The Pleasure of His Company by Dutch Sheets

From the Garden of Eden, man walked and talked with God. We as human beings were designed for relationship and fellowship with an Almighty God. In his book, The Pleasure of His Company, Dutch Sheets encourages his readers to seek and enjoy the Presence of God, through all their life's circumstances. Each and every day, God is there and wants them to enjoy His company.

The book has thirty short chapters which makes it ideal for a month long devotional book. Each stand alone chapter begins with an illustrative story that relates to the portion of Scripture the author uses to reveal a little more about the character of God. Each chapter ends with a "prayer" based on verses which are notated at the end of the prayer. I liked that a lot.

Overall it was an enjoyable book to read. The style is conversation-like, honest, and very casual, (at times, maybe a little "too casual" for me), but at the end of each chapter, I desired to be a little closer to the Lord. I saw God's grace, help, restoration, and His desire to be in my company too. It reminded me that God is not only a stern, disciplining Father, but one who loves unconditionally and mutually delights in being with us.  Our reward is the pleasure of His company!

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess -- by Sheri Rose Shepherd

Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess, written by Sheri Rose Shepherd, is a delightful little book that summarizes 37 well loved Bible stories from both the Old and New Testament.  The book begins with the story of creation, and ends with Jesus' resurrection. Each Bible story is only a couple of paragraphs in length and begins with the Bible reference and a verse from that chapter. Sheri uses the New Living Translation which makes it easier for a child to understand. Each story concludes with a "Princess Prayer" and a "Princess Jewel" as moments of child-appropriate application. This book also has a "love letter" from God and the "salvation prayer" at the very end. What a wonderful way to show the child that these are more than just stories. They are God's personal words of love to us.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Shelley Dieterichs. The colorful pictures illustrated the Bible Stories perfectly and with all the added details on each page, will definitely capture the attention of little girls. I couldn't wait to turn the page to see what was next!

I would highly recommend this precious Bible Story book if you have a "little princess" in your life. You will definitely enjoy reading it together and then talking about how she can apply what you've just read to her life right now.  Whether you are reading it to a toddler or preschooler, or an early elementary child is reading it for herself, she will come to understand that she truly is a princess -- God's princess!

 

And now, thanks to Tyndale Publishers, you can enter to win a princess themed prize package. Click here to enter!  Contest ends February 23, so enter soon!

 I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an honest review.


 

Restless Bible Study DVD by Jennie Allen

I had the opportunity to preview the video sessions for Jennie Allen's new Bible Study, Restless. This DVD consists of 8 video sessions which are each about 20 minutes in length. Jennie teaches about how God weaves His story through our lives. Each of us is a unique creation of God, and He desires for us to find our purpose, even if right now it's just in the mundane. After we discover what he has for us, we need to run with all we have to accomplish His purposes.

The Bible Study is based on the life of Joseph. The video sessions mention Joseph occasionally, but he is not the focus of the teaching portion. I think I was at a disadvantage not having the book or study guide to do along side the DVD. Maybe it would have tied things together better.

Jennie Allen is passionate about what she teaches. She is speaking in front of a small group of women in each session which makes it more personal. The videos were shot in a contemporary style. Each one starts with a couple of women trying to answer a random question about themselves. They begin to answer and it cuts to another woman who also begins to answer it. Overall, I felt the topics were good and the videos were well done, but at times the delivery seemed a little dramatic, but hey, I'm on the "older side" now!

The subtitle of Restless is: "Because You Were Made for More." Through this Bible Study, Jennie wants you to understand that we need to look for the "threads" of our life to see how God is weaving them together. Then we can discover what we are meant to do. We were made for more than a lot of us are settling for.

I believe younger women will relate to the study and enjoy it's contemporary feel and style. I think the material is useful, but not necessarily deep, though my opinion of that might change if I did it along side the workbook.

I thought the study was good, but I was hoping to like the videos more.

I received a complimentary copy of this DVD from the blogger program "BookLook" in exchange for my honest review.