Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Bibles, reading, and randomnity

Yesterday I took a couple boxes of Bibles and some other books I had laying around to a place in Fort Wayne called Christian Literature for Africa. Daughter Carrie told me about this place. They have been providing Bibles and reading materials to pastors and churches in Africa for something like 17 years. I was expecting to just drop the books off, but the two wonderful ladies who were working there gave me a rather in-depth tour of their place and had me watching videos and were showing me all kinds of interesting stuff about what they do. It was good fun. So, if you have any old Bibles or Bible Study material laying around, give me a nod and I'll hook you up with a way to unload them while at the same time being a real blessing to someone else.

I also started reading The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay yesterday (the tangible website is HERE). I've had several people recommend this book to me in recent weeks, so I thought I better give it a look-see. I'm not too far into it yet, and have only underlined a part of one sentence so far... The authors want to help "...create new places of belonging, benevolence, and blessing around the world." Yeah, I like that.

Something I've lately been thinking about though... I wonder if I read too much, or at least too MANY books. And I don't read a lot compared to some, but I wondered if rather than reading a lot of books if I would be better off to read fewer books but to read them more often. You know, I've heard of people who only own four or five books, but they know those books inside out. I wonder if it would be better to be like that. I don't know what four or five books I would choose, but... I dunno. Just wonderin.

Along those lines... I also just sat down and started reading the Bible the other night. I mean, I read the Bible all the time - in little bits and pieces - but seldom do I just start from the beginning. I read about halfway through Genesis in one sitting (which is a lot for me). I think it would do me a whole lotta good to read great big chunks of the Bible at a time. Usually I study small sections. Which is good too. I remember I went like 7 years where I read it through every year. I had one of those read-the-bible-in-a-year bibles where you read a little OT, a little NT, and a Psalm and Proverb every day. That was okay, but I think I'd like to just read it cover to cover sometime. Hmm... maybe one of these days.

I had also been thinking we could get rid of the tv set, because there is nothing but CRAP on anymore. I'm sick of reality shows and game shows and variety shows or whatever they call them. But, now the Olympics are on (and I like the summer Olympics), and then it will be football season... and then college basketball... and... eh, we'll see.

Peace out, folks; and in.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you had fun dropping the Bibles off because I have 4 in my car and 10 on my desk that I've been meaning to take home. :)

And randomly, the other day I sat down and read John and then I read Luke - just like I would sit down and read a lot of other books. Very very different than just reading portions.

I just looked at the list of books I've read since I graduated from college. I'm a nerd. But then I saw a bookmark on amazon.com that said Reading is Sexy. So there, enough said, right? haha.

Jim said...

"the tangible website is HERE"

Can a website be tangible or intangible? Websites seem to escape proper definitions of either...they can be perceived, but not touched...and are physically not as they appear...

:)

dan said...

Carrie,
They very much appreciated the other Bibles. I'd be happy to take more. I took some old, old commentaries that they really liked too. It's actually not too far from IPFW - right behind the trinity church of the nazarene on Stelhorn.

Jim,
So is this the kind of thing they teach you at seminary? :)

Jim said...

No, they don't teach us this stuff...but these are the kinds of random things I think about...so let that serve as a window into my mind...(I just noticed that I do this "..." a lot)...

MR said...

If you printed it out, then would it be tangible?

dan said...

Jim,
I use the "...'s" a lot too. And I don't think they mean what I use them for, but I still do.

This is probably not a very tangible comment though. Oh wait... I will print it out. ...There. :)

Jim said...

Even though a print out would be tangible, it is still only a representation of the website, not the website itself...like a photograph is only a representation of an object.

JAH said...

You guys are silly... ... ...