I am not in to devotionals. I’m just not. I really want to be. I have purchased them before, stuck with it for a couple of days, then inevitably shoved the pretty thing onto a bookshelf and left it there. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the time I set aside to read them. It’s just that they tend to be too…surfacy. I just made up an adjective. Woot woot!
I found this devotional not long ago, and it is the first one that I actually stuck with. (And still am!) But when I saw “Pressing Pause” up for grabs, it got my attention. Lately, things have seemed more chaotic than usual around here. I don’t know if the kids are just getting to the age where they make more noise, or perhaps it’s because they are getting older and are each beginning to develop their own schedules. But either way, I feel like I can’t catch a breath these days. So the idea of taking a moment to be with Jesus really intrigued me.
This book is ridiculously lovely. Even the cover makes you want to sit down and take five, doesn’t it? But honestly, the inside is what gets me. The writing is fantastic, first of all. It’s easy to read, each day’s devotion is not very long, and it’s definitely more than just surface reading. The authors encourage you to get interactive, by writing down your thoughts or jotting down your answers to the questions that they ask and the prompts that they give. But it’s perfectly balanced. The reading takes up an easy amount of time, and the writing isn’t so involved that you have to commit a ton of time to it.
I find that I enjoy doing this devotional in the afternoon, between my busy morning, and my soon-to-be busy evening. I get the kids focused on a craft or snack and sit on my bed with this book, taking a moment to pause, breathe, reflect, and spend a few minutes with Jesus. It has really helped me to run our evenings a little smoother. Or at least with a bit more joy!
Bottom Line: We all need to press pause sometimes. This is a brilliant way to do so.
**I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.
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