Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room - Review

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

Author: Nancy Guthrie

The book has already been a joy to read this advent season. After reading through the book, I knew it would be a treasure for my family as we celebrate the season of Christmas. We keep it on our dining room table. Each night, we take turns, after eating, reading the advent devotion for that day. It’s a great way to close out our evening as a family remembering Christ and all He has done for us and our world.

Nancy Guthrie does an excellent job of putting into words the gifts that God gives to each of us. His promises, his desire for humans to love and honor Him. As the days progress, Nancy focuses us on the gift of the Christ child and what that meant then and what it means now. Scripture along with explanation and prayer invite us all to give thanks and praise for the One who loved us unconditionally, who came to live with us as a human, died and was resurrected so that we might have an unending relationship with Him.

Closing in prayer is our favorite part. We take a small moment to return to prayer after our meal and thank God again. She includes discussion questions encouraging us to think deeper and discuss our thoughts. Sometimes we use them and sometimes we don’t, but the lesson is always valuable.

I grew up with an advent book that we read each night leading up to Christmas. I’ve never quite found the right book to share that tradition with my family, and we’ve been through several. Nancy’s book is the first that has really reached out and touched us. I feel blessed to have been able to review this book this year. This book would make an excellent gift or a treasure to hang on to and enjoy for many Christmases to come.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the very small text. Be sure to have your reading glasses out if you need them.

***  I was given this book free of charge by Tyndale House in exchange for my honest review.

A Year with God - Review

A Year with God
Author: R.P. Nettelhorst

One thing that intrigued me about A Year with God by R. P. Nettelhorst was the concept of using God’s own words in the Old Testament to speak with us throughout the year. While I enjoy the Old Testament, like many Christians, I am much more versed in the New Testament. I did find it interesting that it seemed to exclude the words of Christ as God’s words; however, I don’t think that was the intent.

The difficulty with using the Old Testament is that there are events in the Old Testament that are difficult to apply to our modern day lives. One example is when God wipes out thousands because David had made a mistake. The meditation states that, “Why did those men suffer for David’s mistake? They had benefited from David’s rule; likewise, they suffered for it.” The lesson being that our actions affect others. My desire, however, is to delve more deeply into those actions and consequences. I felt like I needed more.

A Year with God does do a good job of providing scripture and commentary in many different categories: Perseverance and Quitting, Hope and Fear, Love and Hate, etc. While a devotion for each day of the year is provided, one is not limited by the order the devotions are presented. A person can pick and choose based on what is on their heart at the time. God spoke to me through several of the devotions I read.

I feel if I were more versed in the Old Testament, I believe I would have related to and felt more closure through the commentary provided post scripture. This will be a good book to keep on my shelf while I revisit my Bible and strive to better understand God’s Word through the Old Testament. I will then revisit and spend my Year with God.

*** I received this book free of charge from BookSneeze for my honest review.