Handel's Messiah Mini-Challenge

Start Date: December 6, 2009

End Date: April 4, 2010

Goal to listen to Handel's Messiah at least once during Advent and/or Lent. Ideally, participants would commit to listening twice--once for each church season.

Come back to the blog and share your thoughts. Perhaps blog about your experience...

I will be providing a question/answer meme for you to answer (in whole or in part) if you should decide to join in!

Read more about Handel's Messiah here.

You should be able to listen to it online here. (NPR's Messiah Live in Philadelphia)

To sign up, leave a comment...

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Welcome The Light Mini-Challenge

I'm happy to host the Welcome the Light mini-challenge. This advent-related mini-challenge asks readers to read Isaiah and choose one gospel to read as well. (For example, I'll be reading Isaiah and the gospel of John).

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7.)

The challenge will run from November 22, 2009 through December 29, 2009.

Sign up by leaving a comment!

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Wise Up Mini-Challenge

I'm happy to host the Wise Up Mini Challenge. This challenge (or mini-challenge) for all who choose to join involves a commitment to read at least one of the wisdom books in October and early November.

Job. Psalms. Proverbs. Ecclesiastes. Song of Solomon. (There are a few deuterocanonical books that may count as 'books of wisdom'. There's one called Wisdom. And one called Sirach or Ecclesiasticus. So I'll allow those two to count as well.)

The challenge will run from October 1, 2009 through November 21, 2009.

To sign up, leave a comment!

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Progress So Far For 2009

Genesis (ESV Study Bible) (KJV Bible)
Exodus (ESV Study Bible) (KJV Bible)
Leviticus (ESV Study Bible)
Numbers (ESV Study Bible)
Deuteronomy (ESV Study Bible)
Joshua (ESV Study Bible)
Judges (ESV Study Bible)
Ruth (ESV Study Bible) (RSV Bible)
1 Samuel (ESV Study Bible)
2 Samuel (ESV Study Bible)
1 Kings (ESV Study Bible)
2 Kings (ESV Study Bible)
1 Chronicles (ESV Study Bible)
2 Chronicles (ESV Study Bible)
Ezra (KJV Bible)
Nehemiah (KJV Bible)
Esther
Job (ESV Study Bible) (1599 Geneva Bible)
Psalms (1599 Geneva Bible)
Proverbs (NASB Bible)
Ecclesiastes (NASB Bible)
Song of Solomon (NASB Bible)
Isaiah (1599 Geneva Bible)
Jeremiah (RSV Bible)
Lamentations (RSV Bible)
Ezekiel (ESV Study Bible)
Daniel (Nelson Study Bible: NKJV)
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew (Tyndale) (NASB)
Mark (Tyndale)
Luke (Tyndale) (KJV) (NASB)
John (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (ESV Study Bible)
Acts (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (RSV)
Romans (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (RSV)
1 Corinthians (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
2 Corinthians (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
Galatians (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
Ephesians (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (RSV) (NASB)
Philippians (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
Colossians (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
1 Thessalonians (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (NASB)
2 Thessalonians (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (NASB)
1 Timothy (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
2 Timothy (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
Titus (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (NASB)
Philemon (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (NASB)
Hebrews (Wycliffe) (Tyndale) (NASB)
James (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
1 Peter (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
2 Peter (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
1 John (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
2 John (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
3 John (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
Jude (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)
Revelation (Wycliffe) (Tyndale)

*updated November 22, 2009

**updated December 31, 2009

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon: Week in Review (September 27- October 3)

This week I...

Read Lamentations in the RSV Bible.

Read Proverbs 15-22 in the NASB Bible

Read Psalms 125-145 in the 1599 Geneva Study Bible

Read Exodus 1-12 in the KJV.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: My Story Bible: 66 Favorite Stories

Godfrey, Jan. 2009. My Story Bible: 66 Favorite Stories. Illustrated by Paola Bertolini Grudina. Tyndale. (You can read the first four stories online.)

My Story Bible: 66 Favorite Stories is a good introduction to Bible stories and characters for young readers. It's simple, but not too simple. I think it is written at a level that preschoolers and early-school age children can enjoy and appreciate. As a read aloud that is. I think the text tries to engage young listeners. And I think it succeeds for the most part. It's rhythmic and repetitive where it needs to be. Yet this wordplay isn't too distracting from the story itself.

The selection. I liked that it was a nice blend of Old Testament and New Testament. I think it is easy for books to drift one way or another. To focus all on the early stories--for example. Genesis is such a rich book for stories. And to neglect the later stories of prophets. And when it comes to the New Testament, sometimes it becomes all about the gospels and nothing else. It was nice to see a fuller range with this collection. True, the book doesn't offer every story I'd like to see retold for children. But no children's story bible ever could. It would be impossible to tell them all. To simplify them all. Some stories just don't translate down into the simplest, most basic forms. Some concepts are just too big for little minds to grasp. So you have to prioritize. And you have to always, always keep your audience in mind. Parents familiar with their bibles may see that not all the details are there for each story. Some things have been simplified and shortened. (For example, with Moses and Pharaoh, we don't get the full picture. We don't see the plagues coming one by one by one with rejections and drama in between. We get an abbreviated account of the king's stubbornness.) But again, I think it was a choice to make this one work for the youngest listeners.

Here's an excerpt from one of my favorite stories "The Sound of Music."

Three friends were taken as prisoners to a place called Babylon, far away from home. They worshiped the one true God, but the king worshiped pretend gods. One day the king told everyone to bow down and worship a golden statue.

"I won't," said Shadrach.

"I won't," said his friend Meshach.

"I won't," said his friend Abednego.

"There will be trouble if you don't!" said a messenger of the king.

"As soon as you hear music and instruments, you'll bow down to that golden statue, or they'll be trouble--you wait and see! If you don't bow down and worship it, you'll be thrown into a fiery furnace!" (54)

A little later on we read,

"So they were thrown into the blazing, fiery furnace. It was very, very, very hot. But they did not die. They did not get burned. They didn't even smell smoky!" (54)

And here's how the collection handles the Ten Commandments (in part) and the Lord's Prayer (in full) respectively.

"The seventh day of the week is special," said God. "It's a rest day, a family day, a happy day, a holy day. It's a day when everyone can worship me together. Even the animals can have a rest!"

"Treat your moms and dads well," said God. "Be polite and loving and respectful and kind and obedient to them."...

"And don't tell lies or say mean things about other people."

"Don't look at the things other people have and want them so much that you can't think about anything else." (29)

"Our father in heaven, your name is great and holy.

We want to do what is right so that your love will spread all over the world.

Please give everyone enough to eat each day, and help us to be kind to each other always.

Keep us safe from harm and from doing wrong things.

For you are true and wonderful and glorious and your Kingdom will last forever and ever. Amen." (72-73)

So for the most part, I loved the way these stories were told. As I mentioned earlier, I thought they were engaging and kid-friendly.

The illustrations. As I've said dozens of times, I'm not *good* at judging illustrations. I only know what I like, what I love, and what I hate. I liked these illustrations. I found them refreshing compared to say the illustrations in the Read and Share Bible. (I haven't *read* that one cover to cover. So I'm not saying anything about the text. Just the illustrations.)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Summer Vacation Reading Challenge Completed

Molly hosted the Summer Vacation Reading Challenge.

I forgot to post a wrap-up for this one until now.

Whirlwind by Cathy Marie Hake
Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist
Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell
Offworld by Robin Parrish
Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible