Embracing Joy

I love this devotional! There are 5 days for each week. At the end of each week are group study questions which enables this to be done individually or as part of a Bible study.

I love that there are quick daily devotions, but the layout is very original and different than most devotionals. Most devotions start with 1 Bible verse, a cute little story, then end with a short prayer. This one delves into the history of the Bible. It is laid out in something called the Transformational Bible Study Method which consists of 1. Intent 2. Truth 3. Transformation.
Intertwined are stories that help relate the content to everyday life. While it's based on Habakkuk there are also many other Bible verses referenced.

This is a good one if you want a quick daily read, but want more depth and substance than most daily devotionals.

Thanks to Netgalley and Our Daily Bread Publishing for a digital ARC.

When I saw that this was a study of Habakkuk, I knew I would love it and I did!!! I know this book will be one that I need to get as a physical copy so I can leave my notes on it and highlight all my favorite parts!!! I know this book will be an amazing addition to any church book club as so many of us need that reminder that no matter what we are facing we need to always remember and try to live in peace and have hope that God is in control ALWAYS!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Jean Wilund, and publisher for the ARC.

This is a wonderful 8 week devotional on the book Habakkuk. It provides wonderful insight and has really helped me understand the book and the history behind it. There are 5 daily devotionals a week that are easy to read, enjoyable, and simple. I highly recommend!

✨✨✨ARC REVIEW✨✨✨
Embracing Joy: An 8-Week Transformational Bible Study of Habakkuk
By: Jean Wilund
Pages: 312
Release Date: September 5th 2023

This is a devotional I received through @netgalley so my review will be a bit different then the other ARCs I review on my page!

I thought this was a great devotional and it was easy to follow. I went through it like I would any other devotional and felt like I was able to get a good understand of the book of Habakkuk.

As someone who has never read the book of Habakkuk I was worried about the devotional not making sense or just making it more confusing but that was not the case! I also was concerned this would be a boring devotional on a “boring” book but I am so glad to say I was wrong!

Devotion Description:
How do you find joy in joyless times?
 
Discover one of the shortest, most overlooked books of the Old Testament—one that contains an ancient message filled with modern-day hope. Jean Wilund invites you to unpack its three chapters and learn from the life and world of the prophet Habakkuk.
 
This eight-week study points you to everlasting peace and abundant joy. Through probing questions, Jean’s three-step transformational Bible study method, and plenty of space to write notes and prayers, you’ll uncover the powerful truths that transformed Habakkuk’s perspective despite the violence and destruction that ruled the kingdom of Judah.
 
No matter what you’re going through or what tomorrow brings, there is hope to be found in the book of Habakkuk.

When I started reading this Bible Study, I wondered how there would be enough material to fill eight weeks when the book of Habakkuk is a mere three chapters and a total of 56 verses? Believe me, Jean Wilund has risen to the task with this excellent Bible Study!

I especially like her new-to-me approach using the Transformational Bible Study Method.
(The following explanation of the method is taken from the book.)

1. Intent: What was the author's intent to his original audience?

2. Truth: What truths does God's Word reveal about the character, nature, and ways of God, and that of anyone or anything other than God?

3. Transformation: If I truly believe and act on what God has revealed in this passage, how with the motivations and attitudes of my heart transform and my actions be different tomorrow?

There are five lessons for each week followed by Group Study questions making this a good tool for both self and group studies.

Well done!

My thanks to Our Daily Bread Publishing for permitting me to access a DRC of the book via NetGalley. It is currently scheduled for publication 9/5/23. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

This book did a deep dive into a book of the bible I had not heard about much. I liked how the author used personal stories and stories of others to illustrate the faith in God contained in the book of Habakkuk. I did not like that it offered up the same question for reflection each day, although the devotional was on a different theme. This did not inspire me to journal my thoughts. I also felt disconnected because the discussions on how each verse in Habakkuk connected to other verses in the bible felt a bit incohesive sometimes. I would still recommend this book to work through as a group for people who are the stage of their bible study journey that it would benefit them to make deep connections between bible passages around the theme of joy and living with an eternal worldview. I found a verse that really stuck out to me and it wasn't even in Habakkuk!

First, I love that the references are not limited to one version of the bible. There is references noted to be from the ESV, HCSB, NIV, NKJV. This always enriches a study and was shown in this bible study book. This study is very timely and needed in our chaotic world where nothing is guaranteed and we are in an increasingly unstable environment. This is a study inclined for both individual study and than group study at the end of the week as well. Something to note is that this is not the final version, there is a large number of spacing issues in the text and titles which are off from the format.

