Busy Mom's Bible |Review

I've finally embraced the fact that there are seasons and stages in life, and during these times there are often different expectations and standards I have for myself. I had been taught at an early age that it is important to have a quiet time with God every morning in order to get my day started off right. In my mind, quiet time would be at least 50 min. long with Bible reading, meditation, and intercession, and done way before my household would wake up. Then came my reality---my season with having infants and young kids. I needed to change my expectations of myself and what I thought a good "Christian " quiet time should look like. It was hard to have a set time for myself with 5 kids also needing me. My Bible reading was often done sitting in the van waiting for piano lessons, baseball practice, or while nursing a little one. Usually I would grab a few minutes here and there to read the Word. I didn't have time to do formal Bible studies, but I still yearned for that in-depth study that I seemed to be missing in my 5 min. here-and-there reading. I needed something to help me focus and dig deeper in a limited time-frame.

Then, Zondervan recently sent me a copy of the Busy Mom's Bible. I was intrigued to see how their system worked. At first glance I was impressed with the beautiful Italian duo-tone pink cover--which makes it easy to keep track of in the piles of books and paper that seem to have over-run my house. I quickly glanced through the NIV Bible and noticed that there were 52 thought starters, or mini-devotionals printed on brightly colored paper throughout the Bible. That makes it very easy to find. Here are the details:

Specs:
*Retails around $24.99
*Thin-line NIV Bible
*Type Point Size: 8
*Size: 6.2 wide x 9.2 high x 1.4 deep in. | 157 wide x 234 high x deep 35 mm
*Weight: 1.655 lb
*8 maps included in the back
*Concordance
*Study Index
*Words of Christ in red

What I Thought:
I love the size and weight of the Bible. It fits perfectly in a diaper bag or large purse. The cover and pages seem well-constructed and hopefully will live up to lots of carting around. The main idea of this Bible is to allow moms to have a quality, focused few minutes with the Savior. This is exactly what I needed. Many times I would actually have a few minutes to sit and read my Bible, but I had no plan or direction. These thought starters allow me to study a topic by highlighting a focus verse, providing a short summary, and giving additional verses to look up that pertain to the topic. Some of the topics are:

*Family ties: blending families, transforming hearts, a secure place
*Raising Your Kids: vital discipline, discerning differences
*Your Relationships: influence and encouragement, restore your relationships

Most of the topics are subjects that moms today would be thinking about or could relate to.  The thought starters weren't preachy or too fluffy, but rather did a good job getting me to think about the topic. I liked that additional verses were included for more in-depth study if I wanted. I finally feel like I have some sort of direction when I pick up my Bible. For this season of my life, the Busy Mom's Bible is just what I needed. I highly recommend it.