Attend by Laura Davis Werezak, 2017

Click to view
on Goodreads 

A young Christian writer presents a practical guide for reconnecting with God and practicing the presence of God in our frantically busy world today.

Our world is full of distractions that do not promote the health of individual souls. What can people do when they feel they have no time or ways to find God? In her new book ATTEND, Laura Davis Werezak reminds readers to encounter God through 40 brief everyday activities that they have been taking for granted, from opening a window to jotting down a dream. Modern life and technology increasingly render these activities obsolete, and readers who struggle to connect with God through "typical" devotions will discover depth in their everyday lives through each beautifully written exercise. Like the wisdom Brother Lawrence provided in his 17th century spiritual classic The Practice of the Presence of God, these daily reminders guide readers to appreciate God in our midst today.
(240 pages)

I started out with the goal of doing one chapter a day from Attend and recording my results.

Day One, "Open a Window:"

I opened a window for a couple of hours this afternoon, and kept my door shut to keep the cold breeze from messing with the rest of the house. What struck me first was that, even though it was a chilly February day, my room actually felt perfectly fine once I turned off the overhead fan. Just think how much needless energy I waste on the fan when an open window would work just as well! Second, my room smells . . . it's hard to describe. Sweet? Yes, perhaps that's it. It smells fresh, like someone put some life into my normally stuffy bedroom. I need to keep my window open more often, it really does brighten my mood. Seeing how well the first suggestion worked also gives me hope for how it will help me spiritually as well. Also, my cat really loved the open window.

Day Two, "Make Your Bed:"

I usually never make my bed, but doing so this morning actually only took me about two minutes. Now my bed looks very pretty! I'm also feeling the need to clean my floor now, though, because it looks even worse in comparison with my tidy bed. I usually like to do my schoolwork on my bed with the blankets pulled over my lap, but I've had my eye on this pretty, fluffy throw blanket for a while now. I ordered it today for the foot of my bed, and I'll use it to snuggle under during the day.

Day Three, "Plant a Seed"
My pot of dirt, which will soon hold some chrysanthemums, is to the left. I'm looking forward to seeing what grows!

Day Four, "Set a Table"
I didn't really do this one per se, but I often set out my own plate/bowl so I'm counting it. Also, I helped set the table for a dinner party we had, so that counts, right?

Day Five, "Sing a Song"
For this one I'm counting the time a few days ago when I took a ridiculously-long shower and belted out Frozen songs in Spanish for like an hour. Hey, she said any song goes, right? Plus, she said she likes to use Spanish songs with her students!

Okay, yeah, I gave up on doing every single day's "assignment." I kept forgetting to do them, or forgetting to write them down, so eventually I just gave up and read the thing cover to cover over the course of a few evenings.

And what do I think? Well, I think that it's the best devo that I've read in a long time. Werezak's tips are all very good ones, and her discussions of faith and searching for God were both heartfelt and genuine. I loved most of them, and more than that I actually got the feeling that I would like her if she were a member of my church. She's not weirdly conservative or legalistic, something a lot of church leaders seem to be these days, but instead is just nice and straightforward and open to trying novel approaches to spirituality like meditation-type breathing and praying with beads (as a Protestant).

Honestly, I think Attend would make a great devotional for not just Christians but also for Jews and perhaps even for people of other religions (though she does quote a lot of Bible verses). The focus is on God, and growing close to God, but not really on Jesus per se. I think it's nice how much more flexible that makes the text for use by people from a diverse array of denominations and even of religions. If you're looking for a devotional to bring you closer to God, then this is the one that I would recommend.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I Don't Wait Anymore by Grace Thornton, 2016

Click to view
on Goodreads 

In I Don’t Wait Anymore , Grace Thornton challenges readers to find their calling and purpose from God and go after it with completely committed hearts. Have you been waiting for life to turn out the way you expected?
You’re not alone.
There are lots of us out there who feel that way. Grace Thornton is one. She had dreams, plans, and ideas for what life should look like. For one, she thought she’d be married. She thought she’d have kids. She thought God would bring her the life she’d been waiting for because she knew He was good and she tried to be obedient.
But that’s not what happened. Not at all.
So she found herself wrestling with God. Who is He if He doesn’t bring along the life, husband, and 2.5 kids she thought He was supposed to? And where should she go from there?
When she got brutally honest with herself and asked the hard question, “Why do I think the world has more to offer than God does?” the answer was stunning. Her honesty led to the path God had for her. One that would write a story for her life that was even better than the one she had dreamed for herself.
This positive and encouraging book offers inspiration to anyone who wants to live a fulfilling life right now. Grace decided to let go of her expectations of the way life “should be” and grasp God’s hand for the adventure He had for her.
You can too.

(224 pages)

I had credit to get another book from the BookLook Bloggers program, but there weren't any books that I was dying to read. I decided to give I Don't Wait Anymore a go, to see what sort of peace Grace Thornton offers for people who don't wind up with spouses. I haven't exactly been waiting for a husband (I'm only seventeen!), but I've been facing a lot of crossroads when it comes to moving forward with my adult life and I was curious to think about what my life could be like if I never get married.

