30 Day to Joy

30 Days to Joy *****
by WaterBrook Press

This creative journal sounded like so much fun to me, but I was really disappointed when I opened it up. The small, hard-covered book has one writing prompt per day such as Day 1: "How is joy different from happiness?" There are mostly blank pages and then pages with quotes about joy from various people and from the Bible. I wish the book had more substance to it. The questions for each day were not very inspiring and the one color throughout the book wasn't very inviting.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Unwrapping the Names of Jesus

Unwrapping the Names of Jesus: An Advent Devotional *****
by Asheritah Ciuciu

This beautiful, small, hard-covered devotional leads us through the season of advent with devotionals centering around the names of Jesus. Each new week of advent, there is scripture to read together as a family, discussion questions, and a Christmas carol to sing. Then each day of the week has a different name of Jesus to meditate on, along with a devotional, a challenge, a prayer, and further verses for study. Each week ends with a list of activities for your family such as service projects.

Why should you celebrate advent? I love what Asheritah says in her introduction of the book: "We all suffer from soul amnesia, forgetting who God is and what He has done for us from one day to the next. Like you, I too must remind myself each year who Jesus is and why His birth is so miraculous--not because my mind doesn't know but because my heart ceases to be amazed."

So, I'm excited to go through this book with my kids and be reminded of the true Wonder of the season.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Color Index XL

Color Index XL *****
by Jim Krause

I had never looked at a color index before. I was excited to glance through this book because my husband and I have started oil painting. It's always a challenge figuring out what colors go well together. This book is designed to help with that. 

Color Index XL is a thick book...almost an inch thick. The author gives a helpful introduction for people like me who haven't used a colored index before. And then the rest of the pages are full of different color schemes in different shades. 

I'm looking forward to using this in quilting also to determine how different colors look together.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
 

Hinds Feet on High Places: An Engaging Visual Journey

Hinds Feet on High Places: An Engaging Visual Journey *****
by Hannah Hurnard
Overview: This is a beautiful, soft-covered, illustrated copy of the original Hinds Feet on High Places. 

The back of the book also includes some writings from Hurnard while she was in Switzerland. She shares about things God taught her during that time and what eventually lead her to writing. There is also a short autobiography about her at the end where she shares her powerful testimony and her calling to be a missionary in Israel.

In addition, the back of the book includes some coloring pages of various verses in the Bible.

Conclusion: I really enjoyed reading more from Hurnard. In the diary section at the back of the book, I loved this quote from her on love. "It (love) is not some feeling one waits for, nor some special person to evoke the love. It is an attitude of will. I will cast myself down in giving. The lower I go, the more love I am able to transmit from God to others, just like the Lord of love himself, who was not content until he found and took the lowest place in the universe."

I felt like I had a chance to meet the amazing woman behind the classic book. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who enjoyed the original book.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.