3. KJV, Large Print, Journal the Word Bible

KJV Large Print Journal the Word Bible. God. 1769. 2016 pages. Thomas Nelson Publishers. [Source: Bought] [5 stars]

First sentence: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

I spent months looking for the 'perfect-for-me' wide-margin and/or journaling Bible. There were two things I was unwilling to compromise on. First, I wanted a font size LARGE enough to comfortably read. This eliminated probably eighty to ninety percent of the Bibles out there. This Bible is 10 point font. There is another wide margin Bible that is 9 point font. But I decided against that once since the margins in that one were maybe-maybe one inch. Second, I wanted a margin size that a 'normal' person could write in comfortably. Many wide margin Bibles simply have margins of one inch--even if that one inch is at the top, the side, and the bottom. It just felt too impossible to be realistic. This one is single column and allows for wider margins. Definitely wider than one inch. I'm not absolutely convinced it's two inches. But  it is definitely wide enough for anyone to use. 

This one is the KING JAMES VERSION. It is wide-margin. It is single column. It is red letter. The paper is on the creamier side--not perfectly white. 

I started this one on December 24, 2024. I finished this one on March 31, 2025. 

I love the King James Version. I don't love red letter. However, that is something I find myself compromising on most of the time since most King James Version Bibles are red letter more often than not. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #13

Bible Reading

KJV

• Psalms 110-150
• Acts
• Romans
• 1 Corinthians

NASB 1977

• 1 Kings 3-22
• 2 Kings 
• Isaiah 54-66
• Jeremiah 
• Lamentations
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah

NKJV

• 1 Samuel 21-27
• Psalms 91, 7, 27, 31, 34, 52, 56, 120, 140, 141, 142, 17, 73

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

29. The Big Picture Story Bible

29. The Big Picture Story Bible. David R. Helm. Illustrated by Gail Schoonmaker. 2004. Crossway Books. 451 pages. [Source: Review copy] [5 stars]

First sentence from the Old Testament section: The Bible is God's story, and it begins with these big words: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Do you know how God created everything? Simply by speaking words. Imagine, making the world with words! Strong words. Powerful words. With words God created everything!

First sentence from the New Testament section: Years passed without a single word from God. And the years turned into many years, and the many years turned into hundreds of years. And the great promises of God seemed to fade away. Israel became less important in the world. Other nations became great--strong nations, powerful nations, whose kings ruled over God's people. One such king...was Caesar Augustus.

The Big Picture Story Bible is one of my favorite bible story books. Why? Because it presents the Bible not as a series of entertaining, informational, educational, inspirational stories but as a unified story. The Bible does in fact have a big picture. If you miss the big picture, you miss the point. By understanding--grasping, appreciating--the big picture, you are enabling yourself to appreciate the smaller as well because you can see how everything fits, everything belongs.

The Big Picture Story Bible has twenty-six illustrated stories. Together they tell one big story. These stories build upon one another. They are interconnected. Everything is building up to the big climax--the appearance of Jesus Christ. The first eleven stories cover the Old Testament. The remaining fifteen stories cover the New Testament.

The Bible is for believers young and old. The story it tells is grand, glorious, but above all TRUE and TRUSTWORTHY. Yet people of all ages can struggle to read the Word for themselves. Perhaps because it seems so strange and otherworldly. Perhaps because it is intimidating. Perhaps because they don't know where to begin. A familiarity with the BIG PICTURE of the Bible could be the very boost one needs to begin to ACTUALLY read the Bible.

The Big Picture Story Bible gives readers of all ages the orientation they need to grasp not only the story but the theology behind the story. It covers the basics of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. It is not so thorough and comprehensive that it would ever--could ever--take the place of the Word itself. That would be silly. But by showing you the structure of the Word, how everything fits together, how every story belongs to the whole, it can be a considerable help.

I think this one is for readers of all ages. I definitely think parents with children should have this one in their homes. (Christian parents and grandparents). Parents have an awesome responsibility to teach and instruct their children in the faith. It isn't anyone else's responsibility to do so for you. It is a great task, but it isn't an impossible one. It's never too early. It's never too late. You might feel overwhelmed, but you can learn alongside your children. You can go on this glorious, wonderful journey together.

But I also think adults without children could benefit from this one as well. There are a million excuses why believers don't read the Bible. Grasping the big picture and holding onto the big picture could be a great stepping stone into actually reading the Bible and tasting for yourself the sweetness of the Lord.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

28. Remember Heaven

28. Remember Heaven: Meditations on the World to Come for Life in The Meantime. Matthew McCullough. 2025. [May] 176 pages. [Source: Review copy] [christian living, christian nonfiction, 5 stars]

First sentence (from the introduction): Another Christmas just came and went, along with a wonderful week away with our extended family. 

