Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women - Crew Review


Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women from Zondervan is a hardback devotional book written for girls ages thirteen through eighteen; but the topics included apply to all women. The book is beautifully designed with foiled cover, two-color interior pages, and a ribbon book mark.  As the title implies, there are 365 devotions labeled by day and not by date. Each day features an easy-to-read, relevant devotion paired with a Scripture passage about a biblical woman you can look to for wisdom and inspiration. Each devotion is just a single page, and each page includes four lines at the bottom as journaling space to help you reflect on the day’s message. Lindsay A. Franklin uses the inspiring stories of ancient women in the Bible – such as Eve, Esther, Ruth, Mary, and many more – with an occasional humorous text to keep young women’s attention and draws practical truths from God’s Word for everyday life. The devotions speak about the things that matter most in a young woman’s life and encourages them to see truth through God’s Word because each young woman is beautiful, valued, adored, cherished, and beloved.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. I would hope to see a King James Version in the future; but our family simply read the Bible passage from the devotional book and then read the Bible passage from the King James Version before we read the devotion for the day. I am using this devotional book with my three daughters as part of our daily devotions because each devotion speaks to the pressures and changes young women are facing right now, giving them real-world applications to keep God in the forefront of their life. The Bible has so much to say about the unique challenges – the heartaches and high points – of being a female. There are dozens of women in the Bible, some named but many unnamed. Through their stories, we discover role models and cautionary tales, tragedies and triumphs; and all these stories of ancient women are surprisingly relevant to our lives today.

Lindsay A. Franklin not only encourages the young women, but also the aged women as she reminds us that we don’t grow in godliness and stretch our faithfulness only for our own wellbeing. We are also looking to pass along a legacy of faith to others. Each of us will leave something behind – a legacy of the life we lived and what mattered to us most. Another aspect I like about this devotional book is that it inspires you to dig deeper into God’s Word. After we read each devotion, we discuss the truth being presented and we use our King James Version study Bible for cross references and commentary notes.

Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women would be a great gift idea for any young woman on your gift-giving list. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and encourage you to visit the Crew Blog to read what the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women.

 

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