Oh my goodness, I am in LOVE with this month’s SRT box. I’m actually not a fan of the art design on this one. It’s simply not my taste. These things are always subjective, but I don’t see myself really blissing out on the art for this one. That’s honestly okay with me because the Genesis and Philippians books (December 2019 & January 2020 boxes) were both very much my style. We can’t have everything all the time, now can we?
SRT does a great job of showcasing artwork of many flavors, and–as usual–everything else about this Lent study is really special.
The study book is well-made, and the paper just begs to be touched. It’s high-quality paper stock for a paper-bound book like this, and despite my feelings about the artwork, everything is beautifully printed.
The fonts–OMG, the fonts! SRT is so, So, SO good about choosing fonts. My eyesight is finally starting to decline a bit in my mid-40’s, and I can still read these books at night, in bed, without my readers on. This is largely due to font choice, which manages to be both pleasing to look at and crisp for ease of reading. I’d love to talk to font nerds about the importance of the space between letters because SRT’s fonts have fiddled with that to perfection.
Anyway, here are some of the features in this massive study guide (277 pages) that really surprised and impressed me. Please forgive the terrible lighting in the photos. I didn’t get a chance to take these until it was pitch black dark outside, and I won’t be able to do it tomorrow until after dark, either. It just is what it is. I try really hard to provide better images than this, but it just can’t be helped in this instance.
Study Helps
The study book has timelines and other visual aids to form out the structure, context, and applications for Lent and for the book of Jeremiah. There are too many in this one to list or depict them all, but the fasting reference and timeline are representative examples.
Hymns & Recipes
I found the inclusion of 19th century hymns (including sheet music for the piano player in the home) both charming and touching. As a lover of old hymns and Medieval praise music, I look forward to having my daughter play these through the Lenten season. The recipes are also a nice addition. There are several scattered throughout.
Excerpts from the Book of Common Prayer
My husband, who was raised in the Episcopalian/Anglican tradition, smiled to see these. We were both raised in highly liturgical faith traditions, so seeing these pieces included was deeply gratifying and emotional for me. I am grateful for it because it is so very rare to see liturgy honored in this way in popular Christian media of any kind.
The Full Text of Jeremiah
This book contains many supplemental and relevant Scriptures, but it is a focused study of the book of Jeremiah and contains the entire text from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) English translation. It is beautifully done with huge margins and dedicated space for prayers, devotions, and study notes.
The books of the Prophets have always flummoxed me. Jeremiah was the one I felt most connected to last year, and I was thrilled to hear it was the SRT Lent focus. Here are some of the margin notes I took in my Bible last year, and I want to revisit the “good water” and “bad water” threads I found. I’m so looking forward to diving in again.
A Gorgeous Layout for Holy Week
This book covers the entirety of Lent and Holy Week, itself. I didn’t linger on that section because I want it to be a fresh discovery when I am actively in the study, but I paused on a couple of the pages to give you the flavor of it. These images are just introduction spreads, but you can see the tone of this final week as we mourn the Crucifixion and anticipate the Resurrection. It’s beautifully done.
I was really trepidatious about this subscription because I didn’t think I’d use the books and that they’d just be really pretty versions of the text. I’m so happy to be wrong about that. They are an indulgence, to be sure, but if the $20-ish price tag is not too much for your budget, I can’t praise the books highly enough. Plus, getting these in the mail just brightens a day. Who doesn’t love getting a pretty package with something beautiful inside? If you choose to subscribe, the books are less expensive, too, so that’s a bonus.
As of this writing (February 18, 2020), this His Love Endures book is still available in the She Reads Truth shop. They almost always sell out by the time a study begins, so if you want one, jump on it. I highly recommend this one. It is just the closest thing to perfect I’ve seen in a study book of this kind.