It turns out I Don't Wait Anymore is actually a devotional, so each chapter offers a specific Christian lesson and then has room for you to answer a specific question about your own relationship with God. I don't usually use devos (I always forget to do them), so it took me a little while to get through this one. I wound up doing it in spurts over the course of a few weeks: some days I did three, and others I did none. If you did one chapter a day, though, it would take about two weeks. There's a very pretty light-brown ribbon you can use to hold your place, and the paper itself is thick and smooth - very luxurious, and great for writing on. The pages are all white where the text is, and then a very pretty shade of light green underneath it.

So yeah, physically the book is great as a devo. What about the text itself? Well, I have to say that it's truly wonderful to see how God has blessed and shaped Grace Thornton's life. Her insights on what it means to follow God (to bring Him out of your pocket into every area of your life, and to focus on pursuing Him instead of on what you get out of Him) are convicting and thought-provoking. It's wonderful to see all of the amazing opportunities Grace has gotten (including moving to England for two years!) - opportunities she wouldn't have had if she'd been married. She also has a lot of God-loving friends (none of whom I could ever keep straight) to cheer her on, which is really great.

No book is perfect, though, and I do have a few small troubles with I Don't Wait Anymore: for one thing, every couple of pages a line or two is offset into its own paragraph, put into a slightly larger font, and made green instead of regular old black. This is done to emphasize particularly meaningful or impactful statements/thoughts, the way they do it in magazines, and it looks very pretty when you flip through the book. Here's the problem, though: you know how in magazines the lines that are made big are ones that are also still in the articles? Well, here they took lines from the devo and highlighted them right where they were. To read what Grace is trying to say, you have to read the highlighted text in context along with all of the normal-sized text surrounding it. I kept accidentally skipping over the ornamented text, though, and then I'd have to go "wait, that's not just ornamental!" and go back and read it. That got kind of annoying after a while, but it certainly wasn't a deal-breaker.

Anyway, I'm no devo expert - I've done a grand total of two in my life - but I really enjoyed this one. If you're a Christian (female or male) who struggles with finding God's plan for your life, then I highly recommend this book. It definitely made me look at my future in a whole new light.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book through the BookLook Bloggers program in exchange for an honest review.

Becoming God's True Woman by Susan Hunt and Mary A. Kassian, 2012

Click to view
on Goodreads

Have you ever wondered why God made both Male and Female? Have you thought about His purpose for you as a female? Have you considered the fact that God has intentionally planned everything about your life? Yes, yes, and yes?!
Then, join Bible teachers Susan Hunt and Mary A. Kassian in this 35-day devotional digging deep into God's Word, hearing what He says about your womanhood, and learning how to live as a "true woman" day by day. Each day begins with a short devotion and then A Time For You section -- a time for you to read...to think..to pray...to live for God's glory Interspersed throughout are personal stories and thoughts from girls like you.
(176 pages)

My number one New Year's Resolution this year was to spend more time reading the Bible. My number two resolution was to be faithful to developing my blog. That's why I chose to review this, a girl's devotional. I don't really use devotions very much because I'm a very lazy person who doesn't like writing things out longhand, but I decided it would be good both for my spiritual health and my handwriting to try this out.

On the whole, I'm glad I gave this devo a try. I spent a week doing it every day on top of my regular Bible reading (In January I set myself the goal of reading the entire Bible in two years. I'm in Leviticus.), and I found that it broke the monotony of the laws of Moses very nicely. The devo is full of little stories from real-life girls, messages about God's love and our duty to obey, and lots of space for jotting out your own thoughts and prayers. The pages themselves are very pretty, with various shades of pink backgrounds and beautiful flowers winding their ways across the pages.

After doing about a week's worth of the devotions and reading through the rest of them, I am a little conserned about some of the content. It's written in such a positive, affirming manner that I really have a hard time taking offence at anything written in the book (it would be like arguing with my grandmother!), but I did still want to mention that the book skates dangerously close to some controversial issues a few times. For example, it states that women are designed to be men's "helper," but then goes on to define the word "helper" in terms of equality. They state that men and female are created equal but for different purposes, which makes me wonder just what exactly they mean by that. Is the "purpose" of women to sit at home and watch the kids while the "purpose" of men is to go to work and earn money? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that (in fact, that's how it works in my family!), but I didn't exactly like the subtle suggestion that we women must remember our place, and refrain from becoming too masculine. In fact, at one point they even say that a "True Woman" always dresses appropriately - which I agree with - going on to say that clothes should "suit your . . . femininity" as one of the conditions inherent in dressing properly. Are they saying that they believe girls shouldn't wear pants? Because I definitely disagree with that.

Now I'm not a huge feminist, but I do believe that women should not be restricted to wearing pretty frocks and taking care of the children. The kicker is, the authors of this book may or may not believe that either. Everything is phrased in such positive, reaffirming tones that it's impossible to know for sure whether they're really condoning what I'm hearing. Still, if I had a teen I probably wouldn't give her the book just because of their support of gender roles and a few other minor issues. Like I said, though, it's all couched in such gentle and positive terms and mixed in with so much real, good, important advice that it might be okay. Plus, as a teen myself, I know that one devotional isn't going to change the way I think. I for one will likely go through at least most of the rest of the devotional, shaking my head at it every now and then but mostly just appreciating it for its gentle, loving messages about keeeping a level head and living to please my loving God.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.