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elouisedouglas's Reviews (721)
“A Thrill of Hope, the weary world rejoices”.
O Holy Night – one of my favourite Christmas hymns. And I’ve sure been feeling weary these last few months. This for me was the perfect reading plan for Advent – getting ready to celebrate Christmas in the best way possible – by reading the Bible.
I love how, as always, the focus of this book was the Bible passages for each daily reading. But interspersed with those passages were delightful little extras – sheet music for Christmas songs, gorgeous Christmas recipes and Christmas crafts that I bought the materials for but ran out of time to actually complete (next year, maybe?).
My favourite moment of the entire reading plan was coming home from midnight communion on Christmas Eve, and sitting on the windowseat in my bedroom while the busy house (with family sleeping over) was silent, and absorbing myself in the Christmas Day readings. Before the hustle and bustle of Christmas Day, having that time to quietly read was just what I needed.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2019/12/31/she-reads-truth-advent-2019-a-thrill-of-hope/
Philippians – the Epistle of Joy – and this shines through in this book, even from the very front cover – what joy!
Philippians is a book of the Bible that I thought I knew quite well – it’s very quotable and has lots of verses which can be a huge encouragement.
But I don’t think I’ve ever read the book as a whole – as it was intended – a letter. So I really appreciated having a couple of weeks to really get into this book. With thoughtful questions at the end of each day’s reading, it really helped me to think more deeply about what was written.
The other fantastic thing was the inclusion of the little pamphlet with the book written in letter format. Removing the verse numbers and altering the formatting really made a difference to how it felt to read. I’d really recommend reading the book at least once like this.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/02/23/she-reads-truth-philippians/
Philippians is a book of the Bible that I thought I knew quite well – it’s very quotable and has lots of verses which can be a huge encouragement.
But I don’t think I’ve ever read the book as a whole – as it was intended – a letter. So I really appreciated having a couple of weeks to really get into this book. With thoughtful questions at the end of each day’s reading, it really helped me to think more deeply about what was written.
The other fantastic thing was the inclusion of the little pamphlet with the book written in letter format. Removing the verse numbers and altering the formatting really made a difference to how it felt to read. I’d really recommend reading the book at least once like this.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/02/23/she-reads-truth-philippians/
I requested this book on a whim from NetGalley, I’m not sure what drew me to it, I think it was the cover, but I genuinely didn’t know what to expect.
What I got was a heart-rending story of true bravery. A woman who left her devoutly Muslim family after Jesus appeared to her in a dream to tell her he was ‘the way, the truth, and the life’.
At this point in the author’s life, she was just about to go off to commit Jihad, to die for the Muslim faith in order to guarantee her entry into heaven, and that of her parents too.
I have to say this book was eye opening in many ways, but I learnt a lot about the Quran and what it teaches about women. After the previous book I read, it was a stark contrast.
Growing up, the author knew that as a daughter, and especially as the third daughter, she was not wanted by her father. A culture that values men has no need for another daughter.
But as we hear other stories of girls that Ahmad knew, we realise that to be shunned by her father as a young girl was potentially a good thing, as others have suffered more at the hands of the men who were supposed to protect them.
I’ve never read the Quran or much about what it teaches, so I found the authors deep knowledge so helpful. She talks about how much she studied as a young girl, and that clearly shows. And being able to contrast the teachings of the Quran to the Bible makes this an extremely intriguing book.
For example when she talks about prayer:
I learnt that in Islam, “each prayer you pray earns you a certain number of points, and some earn more than others. There is no limit to the number of points you need, so you just have to keep on earning as many points as you can every day.”
But “today as a follower of Jesus, prayer is different. I feel joyful whenever I come into his presence to pray. As a Christian, I understand that I do not have to feel fear; instead I can feel peace. God is not wrathful if I do not offer morning prayer. I can pray any time.”
I read this book in one sitting, the style of writing was informative yet easy, almost as if I was being told the story over a coffee with a friend. But that easy style was backed up with quotes from both the Bible and Quran which clearly showed that the author knew what she was talking about.
I see that the author has another book, which I will definitely be trying to pick up. This was not an easy read, but one that I’m definitely thankful that I chose.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/11/esther-ahmad-unveiled/
What I got was a heart-rending story of true bravery. A woman who left her devoutly Muslim family after Jesus appeared to her in a dream to tell her he was ‘the way, the truth, and the life’.
