See full review @ The Indigo Quill: http://theindigoquill.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-30-day-praise-challenge-by-bec...

Becky Harling brings us a beautifully organized compilation of reminders and words of encouragement in The 30 Day Praise Challenge. It does exactly that, it challenges us to have perspective and find the good in our every day situations. It also brings a sense of hope.

Each day is well organized beginning with a verse the leads into "The Invitation" for the day. The Invitation is exactly that, God inviting us to praise him for the day's concerns and to trust that it's in His hands. This is the main part of each day and it offers words of encouragement that soothe the mind and soul. Next, Harling notes songs for us to listen to that coincide with the theme for that day. As a worship leader, this was one of my favorite parts. For some of us, one of our best avenues for praise is music, and I thought it was really awesome that this was included in this book.

The third segment offers a prayer. This was great because if you're just finding your faith, you have kind of a guideline. Or, if you're just overwhelmed and are at a loss for words, Harling provides an option for you. The last part is an offer to journal. It usually implies questions that further your thought into that day's devotional. This is good because it really engages you and causes you to truly think about what it is you're reading. It's easy to read through a devotional and forget what it said by the time you walk out the door, but Harling has provided these resources to allow the praise to reach our hearts.

I've had quite a bit of fun going through this book. I work at a small Christian salon and every girl in there is going through something (as most of us are!). I brought this book in and began going through it with the girls at my salon, and it was so encouraging. We weren't able to do the listening or journaling part, but the gentle reminders were enough to give us some extra peace through the day.

I would say that you should keep a journal handy. It would be really nice if this was accompanied by a CD with all the songs on it so you don't have to go searching on YouTube. I think that's the only real complaint I have about this book. Other than that, it's been a great resource! I will definitely use it repeatedly. ( )

I found in reading and practicing with this book that Praise is very close to Gratitude. I have always agreed with Meister Eckhart when he said “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.” So this was right up my street. It would be nice if it came packaged with a CD containing the music suggested for each day. I was not able to participate in the musical part of the meditations because I couldn't easily access the songs. Online sources are listed at the back of the book to help, but I had trouble integrating them into my quiet time. The prayers and thoughts for the day were helpful. A lovely book. ( )