Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids [Hardcover]

This devotional book for kids is filled with a year's worth of devotions--one each day! They are dated with the day of the year, but not the day of the week--so it can be used year after year (a great thing, in my opinion because God speaks to us in new ways from the same passage, many times!)

The devotions contain a short scripture printed at the top and a one page message taken from the theme verse. Scripture references follow for further study--a great thing for older children, especially! I used the devotional book with my own four children and found the short verse and message appropriate for the kids aged five through ten (my three year old's attention span was much too short!) I, as an adult, also really appreciated the messages and often found God speaking to my heart through them!

The one thing I disliked about this book is that it is written from the first person--as if Jesus himself is speaking the words in the devotional thought. This was really confusing for my kids, who kept asking if Jesus wrote this or said this. It was difficult to explain that it was a woman who wrote it from the perspective of Jesus. I ended up changing it to read from the third person point of view instead and this seemed to be much better understood (and I felt more comfortable with it, too, since they really are not the words of Jesus!)

Overall, I enjoyed this book that Booksneeze sent to me for free to review!

I was hoping this devotional book would be a little more age appropriate for my five-year-old, because it is very hard to find "deeper" stuff for beginning readers. I'd say this book is more for older elementary school aged children, or perhaps even middle-schoolers. It would depend on the maturity level and spiritual depth of the child.

Each devotion (one for every day of the calendar year) has a scripture verse at the top and then a few paragraphs to illustrate, explain or apply the verse. At the bottom there is a small "Read on your own" bubble with more scripture for further reading. I liked the themes I read: casting worries on God, praising in the midst of a hard day, dreaming big but realizing God's plans are even bigger, etc. The devotions seem to be a little more personal, a little deeper, than many I've seen for children. I really like this about it. But one way in which this was accomplished was by writing the devotion from God, in first person.

Let me be clear: I believe God can and does speak to and through people all the time. And I think someone writing a devotional book for people of any age should be inspired to do so. I also found nothing questionable or in disagreement with scripture in Sarah Young's content. And truth be told, as far as interpretation of Scripture goes I'm not very conservative. But I still struggle with the implied authority her words achieved by writing as if it is God speaking. I think it might be confusing for kids to discern between scripture and devotion. It also reminds me a bit of something like "Conversations with God," and I am just not comfortable with people writing what they hear God speak to them and publishing it for others. Even if their word from God really was just that, it was THEIRS. Again, everything Ms. Young writes is solid, scripture-inspired and true, and she writes in her introduction that "the Bible is the only perfect word of God." I do not think it is her intention to put words in God's mouth or speak with God's authority, but rather to help kids to hear "Jesus Calling" in their own lives, speaking directly to them. My concern is that kids might be confused by this, especially if another book comes along not as thoughtful or scriptural as Ms. Young's.

I'm debating whether or not I'm going to hang on to this book for when my girls get older. I really like the messages, but I'd definitely have to be sure they understood who (or Who) wrote which parts. I want my girls to grow up with a love for God, His Word, and people. And I want them to question things and understand (eventually) that we don't all agree and that there are many people out there saying stuff for Jesus that I don't think He would ever say. I pray they learn to discern the difference and to find wise people and writings to help them grow, to seek Him and to try to live lives abiding in and sharing His love.

This is a book of 365 devotions, one for each day of the year. Each devotion is wonderful - they deal with things such as trusting God, not people-pleasing, knowing you're good enough, being thankful, God's comfort, God's promises, spending time with God, just to name a few.

This book is wonderful, because of all the negative impact and discouragement we all get in the world, we need to be reminded Who loves us and keeps us taken care of. There are Bible verses to back up each devotion.

Even though this book says "for kids", I feel that adults can also benefit from it. Even adults need encouragement, sometimes even more so than kids. Adults are the ones who have to worry about certain things that kids don't. And the way a lot of "adult" inpirational books are written, a lot of adults don't have the time or energy to read them. But this one is written in such a way that does not require a lot of time or energy. And, I don't think it is written all that "kiddy". An adult (or a kid) can read it at their leisure, take as many or as few "days" each day. Even if you only read one "day" a day, it will only take you a year to read the book, and get a lot of encouragement along the way, being reminded that God loves you, and you don't have to worry about anything but Him.

I love this whole book, and I could actually say that all the "days" are my favorites. But one "day" in particular that I consider one of my favorites, is September 7: "I Set You Free", in which we are encouraged to free ourselves from the guilt of our past mistakes/sins.

In this time of discouragement and evil, this book is refreshing and encouraging, regardless of your age. Kids and adults, I highly recommend this book.