Julie Naturally (A Homeschool Crew Review)

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. 

 

Growing my understanding of the Bible has become a priority in my life lately, especially with the uncertainty of today's world in many different climates.   Lately, I find myself drawn to the words of the Apostle Paul and the letters he wrote. 

 

 Because of this, I was pretty excited when I was given the opportunity to review two Bible studies, Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Romans bundle  and Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Philippians   from Julie Naturally, both of which focus on two of the letters written by Paul.

For this review, I have worked through the study over the book of Philippians. This study is a 4 week survey of the entire book of Philippians with daily reading and questions to help understand both what Paul meant as well as how one can apply his words to our lives each day.  Each week the study provides a reading assignment that focuses on approximately one chapter of Philippians, dividing the reading over the course of 6 days.  By the end of the study, the reader will have read the entire book of Philippians.  

 

The daily lessons take roughly 10-20 minutes in total depending on the reader and how in depth with their answers they get when answering the questions, making it easy to fit into a busy schedule. On the 7th day, the study offers a cute coloring page (for the Philippians page these were various heart pictures to color).  Also included in the study were four weekly Bible verses for memorization.  These were easy to print out and to place in areas where one can see them and review them over the course of the week to help remember them. 

The Book of Romans study follows the same format with a few exceptions.  Rather than 4 weeks, since the book of Romans is significantly longer than Philippians, the study is 8 weeks in length.  In addition, the Romans study also has 8 videos available on the website under the members area that has author Julie Polanco discussing the weekly reading.

How I Used It

Because these were digital PDF files, I found it really easy to print these out, punch holes in them and put them into a 3 ring binder.  The Philippians study was the smaller of the two studies, which was 45 pages in length while the Romans study, being a longer study, was 97 pages to print. I was easily able to print out both studies and put them inside of a 1 inch binder that I use for my current Bible studies, making it easy to keep it neatly together and accessible. I simply placed a black piece of cardstock between the two to keep them separate. 

I found the breakdown of this study to be a good pace, without too much reading each evening.  This was extremely useful as I'm doing another study at the same time as I actually am the Women's Study Leader and spend my Bible time also preparing for each week's study. This study was easy to fit in during my evening time and was not overwhelming with reading as some other Bible studies that I have done in the past. 

Each portion is labeled for the week as well as the day of study.  For six days out of the week, you're given a portion of the bible to read, followed by a few questions that ask you to think about the passage, what it means to you, and what we can learn from it to apply to our lives each day.

 

 

On the 7th day, rather than reading, you are given a drawing to color and enjoy.  For the Philippians study, these drawings are hearts of various designs.  The drawings are not really intricate,  unlike some of the more complex adult coloring designs, but they are fun and a good relaxation activity to do while focusing on what you learned through the week. 

The Romans study also contains drawings to color on the 7th day of study each week, however, these contain Bible passages to focus on while coloring. 

I really liked the memory verse memory cards that were included with the study.  The kids are required to memorize a verse every week, so I really liked them seeing that Mom was also working on scripture memorization.  There are four verses for memorization for the Philippians study and eight for the Romans study (one for each week of their respective studies).  None of the verses were especially long or difficult for memorization. 

 I enjoyed printing out the verse and placing it on my fridge (because lets face it, most of a mom's time is spent in front of the fridge) so that I could review it and eventually test myself each time I was in the kitchen.  I made a point of reviewing the verse prior to each time I opened the fridge.

I was only sad that I do not have a color printer as the purple water color background is so pretty.  One thing though, is I had to print a second set of the memory cards because they are printed on the same sheet as Week 1 Day 1's study.  Not a big deal. 

Overall, I found this to be a great study for the book of Philippians.  It focuses on joy:  the joy of giving, the joy of believing, the joy of service, and even the joy of all circumstances, even suffering.  Paul is the perfect teacher to remind us not only of his joy in suffering, but in Christ's suffering for our sins.  I really enjoyed this study and look forward to starting the Romans study as well as watching the accompanying videos the author has provided.

To find more information about these Bible studies, as well as other products by Julie Polanco, please visit her website.  You can also find more information on the following social media sites:

Facebook: facebook.com/julienaturally
Instagram: instagram.com/successful.unschooler
Pinterest: pinterest.com/julienaturally
YouTube: youtube.com/c/julienaturally

 

 Members of the Crew have been using one or both of these studies during the review period.  Be sure to click the banner below to read their reviews today.