Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
Julie Polanco, from Julie Naturally, has two solid bible studies for women in her Faith Journeys Bible Study Series. They are Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Romans bundle and Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Philippians. I had the opportunity to review them these past few weeks.
What Are These Products?
I received two PDF studies to download. I also received access to the video component of the Romans bundle. The Philippians study is shorter than the Romans one. It’s only four weeks. The Romans one lasts for eight.
Both units feature daily Bible readings, with discussion questions to ponder and jot down your answers to. These questions helped you to meditate on the verses you read, and apply them to your own life. The studies are a good fit for busy moms, since they are fairly short. Here’s a screen shot of one of the lessons:
The Philippians study says it’ll take about twenty minutes a day, but I found I was able to get through each one much more quickly. It was closer to ten minutes for me. The Romans study has a video component, so one day a week (when you watch that week’s videos) it’ll take you longer. This one also has some longer reading passages, so it was closer to the twenty minute mark some days.
Each study also includes some memory cards and coloring pages. These have memory verses on them. They’re very pretty, but didn’t print out well with a black and white printer since they have a colorful patterned background. So, I created my own versions of those, using the same verses that the study included.
The author recommends printing out the study and keeping it in a binder. I didn’t do that, since we had several deputation trips planned during this review period. So, I just accessed them on my computer so I wouldn’t have anything extra to bring along. Then, I wrote my answers just in a simple spiral notebook. It worked for me.
How I Used This Product
During the review period, I focused on completing the four week study of Philippians. Since this one didn’t have any videos to watch, it was easier for me to do (our internet is bad, and when we travel I never know how it’ll be.)
I worked on a daily lesson almost every day, though I skipped a few when we had appointments or other events come up. Since the studies aren’t dated, it’s okay to miss a day or two. Just jump back in when you are able and get back to it. As you work through them, you can build the habit of studying your Bible.
I didn’t like the coloring pages in the Philippians study, so I didn’t do those. They were random hearts for most that appeared to be in the “adult coloring book” style. The final one was the word Love. And I know that love is a big theme in this book, but it would have been more helpful if there were verses or something on them to tie back into the lesson and think on as the coloring took place.
I haven’t really gotten too far into the Romans study yet, but I took a few minutes to check out the coloring pages. They are related to scripture, but I didn’t like how they looked. I know some people will enjoy the coloring part, but these ones weren’t for me. Thankfully, skipping this portion didn’t take away any of the Bible study aspect of the program.
What I Thought
All Bible quotes in this series are from the 1984 NIV, and on her copyright page, Julie recommends not using any later translation of that one. She asks readers to consider using the ESV or NASB version instead. Since I prefer the KJV, I just stuck with that. For the most part, the verses aren’t written out in the study, so you can use whatever version you are most comfortable with. There are a few questions that quote part of a scripture where things might be off a bit, but you can easily adapt them.
Since my internet isn’t the best, I appreciated that the videos were fairly short (less than 15 minutes each) and that there wasn’t a daily video component. I do feel like the video quality wasn’t the best. I haven’t watched them all yet, but there was a little audio quality problem with the ones I did.
I do think a teacher’s guide or something would have been helpful. This would have provided an answer key for any questions where you got stuck. It’d also give you a different perspective to consider if you went on a different train of thought with your response. However, since so many of the questions are personal in nature (how do these apply to YOUR life) I understand why there wasn’t one.
These Bible studies don’t dive deep, and there are only a few questions about each section. But, if you’re a new Christian, or have a young teen, these will really help you to begin studying your Bible. I also found them nice, since they didn’t take a long time. I felt they were very accessible, even during this busy season of life when we’re juggling deputation, my business, and the family.
If you’re looking for a fairly short Bible study for women, check out these ones from Julie Naturally. If you want to know more about them, click on the banner below for more reviews.
