The World of Shield of the Mighty by Connilyn Cossette (at Museum of the Bible)

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I recently completed the "road trip of a lifetime" - or at least, that's what I'm calling it. In a matter of a few short days, we saw the Creation Museum, Ark Encounter, Museum of the Bible, "DANIEL" at Sight & Sound Theatres in Lancaster, PA, and more before turning around and heading for home. Summer is the busy season for my husband, so we were determined to pack as much as we could into those days he had off, and WOW, were we successful, or what?

Now, you KNOW I had to fill up my suitcase with books. In addition to those I bought during our travels, I also packed some from home to read just in case, though there really wasn't much time for it. One of those books was Shield of the Mighty by Connilyn Cossette. If you're familiar with Connilyn Cossette's books, then you'll know that many of them feature overarching characters across different series. Shield of the Mighty, book two of The King's Men, tells the story of Zevi, but avid readers were introduced to Zevi first in Between the Wild Branches, book two of The Covenant House.

Zevi's character is particularly interesting because he spent a portion of his childhood in Ashdod after being taken and enslaved by the Philistines as a young boy, before other events led to his return to his homeland. You can read all about this by reading Shield of the Mighty, and learn more about the book via my full review, linked here.

Connilyn Cossette does a wonderful job of bringing this area of the ancient world to life with vivid imagery and descriptions, but oh, that you could've heard me squeal with excitement upon discovering certain artifcats on display at Museum of the Bible.

You should be able to click on each image pictured above to expand it and zoom in, but what is pictured on the upper shelf of this glass display are "Heads of 'Ashdoda' Figurines", "Shrine Models," and a "Philistine Chalice" from the Iron Age. The shrine models themselves, according to the sign next to the display, were 'found in a ritual burial pit of a Philistine temple.' Seeing these not only brought the world of the Bible to life for me, but it also brought the world of Connilyn Cossette's books to life! History is so fascinating, and there have been and continue to be so many amazing discoveries that show us bits and pieces of the Biblical world.

If you've never been to Museum of the Bible, I would highly recommend it. My favorite parts are the Hebrew Bible Experience (I am wearing the Hebrew Bible Experience sweatshirt in the pictures below), the World of Jesus of Nazareth (in which you can walk through a "village" they've set up and learn about daily life in Biblical times from actors dressed as people from the New Testament era), and the History of the Bible exhibit on the fourth floor. I have literally spent whole days at this museum in the past from open until closing, and I can also vouch for the café and restaurant as well. I was happy to visit again this year and see new things I'd never noticed before.

Don't forget to check out Connilyn's latest book in the King's Men series, as well as her other releases. You can order Shield of the Mighty via this link. Thanks for reading!