Heidi's Haven

This is a short devotional that only takes about 10 minutes of your day. It takes you through a few verses of Proverbs each day, along with some devotional content, a prayer, and questions to consider. This book focuses on increasing in wisdom. I loved reading this, and filled up so many pages of my journal as I did. My eyes were really opened to things I am guilty of and need to change, and I have found myself thinking back to what I learned in this book when I encounter a situation where I can be either wise or a fool. I really do think that this book has made a positive impact on me, and I am eager to share it with others! The book itself is smaller than a normal book in size, but very cute with smooth and shiny pages. I gave this book 5/5 stars. *I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive view. All opinions are my own.

Stirling, in my opinion, is the greatest city in the world. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, full of nature, beauty, history, and excitement. It is also where I lived for a summer while I studied abroad. If you get the chance to go to Scotland, I highly recommend visiting the central city of Stirling, and here are 5 things you should see while you're there. 1. Stirling Castle The childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots and the ruling place of countless other heroes of history, Stirling Castle is one of the most important locations in Scotland.  2. Hike Dumyat Pronounced Du-my-at, this steady climb up 1,371 feet for amazing view of the city of Stirling. As you walk, you'll encounter sheep and highland cows (coos) along the way. 3. Wallace Monument If you've seen Braveheart, you've heard of William Wallace. This monument is built on the spot where William Wallace and his men watched the British approach b...

This is a beautiful daily devotional, perfect for the summertime, all about the beauty of nature and God's love for us. Each  day had a short devotional and a prayer after.  It is the perfect thing to read outside in the summer, or keep open on a table at the cabin. I adored this, and though I read through it all already, I want to keep it around and read through it each summer. I definitely would recommend it to anyone, and I gave it 5/5 stars. 

This is a complete, verse-by-verse guide to understanding the book of Revelation. It gives context about importance, author and dates, interpretations, attitudes toward it, and an outline of each section. The author underlines the fact that the book of Revelation was meant to clarify, not mystify.  When reading through this, I would recommend reading the verses in your Bible, and then reading the interpretation, rather than reading the book cover to cover. You should use this as a guide while you read your Bible.  I completely loved this commentary. The purpose of this series is to help all readers understand the Bible, even if they are not studying it professionally. This definitely helped me, and I am excited to pick up more of the Everyday Bible Commentary books! I gave this 5/5 stars!

This book is all about Biblical dream interpretation. This author believes that God continues to speak to people through dreams, and has guides and references to help readers interpret those dreams. Her goal is to help people understand what God is already saying to them through their dreams.  First, before she went into interpretation, she outlined the Biblical foundations that this book is built on, which I really appreciated. She also pointed out that you can't fully and correctly interpret your dreams on your own: you need the help of the Holy Spirit, and friends who can look at it objectively. It also really thoroughly explains the "how" of Biblical interpretation, and answered lots of common questions. When I received this book, I thought the idea of dream interpretation was kind of weird. However, once I read it, I really saw the value in it, and have used the book as a reference to try interpreting my own dreams. Overall, I gave this book 4/5 star...

This book is all about moving out of poverty, not with riches, but with Biblical wealth. The author grew up in poverty thinking that wealth was evil. However, in adulthood, as he worked to move out of poverty, he learned that it can't be evil, because heaven is full of riches. So what does the Bible say about poverty, riches, and wealth? God blesses us with wealth: these are the qualities, skills, and attributes that God has given us to do His work and advance His Kingdom.  He also talks about the fact that it is okay to have money and to buy things. It's okay to have nice things, as long as those things don't have you.  He gives lots of principles and ideas to get yourself out of that poverty mentality to see the wealth that God has blessed us with.  The first half of the book seemed aimed toward personal life application, while the second half definitely focused on using these principles as you run a business. Personally, I think that he went to...

This book by Erica and Jonathan Catherman is a guide for young girls navigating into adulthood. This guide goes all the way from talking to boys and how to wear scarves, to asking for a raise and changing a tire. The first part of the book seemed geared toward pre-teens or early teens, while the second part, dealing with cars and cooking, seemed geared toward older teens. I think this would be a nice book to have and reference for things such as cooking and vehicle maintenance.  Personally, in my early twenties, I do not feel that this book is helpful for me, but I definitely would recommend it as a gift for a young girl. Each how-to is listed step by step, including what materials are needed and the time required to complete that task. Overall, I gave this 3/5 stars, though I can see how a younger person might find this more helpful and rate it higher. *I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to w...

