What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days Review

What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days by Holley Gerth
Visit the Author's Website HERE
Publisher: Revell 
Publishing Date: August 26, 2014

Goodreads Summary:

In this uplifting book, Holley Gerth invites readers to sit down with her to be filled with the strength, peace, and joy that come from God's promises to us. Each of the 52 devotions based on the Psalms will help weary women remember that God is good and we're all in this together. Whether it's a bad hair day or a broken heart, Holley offers hope and encouragement to get us through whatever life brings. 
Women need that kind of encouragement because we all have hard days--days that make us want to give up, retreat inside ourselves, and drown our sorrows in a pint of ice cream. And while we may crave all sorts of things to ease the pain we feel in our hearts, what we really need is truth. We need to be confident in God's character and his promises. We need to remember--and celebrate--who he made us to be. And we need exactly the kind of encouragement Holley Gerth loves to offer.

I received a copy of this book direct from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Buy direct from the publisher HERE!

My Thoughts:
Holley Gerth is a woman I have openly professed to wanting to be. She is warm, inviting, honest, and beautiful. Her last book, You're Going to be Okay (links to review), was easily a 5 star book. Now that I am thinking of it again, it definitely deserves a re-read soon. "What Your Heart Needs..." is Gerth's latest release and companions well with "You're Going to be Okay''.

Drawing on the Psalms, Gerth leads us through 52 short devotions covering a variety of hard day topics. Some chapter titles include 'God Isn't Holding Anything Against You', 'God Will Give You Everything You Need', and 'God Has a Great Place for You Today'. Each devotion includes a verse, a Psalm to read, a leading prayer, and space to record God's responses. With a number like '52' it is easy to assume the readings need to be done weekly, but because they are so short (2-3 pages) I found it quite easy, and enjoyable to read one a day.

Although I love Gerth and her uplifting words, I cannot claim this as my favorite devotional. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of a nice ribbon bookmark. With the gorgeous bound cover and great giftable vibe, I thought a nice red, ribbon bookmark would be standard. As a smaller book, some of my normal bookmarks don't fit well. Still, I can always use a post-it note to keep my spot easily accessible. I also felt like the book could have seriously benefitted from a topical index, or even just a one line description below chapter titles in the table of contents. When my heart is having a bad day, I want to be able to easily find the topic and Psalm that will soothe.

As you can see, my complaints revolve around it's production and binding. The words inside are very typical Gerth. It is just not the devotional I can see myself easily turning too in place of others. Still, a great size for the nightstand and a great Gerth primer. I can't help but give it 4 stars. I recommend it to those who love Gerth and could use a little heart love on the hard days.