I recently opened my mailbox to find a Bible that I had requested to review. Well, I found the box it was in... ya know, the ordinary brown kind of box within which we ship things. I rushed inside and tore open the box (with a knife, 'cause it was well wrapped) to find a beautifully covered Every Day Matters Bible for Women.
Isn't that lovely!? So, of course, I wanted to dig right in and check it out! After the table of contents and a few items of introduction (to the New Living Translation and a few other matters), I came to a section that tells about the "extras" that the publishers have included in the Bible.
"The purpose of Everyday Matters for Women is to help you use spiritual disciplines to make your everyday life fuller, richer and deeper. We have chosen to focus on twenty-four disciplines that are especially pertinent to this theme."
There are over 300 articles that focus on 24 Spiritual Disciplines include but are not limited to: Acceptance, Bible Study and Meditation, Confession, Faith, Fasting, Gratitude, Hospitality, Mentoring, Prayer, Silence, Solitude, Stewardship and Worship.
These spiritual disciplines "help us shut out distractions (and still get everything done) and help us to dwell in God's presence and be aware of him in and with us every moment." I believe these articles on spiritual practices will help women to keep their focus where it should be and even deal with instances that come up every day in our lives.
Also included in this Bible are the following:
Everyday Matters: 2 page articles that introduce major themes relevant to each spiritual discipline or focus on an essential part of understanding and practicing the discipline. Each spiritual discipline showcases two of these feature-length articles.
Everyday Profiles: they have included profiles of 25 women or groups of women who practiced or highlighted a particular discipline. It is easy to forget that the women of the Bible are not just story characters, but wives, mothers, warriors, and businesswomen who lived and experienced many of the same feel ins, decisions, and challenges that we do today.
Everyday Q&A's: Each question-and-answer feature (two per discipline) delves into a puzzling aspect of the spiritual practice or offers some practical help in how to incorporate the discipline into your daily life.
Everyday Reflections: These "shorts," five to ten per discipline, touch on varied aspects of the practices. This feature highlights one of our intents: to showcase many writers and allow their voices to illustrate the possibilities for personalizing and applying God's Word to your own situation.
In the very back of the Bible (p1569), there is a "How to Use this Bible in a Small Group Study" to help you dig deeper. Next is an "Index of Spiritual Practices" so you can go to a specific discipline that you have a need for encouragement, understanding and uplifting in, and study what the Bible says on it for the day.
This is a beautiful Bible filled with GOD's Word, sure, but in addition, you get guidance that helps you to study deeper and come to a fuller understanding of what God has in store for you.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.
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