Knit, Purl, Pray: 52 Devotions for the Creative Soul - A Review

Published - October 2015, Worthy Publishers
Author - Lisa Bogart
Title - Knit Purl Pray
Format - ebook, paper
Find on Amazon

Summary (From Amazon):
Knit, Purl, Pray is for the knitter who recognizes that when she is creating
something beautiful with yarn, it is also a way to be quiet and reflect. The
devotions make connections between knitting and all manner of things from joy and
service to boredom and confession. These reflections help the reader think about
the craft they love in a new way and perhaps see their problems as something
that can be unraveled and reworked into something beautiful. Each new day is an
opportunity to create something new.

My Thoughts:
Those of you who know me, know i don't usually pick up a nonfiction book. This one caught my attention though. Not because I knit (I don't), but because I am creative and crafty. I mean, I crochet (a craft that shares some similarities to knitting) and I scrapbook. So I was intrigued. 

Whenever I've requested a devotional to review, I always wish that I actually could enjoy it the way it is designed - in this case over 52 days. But I couldn't do it that way as the review needed to be up by Oct 15. 

Still this book was good to read. It is very easy to read and I loved the connections made between the craft and the actual time spent creating the piece. Things like being bored or just passing time. The book itself brought to mind that we are like a tapestry that is still in progress of being made. When it's completed, it's going to be something amazing. But right now, we're still a work in progress. Just like the blanket I'm working on. 

There's a lot I can learn from this book. I'll probably eventually purchase a paperback copy to be able to access it easier than the pdf version that I received from the publisher.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I think I'd like to go back through it the way it's supposed to be read and get more out of it.

I received a pdf version of this book for free from Worthy Books as part of the First Look Blog Tour. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of knitting, devotions, women's ministry

Rating - 4 stars

Confident Heart Devotional - A Review

About the book (from Amazon)

Built on the hope-infusing truths found in the 2012 Retailer's Choice Winner, A Confident Heart, Renee Swope's new 60-day devotional takes women on a journey toward lasting confidence. Swope has expanded her popular "When I say--God says" statements and Scriptures, and offers women a daily thought-map to help them exchange their most common and crippling self-doubts with God's transforming truths.

Like having a conversation with a friend and mentor, Renee's authentic style and soul-stirring devotions include personal stories, powerful biblical teaching, and real-life application wrapped around one of God's promises each day to help readers:

•live confidently in their God-given roles, relationships and responsibilities
•break free from people-pleasing and performance-based living
•believe God's promises and apply his truth in their daily lives
•trust the certainty of God's truth over their circumstances and emotions

My Thoughts:
I've been a fan of Renee Swope's since I first heard her snippets from Proverbs 31 Ministries on the radio. This is a very simple and easy to read devotional. Unlike other devotionals I've read, this one isn't set up with questions to answer. But instead each chapter is designed to be read one per day over 60 days. Each chapter starts with Scripture and then follows into a practical story/application and ends with a prayer. A lot of the topics she covers in building confidence, I've actually learned through my Mary Kay training. Yet I still found the devotional to be very good. 

I received this book for free from Revell Books for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating - 4 stars. It's practical and easy to read - always a plus when I'm reading nonfiction!

Recommended to fans of Beth Moore, devotionals, Joyce Meyer, Max Lucado

Available November, 2013 from Revell books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

God's Love Letters to You by Dr. Larry Crabb

Designed to be read as a daily devotional over a period of 40 days, Dr Larry Crabb highlights specific "Love Letters" from God, meaning books of the Bible. Each book is set up with a short letter where God is talking directly to you the reader. It then has a few thought provoking questions and a prayer to pray to help you get your mind onto the things God's teaching you in the chapters.

I've never read a devotional book that is set up as specific love letters. It was neat to find something that was out of my normal realm of reading. The nuggets gleaned from some of the chapters did make me want to turn to my Bible and read that particular book. I'm sad to say that I didn't act upon my instincts though. There were several letters that I enjoyed more than the rest. These included Ruth, Habakkuk, Luke, Ephesians, 2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1 John, and Revelation. Why did these particular letters stand out to me? Well aside from Ruth being my favorite book of the Bible, there was a lot I could learn about overcoming obstacles. The others did make me think or look at a concept in a different way.

For the most part, as a primarily fiction reader, this non-fiction book held my attention better than most nonfiction. I probably wouldn't have picked it up at the bookstore simply because it is nonfiction. But having given it a fair shot, I did enjoy it overall.

I received this book for free from Booksneeze for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.