Tuesday, December 8, 2009

December...

I love this time of year. Christmas Music. Lights. Family. Duck Hunting. Sweets ;-). It is a great time of year. I don't really know why, but it just seems like people are happier, me included.

Traffic is crazier, stores are busier, money is tighter, and people's schedules are crammed full- not to mention the barrage of ice and snow and sub-30 degree weather that begins around this time. Even with all of this, people are in a better mood.
It sometimes makes me wonder: "How come?"

I know that this is the season we celebrate Jesus's birth...but is that the reason everyone is happier? I don't think so. I am not sure exactly what it is - it just is.

This month, I hope that you can share in the happiness (and hopefully Joy) of everyone else for whatever reasons.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Book Review: NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible


This book is not a Bible. It is not a complete work of scripture. The book is, rather, a collection of NKJV scriptures separated out into the 250 dominant "stories" contained in the Bible.

The first thing I noticed was the appearance of the book: It is made to look like an "old time" book, worn, yet ornate. I really liked it's look and it's hardback cover.

The second thing that I liked about this book was the table of contents. In the TOC, it gives a list of the stories (From Genesis to Revelation) in order of their appearance in Scripture. It was very easy to find specific stories in the Bible without knowing exact scripture references.

For example: Most people know that the story of the Battle of Jericho is in Joshua. Instead of having to skim through the book of Joshua to find the reference, you can go to this book and see exactly that it is found in Joshua 6, then go to the page number and read the story - straight from scripture.

The third think I liked: A great index in the back, primarily composed of "characters" From the Bible. This made it very easy to search for specific Bible characters and see where they show up in scripture.

A great tool for any Sunday School Teacher - practically a 250 lesson Curriculum!

The only negative aspect of this book would be the danger of calling scripture "Bible Stories"...While they are stories, we have to be careful not to turn scripture into just "fairytale stories."

Thomas Nelson has come up with a great new way to study the Bible with this book. It does a great job of showing the Bible as the literary work it is. Overall, a great addition to any library, just make sure that this is used as a complement, not a replacement, for your regular Bible.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a copy of this book through the Book Review Blogger Program. http://brb.thomasnelson.com/