When I was given the opportunity to review a lovely child's praise devotional from Christian Focus, I jumped at the chance. I thought it would be a great opportunity for Hannah to start having her own time with the Lord to start her day. She has been reading Psalms for my Day each morning, and sometimes at night as well.
This 88-page, hardcover picture book contains passages of Psalms translated from the Hebrew by Dr. Alec Motyer, devotional thoughts written in a way a child can comprehend, along with a short, relevant prayer written by Carine MacKenzie, and beautiful, full color illustrations by Catherine Pape.
After the table of contents and endorsements, this book introduces the Book of Psalms, explaining how the psalms were written to be songs of praise to God. You will also find an explanation of the translation of the Bible passages found throughout the book. Alec Motyer was a Bible scholar, and he used the original Hebrew so we can have a feel for what they really meant in the original language of the writers.
Following this introduction, there are 31 daily devotions, each from a different psalm, though of course, this is only a fraction of the psalms that are in the Bible. Though all of the psalms are important, I was thrilled to that there were several of the psalms that I was quite familiar with, such as Psalms 1, 8, 23, 46, 100, and 150. Sometimes the entire psalm was included, other times only portions of it.
Each devotion follows the same format and spans the full double-page spread. First you read the passage from the day's psalm, then there is the short devotional, and finally you finish with a prayer which is usually 1-3 sentences in length.
Bible Passage for Psalm 8: 1-9
Devotional section
Prayer
And here's a look at the full double-page spread.
Here's a look at a couple more:
As you can see, each devotional focuses on a specific aspect of God. Besides the ones seen here, you will find such aspects as the Suffering Saviour, the King of Kings, God's Holiness, Our Strong God, Worthy God, and so much more.
Also interspersed throughout the book are pages of quotes from Alec Motyer and double-page spreads of illustrations of God's creation.
Finally, at the back of the book you will find a short, one-page glossary of new words that may be unfamiliar to the reader.
I did want to note that you may find the wording of the Bible passages to be a bit confusing at times, especially if trying to read it out loud. And I would say it could be more of an issue if you already know the passage well. However, as I have noticed at other times when reading other translations, having to read the Bible in other versions really makes me think about what I am reading, instead of just zinging through what is already in my head. So, even if it seems weird at first, definitely give it a chance, and remember that Dr. Motyer wanted to look at what the original Hebrew words really meant with his translation.
I think Psalms for my Day is a wonderful book for young children to be able to start digging into God's Word. Children who are 7-11 years old, should be able to read this independently. You can also choose to read it to younger children (ages 4-6). In fact, I have decided that I would like to start adding a Bible time back into our day, and I plan to read this to the younger children.
And I just wanted to mention the illustrations one last time. They really are lovely and add quite a bit to the devotional. And I love the extra illustrations added in between some of the devotionals.
I highly recommend this book for your Bible time or for older elementary children who would like to have their own personal time with the Lord.
Don't forget to click on the banner below to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about this book or one of these two other books we were able to choose from:
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