The devotional begins with a single-page introduction that explains that the Bible has "a lot to say about the unique challenges -- the heartaches and the high points -- of being female" and invites women to look at the stories of about 60 women in the Bible and to see how they are relevant to us today as beloved daughters of God.
Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women then gets right into 365 one-page devotions.
The devotions are numbered, not dated, which I appreciate, because that means the book is more inviting to pick up and begin at any point during a year. It also means that if you cannot spend time with the book every day, you won't be taunted by a day or week written at the top of page telling you to "catch up". Rather, you can just use the handy attached bookmark ribbon to open up to where you left off and carry on.
Each devotion is laid out in the same eye-pleasing way with a cheerful border of flowers, the number of the devotion, a verse at the top of the page in a reddish font, then several paragraphs in black that bring the tales of tragedy and triumph of ancient women of the Bible into nowadays relevance, and finally a few blank lines in case you want to make notes.
The devotions are also laid out in a logical way, beginning with women from Genesis and ending with those from the Old Testament and ending with those from the New Testament with consecutive days of devotions exploring lessons that can be gleaned from one woman from the Bible before moving on to the next woman that the Bible introduces.
Of course, all the more famous women of the Bible, such as Eve, Ruth, Elizabeth, and Mary are included.
Wonderfully, some lesser known role models are as well.
Each of he 365 devotions in Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women is brief, pointed, and inspiring, written in a language that appeals to many young women (with words such as "cool" and "just sayin'" included at times).
The organization, approach, and language of the devotional make "meaty" matters digestible, relevant and accessible.
A Gift for Daughter-and-Me
When I received Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women, my intention was to see if it would be appropriate as a gift for my 11-year-old daughter. Thus, I have not read every page of the devotional yet, because I can only enjoy reading it when my daughter is not around - which is a rarity. However, I have found pockets of time to read a week's worth of devotions here, another week there, a page here, and a page there, and, so far, I have found the material thought-provoking, encouraging, and edifying.
Mind you, I am well beyond the age that Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women is intended for, so the fact that some of the devotions speak to me personally points toward the fact that, although the book is written for Young Women, the stories of Biblical women are timeless and can be illuminating to all women. Even when the take on them is geared to be relevant to younger women, we aging ones can benefit, too.
With this in mind - as well as the fact that the print in the book is relatively small and might frustrate my daughter who struggles with dyslexia, I have decided to gift Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women to my daughter as a mom-and-me devotional.
My plan is to gift the book to my daughter with some tea bags, a container of cider, and a note saying I'd like to make regular mom-and-me time to read and chat about the book together.
Why tea and cider? Simple. I favor tea, she favors hot cider, and we both like to spend time outside. This winter, I look forward to making some quiet time for just y daughter and I to read and chat about the devotions outside away from the hullabaloo of family life at home with just her brothers.
I am especially excited about this, because my daughter has been making strides with reading her large-print Bible and other material, and, I think that, with me alongside her, Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women might unlock the gift of reading for my daughter even more. For, I know she will love the stories and verses in it and will be moved by many of the thoughts in the devotions.
If I am wrong about the reading part, however, and the relatively small print and level of reading in the devotionals proves just a little too much for my daughter, I am still confident that Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women can be a win for us. I can read the devotions to her and, then, we can chat about them. Whether she reads them or I do, the beauty of their meaning will still be there.
I truly look forward to seeing how our time with Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women will unfold and bless us.
Learn More
From what I've read of Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women so far, I recommend the book for young and older women alike.
If you'd like to see what people who are currently using the devotional with their daughters or have daughters using it on their own, be sure to click through reviews from 60 Review Crew families. Some are written by people who are not saving the book as a gift, like I am, but who are already using it!
Find Zondervan on social media:
The devotions are numbered, not dated, which I appreciate, because that means the book is more inviting to pick up and begin at any point during a year. It also means that if you cannot spend time with the book every day, you won't be taunted by a day or week written at the top of page telling you to "catch up". Rather, you can just use the handy attached bookmark ribbon to open up to where you left off and carry on.
Each devotion is laid out in the same eye-pleasing way with a cheerful border of flowers, the number of the devotion, a verse at the top of the page in a reddish font, then several paragraphs in black that bring the tales of tragedy and triumph of ancient women of the Bible into nowadays relevance, and finally a few blank lines in case you want to make notes.
The devotions are also laid out in a logical way, beginning with women from Genesis and ending with those from the Old Testament and ending with those from the New Testament with consecutive days of devotions exploring lessons that can be gleaned from one woman from the Bible before moving on to the next woman that the Bible introduces.
The organization, approach, and language of the devotional make "meaty" matters digestible, relevant and accessible.
When I received Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women, my intention was to see if it would be appropriate as a gift for my 11-year-old daughter. Thus, I have not read every page of the devotional yet, because I can only enjoy reading it when my daughter is not around - which is a rarity. However, I have found pockets of time to read a week's worth of devotions here, another week there, a page here, and a page there, and, so far, I have found the material thought-provoking, encouraging, and edifying.
With this in mind - as well as the fact that the print in the book is relatively small and might frustrate my daughter who struggles with dyslexia, I have decided to gift Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women to my daughter as a mom-and-me devotional.
My plan is to gift the book to my daughter with some tea bags, a container of cider, and a note saying I'd like to make regular mom-and-me time to read and chat about the book together.
Why tea and cider? Simple. I favor tea, she favors hot cider, and we both like to spend time outside. This winter, I look forward to making some quiet time for just y daughter and I to read and chat about the devotions outside away from the hullabaloo of family life at home with just her brothers.
I am especially excited about this, because my daughter has been making strides with reading her large-print Bible and other material, and, I think that, with me alongside her, Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women might unlock the gift of reading for my daughter even more. For, I know she will love the stories and verses in it and will be moved by many of the thoughts in the devotions.
Familiarity with the language of the Bible and desire to see what Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women has to say might motivate my daughter to make strides in reading while also encouraging her to keep blossoming as the beautiful daughter of God she is.
If I am wrong about the reading part, however, and the relatively small print and level of reading in the devotionals proves just a little too much for my daughter, I am still confident that Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women can be a win for us. I can read the devotions to her and, then, we can chat about them. Whether she reads them or I do, the beauty of their meaning will still be there.
I truly look forward to seeing how our time with Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women will unfold and bless us.
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| Read all the reviews. |
From what I've read of Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women so far, I recommend the book for young and older women alike.
If you'd like to see what people who are currently using the devotional with their daughters or have daughters using it on their own, be sure to click through reviews from 60 Review Crew families. Some are written by people who are not saving the book as a gift, like I am, but who are already using it!
Find Zondervan on social media:
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- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Zondervan
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