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.

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.

My Brother's Crown Review

Goodreads description says,"From Christy award-winning authors Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould comes a brand-new sweeping family saga. Close-knit cousins are individually led on a redemptive journey as they follow the threads of their family's mysterious past and discover how it impacts the future.

Renee Talbot, a director in her family's 350-year-old paper company, is facing a huge problem: how to stay afloat in an increasingly paperless world. When her grandmother asks for her help in finding answers to some unsettling family-related questions, Renee's search for truth takes her to Europe, where she learns the story of Catherine Gillette, an ancestor who lived in seventeenth-century France. Headstrong and independent, young Catherine's brave actions saved the original paper company--and various members of the family--during a time when the French Huguenots were being persecuted by Louis XIV.

As Renee tries to save the company and her family's legacy, she draws courage and wisdom from an ancestor who stood strong and faithful when life was at its most perilous and God seemed to expect more from her than she ever thought she could deliver. "

I enjoyed this book from the start. The authors take us back and forth between Catherine Gilette in 17th century France and Renee Talbot in present day Virginia.  The characters are relatives as Renee is an descendant of Catherine. I enjoyed the use of historical facts interwoven throughout this book. Louis XIV's France was very interesting to read about, as well as the plight of the Huguenots. I hadn't heard of them before reading this book actually.

I felt Renee was a very real, strong character, a mature, modern and intelligent woman which greatly contrasted to the young, immature Catherine. Sometimes I found myself rolling my eyes at Catherine's impulsiveness. I had to remind myself that she was a very sheltered and, in a sense, spoiled young woman of her day. But that didn't deter me from enjoying the book and being eager to read the next installment of the series.

BELOW CONTAINS A FEW SPOILERS

My only real criticism was the fact that the major traumatic incident that surrounded Renee wasn't completely concluded in my opinion. She finally faced her fears and went back to look for evidence and you never found out what actually happened. I guess you could say that they kind of concluded it because they went back and everyone finally believed them and the police had a plan to investigate, but it still felt like a loose end to me. There is always the possibility that they will continue that in other books in the series since this is the first book in the series.

All in all, I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more about them in the following books.

I was given an advanced copy of My Brother's Crown by NetGalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

Strong and Kind Book Review

What Legacy Will You Pass Down To The Next Generation?

“After being a parent for twenty years, I have come to believe that the most important thing for parents to decide—more important than bottle or breastfeeding, more important than co-sleeping or sleep training, and even more important than whether to put your child in day care or become a stay-at-home parent—is what values are important to your family and how you will go about instilling those values in your children.”

In Strong and Kind Korie Robertson—with the help of her mom, Chrys Howard, and with insights and stories from her husband, Willie—introduces nine character traits that children need in order to lead a successful life. And though there are no perfect parents or perfect children, Korie shares principles—based on biblical wisdom and time-tested practices—that will help you parent your own one-of-a-kind child.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began reading this book. What a wonderfully written and lovely book to read. Korie takes us through the different character qualities or traits that your child needs to succeed. She suggests starting with the two that are most important to you. Strong and Kind are the two she feels are most important for her children.

She had lots of insightful advice for parenting and shared stories of her own childhood and parenting experiences to go along with the qualities. She takes the reader through each of the qualities and how they apply to us then she details how you can start implementing them in our own lives and teaching them to our children. Along the way, Willie tells his point of view of the character qualities as well as stories from his children and parenting experiences.

In conclusion, it was a wonderful read and I really enjoyed reading it. I highly recommend reading this for any parent, especially if you are a Duck Dynasty fan but not only if you are a fan. Korie is quite personable and real towards her own experiences and journey as a parent. If you're a parent or soon to be, go get this book!

I was given a free copy of Strong and Kind in exchange for my honest review.

The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God Book Review

 


"Jep Robertson, the youngest son of Duck Commander Phil Robertson, and his wife, Jessica, open up about their personal trials, their early years together, and the challenges that might have destroyed them both had the grace of God not intervened. Jep describes being molested as a child and his reluctance to tell anyone until only a few years ago, his downward spiral into drug and alcohol abuse, and the eventual intervention of his family. Jessica shares about the difficult failure of her first marriage while still a teenager and the hurt that came along with it, much of it from the church. Her insecurities spun out of control as she wondered whether she would ever be good enough or pretty enough. This book is their love story but, more importantly, their love story for God."


I really enjoyed reading this book. In my opinion, Jep isn't as well known as his other brothers, so it was really nice to hear his story. The book shifted back and forth from his perspective to his wife's perspective. Their individual stories flowed well together and kept the reader consist throughout the book.


Jep begins with his early life following around his older brothers and spending lots of time with his paternal grandmother, Merritt. It was insightful to see the perspective of the one Robertson child who was born after Phil's conversion to Christianity. Jep openly discusses his trials, including addiction and health issues. His openness and willingness to be completely forthcoming with everything and use it to witness for God's amazing grace and love is really refreshing. I highly recommend reading this book!!

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