Friday, May 17, 2013

The NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women and a Fiona Friday pic


The NIV Real Life Devotional Bible for Women is a Zondervan publication.  I got a hardback copy for review and you can view a Sneak Peek into the Real Life Devotional Bible for Women, here.

I am always extremely excited when a Bible becomes available for review because I love Bibles.  They've all got the same substance, of course, but the language changes from one Bible to another and the notes, maps and study aids vary.  I'm a big fan of the New International Version because I find it very readable, and it's apparently the most popular translation.

The Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women is standard in its layout, with 366 daily devotions/essays. It's not a consecutive Bible (the kind that's been rearranged so that the books are in order of when they were written), nor is it divided into daily readings with dates.  Instead, each devotion is numbered and spaced every 2-5 pages.  A highlighted verse upon which the day's devotion is based appears  just to the side of the devotion and there are a few extra verses to explore at the bottom of the devotional page.  The devotions are not divided by date so you'll never need to feel like you're falling behind, even if a year's readings taken you longer than a year -- no biggie.

There aren't a lot of extra materials besides the devotions in this particular Bible and the devotions are very casually written, directed at women and their particular concerns.  There's an author index, for those who find that a particular author's writings resonate, and a topic index for studying specific subjects, along with a weights and measurements chart.  Otherwise, the Bible is rather plain -- which can be a very good thing.  I occasionally revert back to using a Bible with no notes at all, simply because all those notes can get in the way.  

The devotions in The Real-Live Devotional Bible for Women each fill a page so they won't interrupt the reading flow.  The way the readings are divided is a little awkward because there's no clear-cut daily reading, but the spacing between devotions is nice -- a devotion around every 2-5 pages of Biblical text. It should be simple to read the Bible from beginning to end in a year with only a short devotion to ponder, each day.  I'm enjoying my copy, so far.

Recommended - To women looking for a very basic Bible, readable translation and light, women-focused devotions, this Bible is perfect for you.  There are no maps, no lengthy concordance (although the topic index is similar to a concordance) and explanatory notes at the bottom of each page are minimal.  

A Fiona Friday post finally stars its namesake:

We call this the "tabby sprawl" because both of our tabbies have been the type to sprawl on their back. Obviously, Fiona was not in the mood to have her picture taken.  



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