Book Reviews

31 Verses to Write on Your Heart is a beautiful collection of favorite Bible verses – collected from over 1,000 women. Accompanying the collection of inspiring and uplifting verses are Liz Curtis Higg’s beautiful (and deliciously witty) stories, words and thoughts.  The reader is given perfect illustrations of each Bible verse as it jumps out of the Bible and into your life.

I think that’s the heart of having favorite Bible verses. They are almost always words that spoke to us when we needed them most.  One of my personal favorite verses is Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.” (KJV) When my three girls were very young, my dad was in extremely bad health. We knew it wasn’t a matter of “if” he was dying, but “when.”  My girls and I packed up our homeschooling books and made the long drive each day from Madisonville to Owensboro (KY), where he was in the hospital.

If you’ve never watched someone you love greatly slowly die, I hope you never do. It’s… well, there doesn’t seem to be a word strong enough for what it is. Even “agonizing” doesn’t seem to cover it.

One night as I was stacking up the books the girls would need to carry with them the next morning, I just laid across the bed and let the tears fall where they may. Since the last thing I wanted my daughters or husband, for that matter, to see was me having a “moment and a half,” I dried my eyes, grabbed my Bible and flung it open – figuring I’d just begin reading wherever my red eyes happened to land.

I “landed” here in Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call unto me and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.”  Here’s the thing about Bible verses – often, one verse speaks to one person differently than it does the next person. Why? Because God often has something different to say to each of us!

When I read that verse, it was as though God was meeting me right where I was and telling me to be strong… happier days are ahead and my dad’s suffering and our heartbreak would not last forever. When I closed my Bible (after highlighting the verse and writing it both on the calendar I carried in my purse AND on my heart), I realized something that I have never forgotten – when you keep your eyes on God (“Call unto me”), He will always be there for you (“I WILL answer thee”). What’s more, He will lead, teach, and instruct you (“shew thee great and mighty things”), even if you can’t, for the life of you, see them yourself (“which though knowest not.”)

From the Back Cover:

Let His Truth Find a Home in Your Heart
Here are the words of hope you’re looking for when your faith needs a boost or a friend needs encouragement. Chosen by more than a thousand women as their favorite verses in the Bible, each one is worth learning, worth sharing, worth remembering,

You’ll find verses you already know and love: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Others may be less familiar but are no less powerful: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25). All of them capture the truth of God’s goodness, mercy, and love for His own.

Best-selling author Liz Curtis Higgs invites you to experience—
* a deeper, richer understanding of thirty-one treasured verses.
* a fresh look at how these timeless truths can impact your life.
* a new passion for memorizing Scripture, verse by verse.
* thirty-one creative ways to keep them in your heart forever.

With a study guide included, 31 Verses to Write on Your Heart is a daily devotional and a small-group Bible study, wrapped in a lovely gift book overflowing with joy!

“Consider 31 Verses to Write on Your Heart your new spiritual strategy for deepening your daily walk with God. ”
—Karen Ehman, author of Keep It Shut

Each Bible verse comes with “His Word, Your Heart” at the end – a page that includes a tip for memorizing the verse and a space to write your own favorite version (KJV, NKJV, or NIV) of the verse.

I love what Liz Curtis Higgs has to say about Scripture Memorization:

“If you’re ready to give Scripture memorization a go, you’ll see lots of practical ideas and fun tips scattered throughout the book, then collected in the final pages for easy reference…. I know, I know. You don’t have the time. Your memory isn’t what it used to be. You tried before and gave up. You think it’s too hard. I get it. Totally.

Still, here’s what the Bible says: ‘Keep my words and store up my commands within you.’ This isn’t simply the wisdom of King Solomon written to his son. This is the Word of God written for all of us. Keep and store. That’s memorizing Scripture in a nutshell.”

When it comes to memorizing Bible verses, the more you do it, the easier it is. It’s as though you’re exercising a part of your brain and with steady “exercise,” it’ll amaze you with how strong it becomes!

31 Verses to Write on Your Heart is available on Amazon and would make a BEYOND wonderful Mother’s Day or Graduation gift. Actually it’d make a perfect gift for any special lady in your life. You’ll also want your own copy, however.

This beautiful book sits proudly on a shelf on my Inspirational Books bookshelf  (keeping company with its sisters – other Liz Curtis Higgs books). However, it doesn’t sit there for long stretches at a time. When I got the book, I used it, daily, as a devotional – memorizing the verses and reading the corresponding words. Today, I often refer back to it to challenge myself with the verses and re-read the chapters for inspiration.

This is simply a beautiful, inspiring, uplifting, and perfect book. See 31 Verses to Write on Your Heart for your own copy.

Note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. The opinions are entirely my own.