Heidi's Haven

I recently read 365 Devotions for Living Joyfully  by Victoria York. This devotion shares a verse for each day along with a couple of short paragraphs encouraging the reader to take on life with a more positive perspective in order to live with more joy. There is also a short prayer at the end of each devotion.  It is ideal to start reading this on January 1st, since the date is printed on the top of each page. You would read one page every day for a year. Also, this is definitely geared toward women.  The book itself is a beautiful, small hardcover. It is very sturdy. The pages are shiny and glossy, and there is a pretty ribbon bookmark (though it was stuck to the pages and left a mark when it arrived). Overall, I really enjoyed this devotional. I thought that the material was really well written and stood out to me in a new way. I would recommend this to someone, and I gave it 4/5 stars. xx Heidi *I received a free copy of this for review ...

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! Today I am sharing my review for A Field Guide for Everyday Mission: 30 Days and 101 Ways to Demonstrate the Gospel , written by Ben Connelly and Bob Roberts, Jr.  This book is all about showing how mission is a part of our lives every day. It isn't just something that people do in other countries. If you are a Christian, you are a missionary. The book is split into 30 sections, to be read over 30 days. Each week has a theme: who, what, when, where, why, and how. These questions are answered and explained throughout the week. The authors give super simple ways to share Jesus with others in our everyday routine. For the most part, the authors focus on how to share the Gospel through love and kindness toward others everyday, while being honest up front about our love for Jesus. They also stress that we personally cannot bring people to Jesus, that rather God uses us to bring them closer, so He can do the work in their hearts. They also stress that the...

Hey guys! Today I am reviewing the NKJV Word Study Bible by Thomas Nelson Publishers. Often, people can get confused by the translation of the Bible. Different versions use different words or translate the original in different ways, so a Bible like this is really helpful when it comes to Bible comprehension. First of all, let's talk about the features. This Bible includes, in additional to the full NKJV text, almost 2,000 translation word studies, book introductions, translator's footnotes, and maps.  Next, looks. This is a big hardcover Bible. The dust jacket and they physical cover look the same, and the physical cover is smooth and shiny (a guilty pleasure of mine). It is of very good quality, and Thomas Nelson Bibles all also come with a lifetime guarantee. I really like what I've seen of this Bible (I obviously didn't sit down and read the whole thing), and I'm looking forward to learning more from it. xx Heidi *I received a copy...

Hello everyone! It's a little bit late, but I wanted to show you guys my October TBR- all of the books that I hope to read this month. I can already see that it's a bit ambitious and I probably won't read them all, but I'll leave them in anyways and get to as many as I can. For October, I picked a variety of spooky/scary books. Dorothy Must Die  by Danielle Paige Last Seen Leaving  by Caleb Roehrig Horns  by Joe Hill Beautiful Creatures  by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl The Coldest Girl in Coldtown  by Holly Black What are you reading this month? xx Heidi

52 Uncommon Dates  by Randy Southern is a guide for couples who are looking to spice up their normal routine and learn more about each other, growing closer to each other and closer  to God. Southern stresses that dating should not stop at marriage, and that continuing a fun and loving relationship takes work. Each date is prefaced by a Bible verse and a quote by Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages , that relates to the date. Some dates were really cute and sounded fun, others were not so much my thing. That was the nice thing about this book: there were dates for everyone. A pretty big number of the dates seemed awkward and unrealistic, but some people might be into those. Needless to say, all of the dates are incredibly cheesy. The book was split into 52 chapters, one for each date. Each chapter includes a Bible verse, a quote, a description of the date, things to discuss, preparation, and other available related Scripture. I would recommend reading Gar...

Unfortunately, I have limited space in my apartment at my new school, which means that I could only take a couple of books with me when I moved. These books are ones that have been in my TBR mountain  pile for a long time that I really wanted to read, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. I realize I'm a little premature with this TBR, since it's still September, but with how busy I am with school I probably won't be getting to read much until October. 1. The Lost Hero  by Rick Riordan I have heard really good things about this author, though I haven't read any of his other books yet. I think it's in the same sort of universe as the Percy Jackson series. I've read a couple of chapters so far and I'm really enjoying it! 2. Dreamland  by Sarah Dessen I really love some of Sarah Dessen's books, while some are just okay. This book is pretty short, so it will be a nice, quick read.  3. Wedding Night  by Sophie Kinsella I abs...