your must
READ
for this season or this year
(or your chosen devotional for next year)
for this season or this year
(or your chosen devotional for next year)
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A Spectacle of Glory
God's Light Shining through Me Every Day
by Joni Eareckson Tada with Larry Libby
by Joni Eareckson Tada with Larry Libby
... is truly a "spectacle" of God's glory daily, as a 365 day devotional in a compact, small sized book, with just the right amount of reading each day, written by an inspirational author and person that could not be better suited to share "God's Glory" - Joni Eareckson Tada, whose very life shines the glory of God and she gives us uplifting encouragement each day in how we too can reflect "God's Light Shining through ..." us. (if you don't know Joni Eareckson Tada, you could read a brief bio or just this part of the book description says enough to more than qualify her):
"After nearly 50 years of living as a quadriplegic, and dealing with chronic pain on a daily basis, Joni has learned firsthand the importance of glorifying God through the toughest of situations."
Yet not once have I ever read anything where Joni writes with any sense of self-pity and truly does minister through her devastating tragedy to so many others, able and not-so-abled earthly bodies, are touched through "Joni & Friends" - her ministries. Joni has moved positively to change what might have destroyed her, into many ways to glorify God, even when the days have been extremely challenging ... check out Joni's Corner to sample this or read on her blog. So this book is written from someone who truly understands what suffering is and how to seek God and stay close in the midst of hard times.
In this new book, each day's short devotional lesson is packed with godly wisdom through living experiences, starting out with a snippet of what to read in God's Word (recommended to have your Bible nearby to read in context and completely) - yet at times, this scripture is shared within her one page devotional, ending the devotional with a beautiful prayer (or prompt to further pray), which is always my favorite kind of daily devotional, when they contain prayers - a big reason for me to choose a devotional as well as the topics covered and this one covers many but the primary one being this:
"... The Bible spells it out plainly: God created you to showcase His glory—to enjoy it, display it, and demonstrate it every day to all those you encounter." ~ from the Book Description
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In this day of high accessibility to having a book immediately as an e-book, I encourage you in this case (as I chose to review this book for this reason) to acquire the actual hard copy ... because it's one of those "treasures" to behold in your hands. From the moment it arrived, I appreciated this gift daily! The precious cover, [not just the glorious image chosen for this cover - the one above hardly does it justice] is one of those soft textured matte finish that you just love to hold. The 400 pages are compact, and so this (4 X 6 X 1 in.) book would fit nicely in most purses, making it easy to take with you daily, and have with you for those moments you can catch a little to read as you wait, or when you're in need of some encouragement.
Joni has a wonderful way of writing to inspire and encourage you! Her insights are practical, real and meaningful. I kept reading through this, as you would a daily devotional, hoping that I might find one day that would stand out to share as my favorite, or the best, however I found that each day was, for that particular day - the best, and that devotion truly did make any ordinary life or maybe complicated one, not too small or big, not so insignificant for that one day - more, setting the stage for you to glorify God, with a new how-to-motivation. If Joni Eareckson Tada can remain and face each day positively as one more opportunity to be "a spectacle of glory" chosen by God, then reading these devotionals daily will further me and enable me to focus on just how much our Heavenly Father cares and loves me and you too, showing us that we can live as a "spectacle of His Glory", being a light that draws others out of their darkness, or even us - out of our dark moments into God's Light and Glory - even if it's just for the short time we read a page in this sweet, glorious daily dose of this book. "A Spectacle of Glory..." does lift your spirit to new heights of confidence in our wonderfully sovereign God," which is Joni and Ken, her husband's prayer.
I will continue reading this treasure daily and highly recommend (with 5 stars) as a choice for a yearly devotional, a sweet gift for someone dear (even yourself) or especially for someone dealing with hard times in need of an encouraging daily word - just the right morsel for each day. The only drawback may be that you may like to have a Bible accessible while reading the devotion daily since only the scripture text is named above with the date. It would also have been nice to have had all those scriptures indexed in the back of the book also with the date (which is what I am doing as I read). I find it a simple delight to reach for this book each day and receive a glimpse of God's Glory knowing that God's purpose is for me to "showcase His Glory" —to enjoy it, display it, and demonstrate it every day to all those you encounter."
| Disclosure: I received this book free from BookLook Bloggers and Zondervan, in return for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTCommission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 |