First of all, let's mention how absolutely beautiful this Bible is!!! This is The Woman's Study Bible (NIV) from Thomas Nelson! This is a full color, hard cover Bible. meant to inspire and encourage women. Throughout each book, there are little lessons on a number of topics, such as headship, marriage, chronology, and more. These lessons delve into modern topics such as infertility, sanctity of life, codependency, blended families, and even cooking! We also get to see profiles of women of the Bible.  I only flipped through, but I am really looking forward to reading through all of the lessons. I swear, I have so many Bibles because I want to read through all of the amazing educational content included! This is definitely a 5 star Bible, and I recommend it to women who are looking to learn more about the women of the Bible and also learn about the Biblical perspective of many, many things that women deal with every day. *I received a free copy of this boo...

I recently spent some time in Michigan's upper peninsula. One of the places I stayed on my trip was Marquette. While there, I decided to do one of my favorite things: hike to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. Sugarloaf Mountain is an easy climb (we even took the "difficult" path) takes you up 1060 feet to amazing views of Lake Superior and the surrounding forests. It only took about 15-20 minutes to climb, the path is well worn and clearly marked, but it's definitely hard to leave those amazing views and come back down again.

This book by Paul Angone argues the power and importance of good questions, especially in such a scary and uncertain time as in our twenties. Questions such as, "How do I make a choice when I don't know what choice to make?", "Am I being stereotyped in my office for being a twentysomething? If so, what do I do about it?", and "What are my problems and personal pain revealing about my purpose?" If you're struggling to answer the questions he gives, then you're doing it right. "Your twenties aren't about them going as you planned. But how you adapt, change, and grow when they don't." While definitely God-centered, this book is great for any twentysomething who feels like they are lost and don't know what they are doing. Angone was so honest, vulnerable, and really funny, but most of all, he was relatable. He got exactly how I am feeling.  The only thing that I didn't like was the grammar and writing styl...

I have never been, by any means, a runner. I am in no way athletic, sporty, or fit. The only time I ever did any running was when they made me in high school, and even then I did it grudgingly. I've always rolled my eyes when people said they loved running, or who couldn't go a day without going for a run. However, I have always been extremely jealous of those people. Though I rolled my eyes, I've always wished for the feeling that I had  to run, or even that I wanted to run. I went my whole life without doing anything about it. I just decided that I wasn't a runner, and I wasn't going to be. Luckily, I have changed my attitude about that, and now I know that, with some work, anyone can become a runner if they want to be. Here are some tips if, like me, you are interested in taking up running, but don't know how. 1. Just get out and go. This seems obvious, but really, the hardest thing is dragging my butt out of bed at 6 am to run befo...

In early April, when the weather finally started getting warmer, I took a little road trip to see the Seven Bridges Park in Milwaukee. This gorgeous covered bridge is why I came to this park. At the very start of the trail, you walk across this bridge, which reads: Enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature. The beautiful wooded trail led right to the beach of Lake Michigan. I wish that I'd had more time to explore the many trails, but I suppose that just means that I get to come back sometime soon! May the God given peace of this leafy solitude rest upon and abide with thee.

If you travel to downtown Milwaukee, you may see three large, glass domes standing out among the buildings.  That would be the Mitchell Domes, a park just outside of the busyness of the city that houses three giant greenhouses. Each dome has a theme: a tropical dome, a desert dome, and then a show dome that changes throughout the year. The show dome was under construction when we were there, but we were able to go inside and see their progress. The theme is "Alice in Wonderland".

On a recent trip to Milwaukee, I spent a day wandering around the Milwaukee Art Museum. First of all, the architecture of the building is incredible. The "wings" of the roof are opened up each morning and closed at night, and they "flap" closed and open again each day at noon.  And really, you just can't beat that gorgeous view of Lake Michigan! The art inside was truly incredible. We spent the entire day looking at all of the pieces. Luckily, I went with my sister, who studied art in college, so she was able to point out important artists and tell me about their work and the movements they were involved in.  By far, the coolest thing was a piece of interactive art. It was literally just a light in a room and a fog machine, but we spent such a long time playing with the effects in this room.