Jesus Wants All of Me

Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest is one of the best-selling devotionals for adults ever written, and Phil A. Smouse uses that classic as the basis for Jesus Wants All of Me, a devotional for children. Each page of this book features a very short devotional (usually four to six sentences), along with a Bible verse and an illustration. The book is arranged chronologically, with one devotional for every day from January 1 to December 31, but also has a topical index (including such topics as "sharing," "loneliness," "caring," "disobedience," "forgiving others," and "confusion").

When I started reading this book, I was concerned. The first entry reads:

"I am God's. My heart is His heart. My mind is His mind. My eyes will look for Him. My ears will listen for His voice. My hands will do His will. I am God's!"

This is a lot of gobbly-goop for most little kids. But other entries are better. For example:

"God doesn't care how good I act on the outside. He doesn't care how many nice things I have. He just wants me to be like Jesus. He doesn't want me to keep my life closed up like a bottle with the top on. He wants me to take the top off and pour myself out. He wants me to share myself."

What I Like: The idea behind this book is a good one. I also appreciate that the devotionals are very short. This allows parents to read the devotional and Bible verse, and then discuss the topic with their child...all before the child gets bored and wiggles away. The illustrations (also by Smouse) are colorful and friendly.

What I Dislike: There's a mixed bag of well-done and not-so-well-done devotionals. In addition, the illustrations sometimes don't have anything to do with the topic at hand. For example, on a page discussing God answering our prayers, there is a drawing of a tricycle.

Overall Rating: (On the lower end of) good.

Age Appeal: 3 - 7.

Publishing Info: Barbour Publishing, 2006; ISBN 158660841X; hardback; $4.99

Buy Now at Amazon for $4.99.