What happens when two English majors get married and have a baby? It means there’s a lot of books and reading! Our daughter is developing the same love for books that she sees from mommy and daddy, which absolutely thrills us. I’ve been getting a lot of great books lately, so today I’m going to share two children’s books that I have received to review and can’t wait to share with my daughter!
I Can Learn To Pray by Holly Hawkins Shivers (illustrated by Becka Moor). This book from Thomas Nelson Publishers is a 52 week devotional centered around teaching your children how to develop a closer relationship with God through prayer. There are 7 topical sections that break prayer down week by week, starting with learning what prayer is and how to pray, and then covering topics such as “thank you prayers” (prayers of thanksgiving), “help prayers” (praying for others), and “Jesus prayers” (prayers from Scripture).
From the back cover it says that author Holly Hawkins Shivers, “a mother gifted at connecting with kids, makes every discussion engaging and relatable, and helps young believers grow leaps and bounds in their faith.”
This book is as cute as it is practical. Fun illustrations are scattered throughout to highlight important concepts from the text.
Although my daughter is a little young for this book, I can’t wait for when she’s old enough to understand and we can go through this book together as a family. Each devotion has a description and a practical application that guides young children, with the help of their parents, through the act of prayer. The writing is age appropriate for kids 4-8 years old, but I think even older kids and parents would find just as much enjoyment from this book as younger kids. I would highly recommend this book for parents looking for a fun and practical devotion to guide their children through prayer.
Read With Me Bible for Little Ones by Doris Wynbeek Rikkers (illustrated by Dennis G. Jones). This books from Zonderkids (Zondervan) is a padded cover board book full of colorful and bold cartoonish illustrations that highlight 8 stories from the Bible.
From the back cover “The Read With Me Bible for Little Ones is the perfect way to introduce the Bible to young children. Featuring simple language and vibrant, full-color illustrations by Dennis Jones, this action-packed padded cover board book is a great way to jump-start literacy and a love of the Bible.”
As soon as I opened this book, I knew my daughter would love it. The illustrations are bold and unlike what you would find in most board books. “Action-packed” is a great way to describe the drawings that almost resemble a comic strip style. I could definitely see this book being very appealing to young boys, as well as girls.
And I love any book that introduces the Bible in an easy to understand format to young children! This will be another great book to add to our bedtime reading rotation.
I highly recommend this book, and I can’t wait to give this to my daughter for her birthday. She will love flipping through the colorful pages just as much as listening to the important truths found in this book.
I will be writing about more books this week, so make sure you’re following my blog to be notified when a new post is published! Click in the sidebar (or at the bottom on mobile) “Follow This Blog.”
Please note that all pictures and opinions contained in this review are my own. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received these books free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Today’s Tuesday Review features the 
It includes a small dictionary in the back for kids to look up some Biblical terms. Based on the design and included material, I would say this would be a good Bible for young readers, ages 6-10. I like that the 
I forgot to post a few weeks ago that I officially turned 30. It’s weird to think that this is my actual age, when sometimes I feel like I am still 23. It’s amazing how much my life has changed and how much has happened in the last decade. The morning of my birthday I was awake early before my daughter got up, and I decided to start the day with some Bible journaling. Psalm 30:5 “…weeping may tarry for the night but JOY comes with the morning.” It would be easy to dwell on all the bad things that happened in my twenties and be fearful about the future, but this verse was a great reminder that with God there is always joy to be found. Only He can bring the type of joy that “turns mourning into dancing.” God has brought me a long way, and He is always there for me, so I am happy to say I have lived 30 years of life!
I’m a little behind on my posts, so I am going to be brief today and just post my illustrations from yesterday and today.
For today, I tried out some new watercolor gel crayons that I found at Target. I was pleased to find that they do not bleed through the pages, even with no prep, so I used them to add all this color. The paint went on really smooth and did not dry chalky. I’m excited to use them again in my Bible.
“For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out His anger on us. Christ died for us so that whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with Him forever… Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, 23-24
It’s time for Holy Week Day 3 entry in my Inspire Bible. The passage I chose for today is from Luke 9:22-25 “‘The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,’ He said. ‘He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day He will be raised from the dead.’ Then He said to the crowd, ‘if any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily and follow Me. If you try to hang onto your life you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?'”
For this page I came up with the idea to use the colors of the Inspire Bible for my illustration today. I wanted to keep it simple, since I was limited on how much time I could spending journaling today. I love that I can take as little or as long as I want, and yet I’m still spending time reading God’s word and impressing it on my heart.
