Journeys of Faithfulness Book Review

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I remember as a young Christian teenager, my options for Bible devotionals was greatly limited. Most of the time, I carried a small paperback, magazine-like book. Contained in my “devotional’ were daily lessons with a short 2 paragraph story coupled with a Bible verse. There may have been a prayer at the bottom of the page as well. The stories were generally anecdotal, rarely applicable to my life, and hardly ever pricked my heart. But since there wasn’t anything else available to me, this was how I did Bible devotions for years. Apart from Sunday School, this was my Bible study.

The times have changed, my friends.

Recently, I was sent a new book to review. Journeys of Faithfulness, written by Sarah Clarkson and published by (one of my very favorite homeschool publishers) is a lovely, rich, heart-pricking devotional book, written for young women, ages 12 and up.

The Book:

In Journeys of Faithfulness, Sarah Clarkson challenges young women to reach higher and go deeper in their relationship with Jesus Christ by exploring the spiritual journeys of biblical women whose faith moves and inspires us even today. Celebrate the beauty, sacrifice, and courage that made these women the heroines they are with this collection of inspirational stories and devotions. Through the journeys of Ruth, Esther, Mary, and others, learn how God can reach into the life of an ordinary girl who loves Him and bring His beauty and grace to bear in the world through her obedience. (www.apologia.com)

My Review:

Journeys of Faithfulness tells the stories of several women in the Bible with which you will be very familiar — Mary & Martha, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Esther, and Ruth.

Divided into four parts, with three chapters in each part, the book is designed to take your daughter (or you!) on a journey through the lives of these faithful young women, by sharing their stories of truth mixed with fictional accounts of what they could have been thinking, feeling, or doing, based on the cultural norms of the time.

Each chapter is set up in the same way. Each begins with the story, moves on to a devotional time in which Sarah shares where parts of her own life experience parallel the lessons learned by the biblical women of which she shares. The devotional is followed by a time of digging into the Word and includes thought-provoking questions with room to jot down answers. Each chapter ends with blank pages for journal-writing.

I wasn’t sure what I would think about this book. I’m not generally a fan of fictionalizing Scripture. However, Sarah’s writing is a gift. She brings life to the stories of these women in a way that stirs emotion, encourages contemplation, and will inspire your daughter to grow in her relationship with Christ.

This is not one of those anecdotal, irrelevant devotionals I used as a teen.

I want to share a passage from the unit on Esther to give you an idea of what I’m talking about. In the opening story about Esther, Sarah is sharing about what it was like for Esther and the other young women to suffer the grueling daily beauty treatments necessary before the king would choose his wives from among them. She writes this about how Esther may have felt:

Their keepers told them this year of cosmetic treatments was necessary to cultivate their beauty to its highest form. The keepers did not add that the king would pick his pleasure from among them. He would choose his favorite like a lazy boy sorting good apples until he has found the shiniest one. Then he would carelessly toss the rest away into his harem, their luster and lives bruised by his touch.

Wow. How relevant is that for today’s young women? It leaves me speechless.

Esther is one of my very favorite people in the Bible. I’ve read her story many, many times. And while Sarah does embellish the story to help give a clearer picture into Esther’s thoughts and emotions, I did not feel that her words detracted from the truth of the Scripture. In fact, it did the opposite. It brought it to life.

And more importantly, it pricked my heart.

I wish I could have had such a book as this as a young woman. I believe it would have enriched my walk with Jesus. I know I would have had greater opportunity to grow in the knowledge that God uses ordinary people, even young women, to accomplish extraordinary things for His glory. I wonder how a study such as this may have affected poor decisions I made in my teens and early twenties.

What a gift for any young lady to have.

Do your heart good and buy a copy of Journeys of Faithfulness for your daughters. And one for yourself. You will be so glad you did. I believe it has the potential to be life-changing for all of you.

About the Author:

Sarah Clarkson is a freelance writer, author of two books, and an avid blogger at thoroughlyalive.com. She has a deep passion to bring books, beauty, and joy to the culture of her time. She travels around the US and world, working at various conferences and speaking on discipleship, beauty, and literature. Sarah has a passion to get great books into the homes of families around the world. Her guide to children’s literature, Read for the Heart, is her first attempt to help the world fall in love with good, old-fashioned books all over again. When not discussing, reading, or writing amidst many strong cups of coffee, Sarah loves to travel and explore the mountains of her Colorado home.

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