**I’m adding this post to my 31 Days of the Best Bible Books for Kids because Guess What? If you don’t read your Bible in front of your kids, they aren’t gonna do it either. Just reading to them isn’t enough. Reading your Bible is the best way to introduce your kids to God and His Word. They can only go as far as you’ve gone. So, here’s a little about a Bible I reviewed in 2010 and still love and use regularly as a devotional today.**
I’ve been somewhat chronicling my 8 month journey to GET UP EARLY AND READ MY BIBLE. Yeah, it’s the same New Year’s Resolution I’ve had since I was 15. And finally, this year, I’ve figured it out. Well, I’m in the middle of figuring it out anyway.
The last few weeks, I’ve been reading my Bible daily. In my closet. Hey, what can I say? It’s the most quiet place in the house! I’m not doing a big Bible study. Just reading. A few days into this new habit, Zondervan contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in reviewing a new Bible. Not a “new” Bible, really, just one with some new devotions and a new package. And oh, the packaging! It’s purple!!
This purple Bible is called the New Mom’s Prayer Bible. I’ve been a mom for 4 years but I consider myself a “new mom”…I mean, every single day is something new! I’ve never been the mom of a 4 and 1 year old. I don’t have any idea what I’m doing! I figured this Bible was perfect for me…and hoped it would be something great to share with you.
Besides the fact that it’s purple, what I really like about it is that the devotions are divided into time increments. So, if you have 1 minute, you read one scripture {that is printed, you don’t have to look it up} and one little paragraph of application. If you have 5 minutes, they suggest reading the scripture in context and praying. And if you have more time, there is a link (no, that’s not the right word…it’s just a page number that you can flip to…hmmm, these old-fashioned things called ‘books’!) for more scriptures that are appropriate to the topic.
The coolest part is that there is a one word idea to take with you for the rest of the day. There’s no pressure to remember history, or memorize a scripture. Just take one word with you. The first day was LIFE. Then FATHER. The third day is the one that has stuck with me the most: SANCTUARY.
As a stay-at-home mom, I’m used to having NO sanctuary. I don’t even get to take a shower without someone pressing their nose against the glass or sitting on the bathmat asking me to read a book. So, a sanctuary? A place to be alone? Quiet? Refreshed? Satisfied? That is attractive…and something I need.
The devotion began with Ezekiel 11:16, then pointed to 3 other scriptures (feel free to look them up if you have a sec): Psalm 22:9-11, Psalm 139:7-10 and Acts 17:26-28.
As I read all these verses I was deeply impressed with how intimate God desires to be with me and my life. I wrote this in my journal:
As a mother
Isolated
Alone.
Satisfy me with Your Presence.
Always Near.
Always Enough.
I really wasn’t trying to poetic. (Believe me, I know that’s not poetic!) It was just my shorthand for the themes that stood out in those passages. But it stood out to me like a big promise AND prayer. That even though my days may be isolated, my decisions misunderstood, my attitudes unreadable, my thoughts imperceptible—God is always near. Not just in a magisterial overlord position. But in a way that is Always Enough.
And for this new mom? It’s what I needed. A sanctuary with the One who is enough. A sanctuary in my closet with a purple Bible.
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