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elainegl's review
5.0
This is a wonderful devotional. I have both the book and the iPhone app (which I use when I travel). I prefer the book because then I have to look up the verses and that always leads to much more Bible reading than when the verses are written in the devotional. This book has brought my relationship with Jesus to a much deeper and more personal level.
silvi_sab's review
3.0
(gifted) I started reading this year-long devotional back in September to have something to read alongside my Bible reading in the morning. Some of the devos were nice but when it came to the verses for that day, sometimes it seemed like she was just picking them randomly and out of their original context .. overall an okay devotional, not sure if I'll be reading it again.
sdelcharco's review
3.0
I tried to like this book but there was something about the first person POV that really bothered me. In the end, I abandoned it.
julia_harrelson's review
5.0
This book was by far the best devotional book I have read. I learned so much from this book. Sarah Young is such a talented writer and this book is a great one to read. If you are considering reading this you should do it.
jfkaess's review
2.0
This is the second 2 star review i've written in years and years and it happened just 1 week after my previous 2 star review. I very rarely rate any book 2 stars (or 1 star) because my normal practice is to abandon a book as soon as i consider it to be a 1 or 2 star book, and i don't review any books which i don't finish.
I did finish this book even though i knew it was a problematic book, because it is significantly different than anything i had ever read. The reason it is problematic is the same reason that it is very different. The author, who is a missionary, believes that an essential element of praying is to listen so that God can communicate back to us. This belief that prayer is two way communication, and not just the presentation of requests to God, has been practiced by believers for thousands of years and is clearly demonstrated throughout both the Old and New Testaments. I agree with this practice and it is a part of my prayer life. Here is what makes the book problematic: the author has taken the things God has communicated to her in her prayer time and that she has recorded in her prayer journal, and made those communications the essence of this book, and does it in the first person as if Jesus is speaking directly to not just her, but to everyone. This moves God's communication from the personal realm into a public realm which actually seems very much like the author is writing a book of scripture for public use. I have a problem with this. If the book had been written in the third person and just expressed the idea that these are things God had communicated to her personally, i would give this a book a higher rating.
The book has one more problem, though this problem is not at all unique to this book, but is common in far too many (in fact, in most) Christian non-fiction books. After giving us a "word from Jesus" the author then lists several Bible references. Not the actual verses themselves, but rather the location of verses. i.e. Rom 12:1, I Cor 13:5 etc. I consider this to be the very worst aspect of most Christian non-fiction books. I feel that if a passage of scripture actually adds to the points being made, then the actual scripture should be quoted, not just alluded to by reference. It's bad writing as well as bad theology. The scriptures as originally written, were NOT divided into chapters and verses. The scriptures were written as books (with the exception of Psalms which actually were individual Psalms as written and then were collected into the book). The divisions into chapters and verses were done by men long after the books of the Bible were actually written. The purpose was to make it easier to find specific passages. However, the result of these divisions into chapters and verses is often to destroy the context and flow, and by extension, the thought being expressed in the passage by removing it from its context. The use by authors of just tacking on a list of references instead of quoting a passage further exacerbates the problem by further decontextualizing the passage because it makes the actual text unimportant to the book by not quoting the text.
I did finish this book even though i knew it was a problematic book, because it is significantly different than anything i had ever read. The reason it is problematic is the same reason that it is very different. The author, who is a missionary, believes that an essential element of praying is to listen so that God can communicate back to us. This belief that prayer is two way communication, and not just the presentation of requests to God, has been practiced by believers for thousands of years and is clearly demonstrated throughout both the Old and New Testaments. I agree with this practice and it is a part of my prayer life. Here is what makes the book problematic: the author has taken the things God has communicated to her in her prayer time and that she has recorded in her prayer journal, and made those communications the essence of this book, and does it in the first person as if Jesus is speaking directly to not just her, but to everyone. This moves God's communication from the personal realm into a public realm which actually seems very much like the author is writing a book of scripture for public use. I have a problem with this. If the book had been written in the third person and just expressed the idea that these are things God had communicated to her personally, i would give this a book a higher rating.
The book has one more problem, though this problem is not at all unique to this book, but is common in far too many (in fact, in most) Christian non-fiction books. After giving us a "word from Jesus" the author then lists several Bible references. Not the actual verses themselves, but rather the location of verses. i.e. Rom 12:1, I Cor 13:5 etc. I consider this to be the very worst aspect of most Christian non-fiction books. I feel that if a passage of scripture actually adds to the points being made, then the actual scripture should be quoted, not just alluded to by reference. It's bad writing as well as bad theology. The scriptures as originally written, were NOT divided into chapters and verses. The scriptures were written as books (with the exception of Psalms which actually were individual Psalms as written and then were collected into the book). The divisions into chapters and verses were done by men long after the books of the Bible were actually written. The purpose was to make it easier to find specific passages. However, the result of these divisions into chapters and verses is often to destroy the context and flow, and by extension, the thought being expressed in the passage by removing it from its context. The use by authors of just tacking on a list of references instead of quoting a passage further exacerbates the problem by further decontextualizing the passage because it makes the actual text unimportant to the book by not quoting the text.
hdcamp's review
4.0
Received this devotional as a gift and it is refreshing to my soul everytime I open it. <3
paigewetzel's review
4.0
Certainly a special devotional. I've had my ups and downs with it, but overall I found it to be very centering. I would highly recommend it to anyone trying maintain a sense of God's presence on their life and seeking an inner peace of the soul. Young does a lovely job of making each devotional seem personal, though I occasionally found them a tad trite. In enjoyed her use and re-use of Scripture to make certain points and create a sense of consistency.