The Blood Detective

Late last week I finished reading my Bible again. My sixth time through, but it was thrilling to get through it again. I tried reading the Bible several times as a young adult, and I could never make it any farther than past the Ten Commandments in Exodus. I wanted to read, wanted to understand, but just couldn't get past the rules and regulations. I started reading it again when I was thirty after I was asked to start teaching the confirmation Sunday school class at church. I had a head faith in God and I figured that if I wanted to reach my students, I'd better have some knowledge of my own rather than just using a book.

My dad recommended that I start reading the New Testament, with the Gospels. So I started in Matthew, worked my way through Mark, and toward the end of Luke had my salvation experience making me a true child of God. After that reading through the rest of the New Testament became a joy, and it gave new understanding when I finally tackled the Old Testament. I admit to skimming the rule heavy books of Leviticus and Numbers my first time through. The second time I gave them my full attention, and by then I had come to understand what they meant and represented. All those rules were the only way for a sinful people to be able to reach God. It required many sacrifices, often of blood, and strict dietary laws as well as rules about personal interaction. Jesus changed all that with His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. We no longer needed to do daily blood sacrifices for our sins, nor avoid pork and shellfish, nor do we have to kick those with leprosy or other skin diseases out of society. The rules made sense now that I understood their purpose, and the other stories, those that I had heard countless times in Sunday school as a child, suddenly had new depth and weren't just children's tales.

I've been through the three "food" phases of Bible reading: "castor oil" is when we read it because it's good for us but it's not enjoyable, "cereal" is when it's dry and uninteresting but it's good for us so we do it, and "peaches and cream" is when we are reading and loving the Word of God. I've been enjoying my "peaches and cream" every night for the last several years. I've been through dry spells where it becomes a chore, but in the last six months or so, it's truly become my favorite part of each day. I've used a different color of highlighter each time through reading so I can see how different verses have affected me during the seasons of my life. My first time through I was too fearful to write in it. I viewed the Bible as too sacred to make my own. The second time through I used a pen to underline a few verses, but only a very few. Now I'm highlighting verses regularly and occasionally jotting down notes in the margins.

I've heard the phrase "A Bible that is falling apart is probably owned by a person whose life isn't!" and I hope to wear out my Bible to that point someday, although for now I'm still jumping from version to version with each read. My first read was the RSV, Revised Standard Version, popular among Methodists. My second time was in the NIV, New International Version, one of the most popular translations today. My third time I fell in love with the NLT, New Language Translation, and I eventually bought myself a nice leather bound one in that translation with my name on it. It's the Bible I hope to read until the covers are falling off and that one of my grandchildren will be thrilled to own someday. My fourth time was again in the NLT. Last year during my Lenten experiment, I read through The Message Bible, and that gave me fresh and exciting understanding of Scripture by reading it in modern language. I returned to my standby NLT for the sixth read, and I'm still in that translation this time, but it's the Transformation Bible with studies written by Warren W. Wiersbe.

I wish that I could express the change in my life reading the Bible on a daily basis has wrought. I've discovered a deep peace and joy that I never thought possible. I'll post more on this later this week, but I wanted to share my excitement with you at my sixth time through doing something I never thought I'd be capable of doing even once!

The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell is the first book in a new mystery series starring London genealogist Nigel Barnes. Barnes has recently returned to his work as a family history researcher after an unsuccessful attempt to become a university professor. He's frustrated at the lack of work within the occupation until hired by police detective Grant Foster and his partner Heather Jenkins to discover the meaning behind a code carved into the body of a murdered body found in a churchyard. The code refers to a record at the Family Records Centre which Barnes discovers traces back to a murderer known as the Kensington Killer who stabbed five men to death in 1879. As Foster, Jenkins, and Barnes investigate the 1879 case, they quickly discover that the current victims are tied to that century old case. Who would have thought that Waddell could take the dusty hobby of genealogy and turned it into an exciting and completely thrilling murder mystery. He uses the past to good effect as each person associated with the case has a secret in their own history. The writing is gritty, believable, and thoroughly compelling. Waddell gets extra points from me for laying out the clues for readers so I knew the motive and murderer before the main characters. I will definitely be following up on this series.

New Blog Contest!

Tyndale is running a terrific contest filled with chances to win, especially for bloggers! Check out the details below, and good luck!

To enter, visit the NLT Facebook page by clicking here.

