Peace for Today (Book Review)

I have always enjoyed books by Sheila Walsh, so when I saw her newest devotional book, 5 Minutes with Jesus: Peace for Today, I knew that I wanted to read it.

5 Minutes with Jesus: Peace for Today is 5 1/2 by 9 inches with a heavyweight cardboard cover—sort of a hybrid softcover/hardcover book. The inner pages are decorated with a flowered border. It’s a nice little book to curl up with.

This volume contains a couple of month’s worth of devotional readings. Each one begins with a personal story or a retelling of a Bible story. The story is followed by a theme byte or  “thought for the day,” such as “We don’t need perfect faith when we have a perfect Savior” or “Honor God in all your ways, knowing that He will take care of you.” The final page or two of each daily reading contains several Bible verses to meditate on or pray over.

I really liked this format. Most devotionals consist of a single verse followed by commentary. I enjoyed reading the story or lesson first, then the verses. Because there are always several verses, and because they are the last thing the reader reads, the focus is more on scripture, making it more natural to end devotional time by meditating on or praying over the scripture passages. Each reading could be completed in 5 minutes, as the title suggests, but could also be extended a bit with additional meditating on the set of verses for the day. I also enjoyed the mix of personal stories (Sheila Walsh is very vulnerable about sharing her hardships and fears) and the Bible stories each week.

If you’re looking for 5 minutes of peace to start out your day, this book may be just what you need.

I received a free copy of this book through the BookLook Bloggers program in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.