At this point in the author’s life, she was just about to go off to commit Jihad, to die for the Muslim faith in order to guarantee her entry into heaven, and that of her parents too.
I have to say this book was eye opening in many ways, but I learnt a lot about the Quran and what it teaches about women. After the previous book I read, it was a stark contrast.
Growing up, the author knew that as a daughter, and especially as the third daughter, she was not wanted by her father. A culture that values men has no need for another daughter.
“I grew to understand that in my father’s eyes, I was never going to be enough. Even when I volunteered to give my life in Jihad – guaranteeing him instant access to heaven in the process – he did not talk to me.”
But as we hear other stories of girls that Ahmad knew, we realise that to be shunned by her father as a young girl was potentially a good thing, as others have suffered more at the hands of the men who were supposed to protect them.
I’ve never read the Quran or much about what it teaches, so I found the authors deep knowledge so helpful. She talks about how much she studied as a young girl, and that clearly shows. And being able to contrast the teachings of the Quran to the Bible makes this an extremely intriguing book.
For example when she talks about prayer:
I learnt that in Islam, “each prayer you pray earns you a certain number of points, and some earn more than others. There is no limit to the number of points you need, so you just have to keep on earning as many points as you can every day.”
But “today as a follower of Jesus, prayer is different. I feel joyful whenever I come into his presence to pray. As a Christian, I understand that I do not have to feel fear; instead I can feel peace. God is not wrathful if I do not offer morning prayer. I can pray any time.”
I read this book in one sitting, the style of writing was informative yet easy, almost as if I was being told the story over a coffee with a friend. But that easy style was backed up with quotes from both the Bible and Quran which clearly showed that the author knew what she was talking about.
I see that the author has another book, which I will definitely be trying to pick up. This was not an easy read, but one that I’m definitely thankful that I chose.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/11/esther-ahmad-unveiled/
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Another fab study from the ladies at She Reads Truth.
Not gonna lie – this one was slightly daunting – the study book was almost 300 pages long, and Jeremiah is definitely the longest book of the Bible I’ve ever studied in full.
And I’m not gonna lie, by the end, I was ready for it to be over – the book is heavy.
BUT – I’m so glad that I got to spend Lent of this year reading through Jeremiah. In many ways, it felt perfectly timed, and although it was heavy, it was also full of pointers to Jesus – perfect in the run up to Easter and in this strange time the world finds itself in.
I also loved that we finished Jeremiah before Holy Week started, and then followed the Easter story for the last week, and I loved how the artwork changed throughout Holy Week, with Good Friday being printed on black pages – a simple change, but it brought more feeling to what was being read.
As usual, the extras throughout the book were a fantastic way of giving more insight into the book – and the New Testament passages included each day were eye-opening. And it goes without saying that the book is beautiful.
If you’re going to read a SRT study book, I’d recommend following along with the devotionals on the app and listening to the podcast as well to get more insight – it’s a great way to be fully immersed in the word.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/12/she-reads-truth-his-love-endures/
Not gonna lie – this one was slightly daunting – the study book was almost 300 pages long, and Jeremiah is definitely the longest book of the Bible I’ve ever studied in full.
And I’m not gonna lie, by the end, I was ready for it to be over – the book is heavy.
BUT – I’m so glad that I got to spend Lent of this year reading through Jeremiah. In many ways, it felt perfectly timed, and although it was heavy, it was also full of pointers to Jesus – perfect in the run up to Easter and in this strange time the world finds itself in.
I also loved that we finished Jeremiah before Holy Week started, and then followed the Easter story for the last week, and I loved how the artwork changed throughout Holy Week, with Good Friday being printed on black pages – a simple change, but it brought more feeling to what was being read.
As usual, the extras throughout the book were a fantastic way of giving more insight into the book – and the New Testament passages included each day were eye-opening. And it goes without saying that the book is beautiful.
If you’re going to read a SRT study book, I’d recommend following along with the devotionals on the app and listening to the podcast as well to get more insight – it’s a great way to be fully immersed in the word.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/12/she-reads-truth-his-love-endures/
We read this book as a Church life group for our lent study, and I thought it was great. The discussion questions were perfectly crafted for getting conversation started and then diving deeper into the text, and referencing other relevant Bible passages too.
We had some fantastic discussions in our group using this material, until Coronavirus meant we had to stop meeting, and I actually did the last couple of sessions alone.
To me, this really proved the value of this as a discussion based study book, because I got nowhere near the same value from the last two sessions with having no discussion to help go deeper and learn more.