Embracing Joy by Jean Wilund is an 8-week Bible study on the book of Habakkuk. I found that the Bible study was well done, dividing texts to study for different days of the week. While the book of Habakkuk is a short one with only 3 chapters, I found it very good to divide the study into 8 weeks and really go deeper in the study and devotionals.

Embracing Joy: An 8 week Transformational Bible Study of Habakkuk

Jean Wilund shows us how to apply the truths we learn from Scripture to our lives by using a transformational Bible Study Method through Habakkuk in 3 simple steps:

1. Intent-We'll guard against wrong assumptions by considering the author's intent to his original audience.
2. Truth- We'll seek to pull out the truths god placed into each verse and what they reveal about the unchanging and unchangeable character, nature, and ways of God and that of anyone or anything else in the passage.
3. Transformation-We'll respond to the truths god reveals in His Word in a way that transforms our hearts and minds.

This study of the Old Testament book of Habakkuk is broken down into weekly sections of daily readings. You will read through the book of Habakkuk, where you will see the unchanging nature of our eternal God. This book will help you to look through the right lens to properly interpret the world, our lives, and the Bible.

I thoroughly enjoyed this study through Habakkuk, each of us face our own trials and sometimes it is difficult to see or understand why God is allowing them. Through His word we can learn to trust God, and rejoice knowing that although we are short sighted our God is not. He has a purpose, and His purpose is always good and right.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

As far as a book study, I’ve never studied Habakkuk and it was a delight to be able to dive into finding the joy through the hardships. We all face hard, we all face trials, and leaning into the heart of being contented in all things in Christ is foundational. Highly recommend if you’re doing a small group study to connect with others and seeing you’re not alone. It was also a delight in a study on my own, however; think it would be worth it to get a few people together to truck through it together.

An excellent 8 week bible study. I enjoyed studying the three chapter book of Habbakuk so in depth. I will purchase this in paper form for my personal use once it's released. Thank you for the ARC

I’ve read the book of Habakkuk probably twenty times. I love Habakkuk’s declaration of faith at the end (“Though the fig tree doesn’t blossom . . . “), but never fully understood the context or some of the confusing parts. BUT, I understand them now. Even better, I understand how a believer can embrace joy even when the world is falling down around you. I loved the personal and historical stories to introduce the lessons and found the boxes helpful for teaching me how to study the text and interact with it. I’m grateful that Wilund didn’t just stuff our head full of knowledge but, by asking us the same application question each time, encouraged (forced) us to apply the truth to our life and take a faith stand. Nothing passive about this study. I look forward to sharing the final version with my Bible study group.

Embracing Joy is an 8-week devotional study on Habakkuk.

Jean Wilund uses the transformational Bible study method to delve into verses from the book of Habakkuk. She uses individual verse studies as well as broader sections.

I enjoyed this study for many reasons. Jean encourages readers to pray in every lesson, and she emphasizes writing Scripture. She also prompts readers to journal in a more open-ended way, which I liked a lot. She will start with the verse(s) the reader is studying and then broaden it to include other books in the Bible. She also connects every single day’s lesson to Jesus. She also uses personal stories to parallel the teaching to fit our every day lives. The end of each week comes with a list of group study questions that can help get conversations going as well, which can be helpful.

Only two things didn’t work as well for me, though I’d still recommend this study to others. First: some lessons weren’t as much about Habakkuk. I would have loved to have more specifically in his book, even if it meant the study was shorter.

Second: the last week felt out of place. I absolutely loved the last week because she uses the stories from five Christians or couples who depended on God. They were Aiden Wilson Tozier, Oswald Chambers, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, John Newton, and David and Svea Flood. Each story was intriguing and educational, but they didn’t quite blend into the study itself. They would fit better in their own devotional.

Overall this study was enlightening to me, and I learned so much. Netgalley provided this book for my honest review.

Embracing Joy uses the turmoil found in the book of Habakkuk to relate to today’s world. We often think our troubles are unique to us but in fact we face many of the same types of issues that those before us have had.

We can learn from the lessons they left for us and this study does a great job showing how relevant the Bible is today.

