Bethany House Non-Fiction

Mother's Day is right around the corner and today I have two amazing non-fiction resources from Bethany House to share with you.  Both of them would be excellent choices as gifts for the mother or grandmother in your life.

A Women's Guide to Reading the Bible in a Year by Diane Stortz

Diane Stortz has over twenty years of Christian publishing experience, including writing and editing.  She maintains a blog site to encourage Bible reading and memorization, which can be found at www.dianestortz.com. Ms Stortz also contributes regularly to the Christian Children's Author's blog. She and her husband, Ed, live in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Diane can be connected with via the following:  Email (diane.stortz@gmail.com), Facebook and Twitter.

A Woman's Guide to Reading the Bible in a Year is a unique approach to reading the Bible in its entirety in 12 months.  The guide is broken into 52 weekly portions.  Also included are Stories of the Journey, How to Use This Book, Guidelines for Groups, The Bible We Read Today, The Books of the Bible, A Time Line of Old Testament Events, A Time Line of New Testament Events, The Rulers of Israel, The Reading Plan, and a list of other resources for more in-depth research and study including a list of books, websites and apps and DVD's.

Diane says, "I didn't start to really know God until I made Knowing Him my goal as I read the Bible.  Getting to know God changed me.  It changed how I think and what I do.  It changes me still."

I really like the organization of the reading plan in this book.  You spend one week in the Old Testament and then the next week you are in the New Testament or Psalms. Although this resource can be used individually, its uniqueness and real value is in the fact that it promotes community and relationship building among women.  You are encouraged to use this book with a small group of women that you would meet with on a weekly basis.  The testimonials included in the book are encouraging and exemplify the transforming power of God's Word and the value of sharing life with others.  We were not created to do life all alone.  We need each other and I can't think of a better way to do life than with a group of girlfriends around God's Word.

Revealing Jesus:  A 365-Day Devotional by Darlene Zschech

Australian Darlene Zschech is acclaimed all over the world as a singer, songwriter, worship leader and speaker, most notably for her involvement in the music from Hillsong Church, Sydney over many years. Although she has achieved numerous gold albums and her songs are sung in many nations of the world, her success simply stands as a testimony to her life’s passion to serve God and people with all her heart. Darlene along side her husband Mark are the Senior Pastors of Hope Unlimited Church on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia.

 As a songwriter, Darlene is perhaps most famous for the chorus “Shout to the Lord,” a song that is sung by an estimated 25 to 30 million churchgoers every week and has been covered by at least twenty other artists. In addition to “Shout to the Lord,” Darlene has written over eighty songs that have been published by Hillsong Music Australia alone.  Darlene is also passionate about raising and training other worship teams and writers, and has written three books which include Extravagant Worship, The Kiss of Heaven, and her new book The Great Generational Transition. These three titles combined have been translated into 19 different languages.

Darlene and Mark live on the Central Coast with their three daughters, Chloe and Zoe, Amy and son-in-law Andrew, their beautiful grand-daughter Ava Pearl and their handsome new grandson Roman Emmanuel Mark. While they travel extensively and have the honor of working and ministering alongside amazing friends around the globe, family remains Darlene’s supreme delight. As she says, “First and foremost I am a woman who simply and wholeheartedly loves Christ, and serves Him through loving my family, serving the church, and speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” 

Do you long for more of God’s presence? Do you ache to see Him at work in your life? Do you desire His peace and rest? Renowned worship leader Darlene Zschech invites you to gather with her around the Word of God. Born out of her own yearnings that she poured onto the pages of journals, these meditations and Scriptures reveal Jesus and speak of His finished work–how He tenderly cares for you and wants you to know Him.
Honest, raw, and beautifully written, these devotions will inspire your journey and encourage you in every season. Come, sit at the feet of our Lord, be strengthened in your weakness, embrace His love for you, and breathe in His peace.

Revealing Jesus:  A 365-Day Devotional is an absolutely beautiful hardback devotional book.  The Scriptures presented each day do not skip around haphazardly, but cover portions in the same book of the Bible for a number of days allowing the reader to grasp the whole counsel of God's Word in context.

From Darlene's introduction to the devotional:

"Revealing Jesus came about after many conversations with friends and even more conversations with God...asking about the finished work of Christ and what victory the Bible declares is available to us in Jesus' name.  To say that I am desperate for the power of the cross and the power of the blood of Jesus to be worked out in greater measure in my life is an understatement.  His presence beckons me...So I pray you are fueled for service as you read, and that your hearts yearn for more of Jesus as you worship Him with every fiber of your being."

Pick one or both of these amazing resources and give them to a special woman in your life.  What greater and long-lasting gift can be given than God's Word?

Blessings,
Jennifer