Matthew McCullough shares 'meditations' on WHY remembering heaven helps us to live 'in the meantime' with hope, peace, and joy--even in the midst of troubles and hard circumstances. These meditations are not daily meditations--like a devotional book--but instead a series of longer chapters. Each chapter is a different way of looking at the subject. The book is not meant--and the author discloses this--to be an exhaustive book of reasons to remember heaven in light of our 'groans and moans.' 

A few of his reasons to remember heaven:

• grounds our lives as Christians
• reframes our dissatisfaction in the meantime
• overcomes our feelings of inadequacy in the meantime
• empowers our battle with sin in the meantime
• relieves our anxiety in the meantime
• makes our suffering meaningful in the meantime
• makes our grief bearable
• sets our mission in the church 

I found the book helpful and encouraging. It didn't always go in the direction of my preconceived notions, HOWEVER it always went in a direction that surprised me and ultimately proved engaging. I had not pieced together how HOPE in heaven or 'remembering heaven' could be connected with inadequacy and anxiety. So there were chapters that were JUST the medicine I needed. I think the book will be relevant for just that reason. I think each reader will have his or her own 'favorite' chapter(s) that speak to them in their need. The Holy Spirit is good like that.

I would definitely recommend this one.

Quotes:

• Hope matters. We can't live without it. But what we hope in matters even more. We need a hope strong enough to bear the weight of our lives in the meantime. And that is precisely what we have in the hope of heaven.
• Many Christians simply aren't thinking about heaven at all and, if asked, couldn't say why they should be.
• Meditating on heaven, Richard Baxter argues, is how we use our understanding to warm our affections. It throws open 'the door between the head and the heart.' 
• How we spend our moments is how we spend our lives.
• The only way to long for a place you've never been is to long for the person whose presence makes that place what it is to you.
• Love for Christ anchors us to the future we've been promised, and it reshapes how we live here in the present.
• Pride is the poison our culture doles out as medicine. 
• We are anxious when we feel responsible, as if all the outcomes depend upon us. But God is responsible for this future. Everything depends on him. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

27. Praying the Bible

27. Praying the Bible. Donald S. Whitney. 2015. Crossway. 112 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Since prayer is talking with God, why don’t people pray more?

Donald S. Whitney argues that Christians struggle with praying because prayer is boring. Why is prayer boring? Because Christians tend to pray for the same old things in the same old way--in other words, their prayers use the same words, same patterns, day after day, week after week, etc. He writes, "Prayers without variety eventually become words without meaning."

Christians tend to treat prayer not as a two-way conversation but as a one-way conversation.

Of course, another reason people struggle--and Whitney acknowledges as well--is distraction.

He has a solution for both 'problems'. That solution is praying the Bible. In this little book, he teaches readers how to pray through the Psalms and passages of the New Testament. Though any passage can be prayed--Genesis through Revelation. His goal is to get you started and the easiest--the best--place to start is the book of Psalms.

To pray the Bible, you simply go through the passage line by line, talking to God about whatever comes to mind as you read the text. See how easy that is? Anyone can do that. Just speak to the Lord about everything that occurs to you as you slowly read his Word. What does the text of Scripture tell us to pray about? Everything, right?  Every person, every object, every issue, every circumstance, every fear, every situation—everything in the universe is something we may bring before God. So every thought that enters your mind as you are reading a passage of Scripture—even if that thought has nothing to do with the text before you at the moment—is something you may bring to God...
If you are praying through a psalm, you simply read that psalm line by line, talking to God about whatever thoughts are prompted by the inspired words you read. If your mind wanders from the subject of the text, take those wandering thoughts Godward, then return to the text. If you come to a verse you don’t understand, just skip it and go to the next verse. If you don’t understand that one, move on. If you do understand it but nothing comes to mind to pray about, go to the next verse. If sinful thoughts enter in, pray about them and go on.
You may read twenty or thirty verses in that psalm, and yet on a given day have only five or six things come to mind. No problem. Nothing says you have to pray over every verse. Nothing says you have to finish the psalm...
Talk to God about the words you read in the Bible, and you’ll never again pray the same old things about the same old things. 

He makes distinctions between reading the Bible, praying the Bible, and studying the Bible. The methods you use for praying the Bible are not necessarily sound methods for teaching or preaching through the Bible.  

Correctly handling the Word of God does not permit making the text say what we want. To understand the Bible accurately—which is essential for right belief and living, for truthful sharing with others, and for authoritative teaching and preaching—we must do whatever is necessary to discover (or “exegete”) the single, God-inspired meaning of every verse before us. The text of the Bible means what God inspired it to mean, not “what it means to me.”
Bible reading is secondary in this process [of praying the Bible]. Our focus is on God through prayer; our glance is at the Bible. And we turn Godward and pray about every matter that occurs to us as we read. Do you see the distinction?

I have enough confidence in the Word and the Spirit of God to believe that if people will pray in this way, in the long run their prayers will be far more biblical than if they just make up their own prayers.

