ESV ILLUMINATED BIBLE Review

ESV ILLUMINATED BIBLE REVIEW

I was very excited to get the opportunity to review the Illuminated Bible. I have many friends that have used similar bibles in the past and I was very curious about them.

The ESV Illuminated Bible places the full ESV text alongside over 500 elegantly hand-lettered gold ink illustrations by renowned artist Dana Tanamachi. Printed on thick cream-colored paper, the Bible's single-column text setting and wide margins provide generous space for additional notes, prayers, and designs—inviting readers to creatively engage with and reflect on the beauty of God's Word.

• 9-point, Lexicon

• Black letter text

• 2-color printing

• 64 full-page, custom book opener illustrations

• 50 full-page verse illustrations

• 250+ hand-lettered margin verses

• 100+ other illustrations throughout

• Illustrated by Dana Tanamachi, whose work has been featured by Google, The Wall Street Journal, Random House, USPS, and Target

• Thick, cream-colored paper

• Wide margins

• Single-column, paragraph format

• Smyth-sewn binding

• Packaging: Permanent Slipcase

• Dana Tanamachi is an American lettering artist, graphic designer, and illustrator whose exquisite typographic murals ignited the worldwide chalk-lettering trend. She has been commissioned by clients such as Instagram, Target, Google, Time Magazine, Nike, and West Elm. Learn more at tanamachistudio.com.

This bible is absolutely beautiful. It comes in a beautiful box-like case that is similar to the cover with gold flowers and navy background. I was a little disappointed that it was hardbound. I'm not entirely sure what I expect the cover to be, I just didn't expected it to be hard bound.  I think a softer cover would be more easily transportable for daily use.

Each book has its own beautiful gold page announcing its title. That and the other gold touches with verses here through out the bible are a nice touch.

Overall, it is a gorgeous bible with lots of room to take notes, journal or draw and doodle as much as you'd like. I think it will be very good for sitting down and studying or meditating on God's Word. My only real criticism is it is fairly large and heavy and not a great size to transport and carry with you, even to church in my opinion. 

Get yours below.

Amazon

IlluminatedBible.org

I was given a copy through flybypromotions.com in exchange for my honest review.

Glory Song by Matt Redman CD Review

Glory Song by Matt Redman CD Review

I am a homeschooling mom of five, so I thought it would be a great idea to play the CD during our homeschool day to keep our hearts lifted. Boy did it work! I love how the first song, All Glory, begins with the choir vocalizing and moves into the wonderfully upbeat Gospel Song.  Gospel Song has a wonderful melody and kept my foot tapping.

Greatest Hallelujah starts of sweetly with just a guitar and then it builds and brings in piano and other instruments. I can see myself singing this song a lot and it may be my favorite song on the entire album. Gracefully broken is a nice powerful song that is very moving. I like the addition of the female vocals too.

One Day(When we all get to heaven) is a piano driven classic hymn that took me back to singing at the small town country church I first attended as an adult. It was just like how we sang there and it was very nostalgic for me. The rest of the album continued with beautiful, heartfelt songs that were soothing and uplifting to listen to during our homeschool day.

Redemption ground particularly was very calming and lovely to listen to. I especially enjoyed Still I will sing. That no matter what, I will sing praises to God. I really enjoyed listening to this album and highly recommend it to anyone.

Check out some great videos about this album here:

Gracefully Broken Top Of The Tower Live Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__haUJns_b8 Gracefully Broken (Lyric Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR0lxbIP4 Gracefully Broken (Song Story): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LeKJYkhIo8

About the album:
Matt Redman teamed up with several of his worship-artist friends for this album, first releasing the track “Gracefully Broken (feat. Tasha Cobbs Leonard).” Tasha Cobbs Leonard also released her own version of this song on the same day! The album also features Kierra Sheard, Guvna B, Madison Cunningham, and Kim Walker-Smith

Get your copy here: http://capcmg.me/GlorySong?IQid=flyby

I was given a copy of Matt Redman's Glory Song CD in exchange for my honest review.

Every Day with God Veggie Tales Devotional Review

About the Book:

​Every Day with God is the latest 365-day devotional (one for boys and another for girls) from VeggieTales. The updated content and art offer the perfect opportunity for parent and child to share time together each day. Each entry includes a Bible verse, short devotion, Thought of the Day, and prayer. The content will help children learn more about God and develop a daily practice to keep Him close in their lives. The book is perfect for bedtime reading, family devotion time, or as a fresh way to start each day!

We really liked this book. I have a four year old boy and a three year old boy who adore everything VeggieTales so I was very excited to get the opportunity to review this book. We were not disappointed. I loved that we could use favorite characters along with bible verses to help them begin to learn the Bible and how to make studying it part of their daily lives. One a day wasn't even enough for them!! They wanted to keep reading, so we read several every time. We recommend this book for 4-7 year old kids. They'll love it!!

