Womans Study Bible

Thomas Nelson

I spent a lot of time trying to find just the perfect woman's bible for myself. I sat at the bookstore pouring over the different options and found one thing in common throughout them all -- they are fluff! There was no depth, nothing for the serious woman of God to study.

I know there is a market for easily digestible Bibles out there. There are many women who are new or young in the faith who need milk instead of meat. But there has to be an option for those women who are looking for something deeper to help them grow in the Lord. Real food.

Then I happened upon the Woman's Study Bible from Thomas Nelson. It is a beautiful bible, physically, but that aspect of it pales in comparison to its contents. The study notes are not only thorough and many, but they are specifically geared towards the interests and concerns of women (not in a pandering or militant sort of way) and then in addition there are regular devotionals/studies throughout the Bible that focus (in a VERY balanced way) on various topics of faith, life, doctrine, etc. as well as female characters in the Bible.

As with any good study bible there are many diagrams, charts, and other helps to aid the serious reader with their understanding of biblical concepts/events.

I love this bible and I love it in this format. It is very portable and readable anywhere. I do wish the paper was a bit thicker, but then again, then the Bible would be quite a bit thicker which would take away from its convenient size.

Well done, Thomas Nelson, thanks for updating your Womans Study Bible (the original edition was good too, but not nearly as nice as this one) and for producing a product that acknowledges the dignity and desire for study of your female audience.

(posted by iPhone)

Preparation for Eternity with God

by Rick M. Streight
** (2 stars out of 5)

Let me start by saying that I really wanted to enjoy this book. The title intrigued me because my whole goal in life is to know God intimately in this lifetime in preparation for my eternity with Him so this book seemed to be right on point. But I just found that it missed the mark in many ways.

First of all I did not appreciate the cover. While I believe the imagery of the marriage supper with the Lamb is beautiful and awe-inspiring, the picture of the typical American newly-wed couple holding hands together in a field takes away from the ineffable reverent and unimaginable quality of the marriage relationship between us the Church and our betrothed, Christ. Something less mundane would have been much more appropriate.

The content itself was well-intentioned, but I found that many of the chapters consisted mostly of random (though relevant) scripture quotations with little to no discussion or application.

The book is also a little more shallow than I expected. It is more of a gospel outreach book than a deep, spiritually developing book. And maybe that’s why it didn’t resonate with me – I was hoping for rich thoughts on really preparing myself for my eternal relationship with God, but this book seemed more aimed at those who do not even realise that they are made for such a relationship and explaining that to them.

Additionally, I reviewed the electronic version of this book and found it very difficult to differentiate between the quoted scripture and the author’s words. Maybe this is not a problem in the printed version, but I do wish publishers would give more thought to the layout and presentation of their electronic materials.

Finally, I did not feel as though there was a prevailing theme or thought that tied this book together, even though it seems it would have been easy to tie it all together. It felt more like disjointed thoughts that all had to do with eternity with God, but no theme, climax, or idea to take away from the book.

From the Heart of a Woman

By Sylvia Hensel

An intimate glimpse into a private love relationship. 

Isaiah 54:5 tells me that my Maker is my husband.

This comes as a great deal of comfort and consolation to me as a single person contemplating spending the rest of my life without a human companion so to speak. I don’t know what God has in store for me, but I do know that He has promised to be a husband to me and has taken great pains to show me that no matter whether I am single for life or find my match tomorrow, I will always experience a lonely yearning that can only be satisfied through deep communion and intimacy with Him.

I think this is the crux of what Sylvia Hensel has found and tried to communicate in From the Heart of a Woman. It is a beautiful book full of expressions of love from Mrs. Hensel to her Maker. And although Mrs. Hensel herself is a married woman, it is clear from her writings that her first devotion is to her Saviour and Friend who is clearly the “Lover of her soul”. If he weren’t a godly man, I would genuinely worry that her husband would be given to jealousy to see just how intimate his wife’s relationship is with the Lord.

I am not usually partial to poetry or prose, but I really enjoyed this collection. I would have loved to see more thoughts from the author on just how one can begin to cultivate such an intimate relationship with the Lord, but perhaps her answer would be that one might start by simply reading His word, spending time in meditative prayer, and contemplating some of Mrs. Hensel’s thoughts of Him contained in this book.

A truly edifying read.