Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for December 2015

A gift of words: Review of Faithgirlz Bible

I still have the first Bible I ever received, a Precious Moments edition with some cute illustrations to accompany the NKJV translation of the words. It wasn’t until high school, though, that I had in my hands a Bible I wanted to read (and could).

faithgirlz bibleAs our household has grown, so has our collection of Bibles and Bible storybooks. When our daughter started reading and needed a Bible regularly in her Sunday School class, I gave her the one I’d grown up with because it was the most kid-friendly complete Bible we had in the house. It soon became clear that the NKJV was not the best translation for an elementary school girl, and I really wanted her to have her own Bible.

When I saw the NIV Faithgirlz Bible available from Zondervan, I thought I’d get it for her. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the Bible in exchange for my review, through the Booklook Bloggers program.) Billed as a Bible for tween girls, around ages 8-12, some of the features are a little too grown-up for my 7-year-old, but she can grow into it.

What has been fun is seeing her embrace it as her own. She takes it to church. Looks through it and reads it at night, sometimes, and during Advent, she has been reading selected passages after dinner during our Advent devotions. The NIV has been much easier for her to read and understand. That’s what she likes about it.

As she grows, we’ll explore some of the other features in this Bible, like the quizzes and telling the Bible stories in her own words.

I know there is some criticism of the themed and topical Bibles, but as a parent of an elementary school girl, I’m excited to see how my daughter connects with the Bible on a level she is ready for.

 

A few of my favorite things

I rarely do these monthly round-ups of things I’m reading or listening to, mostly because I don’t think my tastes are all that interesting or unusual. But because it’s December and I’ve got “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things” on a loop in my head, I thought I’d share. For whatever it’s worth to you. And share yours with me, too! What are the things you recommend to everyone or that are just plain fun additions to your life right now?

Here are mine:

  • Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. This series on Netflix was a recommendation from a friend when I was sick. I didn’t get a chance to start watching until after I was already feeling better, but now it’s my go-to lunch show or what I do while I’m folding laundry in the afternoon. It’s set in 1920s Australia and focuses on Phryne Fisher, who has returned from abroad. She stumbles into detective work. Really enjoyable stories, and they’re based on books, so I’ll be checking those out as well.
  • Amazon Prime Music channels. I’ve been jamming to a variety of stations while I clean lately. Two of my favorites are classic hits and classical Christmas. Also if you’re looking for the *perfect* gift for a reader/TV watcher/music lover or a family with all of the above, consider gifting an Amazon Prime membership. We got ours last year at a discounted price and we love it. (Disclaimer: This is an affiliate link, which costs you nothing but means I earn a small percentage of your purchase.)
  • Square One coffee. Small-batch roasted, local, fair trade. I started drinking this regularly after we returned from Kenya, and I discovered that I can drink this stuff black because it tastes so good. No cream required. wpid-20151019_164422.jpg
  • Global + local=interesting. We introduced the kids to Nepalese and Indian food recently. Before that, Phil and I ate at a buffet that serves African dishes. Our Thanksgiving meal included locally raised pork tenderloin, bread from a local bakery, vegetables we bought at two separate markets in the area (and one of those was a squash native to Japan). We are so grateful to live in a community that offers a wide variety of both global tastes and locally made items.
  • And speaking of homemade (sort of), we whipped heavy cream to top or Thanksgiving pie. This is the second time ever we’ve done this, and people, I cannot go back to store bought whipped cream. It takes almost no time and it is so tasty you can eat it with a spoon.

TV, music, food, drink. The only thing missing is books! But I write enough about books on this blog, so  if you’re a regular reader, you probably already know some of my favorites.

What are you raving about these days?