Psalm 64:1

They have changed the back-end editor for Blogger and so far I hate it. I can't adjust how the graphic appears -- text wrapping I mean, and I don't really want to break out my HTML skills for blogging.

Bible in 90: Accomplishment UNLOCKED

Kindle Screen adding CEB to my "read" shelf on GoodReads

I finished the Bible in 90 today, which I started on September 1. I read from Genesis through Revelation in 90 days.

Being a rule follower I read the prescribed passages each day and didn't jump ahead (and luckily didn't fall behind). The only day I broke was when I finished Ruth instead of leaving a chapter unread. (I did a study on Ruth with our most recent former pastor, so it makes more sense to me and reminds me of him.)

Shawn asked me for my favorite part to prove I'd really read it all -- LOL. I highlighted several passages in my Kindle -- I read the Common English Bible version on my Kindle so there were few footnotes (and they were all hidden/you had to click the superscript letter, which I only ever did accidentally). My favorite, weird/never noticed them passages were:

All the tables are covered with vomit, filth overruns the place. Isaiah 28:8

I will scatter feces on your faces, the feces of your festivals. Malachi 2:3

Maybe I'm into the prophets (nah) or maybe just bodily functions (nope again). Really I just love good potty humor?!

It will be WEIRD to not have to read tomorrow. Each day took 30-45 minutes to read (I'm on the faster side), and I did it in all different places. I wasn't good about a routine, but I always got it done in the 24-hour day. I read in carpool, with kids bouncing around me and on my own when both were at school and my work/volunteer stuff was under control.

Bring it on, Advent!

Read: Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A new book from Rachel Held Evans? I'm in! I've read all her previous work, and I can't remember quite how I first heard of her writing. Probably through her blog.

This book approaches a lot of questions I wrestle with about the Bible (genocide, slavery and submissiveness for women to name a few). There are answers and more questions, but I'm especially drawn to the memoir parts, where Rachel writes about her life and faith journey. This book is so much more than that with lots of research and sources that could keep a person reading for ages! (Relate-able line in the book: "I know I can’t read my way out of this dilemma, but that won’t keep me from trying.")

"Inspired" is organized around different Bible story types, including familiar stories rewritten from various perspectives that are really engaging. The final chapter addressing Paul and his writings was particularly meaningful to me, but they're all, well, inspiring.

I would recommend "Inspired" to anyone wondering about the many contradictions in the Christian Bible and how to hold those while maintaining faith in a loving, good Creator. The Bible is a collection of stories that together point to an overarching story, a story that I cannot quit or dismiss. A story around which I try to build my life and in which I'm raising my girls.

I finished the book in tears (maybe because of the dedication to her family and son), and looking back at my blog about reading her previous books it seems that's a theme: crying my contacts out when I finish an RHE book! (Still waiting for a truly motherhood-focused book, although I'm sure I'd cry the entire way through that one!)

I received an Advance Reader Copy of the book from the publisher. The book will be released June 12. (I also bought myself a hard copy that will come next month!) You can pre-order here: https://rachelheldevans.com/inspired.

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A Habit: One Daily Bible Reading

This year I've been reading through the Bible again with my One Year Bible, New Living Translation. I've used my Kindle Fire, which is nice to make highlights and look back on. I rarely write in real books, including my Bible. I've mostly shifted to reading digitally, but there's something special about a torn up, well-used Bible. I've read through my hard copy of this book at least twice in my life. It's pretty convenient to have the Kindle option for travel, not that I did much this year, but I almost always go to bed with my Kindle in my hand. (I do my reading at the end of the day. Maybe someday I'll shift to morning devotional, but I don't know.)

Anyway, I can look up the things I've marked via the Kindle browser reading app, and I thought I'd record some of them here. I'm (obviously) not finished with the year, but Dec. 31 isn't part of NaBloPoMo, and who knows if I'd remember to do it or even be up for doing it then?! This wasn't as easy as copying and pasting, since rightly for copyright reasons Amazon doesn't let you just copy text out of ebooks. Hopefully I got all the citations correct - let me know if you notice any are wrong.

Psalm 22:14b: My heart is like wax, melting within me.

Exodus 33: 19b: For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.

Psalm 36:5: Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

Psalm 56: 9b: You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
I remember my Gran talking about this verse some, and how comforting that was knowing our tears are noticed and collected even metaphorically.

Luke 17: 21c: For the Kingdom of God is already among you.
This idea of already here AND not yet is so weighty and doesn't automatically make sense to me. I'm starting to get it, maybe?

Proverbs 15:17: A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.

Job 16:16: My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes.
I cry a lot so I seem to mark passages about tears and crying. But I also marked a few that would be easy to memorize. I was thinking back to the AWANA years (just a few in middle school since it wasn't at my home church but another in my town). Often we would be scrambling just before meeting began to come up with a scripture to memorize. It's the same thing with the heart like wax melting within me. Beautiful and sticks in your head no problem...

Psalm 89:15: Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, LORD.
Once our church started working on the capital campaign, called The Walk, I started seeing and hearing about walking with regards to faith, quite a bit.

1 Peter 3:15b: And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.
I am a big fat failure on this one, so I marked it as a reminder/encouragement/get your act in gear kind of thing.

These are just a few of the verses that spoke to me this year. I also mark ones that I question and that don't make sense. Sometimes later something in a sermon or Sunday school class will clarify some question. On other issues I'm still in the dark. And maybe I'll have to be OK with that.

Affiliate link on the Bible image.

