Homeschool Crew Review: Zondervan Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women

Zondervan has been publishing Bibles, Christian books, curriculum, and other resources for more then 80 years.  They publish over 300 new books and Bibles annually.  We recently had an opportunity to read and review the devotional Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women. 
Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women is a beautiful, hard cover, 380 page page book.  It was written by Lindsay A. Franklin with young ladies ages 13-18 years old in mind, but can be used with mature younger girls and those that are older as well.  It can be purchased for $15.99.

Each day starts with a scripture verse, using the NIV translation,  about a Biblical girl or woman and then you read a short devotional (less then a page) related to that verse.  At the bottom of each page there is a few short lines for journaling.  There are 365 devotions as the title implies, one for each day of the year.  But unlike other devotionals I have had, they are not labeled with a specific day for each one.  So no matter when you receive the book, you get to start right at the beginning and just read one each day.

Each day's devotional relates to every day challenges that will speak to young ladies today.  For example:

DAY 24 Genesis 16:8 (Hagar running away from Sarai) Everyone makes bad choices but running away from our consequences is never the best choice.

 Day 41 Genesis 24:17-18 (Rebekah giving a drink to Abraham's servant) Have a spirit of hospitality wherever you go and reach out to others or offer kind words or friendly face.

Day 118 Judges 13:6-7 (Samson's mother being visited by and angel and she goes and tells her husband about it) Have a testimony ready to be able to share with others the ways God has answered our prayers and  Jesus changed our heart.

Day 343 John 8:3-6A (Pharisees caught a woman in adultery and made her stand before the group asking Jesus what they should do) Even when someone does something wrong we should treat them with dignity and kindness first then speak the truth in love.

These devotionals can be read through in less then 10 minutes a day.  You may want to spend a little more time researching the Scripture around the chosen verses if they are verses you are not already familiar with .

I do not have any teenage girls in the age range intended for this devotional at home right now.  My girls living at home are much younger and my oldest is not living at home, so I read through this devotional myself.  The books is very appealing to young ladies.  It is beautiful!  Since it is hardcover rather then paperback it will last a very long time.  I love that it has a ribbon book mark included because I can never find one when I need one! The devotionals are short but meaningful and can be worked through by teenagers alone or mothers could go through the devotionals with their daughters.  The Scriptures used are not all "happy" verses but they are all used for teaching lessons that we can apply to our lives today.  I love that the days in the devotional are not labeled making it easy to start at the beginning whenever you receive the book.  Also if you miss a day or two you never have to catch up, just pick right up where you left off.


Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women would make a great gift for teenage girls.  To see what my Crew Mates had to say, stop by the Crew Blog!