Customer Reviews

A Year with God

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If you are looking for an excellent devotional book, look no further. This is a top notch way to spend a year with God (like the title suggests). This book is jam packed with 365 days of devotions which includes a scripture passage to read and a small story to go with the reading. This would take maybe five minutes to read through each day, then you can spend the other 23 hours and 55 minutes reflecting on what you have read.

The main catagories are:
*Hope and Fear
*Love and Hate
*Perseverance and Quitting
*Faith and Doubt
*Loyalty and Betrayal
*Companionship and Isolation
*Mercy and Judgment
*Forgiveness and Anger
*Joy and Sadness
*Peace and Conflict

The best thing about this book is you can start anywhere and pick and choose from the topics in each category. I am excited about spending A Year With God!!

*I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review by BookSneeze*

A Year With God Book Review
A 365-day devotional featuring the actual spoken words of God as presented in the Bible.

Too many times the impact and grandness of the actual words God spoke, as recorded in the Bible, are lost in the telling of the story. In A Year with God, the primary focus is to allow the scriptures that contain God's dialogue and the revelations of himself to uniquely speak to the reader. The author follows each reading with insights and applications to help explain the context and nuances of the text. The unique titling of each meditation and the nontraditional themes and organization help bring God to our daily lives.

Topics include:
Hope and Fear, Love and Hate, Perseverance and Quitting, Faith and Doubt, Loyalty and Betrayal, Companionship and Isolation, Mercy and Judgment, Forgiveness and Anger, Joy and Sadness, Peace and Conflict.

My Thoughts: I love daily devotionals. They are a wonderful way to begin the day and provide a positive focus when troubles arise throughout one's day. A Year With God is different from other daily devotionals because the featured scriptures are from the Old Testament. The commentary that follows the scripture is historical but connects with the reader in present day.

It never feels like there is a shortage of devotionals on the Christian market. Devotionals for men, for women, for kids, for teens, for married couples, for the elderly, for pastors, for volunteers, for dog lovers, for vegans for widows and for people who love to buy the latest devotional.

Devotionals are a dime a dozen.

R.P. Nettelhorst has decided to write a devotional that focuses in the verses that contain God's dialogue and the revelations of himself to uniquely speak to the reader. A Year With God, follows each reading with insights and applications to help explain the context and nuances of each text.

What I liked the most about this book was the fact that the author choses various translations (CEV, Holman, Message, NAS, NIV, NKJ, NLT and NRSV) for each day - handpicking the one that best fits the tone of the verse.

A Year With God is also broken up into topics at the beginning of the book (very much like My Utmost For His Highest). The topics include: Hope and Fear, Love and Hate, Perseverance and Quitting, Faith and Doubt, Loyalty and Betrayal, Companionship and Isolation, Mercy and Judgment, Forgiveness and Anger, Joy and Sadness, and Peace and Conflict.

What a joy it is to begin each day by reading what God has to say on each of these subjects.

And I guess that's what helps this book standout above the rest, whereas most devos are pouring in verses from all over - this one only gives you the words of an Old Testament God.

I liked Nettleworst's voice and his insight, I found it easy to read and at times refreshing. For those of you looking for a great devotional to start the year with, or to give this year at Christmas - highly recommended.

"Make His Thoughts Your Thoughts A Year With God Daily Readings and Reflections on God's Own Words" By R.P, Nettelhorst. Because this is a year's worth of devotions, I opted to read random days throughout the book in hopes of a getting an overview of the style and depth of the devotional.
First of all, let me state that one of my favorite features of the book is that it doesn't start with Jan. 1. It begins with Day 1 so therefore you can start the book at any time and if you miss a day, its not necessarily going to throw you off according to the calendar.
Secondly, I love the format. Its so simple and yet concise and comprehensive. The scripture passage is at the top of the each page and then the commentary is right below it.
Finally and most importantly, the author does a wonderful job of bringing the scripture to life and painting a picture in which we can, with our inept human minds, try to imagine what God's thoughts may have been in a situation presented in the Bible. I felt challenged with just few passages I read to seek God more and understand His ways. I am very anxious to begin daily readings of the book and soak in the author's thoughts and God's word over the next year.

I was sent a copy of A Year With God through Booksneeze for free, as long as I review the book here. I was not paid for the review, and these are my personal thoughts on the book.


I completely enjoyed this book! It is divvied up into sections, and it is meant to be read one entry per day, but since I thought a year was a wee bit long to wait for the review, I read the book in two days. This is not a dated book, so there is no pressure to stick to reading an entry every day. You can read several, or stick to one. The entries are enlightening and encouraging, strengthening our bond with Him simply by making our understanding of His love, His intentions, and His grace towards us comprehendable. The book has a daily passage from the Old Testament, then explains it in basic terms.


This book would make a great gift for anyone who enjoys scripture, but especially for those who are confused by the wording of bible passages. This breaks them down and makes them not only understandable, but reassuring and comforting. I especially liked the sections of the book- struggling with loss? There is a section on 'Joy and Sadness'. Struggling with a loved one? There is a section on' Peace and Conflict'. You can skip back and forth and complete specific sections of the book as you wish, rather than reading cover to cover.

A Year With God by R.P. Nettelhorst is our daily dose of spiritual manna. He has a gift of taking scripture from the Old Testament and putting it in terms that we can all understand and than Nettelhorst emphasizes what God would have us learn from those verses. The lessons are to the point and very clear. Many are very endearing and just what we need to start the day in a positive manner. As we dig daily in the Bible with R. P. Nettelhorst as our guide, there is always something new to learn no matter how many times we have read the scripture. This devotional is unique in that Nettelhorst brings God alive in these times with terms and references to the electronic era. On Day 10 when he is expounding on Judges chapter 13 he explains God in this way '"God is not a computer that can't find the file just because you mistyped. He knows what you meant."' Stoked by Nettelhorst's way with words, I was excited to read further and share my findings. A Year With God is also divided into chapters that help the Christian deal with different circumstances. To name a few, Companionship and Isolation; Mercy and Judgement; Love and Hate; Hope and fear among many more places to refer to when in need. This book is a must have for all those desiring to walk closer with God and to make his thoughts, their thoughts. An excellent spiritual tool which I highly recommend!

I recently recieved this daily one year devotional from BookSneeze, this is a devotional of all the spoken words of God from the Old Testament. The book is divided into different sections "Hope and Fear" "Love and Hate" etc. It gives the reader the text in the HCS translation, I prefer ESV or NRSV so I use my bible with me when I study but for traveling this have everything you need; word of God and applicable devotional. Another positive for me was this book starts with Day 1 verses January 1. This is something I look for in yearly devotional readers because I may not get the book until my birthday or another holiday. For those that believe in a true LITERAL translation this may not be a good choice, but for those of you who do not, I think you will find this a positive addition to your time spent with the Lord.

I think this is a great devotional for people wondering where God is in times of trouble, considering the Old Testament was full of these. And I think I can teach people about how God speaks differently to each of us. I have to be honest didn't read every word of the book, but from what I did read, various pages from all sections, I was glad at the stories from books like Amos and Numbers and Joel along with Genesis, Isaiah and the Psalms.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Having a daily Quiet Time with the Lord is something I strive for - and, unfortunately, something I don't always make time (or have time) for. I know I'm not the only one; it seems that today we all have so much going on and so many other things to read, watch, see, or do, that we have a hard time being still with the Lord.


When I got the chance to read a year-long devotional through Book Sneeze, I jumped at the chance. It seems to have a distinct finish line - a year after I begin. I like goals and deadlines, if you will. I also like the format of this book. The devotionals are short and the Scripture is right there so you don't need to flip between a Bible and a book (I read this in bed so too many books gets too complicated). I love how this is Old Testament based, so the words from the Bible are actually words that were spoken by Him. God doesn't actually speak to us with words much (if ever) anymore but we are so blessed to have records of Him talking to His People!


The one thing I dislike about this book is the various Scripture texts used. They use NIV, NKJV, the Message, CEV, etc. There are so many variations of the Bible these days and they are all (or seemingly all) used in this devotional. I am really not a fan of the Message - I think it takes a very lose translation of the Bible. I know it's meant to help people better understand the Bible but it is just not traditional enough for me (not that I read the "thee/thy/thou" version by any means). I was reading about David last night and this "msg" version said that David asked for forgiveness because "I've been really stupid." Just not right for me to have David talking like that. If it works for you, great, it's just not my cup of tea! I would prefer one Bible version in my devotionals but otherwise I do like this devo.


You can find A Year with God at many major retailers like Amazon ($11.51 at time of writing) and Barnes & Noble.


Disclaimer: I received A Year with God through Book Sneeze in order to facilitate an honest review. All opinions are my own. Others may or may not have the same experiences and/or opinions about the company and/or product.

The market is full of daily devotional guides. This book stands apart from the crowd.

Each of the 365 daily readings is based upon an Old Testament passage in which God speaks to his people.

The top third of each page is filled with the day's Bible passage in a comtemporary translation. The author then reflects upon the passage.

Some of the reflections feel more like blog posts, and they didn't consistently speak to me. However, on the whole, I found this book useful for personal devotions and exposed me to passages I haven't thought about deeply before.

The book is structured in ten thematic sections:

1. Hope and Fear
2. Love and Hate
3. Perseverance and Quitting
4. Faith and Doubt
5. Loyalty and Betrayal
6. Companionship and Isolation
7. Mercy and Judgment
8. Forgiveness and Anger
9. Joy and Sadness
10. Peace and Conflict

If you are looking for a new, fresh, thematic approach to your daily devotional time, I highly recommend this book.

[Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an unbiased review.]

As an encouraging, easy to read, and Scripture-filled 365 day devotional-A Year With God by R.P. Nettelhorst is a must read. I found each page to be unique, encouraging, and full of truth, as the author focused on the Words of God from the Old Testament. This devotional was unlike other devotionals in that it really only focused on Old Testament Scripture. I found it very interesting as the author provided helpful context around each passage of Scripture being shared. Despite its simple layout and short-length devotionals, I went through each day feeling as though I had learned something new from God's Word, through the Old Testament. If you struggle to read long portions of Scripture, then this book is perfect for you. Each day it focuses on a short passage, dissects it, and leaves you to think and chew on it until the next day's devotional. A Year With God was very helpful in that it kept me in the Word of God. Some days it's hard to read the Bible and to be disciplined enough to read it whether you feel like it or not; A Year with God presents the Old Testament in an exciting and fresh way, so that reading God's word doesn't feel like a chore or a weekly routine. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to get closer to God, without the pressure of time. This day by day format is not too demanding and therefore, it's easy to keep up with and committed to.