I’d definitely check out more books in this series for further study though, and I also think these could be really well adapted for use with our youth group too.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/12/joe-warton-1-peter-confidence-in-a-complex-world/
We had some fantastic discussions in our group using this material, until Coronavirus meant we had to stop meeting, and I actually did the last couple of sessions alone.
To me, this really proved the value of this as a discussion based study book, because I got nowhere near the same value from the last two sessions with having no discussion to help go deeper and learn more.
I’d definitely check out more books in this series for further study though, and I also think these could be really well adapted for use with our youth group too.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/12/joe-warton-1-peter-confidence-in-a-complex-world/
We are in some weird times right now and life doesn’t feel easy, so when I spotted this book title on NetGalley, I immediately requested it – the little cereal smile on the cover definitely drew me in too!
As the author says:
And you know what, the stories in this book did just that. Each chapter not too long, and like the previous book I read, would probably have been better spaced out over a longer period of time, but I read the book over just a few days. But each chapter made me smile and reminded me of the God who loves me and is the source of my joy.
Each chapter started with a ‘dad joke’ and then a quote from someone famous, then continued with a personal story from the author. When I imported the preview copy of this book to my kindle, Amazon messed up the formatting which led to a bit of confusion to start with when I thought the joke was attributed to the author of the quote too – it seemed a bit too unlikely!
I do love a good joke though, the ones that are so bad they’re good are my favourites.
One of my favourite chapters was misheard lyrics for worship songs, like “Behold he comes, riding on a cow” (riding on a cloud) and “Open the Eyes of My Hot Dog” (My Heart Lord). I couldn’t stop laughing!
I did find that at certain points during the book I wasn’t as engaged, and I think that was more a reflection on me and where my head is right now than a judgment on the book, which I thought was genuinely fab and definitely achieved it’s mission of making me laugh again.
But it definitely wasn’t all laughs either and I highlighted a huge amount of quotes that really made me think. This, though, is the one that stuck with me the most – such a lovely way of interpreting our reminder to be salt (and light) in the world.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/24/phil-callaway-laugh-like-a-kid-again/
As the author says:
“…how can we laugh when times are hard and people disappoint? How can we lighten up when storms threaten and anxiety reigns? May these stories remind us that we are loved unreasonably, that we are in good hands, that God has always done amazing things in the dark.”
And you know what, the stories in this book did just that. Each chapter not too long, and like the previous book I read, would probably have been better spaced out over a longer period of time, but I read the book over just a few days. But each chapter made me smile and reminded me of the God who loves me and is the source of my joy.
“Lasting joy is elusive until we understand who we are and whose we are.”
Each chapter started with a ‘dad joke’ and then a quote from someone famous, then continued with a personal story from the author. When I imported the preview copy of this book to my kindle, Amazon messed up the formatting which led to a bit of confusion to start with when I thought the joke was attributed to the author of the quote too – it seemed a bit too unlikely!
I do love a good joke though, the ones that are so bad they’re good are my favourites.
“I was sitting on a plane when the guy beside me said, ‘Look at those people down there. They look like ants’. I said ‘They are ants. We haven’t taken off yet’.”
One of my favourite chapters was misheard lyrics for worship songs, like “Behold he comes, riding on a cow” (riding on a cloud) and “Open the Eyes of My Hot Dog” (My Heart Lord). I couldn’t stop laughing!
I did find that at certain points during the book I wasn’t as engaged, and I think that was more a reflection on me and where my head is right now than a judgment on the book, which I thought was genuinely fab and definitely achieved it’s mission of making me laugh again.
But it definitely wasn’t all laughs either and I highlighted a huge amount of quotes that really made me think. This, though, is the one that stuck with me the most – such a lovely way of interpreting our reminder to be salt (and light) in the world.
“Words are like salt. When blurted unwisely they bring sickness, burden the heart and increase blood pressure. When sprinkled rightly they add flavour, preserve life, and melt ice. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of using our words to build up.”
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/24/phil-callaway-laugh-like-a-kid-again/
Another fantastic study book from the lovely people at She Reads Truth. As usual, the book was beautifully laid out with imagery that really complimented what was being read.
The study book takes you through the books of 1 John, 2 John and 3 John, which are all fairly short but pack a punch. Like the last study, these are books that I’ve not really read much before, and I really appreciated how the readings for each day were tied back into the gospels with related readings to dive into.
I also loved that each day finished with a prayer prompt and a blank space to allow you to really think about what you’ve just read and pray about it – sometimes the busy-ness of life means this is the bit of bible study that I forget or don’t make time for, so having a space for it was really great.
As with all studies that I’ve read from SRT, I’d really recommend this one – it’s only a 2 week study as well, so much shorter than the Jeremiah one we finished just before!
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/26/she-reads-truth-1-2-3-john/
The study book takes you through the books of 1 John, 2 John and 3 John, which are all fairly short but pack a punch. Like the last study, these are books that I’ve not really read much before, and I really appreciated how the readings for each day were tied back into the gospels with related readings to dive into.
I also loved that each day finished with a prayer prompt and a blank space to allow you to really think about what you’ve just read and pray about it – sometimes the busy-ness of life means this is the bit of bible study that I forget or don’t make time for, so having a space for it was really great.
As with all studies that I’ve read from SRT, I’d really recommend this one – it’s only a 2 week study as well, so much shorter than the Jeremiah one we finished just before!
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/04/26/she-reads-truth-1-2-3-john/
Requested as an advance reading copy from NetGalley, this book is sub-titled 7 Days of Praying With Jesus.
I didn’t really know what to expect, and my initial judgements on the cover didn’t really match with what I got inside, if I’m honest I found the cover a little boring, and what was inside was anything but.
Each of the 7 days of the book covers a different section of the Lord’s prayer, breaking it down and getting into what each line actually means; what it meant at the time Jesus said it and how it still applies to our lives now. In the author’s words:
“In this prayer are seven requests. In this prayer is the secret to discovering the heart of God. To pray these seven requests is to journey deeper into life with God and deeper into life in the world.”
There were so many ‘aha!’ moments for me while going through this book, parts of the Lord’s Prayer that I’d never interpreted in that way before. It’s a simple sounding prayer that we pray all the time, but breaking it down and going through it over 7 days really helped me to understand what it is I’m actually praying, for example this quote from the “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” section:
“When we ask God to lead us not into temptation, we are praying that He will give us grace to face, courage to endure, and power to overcome every lie of the enemy that would cause us to question God.”
One of my favourite features of the book was the reflection space at the end of each day. Giving space for personal prayer and reflection on what we have just read, but also providing prompts and starters for those who either are unfamiliar to prayer or just unsure what to pray or can’t find the words.
I think this will be very valuable for both those who are new to praying and the Lord’s prayer, but also for those who have said the prayer so many times it has become almost routine.
I lost count of the amount of quotes that I highlighted through this book, but just know that if I put them all into this review, I’d probably be in danger of publishing the book myself!
One that really stuck in my mind from towards the end was this one:
“Prayer is like a spiritual space telescope, lifting us far above the earth’s perspective to see the entire cosmos similar to the way God sees it. As we pray, glimpses of invisible galaxies come into view.”
I also particularly loved the closing chapter, with all its comparisons to Lord of the Rings. The familiarity made me smile, but also really made me think.
I would really recommend this book to anyone whether they are just starting out praying or long-time Christians. I’ll definitely be recommending it to my church life group as a shared study, it was simply fantastic. The only thing I’d say is that I’d definitely suggest getting this book as a physical copy, not an ebook, as the reflection spaces would definitely benefit from being able to actually write in the book.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/05/04/john-smed-journey-in-prayer/
I didn’t really know what to expect, and my initial judgements on the cover didn’t really match with what I got inside, if I’m honest I found the cover a little boring, and what was inside was anything but.
Each of the 7 days of the book covers a different section of the Lord’s prayer, breaking it down and getting into what each line actually means; what it meant at the time Jesus said it and how it still applies to our lives now. In the author’s words:
“In this prayer are seven requests. In this prayer is the secret to discovering the heart of God. To pray these seven requests is to journey deeper into life with God and deeper into life in the world.”
There were so many ‘aha!’ moments for me while going through this book, parts of the Lord’s Prayer that I’d never interpreted in that way before. It’s a simple sounding prayer that we pray all the time, but breaking it down and going through it over 7 days really helped me to understand what it is I’m actually praying, for example this quote from the “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” section:
“When we ask God to lead us not into temptation, we are praying that He will give us grace to face, courage to endure, and power to overcome every lie of the enemy that would cause us to question God.”
One of my favourite features of the book was the reflection space at the end of each day. Giving space for personal prayer and reflection on what we have just read, but also providing prompts and starters for those who either are unfamiliar to prayer or just unsure what to pray or can’t find the words.
