Zondervan recently released the Homeschool Mom's Bible; NIVedition
which I had the pleasure of reviewing.
Zondervan was founded in 1931 by bookselling brothers, Pat and Bernie Zondervan. Since then "Zondervan has published bestselling Bibles, books, audio, video, curriculum, software, and digital products through its Zondervan, Zonderkidz, Zondervan Academic, and Editorial Vida (Spanish edition) brands." In other words, you have probably purchased a Zondervan product at some point in your life. which I had the pleasure of reviewing.
I love getting packages in the mail and receiving the Homeschool Mom's Bible; NIVedition was a wonderful surprise. For some reason I did not expext such a lovely Bible- I thought this would be much more utilitarian looking. But as you can see, this is a beautiful hardback book. I appreciate both the visual appeal and the fact that it is hardback (read, sturdy). Perfect if you haul your Bible around and about.
Inside you'll find the Bible in it's entirety, with devotionals by Tatmen sprinkled throughout. In the back of the book is an alphabetically listed topical index of the devotions, if you are interested in looking up specific topics like compassion, manna, worship, etc. 365 separate devotions are included, so basically you have a devotional a day. In fact, the devotionals are dated so that if you are reading the Bible in a year, you'll get a devotional reading each day of the year.
This Bible was born out of a daily devotional called Daily Focus, and written by Janet Tatmen. Janet homeschooled her kids for 25 years and then went to work as a copy writing for a homeschool division of a major curriculum supplier. Writing the Daily Focus was one of her duties in that position. Those daily devotionals are now a part of the homeschool Mom's Bible.
I like this Bible. It's sturdy (did I mention that already?) - Bibles around here get hauled to and fro quite a bit); the pages are good quality and the font size is great (this is becoming a higher priority for me as I age- but seriously, sometimes the font size or type is just so "creative" I have a difficult time reading the words). There are not a lot of bells and whistles in this version- if you need a study Bible, this won't be it, but if you need a straightforward Biblical text with encouragement embedded throughout, look no further.
I found the devotionals to be excellent. Each one has a date, title, scripture reference (these do not necessarily coordinate with the Biblical text you might be reading), a devotional and a prayer. Each devotional touches on a topic relevant to homeschooling: discouragement, encouragement, vision, distractions, dreams and much, much more. I personally loathe fluff devotionals and to my great delight found nothing off-putting in these devotionals. Rather, Tatman address real-life concerns in a way that is practical and faith based and always very real. I found encouragement in this Bible, both through the Word and through the devotionals.
Not only is this a terrific Bible to own yourself, but this would make a really sweet gift for someone that you know who is just starting homeschooling or has hit some bumps along the way (which is probably everyone who has home schooled for longer than 2 weeks!).
I'll continue to use this Bible for daily devotions, as the kids and I do Biblical Studies and it will continue to get hauled around the house as we move from couch to porch to dining room as I reference and read from it. While the devotionals are inserted to insure one a day, I had a hard time limiting myself to that; they are just that good.
I'll continue to use this Bible for daily devotions, as the kids and I do Biblical Studies and it will continue to get hauled around the house as we move from couch to porch to dining room as I reference and read from it. While the devotionals are inserted to insure one a day, I had a hard time limiting myself to that; they are just that good.
Appropriate for Homeschooling Momma's of any age.
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