There are several levels of prizes you can win, here are the details:

With the Give the Word Bible Contest and Giveaway:
    • Ministries win: Each time the NLT Facebook Page reaches a fan count milestone, votes will be tallied and the three ministries will receive cash donations from the New Living Translation and Tyndale House Publishers.
    • Everyone wins: Everyone who enters on the Bible Contest website wins a free download of Matthew West reading the Christmas story.
    • Daily NLT Study Bible winners: Vote on the NLT Facebook page and you will be entered to win two NLT Study Bibles—one to keep and one to give away. A new winner will be chosen every day.
    • Weekly Give the Word Locally winners: Tell us about a deserving local ministry on the NLT Bible Contest website and they could win five NLT Study Bibles and $250 worth of NLT products.
    • One Grand Prize winner will enjoy a unique trip customized just for them and their family (or three guests of their choice), to Wycliffe Bible Translators world headquarters and the WordSpring Discovery Center where they will experience firsthand the exciting world of Bible translation. The Grand Prize winner could also choose to donate the value of the trip--$2000--to Wycliffe instead.

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes

My brother Jake gave me a major epiphany last week. I was over at my mom's when he asked me if I'd ever read all the way through the Bible. I told him that I have three times, and I'm working on my fourth. That turned into a half hour conversation about where to start reading the Bible (with the Gospels, not Genesis because Leviticus will make you throw up your hands in despair) and how to deal with all of the rules in Leviticus-Deuteronomy (the first time you read them skim Leviticus and Numbers looking for the bits of stories and read Deuteronomy all the way through because it really rehashes the previous three books and distills them down to their essence). I told him about how amazing the book of Psalms is because the emotions in it are still what we feel today. I grabbed Mom's Bible and made him read Psalm 55 because it deals with being surrounded by enemies and how awful that can feel and equated it with how he feels about the bullies at school. We discussed some of the language, and he was surprised at how well it captured his hurt and anger. I told him about the prophecies about Jesus within the Psalms and how He used words from them on the cross. When I finally headed for home, he was sitting on the bed looking through the Psalms, and I had a fire in my heart and a smile on my face.

I realized then that sometime in the last six months I have fallen completely in love with the Bible. It was a strange and wonderful feeling and completely unexpected. I tried reading the Bible straight through several times many years ago, but whenever I would get to Leviticus I would get bogged down by the endless rules. When I started teaching Sunday School six years ago, I figured if I was going to talk the talk, I'd better walk the walk, so I elicited my dad's advice on where to start (with Matthew) and dove in. I also started journaling my discoveries (I'm currently on my eighth journal). When I was somewhere in Luke, I came to Jesus and gave myself to Him with all of my heart. It took just over a year, but I did make it all the way through the Bible. So I started again. In the years since, I've read with intermittent frequency; sometimes I read regularly every night, other times I wouldn't pick it up for months. During a time last year when I was angry with God about my illness, I read the Bible every night, but didn't write in my journal because I wasn't speaking to Him. I didn't realize that's what I was doing until I walked out of that valley, but during that time the Bible was dry and dusty. I kept reading, but it felt like a battle. Nothing felt relevant to me or my life, and the words had no personal meaning for me. I kept on slogging away.

For my fourth time through, I started in Genesis this time, reading three chapters and one Psalm each night. Sometime between me the third and fourth time, I fell in love, passionately, with the Word. I've read the words of theologians and writers who talk about their love for the Bible, but I assumed that they were feeling what I always had: a love for God that translated into the reading of His Word because it was the right thing to do. David talks over and over in the Psalms about his love for God's laws and commands, but he was a man after God's own heart. I figured that had to be a fluke too; it didn't relate to me. The Lord has proved me wrong, and I am so grateful! The stories are coming to life, and even Leviticus' dry laws gave me insight into the character of my Creator. I look forward to my time in it each day, immersing myself in the Word. It's always in my heart and on my mind. I've found that often when I mentally tussling with a problem, the Holy Spirit whispers Scripture into my ear, and I find direction or comfort. Even when I was struggling through my reading and not enjoying it, the words still stuck with me, arming me with the sword of the Spirit.