You can get your own copy of the Every Day with God devotional for boys here and the girls one here

#EveryDayWithGod

#FlyBy

DIY BABY WIPES

DIY Baby Wipes

I wanted to share my DIY baby wipes recipe. Originally found in the CHEMICAL FREE HOME 1 book but I adjusted it a little.

About 1 tbsp KidScents bath gel
4 drops gentle baby oil
4 drops lavender essential oil
1 1/2 cups water
1 roll of Brawny paper towels cut in half
Air tight container with lid large enough to fit half a paper towel roll.

Mix bath gel and essential oil in a mixing bowl and then add water. Cut one Brawny paper towel roll in half, setting one half aside. Place one half inside your airtight container and remove cardboard insert. Pour water mixture evenly over roll and cover with the lid. Set aside until water is absorbed throughout roll.

Note: I've gone back and unrolled the paper towels afterwards to make wipes look more folded like commercially sold wipes and I've left them in the roll shape and it's been fine either way.

Testimony: we've been using these wipes for several months now and have completely eliminated store bought wipes. They work great and soothe the skin. My boys(I have two in diapers) haven't had any of the rashes they would normally get from irritation due to staying in a diaper too long or the soap on the wipes. We love using these wipes!!

The Restaurant Critic's Wife Book Review

     The Restaurant Critic's Wife by Elizabeth LaBan is about Sam and Lila Soto who have just moved to Philadelphia for Sam to begin his dream job of working as a restaurant critic for a newspaper. Sam is very insistent on keeping his identity a secret so that no one in the restaurant industry will know it is him when he dines at their restaurants. As the story begins, Lila, a former crisis manager for Addison Hotels, is pregnant with their second child and knows almost no one in their new town.

     For the most part, I liked the book. I, however, didn't really care for either of the main characters. Sam is obsessive, self centered and selfish. Lila is insecure, selfish and self centered. They don't communicate with each other at all and act very immature and childish too. It was hard for me as a mother of five to read about a woman that is so insecure in her parenting but doesn't actually parent. I felt like she spent the entire book just distracting her kids so that she could do what she wanted. 

     I don't want to come down too hard on the book because there were several things I enjoyed. The different restaurants and menus was very interesting and fun. I liked how real the author was with a lot of parenting issues, with children throwing fits and fighting and dealing with other moms. But, unfortunately, the main character of Lila was very hard for me to read. She was very insecure and immature and selfish in my opinion. Overall, I liked the authors writing style and the way she described the scenes. I felt as if I was actually there. I just didn't care for Sam and Lila Soto.

I was given a free advanced copy of The Restaurant Critic's Wife from Netgalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

Surprised by the Healer Book Review + GIVEAWAY!!

From surprisedbythehealer.com :

"The Healer is inviting you…

God’s word declares that there is healing for your deepest pains, hope for your biggest disappointments, and victory over your addictions, past hurts, and past failures. His name is Jehovah Rapha, the God Who Heals, and He can redeem your broken story.

In these pages, you will meet nine courageous women who have agreed to tell their stories, to share with you how they moved from hopelessness and brokenness to hope and healing. Whether from sexual abuse, betrayal in marriage, or other harrowing experiences, the Healer invited them on a unique journey of redemption in the midst of deep pain. He is inviting you, too.

Linda Dillow and Dr. Juli Slattery, cofounders of Authentic Intimacy, have been writing and ministering to women in the church and clinical context for several decades. Their wisdom and experience overflow in this work to give you a trusted resource in journeying toward healing.

Includes a study guide for each chapter in the back of the book."

The stories featured in this book are incredible, heart breaking and awe-inspiring. Our God is amazing. These women have bravely shared their stories and how God has healed them. I think its time for a giveaway so a few of you can read this book for yourself!

I'm giving away TWO COPIES OF SURPRISED BY THE HEALER!!

for US residents only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FREE Surprised by the Healer Webinar TONIGHT!!! 9PM ET/6PM PT

Please don't forget to check out the FREE Surprised by the Healer Webinar tonight at 9PM ET/6PM PT.

The authors Dr Juli Slattery and Linda Dillow will be discussing their book, Surprised by the Healer. 

Do you have brokenness in your past? Do you feel like God can't forgive you for the things you've done? We all have things in our past we wish weren't there. But the good news of the gospel is there isn't anything too broken for God to heal. God’s word declares that there is healing for your deepest pains, hope for your biggest disappointments, and victory over your addictions, past hurts, and past failures. His name is Jehovah Rapha, the God Who Heals, and He can redeem. Learn more about how Jesus wants to heal your broken story during this webinar. 

Linda Dillow and Dr. Juli Slattery, cofounders of Authentic Intimacy, have been writing and ministering to women in the church and clinical context for several decades. Their wisdom and experience overflow in their new book, Surprised By the Healer, to give you a trusted resource in journeying toward healing.

Monday January 25th- 9pm EST / 8pm CT / 7pm MT / 6pm PT