Category: bible study

bible studyelementary schoolProduct Review

Psalms for My Day- A Review

By Katie DugdaleLeave a comment

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

The Psalms are my go to in Bible reading. When I am lost on what to read, I go there. I start with whatever day of the month it is (like today is the 24) and read that Psalm, then add 30 (54) and read the next one, add 30 (84), add 30 (114), add 30 (144). Then you read the Proverb of the day (again… today would be the 24th). I was excited for the chance to review Psalms for My Day- A Child’s Praise Devotional by Carine MacKenzie and Alec Motyer and be able to introduce my younger children to the beauty of reading daily Psalms. It is a beautiful, hard cover book published by Christian Focus Publications.

Psalms for My Day- A Child’s Praise Devotional is beautifully illustrated and easy to follow. It is a great addition for my elementary age children. Each reading has a two page full layout that includes:

  1. The Psalm for the Day
  2. An age appropriate devotion or explanation of the passage
  3. A prayer

The Bible text in the book is Alec Motyer’s own translation from the original Hebrew. I found this interesting so I decided to do a little digging. Alec Moyer was an Irish Biblical Scholar who lived from 1924-2016. A renowned professor and scholar, he wrote many, many books and said of himself, “I’m just a man who loves the Word of God.” There is a letter at the beginning of Psalms for My Day giving Carine MacKenzie permission to use his translation in helping make it understandable to young children. This books comes with high praise and endorsement from a variety of Biblical scholars.

As you can see from the table of contents, the devotion includes 31 readings that will keep your family engaged..

Here you can see an example of a full two-page layout including the reading, explanation, and prayer. The book also has a ribbon bookmark.

I found Psalms for My Day- A Child’s Praise Devotion to be a wonderful resource for our family. My eight and ten year olds can read this for themselves or we can use it as a read aloud for family time. The Psalms are a beautiful way to draw focus to the Lord. They are real and raw and praise filled even in the darkest of times.

Thirty-one psalms are included as well as an introduction to Psalms and how they play a part in the bigger story of Jesus. A list of “new words” is also included in the back of the book to help young readers understand a little more about what they are reading. I highly recommend this book if you have preschool and elementary age children in your home. It would also be a great children’s ministry resource.

Be sure to follow Christian Focus Publishing on Social Media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChristianFocus4Kids/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Christian_Focus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianfocuspublications/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9n_TTQulXBNqM7LtEALtJg/

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The Easter Storybook- A Review

By Katie DugdaleLeave a comment

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Every year at Christmas, we make a big deal of celebrating for the whole month. We build the anticipation through celebrating the season of Advent. It is a special time and we have a beautiful book that we use every year to prepare us for the birth of Christ. Every year, I think… why don’t we do this more often? What stops us from gathering and reading in anticipation all the time? I was excited to receive The Easter Story Book by Laura Richie. I have been so pleased with products from David C Cook and The Easter Storybook is no exception. It is a collection of forty Bible stories about Jesus, from his time as a boy in the Temple to His ascension to Heaven after His resurrection.

The illustrations in The Easter Storybook are stunning. Each two page layout features the reading for the day, the verses that accompany the reading, thought provoking questions, and a full page color illustration.

The stories are connected by the common thread of Jesus the Rescuer. There is a truth that we are not good enough and no matter how many good things we do, sin still taints and separates us from God. Jesus knows we can never be good enough on our own and that’s why He came! Jesus is the only one who can rescue us from our brokeness and sin. His life and work on the cross restores us and brings us into the eternal relationship with the Father we are destined for.

The East Storybook breaks down big truths into understandable pieces. It is not cheesey or incomplete like so many children’s Bibles tend to be. The writing is beautiful and thought provoking. I really like the questions at the end of each reading that provide a call to action… a way to respond to the reading.

I just checked Amazon and it looks like The Easter Storybook is in stock and available for Prime Shipping. If you do Easter baskets, this book would be a great addition.

The easy to follow format allows for daily readings. You could incorporate it into your morning routine, read at the breakfast table, gather the children for read aloud time when the rhythm of your day slows a bit in the afternoon, or maybe gather around before bed and read together. If you have older children in the home, you could have them take turns reading to the younger ones (this is my preferred way to use the book as it gets my big kids in on the time).

Be sure to follow David C Cook on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidCCookPublic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/David_C_Cook
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david.c.cook/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/davidccook/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidCCookVideos

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The Action Bible Anytime Devotions- A Review

By Katie DugdaleLeave a comment

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

I don’t know about you, but my kids are all about graphic novels. They like the art and style. And, let me tell you… finding age appropriate, clean literature in graphic novel form has proven to be more than a challenge. It seems that as soon as we find something we like, we turn the page and find foul language or oversexualized content. Enter the Action Bible from David C Cook. We have it downloaded on our Kindles… it is a fantastic Bible and resource for kids. Because of our love of the Action Bible, I was thrilled when we were given the chance to review another book in the same style, The Action Bible Anytime Devotions.

The Action Bible Anytime Devotions is a collection of 90 readings “to help kids connect with God anytime, anywhere.” The book is designed for preteens (ages 8-12). I honestly think it could go just a touch higher or lower in age depending on the maturity of your kids. The book is soft bound with 195 pages. The illustrations are top notch, drawn in graphic novel style. If I had had this book as a kid, I would totally have copied the drawings over and over, learning how to mimic the style.

The Action Bible Anytime Devotions by David C Cook could be used as a 90 day devotional, reading one per day. It could also be used as a topical discussion guide. On the top right of each devotional there is a theme. The themes covered in the book are: Courage, Hope, Trust, Love, Kindness, Faith, Strength, and Service.

We chose to use it as a topical discussion. Just recently, Sister 2 informed me that Sister 3 barged into her space without warning and she was very angry about it. To be fair, Sister 3 did give warning. Sister 2 refuses to wear her hearing aids and misses out on quite a bit around her. I found a devotion in the book titled, “For times when you’re angry.” It starts off metioning sibling relationships and even goes so far to use a sibling entering your room without permission as an example. It was a great lesson to read and talk about emotions. We talked about how emotions are not a bad thing- they are natural responses to our circumstances.

Each devotion in the book has an action verse, a story that relates to real life, questions and real life applications, and a challenge to take it further and read more scripture. This book is great for a personal devotion or family reading. In my opinion, the topics and stories are not cheesey or “little kid-ish.” Sister 2 (age 10) is all about things not being “little kid-ish” … so she gives the Action Bible Anytime Devotions her approval.

If you are wanting to introduce a family devotion time, The Action Bible Anytime Devotions by David C Cook would be a great way to start.

Be sure to follow David C Cook

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidCCookPublic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/David_C_Cook
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david.c.cook/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/davidccook/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidCCookVideos

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