I think this will be very valuable for both those who are new to praying and the Lord’s prayer, but also for those who have said the prayer so many times it has become almost routine.
I lost count of the amount of quotes that I highlighted through this book, but just know that if I put them all into this review, I’d probably be in danger of publishing the book myself!
One that really stuck in my mind from towards the end was this one:
“Prayer is like a spiritual space telescope, lifting us far above the earth’s perspective to see the entire cosmos similar to the way God sees it. As we pray, glimpses of invisible galaxies come into view.”
I also particularly loved the closing chapter, with all its comparisons to Lord of the Rings. The familiarity made me smile, but also really made me think.
I would really recommend this book to anyone whether they are just starting out praying or long-time Christians. I’ll definitely be recommending it to my church life group as a shared study, it was simply fantastic. The only thing I’d say is that I’d definitely suggest getting this book as a physical copy, not an ebook, as the reflection spaces would definitely benefit from being able to actually write in the book.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2020/05/04/john-smed-journey-in-prayer/
At the start of this book, we’re introduced to Kat, a young girl who loves nothing more than to draw her comic books. Her parents work long hours and she’s often alone, and she’s feeling out of touch with her childhood best friend Gem, who is becoming more and more like a tyrant than a friend.
So when Kat gets talking to the old lady next door, it seems like a world will be opened to her that will make her feel less lonely. And the new boy that starts at school, it seems like they could be friends, if only Gem would stop involving Kat in her plans to bring him down.
Through Kat’s elderly next door neighbour, we’re transported to Poland in world war two, as Ania tells Kat the story of how she escaped from the clutches of the army on multiple occasions. Intermingled with this is the story of present day Kat, and also the comic book stories that she is writing.
Personally for me, I think the comic book story added a dimension too much – it was three different plot lines to keep up with and I ended up skim reading these bits to get back to the main storyline.
I loved this book, another kids book that felt quite raw for younger children and I would say would be more young adult, but then again, children need to know what happened before so we can ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2019/12/29/ewa-jozefkowicz-girl-38/
So when Kat gets talking to the old lady next door, it seems like a world will be opened to her that will make her feel less lonely. And the new boy that starts at school, it seems like they could be friends, if only Gem would stop involving Kat in her plans to bring him down.
Through Kat’s elderly next door neighbour, we’re transported to Poland in world war two, as Ania tells Kat the story of how she escaped from the clutches of the army on multiple occasions. Intermingled with this is the story of present day Kat, and also the comic book stories that she is writing.
Personally for me, I think the comic book story added a dimension too much – it was three different plot lines to keep up with and I ended up skim reading these bits to get back to the main storyline.
I loved this book, another kids book that felt quite raw for younger children and I would say would be more young adult, but then again, children need to know what happened before so we can ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Posted on: https://emmaloui.se/2019/12/29/ewa-jozefkowicz-girl-38/
An insightful and clear unpicking of the ‘issue’ of same-sex marriage that has caused (and continues to cause) friction in the church. It’s a divisive issue and one that is probably not talked about enough because of the potential for upset.
This book unpicks the common objections for same sex relationships and gay marriage and thoroughly and overwhelmingly shows you why these objections are not biblical in origin.
Unpicking the real meaning behind commonly cited Bible passages and trying to explain where some of the confusion has come from, I found this book so insightful. It’s written without judgement but with love and with the intention of opening eyes to a more inclusive world.
This book challenges us to move past things that might make us uncomfortable and challenge what we may think we know. I found it enlightening and I am personally so glad I read it.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.
This book unpicks the common objections for same sex relationships and gay marriage and thoroughly and overwhelmingly shows you why these objections are not biblical in origin.
Evangelicals often use the phrase ‘authority of scripture’ when they mean the authority of the Evangelical, or Protestant theology, since the assumption is made that we (Evangelicals, or Protestants) are the ones who know and believe that the Bible is saying.
Unpicking the real meaning behind commonly cited Bible passages and trying to explain where some of the confusion has come from, I found this book so insightful. It’s written without judgement but with love and with the intention of opening eyes to a more inclusive world.
I remember the reaction of someone the first time they saw a woman wearing a clerical collar. ‘It’s not natural’, they muttered, with some anger. What they actually meant was ‘I have never seen this before. It is not part of my world and I am very uncomfortable with it’.
This book challenges us to move past things that might make us uncomfortable and challenge what we may think we know. I found it enlightening and I am personally so glad I read it.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.