About the Book
Book: I AM
Author: Diane Stortz
Genre: Juvenile nonfiction, Bible stories
Release Date: 2016
Creator, Comforter, Healer, Friend. God’s names tell us who He is, what He is like, and what He does. This beautiful book covers 40 of the Bible’s many names and descriptive titles for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, including Jehovah Jireh, The Lord My Shepherd, Immanuel, Rabbi, and I AM.
Through Bible stories, short devotions, and prayers, children discover the meaning of each name and how it relates to their lives. As they develop understanding of God’s character and His love for them, children will grow to know, love, and trust the great I AM more and more.
“Those who know your name put their trust in you.” –Psalm 9:10
My Thoughts:
I like to read Bible stories to my children every morning after breakfast, before we start our homeschool day. We have read quite a number of Bible story books, but a new one always catches my eye. When I saw I Am: 40 Reasons to Trust God available for review, I knew I wanted to check it out. I was hoping to be sent a print copy, but one of the downsides of living in New Zealand is the cost of shipping. Oh, well. We were sent a PDF copy, and have been enjoying it. I just open the file in the computer every morning and find the next chapter.
I Am is unlike any other Bible story book I have ever seen before. It tells stories from the beginning to the end of the Bible, like most, but each one focuses on one of God’s names. The first story, about the creation of the world, uses the name Elohim, or Creator—and I’m glad that there is a pronunciation given for these Hebrew words! The second story, about the fall of man, talks about God as El Emeth, God of Truth. There are stories about Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, and Daniel in the first half of the book, and the second half tells stories about Jesus, with three at the end about the early church and the future.
Each two-page spread is a beautiful full-color painting. They are slightly cartoon-style, but not so much that it was offensive to me. At the end of each story is a section to help children apply the truths to their own life, a prayer, a couple of points to remember, and a sentence leading into the next story. My 5-year-old loves to see what the next day’s story will be!
This is a delightful Bible story book. I would love to have a print copy of it on our shelf. I have not found any inaccuracies in it, and the pictures are the kind that my young children love to spend a lot of time studying.
I received a free copy of this book from CelebrateLit, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
About the Author:
Diane Stortz is a multipublished author who writes to make God’s wonders known to the next generation. Her children’s releases include the best-selling Say & Pray Bible and I AM: 40 Reasons to Trust God, both from Tommy Nelson. Diane’s books for women, A Woman’s Guide to Reading the Bible in a Year and Encountering God’s Heart for You, both from Bethany House, encourage women to get to know God through His Word, the Bible. Diane and her husband have two married daughters and five grandchildren—all boys! Visit her at www.DianeStortz.com.
More From Diane:
You can often guess someone’s age by considering their name. Diane, for example, was popular in the 1950s, so . . . that tells you something about me.
But God’s personal name? Well, it’s ageless. Just like Him.
When Moses met God at the burning bush and received the task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt, he wasn’t exactly thrilled at first. He peppered God with questions, including, “When I tell the people that I met you here and you gave me this assignment, they’re going to want to know your name. What should I tell them?”
The Israelites had just about forgotten who the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was.
But God hadn’t forgotten them. Not at all. God told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. . . . Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).
I AM WHO I AM. I always have been. I will always be. I will never change.
Choosing a book title is rarely easy, and choosing a title for this book about the names of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit took a long time. I couldn’t be more grateful to the Tommy Nelson publishing team who developed and settled on the title I AM: 40 Reasons to Trust God.
My prayer for every child who reads this book and every family that goes through the book together, and for myself: May we all grow mightily in our understanding of who God is and our relationship with Him! As Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name put their trust in you.”
To purchase your copy, click here.
To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.
To enter a fun giveaway, click here.
Leave a Reply