journeys of faithfulness - A Schoolhouse Crew Review

This month I have had the blessing to have been chosen to review journeys of faithfulness, by Sarah Clarkson. (The failure to capitalize the title is intentional, to mimic the cover -- reminds me of studying ee cummings, who never used capitals...). This fabulous book is published by Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 

I knew, as I read the sample chapter provided on the Apologia website, that I was going to love this book. I was right. I love that Apologia provides, on their website, sample chapters of books I might want to buy. They also even provided the Table of Contents to the book. The book's "subtitle" is "stories of life and faith for young christian women". I thought that was a little unfair -- at 53 I am certainly not young, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book... (In other words, it could just have appropriately said "stories of life and faith for christian women".) So, yeah, the book's target is young Christian women, but older Christian women can also enjoy and benefit from it. This book also makes a good study for mom's to do with their teenaged daughters.

Before receiving this book, I had not heard of Sarah Clarkson, had not read anything written by Sarah Clarkson. Now I am going to remember her name and watch for her to write more books in the future. Sarah's writing is magnetic; it pulls me in. Her style is rich, full, and compelling, and makes you want to read more. She uses literary license in a way that draws the reader into the story. She brings the Bible stories to life, and makes the reader yearn for a deeper relationship with her God and Savior. Oh, wait, you should know that by now... You read that sample chapter I gave you, right?

journeys of faithfulness is divided into stories about four people (well, one is about two people, Mary and Martha). (But wait... you knew that already, too, right? You did look at the Table of Contents, right?) Using the information we are provided in Biblical stories, she expands to help us experience more of how things may have been for the individuals in the Biblical accounts. It is amazing!

Each section highlighted is broken into four chapters with a substory of its own. Each chapter ends with a section of "Devotional", a section of "Bible Study", and a section to jot down personal notes ("Journey Journal"). I did not write in my treasure of a book, because I have a 23 year old daughter that I think will enjoy it when I am done with it, and I wanted to be able to pass it along to her in almost-new condition, and let her use it for her personal devotions and Bible Study. So, yeah, this book is a "consumable" -- it is designed to be written in.

Things I liked or didn't like about journeys of faithfulness:

• I love the writing story, the imagination and the passion Sarah pours into her writing. She makes me yearn to work on deepening my walk with God.
•  I hate to say it, but I am a constant editor. I haven't finished the book in its entirety yet, but I was really happy with the job done by the editors. I haven't found any misspellings, typos, or other blatant errors. For me, that makes it incredibly easier to read. There were some places where I might have put additional commas in, but I probably have a tendency to put in too many commas in my writing.
• There was nothing I did not like.

Apologia Ministries is the same company that brings you that fantastic Science curriculum series, Exploring God's Creation, as well as that apologetics/worldview curriculum, What We Believe. They also have a refreshment ministry for homeschooling moms called Apologia Live. I can't remember an Apologia product that I wasn't delighted with. If you haven't tried Apologia, I recommend you consider journeys of faithfulness and try Apologia today.

journeys of faithfulness costs $13.00, and packs and incredible 232 pages into a tight approximately 6" x 9" paperback. You'll want to have your Bible handy as you work on these daily devotionals. 

DISCLAIMER: As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received a paperback copy of journeys of faithfulness, by Sarah Clarkson, from Apologia Educational Ministries,  in exchange for my honest, uninfluenced review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

  This has been a Schoolhouse Crew Review.

To see more reviews of journeys of faithfulness by the Homeschool Review Crew, see the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog entry for journeys of faithfulness at the Review Crew's Blog.