Heidi's Haven

Included In Christ  by Heather Holleman is an 8-week study of Ephesians geared toward women, with a focus on individual verbs in the verses that influence our lives and our perception of ourselves. While this can be done individually, it is geared toward a group. As I mentioned earlier, each chapter focuses on a verb for the week. This was a really cool and interesting concept, and was done very well. Focusing on individual words really brought the verses into a new light for me and gave me new things to consider.  What you need to do this Bible study is your Bible and a journal. There are a ton of journaling prompts each day in the study. Holleman asks the reader to do lots of journaling, reflection, and imagining. She includes space for journaling, but I would recommend having your own journal. I would also recommend leaving yourself plenty of time to journal and really think about your responses. This way, you're able to give it enough thought. She also i...

Hello everyone! I just finished reading the book The Seven Laws of Love: Essential Principles for Building Stronger Relationships  by Dave Willis, and I would like to share my thoughts on it. This book is all about the things necessary for love in any kind of relationship, whether that is a romantic relationship, a friendship, and just every day interactions as well. I actually really enjoyed this book, though I wasn't sure if the subject matter would really interest me. I thought I'm a pretty nice and loving person, so I wasn't sure what I would get out of a book about how to love. However, I found this book to be extremely helpful and informative. In addition to my normal note taking when I review books, I also made tons of notes and did some journaling for my personal benefit as well. The author, Dave Willis, states in the book that if we were to get one thing out of the book, he would want it to be that God loves us, and I think that he expressed that ext...

Hello again! I just finished reading Habits for our Holiness  by Philip Nation, and I want to share my thoughts on it. I received a copy of the book from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review. This is a book about living out the spiritual disciplines. Philip Nation not only went into depth in explaining the disciplines, but also gave advice and instruction in how to live out those disciplines. Nation gives all kinds of insight on everyday things that we should be doing and thinking about, such as various kinds of prayer, worship, and service. He also dedicated a chapter to fasting, which is something I have never learned about elsewhere, and I found that to be very interesting. He mentioned that all of these disciplines, while very personal, do not necessarily have to be private. For each discipline, he gave examples and instruction for both individuals and groups. Having never studied spiritual disciplines before, this book was really helpful and eye o...

Hello everyone! Today, I would like to introduce you all to Esther Delseno, the author of many wonderful books, including Gabriel and the Swallows,  which comes out on March 11.  Born in Australia, Esther has a love for travel, traveling all over the world before settling in Berlin with her family. I really think this travel gives her such an interesting perspective in her writing. Her currently available works include Totoro's Garden  and Drown , a retelling of The Little Mermaid- you can find more information on her works  here. Gabriel and the Swallows  is the first book in The Volatile Duology, and how cool does that name sound?? I cannot wait to read this book! Have you read anything by Esther Dalseno? xx Heidi