The Plans I Have For You Journal
Written by Amy Parker
Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
Zonderkidz Publishing
Devotional: $14.99
Journal: $12.99
The Plans I Have For You is a 90 day devotion for children. There isn't an age range mentioned, but I would suggest at least mid elementary children. The book is divided into 6 categories of devotions:
I've Got Big Plans For YOU!
I've Given YOU a Purpose
I Don't Do Things Small
There's Nothing YOU Can't Do
Find That ONE Thing
What I Created YOU To Do
This Devotion is based on the Scripture Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
Many people LOVE this verse and I was interested to see what it would be like.
First, there is an introduction page that explains REALLY well to kids what a devotion is...Spending time with God everyday! She goes on to say that a devotion is a tool to help you do that, but you don't even need that...You can just open your Bible. She stresses spending time with God EVERYDAY! I love that this is pointing children to be in the Word everyday.
The pages are very colorful and interesting. The drawings are probably more suited to younger children and the devotions themselves are PRETTY SHORT! Sometimes just six lines. Some of the devotions are very simple: "Are you Lonely? Give God a call! He is right there with you."
Others hit you right between the eyes with a big ouch: "Only the humble will hear God's Direction. Prideful hearts won't need help. The Arrogant already know the way. The haughty have their own things to do, thankyouverymuch. But those who admit they need God's guidance, those who wait for instruction, those who make time to listen...They will hear, ,and they will find the way."
What I don't love about this book:
The devotions seem to be written at different levels of comprehension and spiritual maturity. Some devotions are great for preschoolers, while others need some more critical thought skills to grasp and apply. It is so hard to put an age range on this.
At least a couple of the devotions seem a little too vending machine style (for lack of better words), put your money in and get this...For example, on a devotion for Ephesians 3:20 (God can do more than we can ask or imagine), the author lists a few things: Your wildest dreams, craziest goals, prayer of all prayers... "Poof! It's all yours." I think that can lead to some wrong thinking.
What I LOVED about this book:
I LOVE how some things are explained really well for children: What a devotion is, What God giving us the desires of our hearts means, and Remaining in Him from John 15 for example.
I LOVE how it points children to God and developing a daily time with God.
I LOVE that it is simple enough for my middle elementary kid to pick up and work independently.
The Plans I Have For You Journal is a companion to the devotional. The sections line up with the sections in the book and give space for your child to go a little deeper. The sections in the journal do not appear to line up one to one with the devotional, but take the concepts and allow for the child to think and write about where God is leading them with that particular thought or truth.
I love the idea of a journal, but my little guy thinks that writing is an extreme form of torture inflicted by mean Momma's, so we have not worked in this at all. Some pages are fill in the blank, some are drawing pages and others are more free writing on the topic. If your child likes these kinds of activities, I would HIGHLY recommend getting this to accompany the devotional.
I received these products in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
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