Review ~ Beloved and Blessed

I have been, or can be if you click on a link and make a purchase, compensated via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value for writing this post. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

For several months, I was seeing buttons on friends blogs saying they review for The Catholic Company.  When there was a little down time a few months back, I found out more information about the program and enrolled.  Selecting my first item to review was difficult as there were a couple of great choices.  Finally, I decided upon Beloved and Blessed: Biblical Wisdom for Family Life by Kimberly Hahn.

I have read Life Giving Love, so I was expecting a great read that would enlighten and inspire me.

I was NOT disappointed.

While there were areas of this Bible “study” that echoed her previous work, there was still much food for thought that I had not spent much time considering in the past.  The section of the book that really spoke to me at this time was on parenting (the section titled Her Husband is Known in the Gates.)  I can not say that I have not already heard many of the themes presented, but I appreciate having them pulled together and backed up with Scripture.

What I really enjoyed about this book is how Mrs. Hahn writes in such a way as to make you feel like a friend with whom she is sharing her experience as a wife and mother.  At all times, the wisdom imparted is tied with the Catholic faith as well as Scripture.  At a time when self-help books are a dime a dozen with the flavor of the month being touted as the solution to all your woes, we can truly use a book with guidance coming from above.

To fully flesh out the material contained in this selection, Mrs. Hahn has included several appendices.  Help with forming budgets (both for the family and for each child) is found in the appendices as are discussion questions for an intergenerational woman’s study. The final appendix, titled the Power of the Tongue, includes several scriptures that are just calling out for study with my boys.  Our family has seen near constant battles of children using profanity to seize power in their lives.  I am hoping (maybe in vain) that studying how our words affect others will help them to see the wisdom in choosing words wisely.

Competing this review in a somewhat timely manner (about 6 weeks from receiving the book) required me to read at a pace a bit faster than I would like.  So, I will be re-reading it to truly ruminate and digest the wisdom contained within the text.

You can purchase Beloved and Blessed from The Catholic Company in print format for $14.99 or a DVD format for $29.99.  The two previous books in this series (Chosen and Cherished & Graced and Gifted) are also available at The Catholic Company in both formats.

Alternatively, you can find them on Amazon (affiliate links):

Beloved and Blessed: Biblical Wisdom for Family LifeGraced and Gifted: Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker’s HeartChosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your MarriageLegacy of Love: Biblical Wisdom for Parenting Teens and Young Adults (Life-Nurturing Love)Life-Giving Love : Embracing God’s Beautiful Design for Marriage

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of the book to complete this review.  All opinions expressed here are my own.  No other compensation was provided to me.