Congratulations to these two winners from last week’s giveaways:
Confessions of a Wonder Woman Wannabe by Jenny Sulpizio …. Congratulations Dori Cook!

Finding Mommy Bliss by Genny Heikka …. Congratulations Kela Nellums!

 After a sweet time of serving in Romania, I am finding my heart and mind are slow to catch up at home.  I really will share more about my cross-cultural time, but I’m just taking a little more time to let it all soak in before I share. In the meantime, May is turning out to be a month of sharing resources, including great books, here at Come Have a Peace.

So often we take access to excellent resources for granted, but a quality book is a treasure.  A visit to a unique outreach for young girls reminded me of the blessing of books. While in Romania I had the privilege of visiting Deborah House. This ministry includes two residential homes for girls who have been rescued from severe abuse. The girls find love, support, counseling, safety, and healing. A study area has been set aside to support the girls’ schooling, but a bookcase with a very limited supply of books reminded me of what a privilege it is to have a full book shelf.

 

The Candle Bible Handbook

A quality printed resource has the potential to open the heart and the mind. Just before I left for Romania, Kregel Publishers invited me to review the new Candle Bible Handbook. I don’t receive any kind of benefit for sharing about this resource, other than the pleasure of sharing a good tool with you, my sweet readers. This new resource is written specifically for a juvenile audience and is sized and formatted to suite a child’s hands and attention. The lightweight design is easy to use, and the vibrant pictures invite the reader to imagine Biblical narratives in their realistic form. I really appreciate the vivid and clear illustrations that depict believable events, cultural settings, and people.  There’s nothing “cartoonish” about the lifelike images.

Children’s Bible handbook structure

If you don’t have a children’s Bible handbook on your shelf, this might just need to be on your wish list. This children’s Bible handbook is divided into two sections, one for Old Testament and one for New Testament. Segments of scripture are color coded for easy identification of groups of books. Once inside a specific book of the Bible, a simple outline, frequently asked questions, and study questions are provided. Suggestions for content or key words to “look out for” are also provided. Maps, photographs, and highlighted core content provide extra help throughout the chapters, for young minds to understand easily. Timelines make the events of scripture clear and simple to reference. I would begin to use this with an emergent reader, pointing out photographs and identifying content through discussion. By the time a child is in first or second grade, they would find this a tool they could use. In third to fifth grade, this would become a resource for independent discovery and exploration. And I’m not hesitant to tell you I would like to have one of my own for quick reference as an overview of content that is useful for all ages.

Inside you’ll find:

1. maps
2. photographs
3. timelines
4. study questions
5. outlines
6. frequently asked questions
7. a section of who’s who in the Bible
8. a list of Bible promises
9. a section of Big Ideas
10. a list of important passages

The Candle Bible Handbook is structured to help today’s child understand God word and the ancient context. The structure would lend itself well to use as a daily study tool, but it also provides a collection of information that would be a handy reference. Students who use this children’s Bible handbook will be able to develop a level of comfort in using Bible tools for personal study. I love that!

If you have a child or grandchild in your life, the Candle Bible Handbook would be a valuable resource for their bookshelf.  For all who own a book like this or to share it with a loved one, you are blessed, indeed. I think mine might be on its way to the girls of Deborah House in Romania.

You can find the Candle Bible Handbook here.