In All Things is a nine-week devotional bible study on the topic of “unshakeable joy,” and it can be purchased for just $15.99.

This study begins in the book of Acts. This was good timing for me, as we are currently studying the Book of Acts at our church. The background it laid was a nice starting point for this study. Beginning with the second week of the study and continuing through the end of the book, the focus is on the book of Philippians.

Each week is divided into five daily lessons. Day one focuses on observation, and you are given some scripture to study and think about with corresponding comprehension questions that help you highlight key points. I really liked that the scripture was quoted directly in the book, which makes it easy to just grab the book and take with you for study on-the-go, making it unnecessary to have access to your bible in order to complete the study. In fact, she printed the entire book of Philippians in the back of the book for easy reference. I was also pleased that the author was careful to give the scripture in context, which is always necessary for proper understanding. Days two and three focused on interpretation and is intended to help you dig deeper to understand the meaning behind the scripture. The questions in this section require more reflection on the text. Day four focuses on how to make practical application of the scripture to your own life. It helps you to figure out how your own life can be changed and transformed when you make that application to yourself. The questions in this section cause you to dig into your own experiences and reflect on how this scripture affects the way you think and feel about relevant situations you might encounter. Day five offers up a devotion based on the scripture you’ve been studying. It sometimes includes questions that help you think beyond the surface, and it often ends with a call for prayer. There is also a complete study guide at the back of the book for use in group studies.

The topics of the weekly study include:

• Joy in Salvation – how finding Christ Jesus in your life brings abounding joy, despite your earthly circumstances
  
  
• Joy in True Fellowship – how friendships and fellowship with other Christians can and should be so encouraging and uplifting to our spiritual journeys
  
  
• Joy in Christ’s Lordship – how Jesus is ultimately in control of even the minute details of our lives, and nothing happens that is not known to him. This includes our joys, but also our trials. We are not alone!
  
  
• Joy in Humility – how Jesus’ entire earthly life was an act of humility, serving others and trying to meet their needs without a sense of judgment, so that all might find the Truth. We must think of ourselves less often and ensure our motives are for the glory of God!
  
  
• Joy in Obedience – how we are charged with “working out our salvation,” and this involves allowing God’s word to transform our thoughts and our actions, making us a new person who is ever-changing and ever-growing, more and more in the likeness of Christ.
  
  
• Joy in Knowing Christ – how we should not let our unworthiness rob us of our joy in knowing Christ, and how we should not lean on our own merit or good works as a measurement of our worth, but instead, bask in the fact that Christ knows and loves us in spite of ourselves, which makes us want to continue to know and understand Him more.
  
  
• Joy in Heaven – how if our focus is on the pleasures of this world, we will always be disappointed and unfulfilled. Our relationships may fail us, and our best laid plans may go uncontrollably wrong, but we can always rely on the joy of salvation and our hope in Heaven!
  
  
• Joy in the Inner Life – how our inner thoughts are ultimately reflected on our actions. It’s easy to get caught up in the negative things happening in our lives, but we can take those things to God in prayer and cast those burdens on Him. If we do that and focus our minds on the positive things, our whole countenance changes, and we can live out the joy within us.
  
  
• Joy in Giving – how we can trust in the Lord’s provision and give freely to others of our time, our care, and our resources. The Lord wants us to live fully by experiencing the joy of providing to meet the needs of those around us.

I can’t express the gambit of emotions that this study brought me through. The author shared a lot of personal experiences to which I could really relate, and she put a lot of effort into helping readers to make real-life application of scripture to daily life. The book of Philippians really is a road map to finding the ultimate joy in our lives! Our hope is in Christ Jesus, and He will never fail us. The inspired words of the apostle Paul offer us so much insight on how to truly lean on God for support, guidance, provision, love, and understanding. And as we learn more about all that God does for us, we learn more about what we, in turn, can offer to those around us, thereby leading others to Christ by example.

My time in this bible study has been well-spent, and I will continue to dwell on it as I move forward and complete the study. It’s clear that the author’s intention was to guide other Christians to a closer relationship with Him, and I think she succeeded.

I do want to note a couple of places where I would disagree on beliefs. The first is that while the scripture she quotes clearly points to baptism as a requirement for salvation, her personal stories don’t reflect it as a necessity. And in one chapter, she talks about Christmas as a religious holiday, whereas it is not mentioned in scripture as such. I mention this only because I personally would not share this book with someone who is not already a Christian simply because I would not want to mislead them on those topics. But if you are already a Christian and know these things exist in the study before you start, you can be prepared to overlook them if you disagree as I do. Despite those two things, though, I would still highly recommend this book. It was both uplifting and inspiring to me, and I look forward to completing it. 

-Product review by Kelly Burgess, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, August, 2018