Informative, not Inspirational

After holding onto this book for more than a year, I finally decided to write a review of Voices of the Faithful: Book 2, Inspiring Stories of Courage from around the World. I had such high expectations for it since it carried Beth Moore's name on the cover (although she just wrote the introduction) and since I grew up reading thrilling missionary stories. This devotional was not what I expected. I guess the best description would be that I found it bland. There is a short devotional for each day of the year, headed by a verse and then a short snippet written by one of the missionaries from the Southern Baptist Association. Each entry ends with a prayer for the people of the region highlighted.

The stories I enjoyed most centered on specific people whose lives were radically changed by the gospel, but it's hard to develop an inspirational storyline in three or four paragraphs, so most of the entries just generalized about the struggles of the missionaries or the peoples of the particular region highlighted. I just don't feel that it lived up to its billing as "inspiring stories of courage from around the world." On the other hand, it was nice to read the thoughts of actual missionaries that the Southern Baptist Association supports, since as a member of a SB church, I have had very little contact with their missionaries. And it's a good reminder to pray specifically for those on the front lines.

Bottom line: informative but not inspirational.