10 pm every night for years has been my Bible time. The kids know if they walk by our room, I will be curled up with the Bible in front of me, journal, pen, and highlighter in easy reach. A couple of weeks ago, I asked Jesse if he wanted me to read out loud with him each night. I was in the book of Joshua, and the Israelites were defeating the tribes within the promised land. I read from my Bible, and he opened to a map in his to get a visual idea of what was going on. I've never had so much fun reading the Bible! He asked questions, I interjected things I had learned in other readings, and we talked about what was happening each night. As soon as we started reading together, we found practical uses for what we were learning. It seems that every day something happens that we were able to apply the Scripture to from the night before. I can't begin to tell you how fulfilling it has been to read the Bible every night with my husband and then see us both growing in the Word.

10 pm quickly became a time we both looked forward to and treasured each night. Even though he falls asleep shortly after we're done reading, and I continue reading my devotionals and usually stay up until after midnight, it feels like we're ending our day together. The last two night Jesse's been doing some work in Green Bay and didn't get home until close to 11 pm. On the way home both nights, he asked me to not start reading without him, and of course, I waited for him! Even though it was nearly midnight before we got started, we never considered skipping it for the night. I am so excited that the man I love is falling in love with the Word like I have. This is something that will revolutionize our marriage and lives, if we let it. I've heard that there are three stages to reading the Bible: First, the "cod-liver-oil" stage, when it is taken like medicine; second, the "shredded-wheat" stage, when it is nourishing but dry; and third, the "peaches-and-cream" stage when it is savored with exquisite delight. (I'm not sure if Rev. John H. Hampsch originated this, but it was on his site that I found it again). I'm loving peaches-and-cream, how about you?

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn is the latest in her fantastic Sisterchicks series. Each stand-alone book features a pair of women in an exotic location learning about God, friendship, and themselves. When Summer Finley gets word from her doctor about an abnormal mammogram, she decides to take a break from her carefully ordered life and fly to The Netherlands to visit her lifelong pen pal Noelle Van Zandt. The two girls were paired up as pen pals in third grade, and in the 35 years since have gone from paper to email without ever speaking on the phone or seeing each other in person. Their relationship has weathered miscarriages, adoptions, grief, and heartache, and Summer does not want to live another day without seeing her best friend. The two have some wild adventures aboard a runaway wooden shoe-boat and learn about the Holocaust when visiting Corrie ten Boom's house, but the greatest lessons come from their time together. I am a huge fan of the Sisterchicks series, but I think that this one just may be one of my favorites (along with Sisterchicks Do the Hula). Both women are dealing with some serious issues, but their friendship and faith bring both of them to breakthroughs. Gunn describes the Dutch and their beautiful country with elegance and charm. This is a book to read and then pass on to your best friend!

Koreen Peterson was the lucky winner of this book; congrats to her! I'll be starting a new book contest on Monday. I'm looking forward to the first weekend that will feel like summer instead of late fall! Jesse bought me some new windchimes for the front porch, so I can't wait to sit out on my glider and listen to them, especially the bamboo one!

If Tomorrow Never Comes

I received this in an email this morning and thought it was too good not to share.

CELL PHONE vs. BIBLE

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible!
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think "where are my priorities?
And no dropped calls!

Mom called last night to tell me that my Uncle Howard is not doing as well as he had been. He was moved to the occupational therapy center a couple of weeks ago and was using a walker to get around. Yesterday he started running a high fever again and deteriorated to the point that he can't even get into the wheelchair by himself. Please keep him in your prayers.

If Tomorrow Never Comes by Marlo Schalesky is an intriguing forward thinking novel that is sure to surprise its readers. Kinna and Jimmy Henley have loved each other since childhood, but for Kinna, her perfect life always included children. That dream lies unfulfilled, and their marriage is dying along with it. The events of one day will change everything for them, but only if they believe. Schalesky does a terrific job of showing both sides of a floundering marriage. Both husband and wife think they are completely in the right and can't see the pain they each are inflicting. Kinna has set her mind on having the perfect family, and that includes a child, so when she can't have one, she blames God, Jimmy, and everyone around her, leaving her bitter and lashing out. Jimmy has always tried to be everything to Kinna, but when he can't provide the only thing she wants, he feels like a complete failure and that colors every aspect of his life. Schalesky doesn't sugarcoat this couple, and the book thrives because of it. I love the unexpected twist that brings the book full circle. Schalesky just gets better and better.

The total of books I'm giving away this week is up to 24! I'm celebrating the blog's third anniversary this week, and you could win one of them, but only if you send me an email before 10 pm on Thursday, March 26th. Here's a few more titles in the give away: If Tomorrow Never Comes, Apologetics for a New Generation, He Loves Me. I'll list more tomorrow. Good luck!