Such a wonderful Bible study through Habakkuk. Jean has a lovely way of breaking down the scripture for better understanding. Her personal additions are great, thought provoking way to apply the scripture to everyday life. I really appreciate how much scripture and prayer is throughout the study, and the discussion questions are helpful, too. The devotions are succinct in length for busy women, but also profound in content. I’d recommend this book for those wanting to study Habakkuk deeper.

I deeply appreciate this author's in-depth look at the book of Habakkuk, and Habakkuk's interactions with God during very distressing times in his life and God's actions seemingly against the nation of Israel. I feel that serious readers who wish to delve genuinely into seeking greater knowledge and understanding of God's Word, will and ways will greatly appreciate this study.

This study kept my pen to the pages of my journal, responding to what the author was expounding about, helping to bring forth ones' own thoughts and feelings regarding what was happening in Habakkuk's time but that also relates to the current times. The spiritual exercises will keep one engaged in what is said and create plenty of time to keep a person on their knees in humble prayer before the Lord.

Jean Wilund, the authoress, has written this eight week study of Habakkuk with group study questions, memory verses, daily conviction prayers and so forth. It has been one of my best 'grow book' reads in a while. I do recommend it to those readers who would also like to learn more about God's Sovereignty.

~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~

June 2023

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the complimentary review copy sent by NetGalley and the publisher.

A bible study of Habakkuk for eight weeks. There is plenty of information for me. Also, Jean Wilund gives us guided questions enough space to write your thoughts.

Embracing Joy is a close look at a small three-chapter Old Testament book, Habakkuk. By Jean Wilund, Embracing Joy dives verse by verse into this at first glance lacking joy scripture. However, the prophet Habakkuk chooses to hope and develop joy even with the evil and destruction coming around him.

An eight-week study I especially liked the format which could be applied to any study of sculpture. First was to look at Intent by considering the author’s intent to his original audience. Then look at Truth what is reveal about the unchanging and unchangeable character, nature, and ways of God and that of anyone or anything else in the passage. Then we look at ourselves or the Transformation that can happen in our hearts and minds along with questions that can be answered.

A small group study would enhance this even more comparing our thoughts with each other and not just the author’s. Since my copy was a digital pdf for review purposes of course a paper copy would be the way to go to get the most out of the study. Then there are places to write down answers and thoughts to the questions.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a digital ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts.

I loved reading through this! There’s such a different e between happiness and joy, and the act of embracing joy takes some time, but this book was great with motivating reminders.

When a book resonates with your word of the year, you take notice! That's what drew me to Jean Wilund's Embracing Joy, a Bible study that explores the book of Habakkuk. And certainly, this study has led me on a journey to deeper joy. I appreciate Wilund's commitments to (1) attack a hard book of the Bible, (2) address some hard topics in the book of Habakkuk, (3) teach readers to study the Bible for themselves, not just spoon feed them, and (4) lead readers on a transformational journey where the Word truly transforms the everyday life.

Truly, this 8-week Bible study challenged my thinking in so many ways--to think biblically about joy and how it's a choice we make. Wilund's 3-step Bible study method (Intent, Truth, Transformation) mentors readers in how to dig deep into God's Word and allow it to change you at the deepest level. I learned so much, but I feel like I've got to read it again, but with a hard copy instead of an ebook. Pen on paper for a Bible study is so much easier than typing notes into a Kindle!

I highly recommend this Bible study, Embracing Joy, by Jean Wilund, and I look forward to more from this author. Thanks to Netgalley and Our Daily Bread for the ARC.

This is a SERIOUSLY good book. I have not come across anything by this author before, but I am very impressed with the quality of this study. Habbukuh is a short but punchy book by one of the minor prophets in the Old Testament. Written at a very perilous moment in the history of the kingdom of Judah. The author uses the transformational bible study method, meticulously laid out for the reader. After all, the point of scripture is to transform lives. The book can be studied either alone or a part of a group. For a prophetic book of three chapters, this study really brings the prophets message to the fore in clear, and unambiguous way.. For serious bible students or for those who seek to deepen their understanding, this book is an exceptional resource.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this study. I have had an awful year last year and this study was so helpful to teach me to seek joy amidst challenging times. It is so good to spend time in The Word when life gets hard and this book really helped.

A great bible study of one of the shortest books in the Bible! This 8 week study shows how much can be taken from such a small book and how it applies to us today.. the author’s unique 3 step bible study method is a great way to study. This study will show you the power and hope in trusting God no matter what is happening your life or the world around you…. Very timely for these times