Without the Scripture to shape our prayers, we are far more likely to pray in unbiblical ways than if we pray the thoughts that occur to us as we read the Scripture.

The book is practical. He has a plan in mind for you to put this into practice.

With the Psalms of the Day you take thirty seconds or so to quickly scan five specific psalms and pick the one that best leads you to prayer on that occasion. While reading five psalms a day is a great practice that many enjoy, that’s not what I’m advocating here. What I’m suggesting is that you take half a minute to quickly scan five psalms and pick one of those five to pray through. Here’s how it works. The first psalm is the one that corresponds with the day of the month. 

Day of the Month	Psalms to Skim
1	1, 31, 61, 91, 121
2	2, 32, 62, 92, 122
3	3, 33, 63, 93, 123
4	4, 34, 64, 94, 124
5	5, 35, 65, 95, 125
6	6, 36, 66, 96, 126
7	7, 37, 67, 97, 127
8	8, 38, 68, 98, 128
9	9, 39, 69, 99, 129
10	10, 40, 70, 100, 130
11	11, 41, 71, 101, 131
12	12, 42, 72, 102, 132,
13	13, 43, 73, 103, 133
14	14, 44, 74, 104, 134
15	15, 45, 75, 105, 135
16	16, 46, 76, 106, 136
17	17, 47, 77, 107, 137
18	18, 48, 78, 108, 138
19	19, 49, 79, 109, 139
20	20, 50, 80, 110, 140
21	21, 51, 81, 111, 141
22	22, 52, 82, 112, 142,
23	23, 53, 83, 113, 143
24	24, 54, 84, 114, 144
25	25, 55, 85, 115, 145
26	26, 56, 86, 116, 146
27	27, 57, 87, 117, 147
28	28, 58, 88, 118, 148
29	29, 59, 89, 119, 149
30	30, 60, 90, 120, 150
31	Psalm 119

And if you will take thirty seconds to review five psalms every day, it is uncanny how one of them will express something that is looking for expression in your heart.

I love how Whitney guides you through this method. I love how he encourages you to try it. I definitely got a Green Eggs With Ham vibe! His passionate pleas to actually pray were compelling and persuasive.

I also love how he quotes some great theologians throughout the book--men, for the most part, who have learned that praying the Bible is transformative in their lives.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #12

Bible Reading

KJV 

Psalms 79-109

Luke 3-24

John

1611 KJV (I finished!!!!!)

Ezekiel 19-48

James

NASB 1977

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings 1-2

Isaiah 1-53

NKJV

1 Samuel 13-20; Psalms 59

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

26. Adventure Bible: Read through the Bible: 8 Bible Stories for Early Readers

26. 8 Bible Stories for Early Readers (Adventure Bible) Illustrations by David Miles. 2025. Zondervan. 248 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars]

First sentence: God spent six days creating his world. That first day, God made light. He said, "Let there be light," and there it was. He made sure the light was separate from the dark. He called the light "day" and the dark he called "night."

This collection of early reader Bible stories (from The Adventure Bible, I believe) is a level 2 'I Can Read' reader. It features eight--presumably previously published and available as individual titles--stories. 

The featured stories are: 

God's Great Creation

Noah's Voyage

Moses Leads the People

Joseph the Dreamer

Ruth and Naomi

Brave Queen Esther

Miracles of Jesus

Paul Meets Jesus

What I like: Bible story books are good. It's good to have big, thick collections to read aloud with children of varying ages. It is good to have individual stories. (I grew up on the ARCH Bible story books.) There's a need for board books and early readers as well. 

What I am meh about: The stories are extremely simplified. Presumably again 'for the audience' or because it is an early reader? But some times vital details that make the story make sense are left out. It almost feels like we're getting the George of the Jungle "they just get really big boo-boos" treatment. This may not annoy a young child. Probably wouldn't. For example, out of all the healing stories in the Bible, they chose the one with the woman who had bled for twelve years--and spent all she had on doctors. She sought Jesus out and touched him. They, of course, did not include any details of her story. Just a woman who touched Jesus and was healed. Is the story fine? Sure. It's fine. But there are other stories that could have been included perhaps that they wouldn't have felt the need to edit so much? Or did they include it just because she is a woman???? Who knows. 

The stories selected felt slightly odd to me. Just slightly. It was like they felt the need to push Esther and Ruth just because they were women. Was that their intent? Maybe. Maybe not. I do *love, love, love* the book of Ruth. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Ruth. But if you are just going to share eight stories--six from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament, then I am not sure they picked the absolute best six. (They could have picked four from the Old Testament and four from the New Testament and included stories about the cross or the resurrection.) 

What I definitely did not like: I thought it was horrible oversight to put MOSES before Joseph. Such a thing just should not be. Will this bother anyone but me? Maybe. Surely I'm not alone in wanting the stories to actually come together as a big picture and make sense. But probably not. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible