After the first few pages had me in tears, I began highlighting my favorite parts and taking notes here and there as I read.  I like the way Liz spoke about the "miracles" in the book of Ruth.  She wrote: "The only miracles in the book of Ruth are changed lives.  Best. Miracles. Ever."  (pg 34)  Isn't that the truth?  The book of Ruth is about more than just a young widow and her mother-in-law on a journey together.  The book of Ruth is about changed lives, and God's overarching goodness & provision through all circumstances.

Another favorite passage from this book came just a few pages over... "If we start thinking 'a loving God wouldn't do that,' we miss the truth recorded in his Word and the seeds of hope planted deep in our parched soil; God loves us too much to let us starve spiritually." (pg 36)  Are you beginning to get a tiny glimpse of the beautiful word pictures the author paints throughout the book?  Liz uses 14 difference translations of the Bible to beautifully illustrate with her words the great story of Ruth.  

A quote from the back of this book promises that once you finish reading this book, you will totally "get" the book of Ruth.  I can honestly say, after finishing this book, that its true!  Not only do I understand the story of Ruth and its inclusion in the Holy Scriptures, I also understand and appreciate the spiritual and cultural meanings of the book, too.  

This is a wonderful read.  It could be a quick read for some, though I took a little longer to read it than necessary... I kept finding myself in need of some serious reflection time after almost every chapter!  I'd recommend this book to anyone- It gets 5 stars from this reader.

You can purchase this book on Amazon in paperback or Kindle form.  

You can find out more about author Liz Curtis Higgs here.

PS- Will you do me a quick favor and rank my Review below please??  It only takes a few minutes and helps me get access to more books that I can review for you!

 I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

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When my brother in law and his wife announced they were having a baby, I couldn't wait to make it for them!  The little guy is currenly almost 10 days overdue, and I just knew I had to finish it before he got here.  I posted a couple of Instagram pics of my quilting in progres, so here they are:

This quilting took forever.  But it was great practice for sewing a straight line!

I finally finished it last night, just in time to give it to my sister in law today at lunch.  They're being induced later this weekend and we can't wait to meet the little guy!  So here is the finished product (photo overload):

I love the way the bias-cut flannel curls up into this faux chenille look!

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  I didn't do the binding exactly like the tutorial... by the time I got to the end of the sewing and cutting, ironing a bunch of silk binding didn't sound too appealing.  So I just used it as it originally was intended to be used and did a regular blanket binding.  The corners were a little wonky.  They were hard to do with the binding.  But you know, I learned a long time ago that perfection is overrated.  Never mind that despite the fact that i pre-washed all the fabrics, one of the blues STILL leaked and turned the light yellow more of a green. (grrrrr)  But I'm really happy with it.  And most importantly, I think my little nephew will love rolling around on it and letting it keep him warm.  And he'll know that I made it with love, praying for him and his parents as I sewed and cut lines for hours.