, more adventure, more joy? Then dare her to discover the secret to a life that sparkles for God. Show her she’s got what it takes to make an impact on the world. Ann Margret Hovsepian’s newest book, Truth and Dare: One Year of Dynamic Devotions for Girls, is designed for girls 9 to 12 and filled with powerful wisdom on everything from godly friendships to worshipping God.

It can be easy for young girls to neglect their Bible reading. Perhaps they feel Scripture doesn’t directly relate to them. Maybe they may lack encouragement or accountability, or they may just have too many distractions in their everyday lives. This lack of spiritual food can stunt girls’ spiritual growth and make them vulnerable to the temptations and ungodly influences around them. It can also prevent them from developing a love for Scripture early in life, making it even harder to get into God’s Word when they get older.

Truth and Dare encourages tween girls to discover how exciting God’s Word can be. They will see it make a difference in their daily lives and experience the blessings that come from doing it and not just hearing it. Daily challenges (dares) based on Scripture (truth) will provide opportunities for them to make their faith come alive as they learn to serve others, build character and make a difference.

Scripture will be transformed from something learned to something lived. Girls will delight in discovering how God’s Word can become real in whole new ways as they learn to apply it with each day’s dare. It ideally suits anyone looking to inspire a young girl to boldly live out her faith. So encourage the tween girl in your life to take the dare and discover the truth! It’s her time to shine as a girl who knows what it means to live a fierce and fearless life of faith.





Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook (October 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434702081
ISBN-13: 978-1434702081

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER (To enlarge, click on the images):

Similar to the Triple Dog Dare Devotions I posted about yesterday, this devotional helps young ladies in today's society see the relevance of Scripture in THEIR lives. Although the age range is listed as 9-12, I think that it serves even young teens well. I appreciate a devotional that is girl-centric, but not focused on boy-girl relationships, or pop-culture issues, but just down-to-earth "Who am I and how should I live in Christ?"  and "How does the Bible relate to ME?" thoughts.

Another great gift to slip under the tree! :)

Blessings~

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the  Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.