Thoughts on a Ruth Study

Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing,
Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA. Copyright 1984.

In September and October our new pastor led a four-week Bible study on the book of Ruth. I'd never done a study on that before, although I'd certainly read the book. I loved the study and especially our pastor's teaching style. It was engaging and interesting and reminded me some of what I loved about the First Presbyterian Church's women's Bible study I used to attend. Here are some notes I took and questions/thoughts I had:

In the Jewish Bible Ruth comes just after Proverbs, i.e. after Proverbs 31 about the Woman of Valor (which always makes me think of Rachel Held Evans).

Ruth is a conversion story and required reading for those seeking to convert to Judaism.

All translation is interpretation.

Ruth 1:13, about Ruth's devotion to Naomi and Naomi telling her daughters-in-law to return to their parents' homes. Is that end faithful? I have issue with the dead husbands and sons being God's will against Naomi. That feels self-centered to me, but I also know this is a story and requires the plot to be moved along.

Never only read Scripture alone -- apostasy and leads to confirmation bias. (Although I'd say you can get that by only reading Scripture with those who agree with you/feed into your same biases.)

Ruth 2:9 - culture of foreigner, a big deal to tell her to drink from Jewish water.

Feet is a euphemism for "below the waist"

All translation is interpretation. (This was basically said every week but I only wrote it down twice)

Ruth doesn't obey Naomi because she tells Boaz what to do -- make the proposal by telling him to spread his cloak.

To whom do we provide care and from whom do we allow ourselves to receive care?

I was one of only two mothers of young children in the study, and honestly I can't hear a question like that without only thinking of the care I give Jane. I also have a very hard time allowing others, even Shawn, to care for me. Right now I have a head cold and he's doing more -- helping with laundry, making suppers, entertaining Jane.

Ruth self identifies as "servant" then Boaz calls her "daughter."

Why is it faithful to go to him so forcefully?

Elemelech's property comes with Ruth, so there's money at stake.

When Naomi asks "who are you" in 3:16, she's really asking "has your status changed?" 

How does it risk the inheritance for the more closely related relative to marry Ruth? (I never got a good answer to that, and I don't get why Naomi didn't just try to hook up Ruth with the other relative who had the better "claim.")

Paloney almoney = "so and so" (the relative with the better claim on Ruth -- and I did my best to hold my tongue about Ruth/woman as property, but was, as usual, told to "remember the setting and time period.")

Onanism -- seed spilling

Hesed - loving kindness, devotion, exceptional love

Momentary vs. long-term care and commitment

I also learned about (at least) two Bible translations -- The Way, which the owner called her "hippie Bible" and The Voice.

Putting these together doesn't really make much sense, but I knew I wanted a post about it and a place to wrap it up for my own future reference.

Salt and Light

Today was laity Sunday, so we had a lay speaker preach. The text (from Matthew) was about being the light of the world and salt of the earth:

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

I loved the children's sermon, although I don't know about the theological soundness. The presenter talked about salt and this little light like you're expect, but she also said something I had never heard before. She talked about how when we eat salty foods we get very thirsty. And so we're meant to be salt for other people and make them thirsty for Jesus' love (living water). I liked it anyway.

When I was in high school I had a T-shirt with part of the salt verse on it. What a funny thing to remember.

Practicing Socialization and Constant Prayer

During our trip to DC and Danville we did a lot of visiting -- going to people's houses to get together, meeting for coffee or lunch. It was great. I probably had more socializing time in three weeks than I have in three months in Baton Rouge (or possibly all three years!). But that's normal for me.

I'm not inherently social by nature -- or something. I really have to work at friendships/connecting with people, and a lot of times it seems like too much effort. Sometimes it becomes effortless, and it's those connections that feed my desire to want more.

After all these great catch ups with old friends I find myself thinking about them specifically -- like oh, I want to send this link to Friend A, and this show reminds me of Friend B I should see if she watches it, and so on. But the amount of communications I would be doing long distance would get intimidating I think. Because no one wants to continually hear from me as random things pop into my head. (I mostly limit myself to one follow up thank you per friend.)

And those random things will subside, and I'll go back to the regular routine and annoying my normal cohort of contacts (or just blogging my fool head off).

This thought about continually thinking about people I've just seen and interacted with has been rolling around in my head, and it popped in again tonight after Bible study and the idea of praying without ceasing. (Romans 12:12 was verse in question: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.")

Why is it that I don't think "I should tell God about this," or "wow, this chapter of my book really reminds me of something He said to me," to the same extent I am reminded of my friends after a good visit?

I think the answer is somewhat obvious that I need to spend more time cultivating my relationship with God and attend to prayer in a more intentional way.

Questions

I attend a Bible study on Monday nights, and our leader is amazing. She asks really good questions, including great conversation starters like:

• What was your best birthday memory?
  
• If you could shadow anyone for a day, who would you choose and why?

I've spent time thinking about those, so much that I remember them even months or more than a year later. And last night's question, while not a conversation starter but more of a heart starter, is still tumbling in my head.

What concrete difference in your life does knowing the end of your story make?

We all had to answer, and I rambled something about parenting/motherhood, how I don't think I'd want to be a parent without the end of the story, the Gospel, knowing and feeling God's love. What would be the point? It would be so hopeless and seem cruel.

I'm not sure that's what I really mean -- or my full answer or something. But I thought it was a profound question in any case and that you, my three or four loyal readers, might enjoy thinking about it for yourselves too.