Hello Friends,

Today I am super excited to be sharing a new favorite devotional of mine. It’s not perfect, but considering my one word for the year, it’s been a gem. ♥ I think you’ll love it too!

As many of you know… my one word for the year twenty-eighteen is Flourish. I came across this word one day when I was reading Psalm 92 which says….

“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.” Psalm 92:12-13

You can read more about why I chose the word Flourish, by reading this post. But mainly, I chose the word flourish because I am a new wife, living in a new town, and attending a new church. I feel as though I’ve transitioned nicely into my new home and my new role…. but I want to flourish in these new areas of my life.

Shortly after choosing my word for the year, I did a little search on Amazon. I enjoy learning by reading a good book, so I was searching for something to help me flourish. Lo and behold I found a gem of a book called… Flourish.

The Flourish Devotional

Flourish: Live Loved. Live Fearless. Live Free.

I liked this book as soon as it arrived in the mail. The cover is gorgeous– starting with the hand-lettered title in gold, and the pretty floral designs.

This book is actually a devotional that’s designed to be read through in one year. Each “chapter” is numbered off in 52 weeks – one for each week of the year. In the introduction, the author shares that this devotional can be read once a week for a year, or once a day for 8 weeks – whichever the reader or study group prefers.

Every four “chapters” there is a new theme – and each theme is somehow related to plants and growth. There are blank pages for prayer and reflection, as well as a detailed coloring page to go along with each theme.

Every chapter has a highlighted quote, a challenge to help you flourish, and a simple prayer to pray. The whole layout of this book is well designed, and thought-out in a beautiful and consistent way. I love it!

Margaret’s writing style is very laid-back, fun, and personal. Many of her thoughts and lessons really hit home for me. I read through the whole devotional in less than 8 weeks, and plan to go through it a second time at a slower pace. I just want to “soak up” all these flourishing thoughts! 😉

As much as I love this devotional, I cannot recommend it 100%. Unfortunately, the author uses many different Bible translations which are inaccurate versions of the Word of God. No offense, but it’s true. Margaret also shared some stories and made some references that made me wonder if she doesn’t have some Catholic background/beliefs. She jokingly mentioned purgatory at least once and even had some friends that visited a monastery and participated in a “vow of silence” just like the monks. I don’t know about you… but I just thought that was a little weird. (Maybe because that’s not found in the Bible!). 😉

There was also one chapter in this book where Margaret misinterprets Mark 12:31 by saying that we can only love our neighbors if we first love ourselves. I realize that “self-love” is something we hear about a lot, but I believe it’s totally un-biblical. As sinful humans we already love ourselves too much! We may need to take care of ourselves better… but we certainly don’t need to love ourselves more in order to love others!

Throughout this book I can tell the author has a much more contemporary Christian “style” (so-to-speak) which I fully expected before I purchased the book.

Those few things aside, I still really loved this book. Because this devotional goes along so incredibly well with my one word, I am willing to overlook some things.

All in all, I still think this is a lovely and inspiring devotional, and it’s already helping me along with my one word, Flourish.

Where to Get It

If you want to know more about this book, hop on over to Margaret Feinburg’s book store. Or check out the devotional on Amazon, right here. (I bought a brand new copy on Amazon for about $10 – but there are used options as well.)

Margaret Feinburg also wrote a book called, Fight Back With Joy. The word “joy” was my one word several years ago, so I really enjoyed that book as well.

I Would Love to Know

Would you like to see more book review posts in the future?

I love hearing from you all! Keep the comments and emails coming!

See you next Thursday!