Buyer Beware

I've got devotions on the brain this week. Bear with me.

Here's one I didn't like: Sticky Situations is meant to present kids with the kinds of moral and spiritual dilemmas they might encounter in their everyday lives. The little stories that make up each devotion do just that: pose a moral dilemma. The possible responses are given in multiple-choice format, and then there is a Bible verse to look up which will guide the reader to the correct answer.

I want my kids to learn to apply their Bible reading to their lives, but this is not the tool to teach that skill. I have a degree in English and I taught literary interpretation for 10 years and I had trouble seeing the connections between the stories and the verses that were supposed to guide their responses to the situations.

This one had so much potential. What a bummer that it falls so short. I think there is some value in the stories themselves. They would be nice jumping-off points for family discussion and even role playing, but the spiritual content is sorely lacking and that means it's entirely up to the parent to supply Bible verses, stories, etc. to lay a foundation underpinning the moral choices.

If you feel up to that, by all means buy this book. But if, like me, you might have trouble providing a biblical foundation for every sticky situation, you might want to look elsewhere.