"Journey of a Lifetime" by Taylor Bennett

About this book:

  “Many Christian teen girls struggle with identity and discerning God’s purpose for their life. This guided devotional journal will help them grow in their relationship with the Lord and set out on an adventure of faith, love, and bravery.

   Written in a whimsical and friendly tone, this unique devotional encourages readers to draw out their own personalized roadmap for the path God has put them on—both literally, by completing bucket list–⁠⁠inspired activities, and figuratively through daily prayers.

   Girls who are fond of inspirational quotes, enjoy coffee dates with friends, and have a touch of wanderlust will be especially enticed to pick up this devotional.

   Includes quizzes, recipes, and journaling prompts.”

Series: As of now, no. Not connected to any other book.

Spiritual Content- Divided into nine section (with ten devotionals each), every devotional has a portion of Scripture to read, a verse to memorize, a discussion, a prayer, & then a couple questions to reflect on or things to think about; At the end of each section, there is a fun activity to do and journaling prompts; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; All about God, Jesus, your walk with Him, & His Word; Many mentions of Heaven, Christians, & faiths; Many mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; Mentions of churches; Mentions of worship songs (& suggestions); Mentions of the devil & sin; A few mentions of missionaries & mission trips;

             *Note: Mentions of idols & idol worship (in ancient Corinth and today’s society).

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’; A couple mentions of thinking about if you’re comfortable reading or listening to content that contains bad language & how do you define bad language—coarse words, swear words, or taking the name of the Lord in vain; Mentions of anxiety & a panic attack; Mentions of doing things because “everybody else does them” (such as watching a show with mature content, cheating on your homework, or making fun of a classmate); A mention of the “bad side” of Las Vegas; A mention of a possible plane crash; A (teasing) mention of jealousy; A mention of gossip (in the context of society has branded it “cool” but we should stay away from it);

             *Note: Mentions of Disneyland & a couple of the characters.

Sexual Content- A mention of thinking about when you’re reading or watching a love story, where do you draw the line & are you keeping your mind pure. 

 

                                Devotional  

                                          272 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I loved that this teen girl—though it could be for older girls as well!—devotional is based on the topic of the journey of your walk with the Lord. Not boys, not friendship drama, not school related things, but the most important thing. Your faith in God and being connected to Him. There’s plenty of other devotionals that focus on those other topics—and I’ve reviewed quite a few of them—so this one was incredibly refreshing. I wish I would have had this devotional when I was in high school, but there were a lot of good parts that stood out to me, even though I’m in my 20s. A lot of my very favorite Scriptures were also used in this devotional, which I loved seeing! This is easily one of my favorite devotionals now and one I’m sure I’ll be recommending often.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this (Advance Reader Copy) e-book for free from the Publisher (Bethany House) for this honest review. Having read an ARC, there are some details listed in this review that may have been changed in the final print edition.

"Promise Me Aloha" by Taylor Bennett

About this book:

  “How can two people come together when everything else is falling apart?

   Olive Galloway always knew that Brander Delacroix wasn't going to date until he found the girl he wanted to marry, and she's still marveling over the fact that he decided to date her. But he did, which means it isn't much of a surprise when he drops down on one knee in the sand the year after Olive graduates from college. What does come as a surprise is the sudden realization that she'll no longer be Olive Galloway living at home with Grams and Macie. She'll be Olive Delacroix, building a new life in Hawaii with one of her very best friends.

   With that understanding, however, comes a tidal wave of pressure. Between bothersome dealings with soon-to-be in-laws, a mountain of over-the-top wedding preparations, and a trio of explosive family secrets, Olive begins to wonder if she'll be able to make it down the aisle with all of her hair intact. She's thankful for Jazz, her best friend, who is ready and willing to support her through it all, but she can't help wondering why Jazz hasn't found a happily ever after of her own.

   As the wedding day draws near and one final devastating secret comes to light, Olive's perfect world comes dangerously close to spinning off its axis. It will take plenty of faith and prayer (and no small amount of shave ice) to set things right before the wedding bells begin to ring and she promises Brander her aloha...forever.”

Series: Considered Book #5 (technically the fourth full-length book) in the “Tradewinds” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, the Christmas novella (considered to be book #2.5 or #3) Here!, and Book #4 Here!

Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are mentioned & remembered; Prayers & Blessings over food; Talks about God, talking to Him, & relationships; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Church, youth group going & worshiping; Pre-marital counseling & discussions; Many mentions of God, His will, & faiths; Many mentions of churches, church going, sermons, pastors, ministries, youth group, worship, & songs; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; A mention of the drive-through chapels in Vegas;

             *Note: A mention of a superstition for good luck; A mention of Macie wondering if it’s a sin as a Christian to eat a buddha bowl.

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sheesh’, two ‘dang’s, two ‘geesh’s, five ‘dumb’s, five forms of ‘stupid’, and six ‘idiot’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Going to a casino (Olive does not gamble and calls it a waste of money, but Jazz tries a ten dollar one and only does it once); Mentions of kidnappings & ransom (teasing); Mentions of Olive’s dog phobia & remembering what happened (barely-above-not-detailed, Book #2); Mentions of Sin City (Las Vegas), casinos, & doing things other than drink, smoke or gamble while there; Mentions of piercing/gauges, tattoos, & getting a tattoo (*Spoiler* Jazz *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of dog poo & pee; A few mentions of Jazz’s amputation (Book #1); A few mentions of lotteries & winning one; A couple mentions of a car accident & deaths; A couple mentions of burglars; A couple mentions of rehab; A couple mentions of lies; A couple mentions of divorces; A couple mentions of hunting; A mention of prison (teasing); A mention of a puppy mill;

             *Note: Mentions of Jane Austen & her books; Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of songs; A mention of a social media site (Pinterest); A mention of a TV show (House Hunters); A mention of a Martha Stewart magazine. 

 

 

Sexual Content- Five not-detailed kisses, five cheek/jaw kisses, three head/hair kisses, seven barely-above-not-detailed kisses, five border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss, and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, & Hand holding; Blushes; Nearness & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dates, dating, & boyfriends/girlfriends; Mentions of blushes & winks; A couple mentions of kisses; A mention of mooning over someone; Some love, being in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: A few mentions of a scantily clad showgirl & owning swimsuits smaller than her dress.

 

-Olive Galloway, age 21

                                1^st person P.O.V. of Olive

                                                        237 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This series is now over. *sniffs* Goodness, I enjoyed this series so much, it’s easily on my Favorite Series of All Time list.

How do I begin? I feel too giddy to properly put words together. 

This book opens about four years after the prior book, “Barefoot Memories”, and it did take me a few chapters to catch up and realize what everyone was doing now. I admit to feeling a little jipped that we haven’t seen the past four years of these characters, but I suppose it’s realistic.

I think I was sniffling or smiling like a ninny the whole time reading this novel—Olive and Brander, thanks so much for reminding me that I’m single. 😉

I wasn’t personally a fan of the Las Vegas casino scene, but I appreciate that Olive didn’t gamble and that Jazz didn’t continue.

Really, though, it was just so cute and of course I loved the faith content so much throughout the series, but especially in this one. Incredibly clean (not one mention of the wedding night—see authors? You can write about a proposal and wedding without mentioning the wedding night. Just sayin’. So incredibly thankful and thrilled that this author didn’t include any awkward mentions in this book) and so, so sweet.

Aww, I’m so sad this series is over! It was everything I love about Christian Contemporary YA and it was wonderful. 😊 (Dare I hope for a spin-off book about Macie?)

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.