4. Faith, Hope and Hilarity

Faith, Hope and Hilarity: The Child's Eye View of Religion. Dick Van Dyke. Edited by Ray Parker. Illustrated by Phil Interlandi. 1970. 153 pages. [Source: Bought] [3 stars] [humor]

First sentence: I've always thought that kid humor is the funniest kind there is, because it's so honestly spontaneous and truly human.

Did you know Dick Van Dyke is a former Sunday School teacher? I didn't either. This book is a collection of kid stories that relate in one way or another--one degree or another--to religion and faith. Don't expect anything resembling theology or doctrine. These are just funny stories gathered together. 

It has the vibes of a faith-themed America's Funniest Home Videos. Don't expect anything super amazing or life changing. A few stories did make me laugh out loud. (One a little girl was confused when her mom wanted her grandma to live to be very very very old when the little girl thought she should just ask Jesus to make Grandma younger and younger.) A few of these are misheard lyrics of hymns and Christmas carols. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #2

Bible reading 

NET Timeless Truth (which I've decided to drop for now since I over-committed)

Genesis 20-50

1611 King James Version (which I'm using with Morning and Evening devotions from the Book of Common Prayer)

• Psalms 24-61
• Leviticus 17-27
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy 1-17
• Matthew 10-28
• Mark 1-6

Amplified

• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Solomon
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah 

BSB (audio) (which I'm using the To the Word plan with)

• Exodus 26-40
• Leviticus 1-16
• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter
• Galatians
• Hebrews 1-8

KJV Journal the Word

• 1 Chronicles 
• 2 Chronicles
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther

ESV Everyday Gospel Devotional Bible

• Job
• Genesis 1-11

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

3. The Lord of Psalm 23

3. The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host. David Gibson. 2023. 157 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, christian nonfiction, christian living]

First sentence from the introduction: Some texts of Holy Scripture are hard to preach on or write about, not because they are especially difficult for the pastor or theologian to understand but because they are already so profoundly precious to the hearer and reader. I suspect this is more true of Psalm 23 than of any other part of the Bible.

The Lord of Psalm 23 could be classified as a weighty devotional or a light commentary. It isn't properly either absolutely. It approaches all six verses of the psalm and invites the reader to take a closer, deeper look to the psalm, to perhaps see it with fresh eyes, though the author is not pushing a "new" or "improved" way of reading it. He breaks the psalm into three main sections: The Sheep and the Shepherd, The Traveler and the Companion, The Guest and the Host. He also encourages readers to link the psalm with the exodus story or exodus theme which is prevalent throughout the Bible--but certainly appears 'again-again' throughout Israel's songbook--the Psalms. 

I enjoyed reading this one. 

Something to think about:

Some of us want Jesus to protect us from our enemies with his rod, but we don't want Jesus to protect us from ourselves with his staff. We like the idea of Jesus coming down hard on others; we are less enamored when he reaches us personally and directs us somewhere we don't want to go. But what is my greatest enemy right now as I type these lines? It is my own sinful heart. My love of myself, my self-pity, my distorted belief that the path of righteousness might not be the path of happiness. "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,/ Prone to leave the God I love," the hymn says. Oh how I need Christ's staff in my life to continually pull me back to him. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

2. The Heart of Jesus

2. The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels About You. Dane Ortlund. 2024. 128 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars] [christian nonfiction, devotional]

First sentence: This is a book about the heart of Jesus Christ. Who is he? Who is he really? What is most natural to him? What flows out most freely? Who is he?

The Heart of Jesus is an abridged "concise" edition of the super popular  Gentle and Lowly by the same author. This one has been edited with "young readers, new Christians, and seekers" in mind. 

I read Gentle and Lowly twice last year--once in November, once in December. I was conflicted about Gentle and Lowly. On the one hand, I saw a lot of truth in it. It provided a lot to think upon, plenty to 'chew the cud' about. On the other hand, there were sentences or paragraphs that if taken at face value may lead down a slippery slope to some potentially dangerous unbiblical ideas. One could always give the author the benefit of the doubt, to assume the best. One could also question the author in terms of consequences of ideas. 

I wanted to read The Heart of Jesus particularly because it was concise. I found the book to remove a lot of the things that I found almost semi-problematic. I think this is because it was in the elaboration of details that my confusion began. When the book keeps to the point and on track, I found less confused. 

If I had to recommend one book over the other, I would recommend this one instead. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #1

Bible reading 

1611 KJV

• Genesis 37-50; 
• Exodus;
• Leviticus 1-16 
• Psalms 1-23; 
• Matthew 1-9;

Amplified

• Psalms 36-150
• Proverbs

BSB

• 1 Corinthians 10, Acts 7, Hebrews 11,  Matthew 5-7, Psalms 6, 105, 90, 146
• Exodus 1-25

KJV Journal the Word Large Print

• Isaiah 40-66, 
• Genesis 

NET Timeless Truths

• Genesis 1-19
• Psalms 8, 104, 12, 
• John 1:1-3

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

1. Cloaked in Beauty

1. Cloaked in Beauty. (Texas Ever After #3) Karen Witemeyer. 2024. 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, historical fiction, christian fiction, romance]

First sentence: Nightmares were supposed to stop once little girls woke up, but when five-year-old Scarlett Radcliffe opened her eyes, things only got worse.

Cloaked in Beauty is a retelling smash-up of Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood. It is set in Texas in the 1890s (IF my math is correct, circa 1896.) Letty Hood (AKA Scarlett Radcliffe) has lived in hiding with her grandmother since she was five. Her [wicked] uncle is out to kill her so that he inherits her father's estate [his brother's estate]. They have been on the move throughout her life, but they have been settled for several years in Cass County living a very secluded, rural life. Her grandmother goes into the nearest town only rarely and never mentions that she's the caretaker for her granddaughter--or anyone for that matter. But her [wicked] uncle has not forgotten her, and as her twenty-first birthday nears, Letty's life is increasingly more in danger. 

Her mother has hired a Pinkerton agent, Philip Carmichael, to try to find her daughter before her birthday. She wants to warn her that her latest letter--which included a photo--has been discovered and that she is no longer safe staying put. 

Can Letty, Philip, and Rusty (her oh-so-trusty wolf) make their way to safely and outwit the wicked uncle?

If you ask me five minutes after I finish reading any Karen Witemeyer book if that book is my favorite, I'm prone to say yes. However, this time I truly think it will have sticking power. I really loved this third entry into the series SO much. I appreciated the first two--all are stand alone novels, by the way--but the third was near perfection. 

Quotes:

"I'm not a helpless damsel looking for a man to slay my dragons," she said, her gaze locked on the man before her. "I'm a woman heading into battle who needs an experienced warrior at my side. one I can trust to guard my back. One who will discuss his plans with me and treat me like an equal. Is that arrangement acceptable to you?"

"Sweet girl, there's nothing new under the sun. Strong, handsome young men have making young ladies' knees wobble since Eve first got a look at Adam."

Letty awoke to a kiss the next morning, only it wasn't the kiss she'd been dreaming of most of the night. Eyes squinting, she reached for the furry head she knew would be on the other end of the tongue that licked her face.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Goals for 2025

I read twenty-seven bibles and two new testaments in 2024. My goals are not the same for the upcoming year. 

There are definite changes I want to make. I am a fast reader--come by it honestly--so I probably still will read through the Bible quite a few times. But I want to be more purposeful, intentional--dare I say mindful--with my reading. I want to "live in" (abide, dwell) a few translations and really focus on the experience. 

That being said, one of my other goals for the year is to read a NEW TO ME translation. I have two or three to choose from. I'm already reading one--started in November--but I am not sure I want to count that as my "one" new-to-me translation. The others I'm considering are the Good News Translation and/or the New American Bible. There's a few older Bibles that I've never read through as well, I believe I have "An American Translation" (Goodspeed and Smith, 1939), and the translation from James Moffatt (1922). It is not necessarily my goal to read all of these in one year. And the older bibles may or may not get read all the way through, I'd have to decide based on their condition since they are long out of print. 

One of my biggest goals is to find ways to more naturally integrate/incorporate audio Bibles into my day to day life. I always have big plans and goals on listening more. This is a challenge for me. 

So to be more concise:

Live in the KJV, NASB, ESV, NKJV, and BSB

Read a new-to-me translation

Listen to audio bibles more regularly

I will be participating in the Growing for Life Bible read through (on Facebook). It's a chronological plan. I'll be reading the KJV Journal the Word (Large Print). If by chance I change my mind on the Journal the Word part, it will most likely be for another KJV. I definitely love the KJV for this project. 

In terms of general reading (as opposed to Bible reading)

My goal is to read at least fifty-two books for Operation Actually Read Bible. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible