2022 Bible Reading Update #45

Bible reading week of 5 - 11 November 2022.

I am reading the BSB (Berean Standard Bible) for my Daily Offices from the Book of Common Prayer

• Psalms 22-61
• Proverbs 5-11
• Mark 6-16
• Genesis 26-50
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians
• 1 Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy

Darby (Power 60 Reading Plan)

• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi
• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John

NIV 2011

• Psalms 1-59
• Acts 12-28
• Hebrews
• James
• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter

I have TWO ongoing year-long 30 Day MacArthur plans going. 

• In November, I will be reading 2 Peter 1-3 for thirty days: KJV, NASB 95, NASB 77, CSB, ESV, NASB 77, NASB 95,
• In November, I will be reading Isaiah 55-60 for thirty days: KJV, NASB 95, NASB 77, CSB, ESV, NASB 77, NASB 95, 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

2022 Bible Reading Update #44

Bible reading week of 29 October - 4 November 2022

I am reading the BSB (Berean Standard Bible) for my Daily Offices from the Book of Common Prayer

• Psalm 139-150 (from October)
• Proverbs 29-31 (from October)
• Psalm 1-21 (from November)
• Proverbs 1-4 (from November)
• Zechariah
• Malachi
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther
• Job 
• Luke 21-24
• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians 
• Genesis 1-25
• Mark 1-5

Darby (Power 60 Reading Plan)

• Jeremiah 5-52
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel 
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah

NIV 2011

• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Luke 
• Acts 1-11

I have TWO ongoing year-long 30 Day MacArthur plans going. 

• In October, I will be reading 1 Peter 1-5 for thirty days: NKJV, NASB 77,
• In October, I will be reading Isaiah 49-54 for thirty days: NKJV, NASB 77, 
• In November, I will be reading 2 Peter 1-3 for thirty days: NASB 77, NRSV, NASB 77, KJV,
• In November, I will be reading Isaiah 55-60 for thirty days: NASB 77, NRSV, NASB 77, KJV, 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

40. A Short Guide to Reading the Bible Better

A Short Guide to Reading the Bible Better. George H. Guthrie. 2022. [November] 176 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: This is a book about words. Words have already shaped your life a great deal, putting things in motion, setting trajectories for your relationships, work, interests, commitments, and hopes. Words have hurt or healed you, delighted or devastated you, instructed and informed you. In short, words have played a large role in defining who you are today. 

George H. Guthrie has written a handful of books about the Bible--namely how to read the Bible. This one strives to be short(er) and (more) concise. His mission (obviously) is to get his readers to read the Bible (the VERY WORD OF GOD) better. Guthrie writes, "If our purpose in life is to live for him and to his glory, and the Scriptures shape us for his mission, then God's Word provides us with a means to that very desirable end...The Scriptures play a vital role in us fulfilling our purpose in the world. Consequently, there is no more important task in life than hearing from God and trusting him on the basis of his Word... Everything else in our lives is shaped by whether or not we are living out of a life grounded in the Word of God, the Bible. We need to read it and read it better than we ever have before, so that we can live it well." 

 Each chapter seeks to help believers read the Bible better. It is essential, in Guthrie's opinion (and my own) for believers to live in the Word. His chapters cover a variety of topics all working together to help believers read the Word better. Topics include motivation and spiritual condition, how to better understand the message of Scriptures (including picking a translation), how to read the Bible with others, how to read for personal transformation, the big picture of the Bible, Bible reading plans, and selecting useful tools or resources for study. 

I love that first and foremost he makes this a heart issue. I think it is so easy to forget this. Our attitude is not something that we can just shrug off. It doesn't matter if my heart is open or closed--or distracted or engaged--so long as I check Bible reading off my list. That's not how it works. The Word of God is powerful and life-giving. It is food for our souls. Spending time in the Word should strengthen, encourage, convict, transform. It should be a joyous meeting of our souls with God.

I appreciated this one. At times--and I am not saying I could approach this topic any better--it felt a little like product placement. Read these books [a good many but definitely not all seemed to be published by his publisher]. I don't know a way around this. I don't. But overall, I greatly appreciated it and would recommend it. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

39. The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. Sara Brunsvold. 2022. 361 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Clara Kip had prayed repeatedly to die in Sao Paulo. It truly seemed the smallest of requests. People died in Brazil every day. What was one more? Especially one who had dreamed of the country most of her life. The Lord, however, gave her Kansas.

Premise/plot: Mrs. Kip (Clara Kip) is dying make no mistake about it. This contemporary Christian read opens with our main character entering hospice care and checking into a nursing facility. But in her few week(s) left, she's going to continue to impact the world. She's still got love left to give until her very final breath.

Aidyn Kelley is a newbie reporter who is looking for her "big break." Having won an award for her writing in college she feels entitled to be a big shot in the newsroom. But. That's not how life works. Still, her boss (not the BIG boss) is giving her an assignment. To the outside world and even to Aidyn herself this assignment feels like punishment. Write an obituary for an old woman????? Really???? That's the big break???? Aidyn is told to go and visit Mrs. Kip, to get to know her...

The two slowly but surely come to an arrangement. Aidyn tells an inventive, creative "extraordinary" death story and Mrs. Kip will in return answer three questions truthfully. After a very bumpy introduction, these two soon become good friends....

Readers learn--even before Aidyn--how EXTRAORDINARY Mrs. Kip's life actually is/was. 