Here is the list of supplies that I used:
I did have someone ask me what this Bible looks like with tabs, so here is the top view of my Bible so far. In this Bible, I have chosen to just tab the pages I have journaled. Since the edges are so pretty, I didn’t want to also add in Books of the Bible tabs too. But that’s the great thing about this Bible: you still have the freedom to make it your own style, despite the pre-printed illustrations and edges!
For the day before Good Friday, I decided that I wanted to spend some time in Isaiah 53 (page 879). Join me tomorrow in illustrating how God prepared His people for His plan to save them even before Jesus ever walked this earth. If you would like to receive notifications for when new blog posts are published, you can subscribe to this blog, follow me on Instagram 
As I mentioned in 
The supplies I used for this two page spread were the following:
1 Peter 4:12-13 “Dear Friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.” I love these bright, colorful, vibrant pages to remind me that my joy comes from God, even in the midst of trials, and that Jesus’ work is finished and He lives!
Join me today in illustrating Luke 9:23 on page 1249 in the Inspire Bible, which officially released today! Feel free to tag me in Instagram 
This week is traditionally referred to as Holy Week, and includes Palm Sunday, Good Friday and culminates on Resurrection Sunday (Easter). This year I decided to journal my way through the week in my Inspire Bible. Each day I will be posting a finished page from the previous day, as well as the unfinished page I plan to illustrate next. I encourage anyone who would like to join me to sign up to follow this blog so you can receive email notifications when the new day gets posted. (Click “Follow the Blog” either in the sidebar if viewing on a computer or at the bottom of the page if viewing mobile.)
I was a little disappointed there weren’t any illustrations specifically for Palm Sunday in any of the gospels that describe “Jesus’ Truimphant Entry” in the Inspire Bible. Since the NLT translation doesn’t use the word “Hosanna” in the description either, I decided to journal the illustration a few pages after this passage in Matthew 21 that had the words “LORD” surrounded by leaves and flowers.
As I was painting this page, I was meditating on the truth that Jesus is Lord. He is Lord of Palm Sunday, He is Lord of the events of this week that we celebrate, and He is Lord of my every day. In Matthew 22: 37-40 it says “…You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Hosanna!
Today begins a new feature on this blog: book reviews! I am now a book reviewer for several Christian book publishers, and I am excited to share with others my reviews of some new books in the coming weeks! I will be doing this on Tuesdays at least once a month, so make sure to follow my blog to receive emails when a new post goes up!
This book is the same size and texture as some of my daughter’s other favorite bedtime board books, and I can’t wait to give this to her for Easter! Because this is a board book, she will be able to turn the pages on her own without damaging them. The stories are short enough that it will keep my 19 month olds’ attention as we read one a night together at bedtime, and I know she will enjoy looking at the bright pictures. I love books like this that can introduce Bible stories to my child at a young age in an easy-to-understand format.
Because there are only eight different mini-stories in this book, however, I can predict from the parent’s perspective getting bored after awhile cycling back through the stories quickly, but such is the nature of children’s books. Luckily we have more than one bedtime book, so this will make a great addition to our rotation. As she gets older, she will be able to participate more with the “Tuck In” activity, so I like that we will be able to use this book for a few years.
Now that I have had my new Inspire Bible for a week, I figured it was time to do another post with photos of the pages I have journaled and illustrated so far. I am really enjoying this Bible the more time I spend in it, and even more so, I feel my relationship with God deepening as I meditate on His word through creative worship.
One benefit of this Bible that I have already been able to experience is the ability to pick a scripture on my heart to color and meditate while coloring, and not have to worry about what I’m going to draw or paint. A few nights ago I was having a lot of anxiety and wanted to just spend some time meditating on Philippians 4:6-7. When I turned to the passage and found that it had a large illustration ready to be colored, I was elated! I spent an hour slowly coloring while repeating over and over to myself “don’t worry about anything, pray about everything. And God’s peace will guard my heart.” Ever since I spent time praying and coloring this verse, I have been feeling less worried and anxious. What a blessing to have this Bible in order to creatively worship and spend time in the Word!
Another thing I have really enjoyed is using watercolors with the illustrations. This is my first single column Bible, and I love having extra margin space to add to the illustrations when I want to fill in the page more and personalize the pre-printed illustrations.
One of my favorite pages that I have done was my JOY page. This page makes me happy every time I look at it, because I know that it came out of the joy that God has placed in my heart for His word. It’s been a long time since I have felt joy and passion for God’s word, and I rejoice that God has been working in my life through this journey of Bible journaling.
Kountingsheep 