This past Monday I ventured out to get one of my Christmas presents. Yes, I realize that December 25th has come and gone already, but I had a gift card to one of my favorite stores and it was high time I used it. So I packed up my 4 year old and my 18 month old and I headed out to Mardel.
Unfortunately, "packed up" and "headed out" are quite literal since the three closest Mardel stores are roughly 30-45 minutes away. But, being the adventurous dad I am, I was not going to faint from the challenge.
I headed to the Fort Worth store since I am fairly certain that I hadn't visited it since seminary. I already knew the clearance section (my favorite section) at Lewisville was great and Denton's was lacking (from my only visit shortly after they opened... perhaps they have more stuff to "clearance" now). So I wanted to see what the bargains could be discovered in Fort Worth... I was disappointed. But alas I wasn't merely there to unearth literary raw diamonds. I was there to get my Christmas present.
As we entered the store I was careful to usher my four year old's eyes away from the kids section... we'd get there soon enough but I knew if she saw it first my hopes of finding my Christmas present and Jennifer's valentine's gift would face serious challenges. Success!
I went straight for the Bibles section. My Christmas present was waiting for me on those shelves. I was there to get a Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Why? Well, I like to try a new version out for size every once in a while and what I had read of the HCSB on my Bible software had intrigued me. It seemed more literal than the New International Version and more readable than the New American Standard Bible. I picked the one I wanted, got Jen's valentine's gift, and spent a lot of time in the kids section before checking out and going to pick up my Kindergartner from school.
As I was waiting for dismissal I opened my Christmas present up, looked it over, and started reading. There's nothing quite like reading a new Bible for the first time. The notes you've written in aren't there, the verses aren't all underlined, circled, and boxed, and the language with a new version is fresh enough to help you engage with the text again. I love new Bibles. They hearken me back to the freshness of my faith when I had first trusted Christ and remind me of so many times when God has used His word to speak into my present circumstance. New Bibles compel me to read them and to underline, circle, box, and comment.
And this time I'm compelled once again to read through the Bible in a year. I'm off to a good start in a slightly different approach. When I was in college I read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in about 8 months and it was extremely rewarding. Recently I read through the Bible over the course of three years. This time I'm looking to read it in a year again but I'm going to read the Old Testament and the New Testament side by side. I've started with Genesis and Hebrews reading five chapters OT and two chapters NT. I thought it would be neat to read Hebrews before I get into Exodus and Leviticus because Hebrews uses so much of Israels history and Jewish religious practice to show God's plan of Jesus and how He fulfills the law. It's very refreshing thus far. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.