My thoughts: I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. Without a doubt my most favorite of all time contemporary read in Christian Fiction. I love how UNapologetic it is. Mrs. Kip is a LOVING, kind, WISE woman of God. All of life's hardships and sorrows, all her losses, all her unanswered prayers, etc. have taught her that the JOY OF THE LORD IS HER STRENGTH. I love how her story unfolds. I love the flashbacks. But most of all I love the present-day-scenes. I love her witness. I love her testimony. I loved every moment of this one. It was BEAUTIFUL. It was PRECIOUS. 

Could it perhaps trigger some readers????? Perhaps. Mrs. Kip is dying of CANCER. And it's hard not to have a personal story, a personal connection. Readers may be reminded of their own [painful] losses. But this one is SO beautiful. Even if you have to read through tears, I think the story is a thousand times worth it.  

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

2022 Weekly Bible Reading #43

Bible reading week of 22 - 28 October 2022.

I finished the NASB 1973 Bible this week. 

• Psalm 107-115
• Proverbs 22-23
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther
• Malachi
• Revelation 14-22

I am reading the BSB (Berean Standard Bible) for my Daily Offices from the Book of Common Prayer

• Psalm 107-138
• Proverbs 22-28
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Acts
• Luke 1-20

Darby (Power 60 Reading Plan)

• Psalm 86-150
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Songs
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah 1-4

NIV 2011

• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah (2)
• Malachi (2)
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Titus
• Philemon
• Romans

I have TWO ongoing year-long 30 Day MacArthur plans going. 

• In October, I will be reading 1 Peter 1-5 for thirty days: CSB, RSV, ESV, ESV, NASB 95, NASB 2020, RSV,
• In October, I will be reading Isaiah 49-54 for thirty days: CSB, RSV, ESV, ESV, NASB 95, NASB 2020, RSV

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

38. The Florence Legacy

The Florence Legacy. Lauraine Snelling. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Breeanna Lindstrom stared at the envelope in her hand. Probably a thank-you note since it was from Jade's husband. Tears immediately burned her throat and leaked from her eyes. How she missed Jade.

Jade left three friends ten thousand dollars apiece so they could take a dream vacation to Florence, Italy. Breeanna [or Bree], one of our two protagonists, is super-excited about the trip. Even in the midst of her family's messiness, she's still super thrilled to be getting away from it all. [One child is expecting a new baby soon. Her other child is drowning in debt and homeless.] She's also started seeing her best friend's brother-in-law. [They meet at the funeral of her best friend's husband.] He gives her lessons in Italian. The other protagonist, Pierre-Rene Dubois, besides being a love interest, is getting ready to start up his own business, a coffee shop. He wants a vet-friendly coffee shop. His chapters focus on getting this business started.

The novel is contemporary Christian fiction. To the extent that the characters are developed and fully fleshed out, they are presented as broken-imperfect people living in a broken-imperfect world. For example, relationships are messy. Pierre-Rene's relationship with his son and son-in-law is messy. He loves them and respects them, but, he's still balancing out how to be involved in their day-to-day lives. He is striving to make the relationship stronger and better. Likewise, Bree's relationship with Jessica, her daughter, is problematic as well. Jessica acts out--lashes out--at her mother and brother. She is upset that she has no money and doesn't have a place to stay. Any attempt to help is seen as an attack. And yet the lack of an attempt to help is also seen as being hostile. 

The plot is minimal at best. Essentially there is lack of any interesting plot. The vacation to Italy--despite the publisher's description as being hilarious--is lackluster. Except for one of the friends getting mugged and having to return to the States early, all the friends do is eat, drink, and go tourist-y places. That doesn't translate well in a book. In a movie, there could be a montage of the three-to-four friends doing all the tourist-y things and laughing and having a grand old time. In a book, well, it's just boring. The characterization of the other friends is bare as well. There's just not any fleshing out of these side characters to make readers care. 

I found this a tedious read. I do think these characters given another plot might be of interest. Pierre-Rene's PTSD, for example, is probably worthy of being explored in a book. Likewise, books about families struggling with reconciliation and healthy boundaries could be a good thing. But it was just hard to come to care for any of these characters or to be engaged in the story. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

37. The First Songs of Christmas

The First Songs of Christmas. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. 2021. 160 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: One of the things I most love about being a child of God is that we have something to sing about. And one of the things I most love about the Bible is that it gives us songs to sing. Especially Christmas songs.

First sentence from day one: The Ancient of Days became a newborn. The One who created the first woman was born of a woman. 

What you see is what you get. A thirty-one devotional--intended for the month of December, obviously--that takes readers through the first songs of Christmas [as found in the Bible]. These first songs of Christmas are all found in the first two chapters of Luke. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to read either Luke 1 or Luke 2 in its entirety each day throughout the month. I always think it's great to look at the bigger context of how verses fit together. The devotions themselves look at the story just a few verses at a time--which is perfectly fine--but seeing the pieces all come together is wonderful too. 

So readers get a few Bible verses at the start, the devotional entry, a prayer, and further verses to read if they so desire. 

I liked this devotional. I bought it last year after Christmas. [I think it went on sale after Christmas]. I've been really wanting to read it and couldn't wait until December. After all, if I enjoyed it, I'd want to recommend it to YOU so you could read it in December. I definitely liked it. I'm not the biggest devotional reader, but, I do make exceptions for shorter devotionals. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible