Read the Review
Last week was International Women's day...to be honest, I didn't know that was a thing until I hopped on social media, but now I know-so happy belated international women's day! Conveniently enough, I just finished a book on Biblical womanhood that I enjoyed so much I couldn't wait to tell you all about it!
During our Winter Conference this year, there was a seminar breakout session dedicated to the topic of women in leadership, and what the Word says about womanhood. I told the woman presenting to print off about 80 copies of her notes to give to students wanting to follow along. 80 copies for 80 students, right? To say I underestimated the interest in this topic would be, well, an understatement. Over 300 students (male and female) crammed into the seminar room eager to hear what she had to teach on the subject. She and I were both amazed. I quickly realized the subject of Biblical womanhood is one students are desperately hungry to learn about. They have a deep desire to know what God's Word says and how the beliefs of their pastors, friends, and churches align (or don't align) with the Bible on this topic. So on International Women's Day, as I scrolled through posts and news articles celebrating the occasion, I was intrigued by the way society and culture (both Christian and non-Christian) portray womanhood. I've started paying attention to these messages about womanhood, especially now that we are raising a little lady of our own. As she grows up in these times of feminism and "girl power", I have begun to realize how important it is to have a Biblical understanding of what it really means to be a woman. Because, if I'm honest, many of the messages I see in the media and world today about what it looks like to be a woman are more harmful than helpful. I have begun to see in my own life the lies I so easily believe at times- including the lies that women can "have it all," children are a hindrance to success, and a plethora of other subtle messages that have found their way into my mind. This year I have learned so much about Biblical womanhood and what it looks like to live a Godly life as a wife/mom/friend, and woman of the Lord. He has been showing me what it means to live out Proverbs 31 (and not in a cliche, cheesy way...but a real, sanctifying, beautiful way). I've learned what Psalm 127 means when it says that children are a reward, a blessing, and "like arrows in the hands of a warrior." I am seeing the ways I find identity in work...when I feel like pursuing leadership positions and job titles are more valuable and worthy than caring for the tiny soul He has entrusted to me and Jake. The Lord is showing me Scripture that I would often rather ignore because acknowledging it as truth is hard and uncomfortable. He is helping me see my sin as He sees it, which has made the truth of Romans 8:1 sweeter to me than ever before. I love having the privilege of raising a little lady, and it is our prayer that she grows into a beautiful, Godly woman who loves the Lord with all her heart. The Accidental Feminist by Courtney Reissig is a book that boldly and courageously points women to Scripture while uncovering the lies we so often believe about being a woman. She brings up truth that is true but hard to hear, and I loved it!
Courtney isn't ashamed of the Bible, and cares enough about the spiritual growth of the reader that she is willing to present challenging, Scripture-based truth even though it goes against many of the messages culture (including pop Christian culture) tells us. She gently, gracefully, and truthfully tackles topics such as marriage, motherhood, modesty, womanhood, feminism, and a variety of others. Using Scripture as a foundation, she helps the reader begin to see how warped our view of womanhood has become, how beautiful true Biblical womanhood can be, and the hope of restoration that is found through Christ and the Gospel. The Accidental Feminist is powerful, but easy to read. Courtney's writing style is personable, vulnerable, and caring. As I read her writing, I felt like I was in the room having a conversation with her! She gives a brief history of feminism before bringing to light some of the harmful messages feminism has placed in our hearts. Although she is firm in how the Bible contradicts many of the messages of modern feminism, she writes in a voice that is gentle and thought through. My rating? 5/5 This book has been sanctifying in my life and has pointed me to Christ and the Word. It has reminded me the importance of discernment and wisdom as we are bombarded with cultural messages every day. I was also impressed with how applicable this book is to women of any age and life stage. Courtney is intentional in each topic she addresses to include specifics for single women, married women, and women with or without children. And a final note...for a book about a topic as hot and current as feminism, it is critical to approach this book with a humble and teachable heart! Whenever we come across things we find challenging, we have to remember to hold them up to what God's Word says and not solely what our personal preferences may be :) *Links provided through Amazon Associates.* Read the Review
My birthday fell on a Wednesday this year.
This is exciting news because Wednesday's are half price sushi rolls at our favorite sushi restaurant in town. So we left Elaina with a friend and went out for a sweet birthday date night consisting of lots and lots of sushi. During our date night, Jake and I reflected on my 26th year of life and then he asked me, "How do you hope to grow in the Lord this year?" What a great question. I hadn't really thought about it before. How do I want to grow in my walk with the Lord this year? We talked and processed, and I decided that 27 year old Jackie wants to gain a deeper familiarity with God's Word. I want to know His Word so well that I become like the man in Psalm 1 who meditates on God's law day and night. I want to know it so well that I know which verses to run to in moments of temptation as I fight sin daily. I want to be like the one in Matthew 5 who is blessed and filled because they hunger and thirst for righteousness (and it's hard to know what is righteous if I'm not reading about what God has deemed to be righteous). So this year, I am committing to learning, knowing, treasuring, and obeying God's Word! There are so many ways this plays out practically in my life (one of the biggies being attending a church that preaches Scripture-centered, Christ-centered sermons that are convicting and challenging), but one way I'm working towards this is by spending much of my time in the Word this year in Romans. I want to read it over and over and over again until I know it, understand it, and can apply it well! To spend an entire year in Romans, however, means the limited margins in my Bible would quickly be filled...but then I discovered the Illuminated Scripture Journals. Available in individual books or as a New Testament set, the ESV Illuminated Scripture Journals are a must have for anyone who loves to write and take notes while studying a book of the Bible (don't worry men, they come in a basic, less girly looking version too...click here to see)! Each book of the New Testament has an individual journal with a blank note-taking page next to each page of Scripture. The designs on the covers and within the pages are beautiful, and are similar to the illustrations I shared in an earlier review about the ESV Illuminated Scripture Bible.
The convenience of these journals is amazing! When I'm going to campus or a coffee shop and know I want to spend some time in Romans, I only need to take the Romans journal instead of my entire Bible. It helps me focus on staying in the book I've committed to studying. (Disclaimer, I do still read my big Bible, and I'm still reading in other parts of Scripture...but on the days where I want to spend time dedicated to learning Romans, this journal is a convenient, lightweight, easy way to do so!) The pages of these journals are thick and a lovely creamy white (I use these colorful pens on them...they write smoothly, don't smudge, and I love them!). The pages with Scripture have font that is clear, crisp, and easy to read while the blank pages have very faint grids on them to help you write in a straight line. I love how each journal is a different color, and each has a different illustration on the front that is gold and shiny! The illustrations display the beauty of the Word it contains. My rating? 5/5 These journals are so convenient, light-weight, beautiful, and easy to read! I started by purchasing the Romans journal individually, but hope to invest in the entire New Testament set in the near future! I also love that there are masculine versions of the journals in plain black available as well! I would recommend these journals for anyone looking to study a specific book of the Bible or anyone who loves writing and journaling while they're reading the Word! *Links provided through Amazon associates* Read the Review
I have returned from my reading hiatus!
It is so good to be back! Have you ever had one of those moments in your life where the Lord teaches you an incredible amount of things in a short amount of time? A moment where He answers crazy specific prayers that, if you're honest, you doubted He would/could actually answer? A moment where you are so overwhelmed with what He is teaching you that you just need a little time and space to draw back, spend time in the Word, and worship Him? That's been my past month. And it's been awesome. So I took a little time away from my growing pile (ha, it's actually piles on piles) of books to spend time focusing on His Word- the only completely true, completely good, and completely reliable book that exists. It has been overwhelming, and I have loved it. See, back in the fall I prayed one of those prayers that I was nervous He would answer even though I knew it would be for my good- that the Lord would help me understand the weight of my sin. Because, if I'm honest, most of the time I don't really think I'm that bad. I want to understand the seriousness of my sin so I can better understand how amazing the gift of grace I have been given is. As Charles Spurgeon says, "Light thoughts of sin breed light thoughts of the Savior." I don't want to think lightly of Jesus, I want to think rightly of Him (that sounds cheesy because it rhymes, sorry) and of what Scripture says of Him. Since the fall, God has been working in my life through Scripture, the church, prayer, and other Christians to show me the weight of sin and how astonishing and amazing Jesus' gift to believers truly is. I read C.J. Mahaney's Humility in the fall as I embarked on this journey of better understanding sin, and God used it to begin building a foundation of, well, humility in my life. Short, practical, and FULL of wise teaching, Humility is a book that, in my opinion, belongs on the shelf of every Christian. Mahaney lays out the Biblical foundation for pride and paints a vivid picture of how deep, sneaky, and engrained pride is in our lives. He describes the seriousness of this sin and how poisonous it is to our hearts and minds. As I read, I could feel the weight of pride in my life growing heavier and heavier as I began recognizing it in areas I had never noticed it before. Pride is deeply rooted in all of us, and fighting for humility is a daily, sanctifying battle.
After establishing how entrenched pride is in our lives, Mahaney does something that few Christian Living books today do: he doesn't tell the reader to fix themselves. He doesn't immediately give 5 simple steps for battling pride in your life. Instead, he points the reader straight to Christ. Mahaney beautifully shows the reader the perfect example of humility that we have in Jesus and His death on the cross. C.J.'s writing is simple, truthful, and powerful. At the end of the book, Mahaney gives great tangible examples of what it looks like to fight to be like Christ and fight for humility and sanctification. I loved that the practical application came after addressing the heart behind pride and the daily battle of fighting to become more like Jesus! The practical application is incredibly helpful without feeling like a self-help workshop...Mahaney focuses on surrendering our pride to God and growing in relationship with Him! My rating? 5/5
This book has so much wisdom and practical application for being such a tiny book! And the used copies on Amazon start at $0.25, so the price is fantastic. I've read several books on pride and humility over the years, and I can confidently say this has been the best of them! *Links provided by Amazon Associates.* Read the Review
It's 2019 and I am so excited for another year of blogging!
Along Came A Bookworm is now 3 years old, and I am thankful for the journey it has been and the great books we've found along the way! It has been neat to see how Along Came A Bookworm has progressed (my first reviews are not impressive...don't go back and read them ;) ). Initially a way for me to get free books (no shame...that was why I started reviewing), this blog has now developed into a resource for women, college students, fellow mamas, and any other follower of Jesus to find books that are Christ-centered, Scripture-based, and worthy of reading. I have loved finding and sharing Christian books that are worth your time to read, and cannot wait for another year of learning, growing, and walking with the Lord alongside you! New since my last review in December...I'm now a reviewer for Crossway publishers! My little heart jumped for joy when I saw this beautiful Bible available for review, and I've been excited to share about it!
The ESV Illuminated Bible (Art Journaling Edition) is a stunning, green and gold hardcover Bible designed to reflect the beauty of the Word it contains. With gold-coated page edges, thick creamy pages, and over 500 hand-lettered gold ink illustrations by Dana Tanamachi (Google, Target, The Wall Street Journal, and others have featured her work!), this Bible truly is a work of art. The lovely illustrations are perfect for painting/coloring, the wide margins leave ample room for journaling, and the thick pages help prevent any writing from bleeding through. With a single column format and large 9-point font (which is large for a Bible!), the words in the Illuminated Bible are easy to see and read! The back of this Bible contains an index with each of the title page illustrations (the drawings at the beginning of each book of the Bible) along with a brief description of each book. These brief summaries would be so helpful for anyone looking to get a brief idea of what each book in the Word is about. And the title pages are absolutely gorgeous! Dana Tanamachi took such time and thought into each of these drawing, and they are beautiful! Check out a few of my favorites... My rating? 5/5
This Bible is available in magenta and navy in addition to the green, and is an incredible price for its beauty and quality. I don't usually look up prices before I write my reviews, but I thought this Bible might be too expensive for me to recommend to my college students or friends on a budget. So I was blown away to see it only costs $30! For the beauty and quality, this is a fantastic price. I could see this Bible being great as a family Bible, or for anyone who enjoys journaling/coloring/painting during their time with God in His Word! *I received a free copy of this Bible from the publisher in exchange for my honest, unbiased review! Links provided through Amazon Associates.*
Christmas is in full swing in the Long household! We are loving our new family traditions and celebrating Christ together as December 25 draws near!
​Around this time of year I have so many people asking for books that would make great gifts for their loved ones! My list is always growing and changing, but these four are my go-to favorite books to give! Each of them has impacted my life and walk with Christ and holds a dear place in my heart...
*Links provided by Amazon Affiliates*
Read the Review
Journal the Word Bible for Women (NIV)
When deciding which book to review as my final review of 2018 (before I take a little break for the holidays), it only seemed appropriate to find a great Bible to write about. The Bible is the greatest book ever written- the true story of God saving the world through His Son- and is therefore the most important book a person could own! I absolutely love when I have the opportunity to write about Bibles here on the blog. The words within this book change lives and rescue souls.
The Journal the Word Bible for Women is filled with lovely pages encouraging even the most novice journaler to respond to God's Word through writing and meditation. Scattered in the wide margins throughout the text are thought-provoking questions about Scripture, with plenty of space for writing and responding! The Scripture itself is easy to read in a single column (I love single column Bibles!) and crisp font at a size that is easy to read! It is beautifully designed from the front and back covers (simple yet sturdy) to the details on each page.
The cover is GORGEOUS with dark blue cloth detailed with red and gold flowers...and because the cloth is dark, it won't show dirt or stains! Inside, the text is dark blue-black, with the chapter headings, journaling prompts, and words of Jesus in red. Most journaling Bibles on the market today are big, bulky, and heavy. Whenever we travel for ministry, I always have to take a smaller Bible and leave my journaling Bible behind because it would probably put my luggage over the weight limit. I'm not sure how they did it, but this Bible is amazingly small and light for a journaling Bible...it would easily fit into a purse or backpack! My rating? 5/5 I love that this journaling Bible is compact and lightweight while keeping the font and margins large. It is beautiful to look at and read, and I love the Scripture-centered journaling prompts scattered throughout! *I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest, unbiased review! Links provided through Amazon Associates.* From Heaven by A.W. Tozer I am all about making magical holiday traditions...especially after reading Sacred Holidays last month (click here to see my review!),! When my sister and I were little, we celebrated the Advent season with chocolate Advent calendars. Each evening, we'd slowly peel back the cardboard of our calendars to see what festive shape that day's chocolate was shaped into (and we'd each insist that OUR piece was cooler). Every Sunday morning at church, I'd admire the large pink and purple Advent candles (my two favorite colors as a five year old girl, of course) and I loved the poinsettias and greenery decorating the sanctuary. If I'm honest, however, I didn't really understand what Advent was or why we celebrated it. In my little heart I was really just looking forward to Christmas, Santa, and our family festivities and traditions. Now I have a family of my own, and while Elaina doesn't have teeth yet and therefore can't enjoy a chocolate Advent calendar, Jake and I are excited to begin celebrating Advent with her now. Even more important than enjoying the magic and whimsy of the season with her, we want to foster within her an excitement for celebrating Jesus and the day He came from heaven to Earth to be born as a tiny baby and save humanity from sin. A tradition we are excited to start this Advent season is reading from a Christ-centered devotional each evening before bed. I cannot wait to sit with Elaina and Jake around the Christmas tree for even just a few minutes each evening to meditate on, talk about, and celebrate how God came to Earth to save us from death. Deciding which devotional to read from for our new Christmas tradition was easy. After reading A.W. Tozer's Lent devotional, From the Grave (here's my review on that one) last year, I couldn't wait to read it's Advent counterpart. From Heaven is a 28 day Advent Devotional designed to help our hearts celebrate Christ's coming and to center our focus on the true meaning of the holiday season. Each day is brief and can easily be read in 15 minutes, but the depth of the content encouraged me to rest and actually process what I had read. Tozer's writing is easy to understand while giving challenging exhortation. I loved this challenge he gives on page 21 while talking about God's grace to us: "And what about the years, the rest of your existence? You cannot believe that you have earned it. You cannot believe that it has something to do with whether you are good or bad. Confess that it is out of His grace, for the entire universe is the beneficiary of God's grace and goodness." My rating? 5/5 I really love Tozer, and I love the way his sermons and writings are challenging and Christ-centered. From Heaven is a short, theologically rich Advent devotional that I love enough to go through with my own family this holiday season! For more recommendations on Advent Bible studies and devotionals click here! *I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest, unbiased review! "Get this book" link provided through Amazon Associates.*
The pumpkin pie has been devoured and we've woken up from our turkey-induced naps! With Advent quickly approaching (only 9 days away!) and Black Friday sales in full swing, now is the perfect time to start looking for a devotional to go through during this Advent season!
Since reading Sacred Holidays by Becky Kiser (click here to read my review), I have been excited to find an Advent devotional to go through with Jake and Elaina this year! I personally want to be intentional in preparing my heart for the day we celebrate Christ's coming, and I am praying that setting apart time each day to meditate and celebrate this special time will re-center my heart on the Gospel during this busy time of year. I've been doing some research on Gospel-centered Advent devotionals designed to help turn our hearts toward Jesus in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day. Here are five devotionals that have caught my eye and I hope you might enjoy going through this Advent season!
Sacred Holidays by Becky Kiser Happy Thanksgiving week! This will be Elaina's first Thanksgiving...I can hardly believe it! How is she already almost 4 months old?! It has been a blast introducing her to the changing of the seasons (she saw snow for the first time last week and her mind was blown). Experiencing seasons is one of the best parts of living in the Midwest, and I hope she comes to love it as much as I do. And actually, this is one of my favorite weeks of the year! It feels like the seasons blend together in these magical few days where pumpkin spice lattes, slow roasted turkeys, and festive Christmas decorations all collide. The weather is chilly but not frigid (yet), and Christmas is just around the corner! Jake and I have always loved family traditions and now, as a family of three, we are more excited than ever to explore meaningful and magical ways to celebrate the season! We hope our kids grow up looking forward to holidays and cherishing the memories of sweet traditions we partake in as a family. Thinking of new traditions and ways to celebrate the holidays can be overwhelming...even with the help of Pinterest! I desire so badly to center the holidays around Christ, but often let the busyness and chaos of the season draw my eyes away from Him and towards the shiny gifts, glittering parties, and delicious pie. Then December 26th comes and I realize I spent more time making and fulfilling wishlists than meditating on God's Word or preparing my heart for Christmas day. I want things to be different! I want to center every aspect of my life around Jesus...including the crazy holidays and changing seasons. Reading Sacred Holidays by Becky Kiser has been incredibly encouraging. I'll get to the book content in a second, but first can I love on the author just a bit? Becky has a reverence for the authority of Scripture and knowledge of God's Word that I believe is rarely seen in today's "Christian Living" books. I was grinning from ear to ear as I read her chapter about common struggles we experience during the holidays: "I won't provide much commentary on these areas because I believe His Word more than speaks for itself..." She then proceeds to give EIGHT PAGES of Bible verses that point us to Christ during: times of conflict with others, bitterness and anger, unforgiveness, stress and being overwhelmed, and loneliness! She ends the chapter by writing: "So let's live out James 1:22, 'But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.' Let's go to His Word in the midst of our conflict and drama and do what it says!" Can I get an Amen. I am so thankful for her boldness in trusting God's Word and acknowledging that it is powerful, living, and active! Okay, okay, now on to the content... Sacred Holidays offers practical ideas and Biblical wisdom into celebrating holidays while keeping Christ at the center. Each holiday chapter includes insight into the origins of the holiday, how to make the day meaningful and set apart from the rest of the year, and journaling space to write out your vision, hopes, dreams, and plans for making the holiday special. She offers all of this (along with practical holiday tradition ideas) for New Year's, Valentine's Day, Easter, Summer, Birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! I love that Becky doesn't shy away from tackling topics that could be controversial in Christian culture when it comes to celebrating holidays. She gives great insight for approaching Santa, Halloween, and other holiday-related topics that, as Christians, we often don't quite know what to do with. I especially loved her thoughts on Halloween: "This is why I love Halloween and love for Christians to open their doors on this day: it is the one day of the year your neighbors knock on your door! Let's be there to open it!" She then goes on to share how Halloween can be a great opportunity to meet your neighbors, shine brightly for the name of Jesus, and draw others to Him as we love and build relationships within our neighborhoods. My rating? 5/5 This book has so many great ideas for holiday traditions and celebrating holidays as a Christian! I love how well Becky includes ideas that keep us Christ centered while also enjoying the "whimsy" of the season! I plan on reading back through these chapters as each holiday approaches, and am excited to see how God uses it to draw us nearer to Him as we celebrate and create new family traditions!
Read the Review
"Marriage is not a give and take relationship."
During our premarital counseling sessions, I remember our pastor saying these words to me and Jake as I looked at him in confusion. Of course marriage is a give-take relationship, right? That's what the movies and tv shows say. That's what people say. And so many articles I had read about how to have an awesome marriage said so too! Type the phrase "give and take relationship" into Google and here's the first definition that appears: "'Give and Take' is a mechanism inherent to all personal relationships- you cannot expect to receive something if you don't offer on your own turn. Once the balance between give and take is broken, difficulties arise and partners feel they are not getting much from their relationship." Give and take. Meeting in the middle. A 50/50 relationship. Phrases that we've been told are key to a successful marriage. But, as I learned from our wise pastor, marriage is not a give-take relationship. It is a give-give relationship. We both, as husband and wife, give the marriage our all despite what we receive (or don't receive) in return. We don't give 50% and meet the other person in the middle. We give 100% and give it our all even when marriage is hard. We vow to love one another for better or worse, for richer or poorer, and in sickness and in health. It is easy to give when we know we will receive in return, but to love one another even when one of us is acting unloveable? That is humbling and hard. That is selfless, truly unconditional love. And wow, on those days and in those moments when we are being selfish and unloveable, I am especially thankful for a husband who loves me regardless and points me back to the truth of Scripture our pastor read at our wedding: "...Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross..." Philippians 2:3-8 I don't want a give-take marriage. I want a marriage that reflects how Christ loves the church: a selfless, humble, truly unconditional love. We will never perfect this and it will take years of learning and practice, but I pray that over time our marriage will continue to become more of a reflection of Christ's perfect love for His church. I want to love, bless, encourage, and affirm Jake not because I want him to give me the same in return (although he certainly does!), but because of the incredible love I have experienced from Jesus and the relationship I have with Him. (Oh! And if you're reading this now and feel confused because you haven't experienced this relationship with God (and maybe you're curious about what that means), click here to send me a message and I'd love to share more!) When I first picked up Angela Mills' book, Bless Your Husband, I was immediately impressed by and thankful for her courage. In an individualistic society where singleness is idolized, Biblical femininity is frowned upon, and 50% of marriages (including Christian marriages) end in divorce, it takes immense courage and confidence in God's Word to release a book about ways for a wife to love, encourage, and bless her husband.
Bless Your Husband is a book full of practical and creative ideas to love your husband. It is divided into a six week "challenge" that helps the reader focus on manageable ways to bless her husband each day while also centering her heart on the Lord. Every day of the challenge consists of a time of prayer, meditating on the Word, dwelling on something we enjoy about our husband, a short devotional, and a reflection question. The content for each day could easily be done in 15 minutes, or stretched much longer depending on the time the reader has to devote to reading. I am so thankful that Angela takes time to teach about and explain the heart behind loving our husbands well. She begins the book helping the reader to analyze their motives for reading: "...this challenge is about changing your heart, not changing your husband." It can be so easy to pick up a book like this with the motives of wanting to change our spouse, make other people think we're an awesome wife, get something in return, or make our spouse feel guilty. These motives only lead us to feeling frustrated and ultimately reveal the selfishness and bitterness we often harbor in our hearts. Instead, Angela encourages the reader to read her book with positive motivations instead such as desiring to bring joy to our husband's day, growing in humility and selflessness, and blessing another person because we love the Lord and realize how immensely He has blessed us through Christ. The layout of this book makes it incredibly fun and easy to read! Each day's read is concise and includes Scripture alongside the creative activities. I felt challenged by her wisdom and self-reflection questions, yet encouraged by her daily ideas to apply what I was learning. My rating? 5/5
I plan on re-reading this book during the first six weeks of 2019! I loved the practical and heart challenges Angela presented, and this book has encouraged me to love Jake well. It is such a manageable, easy-to-read book, and would be a great read to start off the New Year investing intentionally in your marriage! *I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest, unbiased review! |
Choose A Category!
All
|