Melissa B. Kruger wrote "Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood: An Eleven-Week Devotional Bible Study" differently. I find myself going back to this book, even when a bit of the writing has pricked my conscience and made me aware of an area of my life that needs sanctification. Even when I am off schedule because I completely forgot to pick up my devotional for a few days (or weeks). This devotional feels like a gentle conversation with a wise friend who has traveled a road similar to mine. I find it strangely comforting. Strange, because as I stated before, I don't really like devotional books.
This eleven-week devotional is set up with 5 daily readings per weekly section. Did you catch that? You can either take weekends off, or you can give yourself 2 days of grace wherever you need them during the week. Or, like me, you can toss the schedule out the window and progress at your own pace. It's all good. I appreciate that the passages of Scripture for suggested reading are printed in the book, because I like to do my devotionals late at night in bed and don't want the additional juggling and jostling of flipping between my Bible and my devotional book. Daily readings are about 4 pages long, leaving spaces for you to write in answers to questions if you wish. It takes me under 10 minutes to do the reading and a brief answer to the questions, more if I counted in time of reflection and prayer when the reading hits close to home. I would recommend this devotional for mothers of all ages and seasons, it is not written toward new moms any more than to moms of teens. The author discusses Scripture with a graceful, casual teaching approach, not assuming the reader is either Bible-illiterate or using elaborate theological terms. She explains some concepts, yet leaves plenty of room for thoughtfulness with decisive questions about our choices, actions, and priorities in light of God's Word. I particularly appreciate that this author's objective is to lead us closer to God by allowing us to reason through our own choices and aspirations. She isn't telling us in detail how she grew closer to the Lord and expecting us to mimic her and achieve the same results. On page 76, she writes, "Ordering our homes [This section has been discussing priorities as much as, or more so, than physical order such as structure and cleanliness.] requires particular care because everyone's life and circumstances are different. What works for one family might not be an option for another. Each of us has different resources of time, money, and abilities that either limit us or free us up in certain ways.... Consider what is reasonable, but try to avoid comparing your household to another family's." The quote I shared above may seem overly simple and basic to you, but I assure you that if you take the time to read a full section, you will find this book contains more than meets the eye. She speaks the truth in love, from a nonjudgmental position, and points us to God's Word and Christ's righteousness. It's a keeper. The second devotional I've ever kept. I guess one of these days I'll have to write a review on my favorite devotional that is meaty and intense. **In the interest of full-disclosure, I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books for the purpose of reviewing. I was not required to write a positive review; my opinions are my own. |