Book Giveaway: 66 Ways God Loves You by Jennifer Rothschild

Perhaps you’ve heard it said that the Bible is God’s love letter to us. In Jennifer Rothschild’s book, 66 Ways God Loves You, we are given 66 summaries of God’s individual love messages in each book. That’s right! Every book—even Lamentations.

Take the book of Ezekiel, for example. At a time when most thought the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem meant that God had abandoned his people, Ezekiel’s message is one of hope; God’s promise to rebuild His chosen nation of Israel. Jennifer’s writings help personalize that hope. She encourages us to apply Ezekiel’s message to our own personal valley of dry bones. She writes:

“Sometimes we look at the landscape of our lives and see only a valley of dry bones. We look at dead dreams, lifeless hopes, and ruined relationships, and with Ezekiel, we wonder, Can these bones live? Can all this really come back to life? Can hope be restored? Can God breathe life into these dry bones? We all face times when everything seems dry and dead. We can only summon a weak, “Lord, You alone know the answer.”

God’s promise to us today is, ‘I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 37:6).’

Open your spiritual eyes today to see that God, and God alone, can turn your valley of dry bones into a wellspring of hope. Then ask Him to breathe new life into you.”

I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to stop, reflect, and invite God to breathe life into some dead zones of my life. Jennifer has a way of doing just that chapter, after chapter in this book.

Jennifer’s ability to draw out truth and help readers apply it sets this book apart from other gift books. Through poignant but never gushy language, she engages her readers to not only read God’s love letters, but to put them into practice in specific areas of our lives.

Speaking of the practical, the format of this 6”x 7” book is both lovely and practical. A perfect gift book, with short two-paged chapters, the ideas are deep enough to take away life changing truth, but simple enough that anyone can learn from them.

Each chapter has a short title summary of God’s message of love:

• In Leviticus, God Grants Me Access to Him
• In Proverbs, God Offers Me Wisdom, More Precious Than Rubies
• In Zephaniah, The Mighty God Sings Over Me with Great Joy
• In 1 Peter, God Gives me Victory over Suffering

I’d recommend 66 Ways as a wonderful teaching tool for Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, and small group leaders who’d like a fresh perspective on God’s cover-to-cover message of love.

Thank you for reading my book review! To enter the giveaway, simply share a comment. A winner will be randomly drawn on Tuesday, November 1.

Lifehacks Bible Giveaway

Today’s the day! I’m uber excited about giving away The Lifehacks Bible. At first, I had no clue what a Lifehacks Bible might contain. But from the very first pages of the introduction, I was intrigued:

“This is a guide for every Christian interested in asking themselves, ‘What would I do to become more like Jesus?’ This Bible is designed for anyone who would answer, ‘I’ll do whatever is required to become more like Jesus. . . but I’m not sure what that process entails.’”

The Lifehacks Bible provides 365 articles that attempt to explain the becoming-like-Jesus process, peppered into the NIV (New International Version) of the living word of God.

To explain this Bible’s goals, let me breakdown two terms. First: spiritual formation:

According to author Joe Carter, spiritual formation is “the process by which Christians, in union with Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, become conformed to the character of Christ for the purpose of communion with God.”

Ok. So, what’s a lifehack?

Any advice, shortcut, tip or skill that helps you get things done more efficiently and effectively.

These lifehack articles (one for every day of the year) give very practical, doable exercises and disciplines to become more like Jesus. Still not sure you get it? Here are some of the lifehack topics:

• scripture memorization
• journaling
• gratitude
• rest
• prayer
• seeing Jesus in Scripture
• obedience
• fasting
• evangelism
• solitude and silence
• and more!

One of my favorite aspects of this Bible is how it motivates and guides me in asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate the words of scripture—whether Old Testament or New—and show me how to apply them to my life.

I did struggle just a bit with focus and staying on the text. With a plethora of fascinating articles like “How to handle hard-to-understand-texts in the Bible,” “The Benefit of Reading the Scriptures Aloud,” “What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Worshiping,” and “Sleep as a Spiritual Activity” flipping around to read only the articles and skipping over the actual Bible was tempting.

Still, I highly recommend adding this Bible to your spiritual toolbox as you seek to work out your salvation with fear and trembling and take up your cross daily as a disciple of Christ.

So what are you waiting for? Comment below and I’ll enter you in my drawing. If you’re the winner, you’ll be notified on Friday June 24th after 5 p.m. If you don’t win, go here to purchase one for yourself. You’ll be glad you did!

Want to win this? Enter my Giveaway!

OK. I promised you a giveaway last week. And today I’m super excited to deliver on that promise!

To thank you—my awesome pebble throwing readers—for following me, reading my random musings, and joining the conversation each week, I’m giving you a chance to win this soon-to-be-released Bible by Thomas Nelson.

And guess what? You’ll be among the first to own it because it’s not even hitting bookstores until June 7th! I think you’re going to love it!

The American Woman’s Bible highlights extraordinary actions and words from influential women in our country who live out biblical virtues.

It features women like abolitionist, Angelina Grimke, who spoke out publically against slavery in the 1830’s, bravely issuing challenges to women such as:

“I know you do not make the laws, but you are the wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, and grandmothers of those who do. If you really suppose there is nothing you can do to overthrow slavery, you are greatly mistaken.”

Tucked inside this Bible you will find profiles of Christian women, some who are well-known historical figures such as Rosa Parks and others like Lisa Beamer, whose heroism continues today. (Lisa’s husband, Todd, lost his life derailing a terrorist plot to crash a plane filled with Americans in the succession of September 11th terrorist attacks.)

I believe you’ll enjoy the wide array of America’s outstanding women represented in this Bible and find yourself encouraged to make a difference in society and leave your ripple effect on future generations.

Features of this Bible include:

• Theme articles showing how biblical virtues have shaped our nation
• Biographies of influential American women highlighting key points of their lives
• Inspirational quotes by or about great women, famous and not well-known
• Introductions to each book of the Bible
• Essays about biblical virtues embodied in women during key chapters of America’s history
• Presentation page for gift-giving

To enter my giveaway for this awesome Bible, simply leave a comment below. (click to tweet)
I will draw a winner on Tuesday, June 7th. Thanks for stopping by and may the best woman win 🙂