How to use this Page

5 stars Bible Detective: A Puzzle Search Book Peter Martin Lion Children's Books 48 Pages   Ages: 4+ .............. ……………………. Are  you a super sleuth? Have you got an eagle eye?  Back Cover:  This book is a treasure trove of fabulously detailed pictures from the world of the Bible. You’ll have hours of fun trying to [...]

Hickem, Catherine. (2012). Heaven in Her Arms: Why God Chose Mary to Raise His Son and What It Means for You. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-1-4002-0036-8.

What do we know of Mary?

 What we know of Mary’s family is that she is of the house of David; it is from her lineage Jesus fulfilled the prophecy. Given the archeological ruins of the various places thought to have been living quarters for their family, it is likely the home was a room out from which sleeping quarters (cells) branched. As Mary and her mother Anne would be busy maintaining the household, with young Mary working at her mother’s command, it is likely Anne would be nearby or in the same room during the Annunciation. Thus Mary would not have had a scandalous secret to later share with her parents but, rather, a miraculous supernatural experience, the salvific meaning of which her Holy parents would understand and possibly even witnessed.

 Mary and Joseph were betrothed, not engaged. They were already married, likely in the form of a marriage contract, but the marriage had not yet been “consummated”. This is why he was going to divorce her when he learned of the pregnancy. If it were a mere engagement, he would have broken it off without too much scandal.

 Married but not yet joined with her husband, her mother would prepare her by teaching her all that she needed to know. This is further reason to assume that Mary would be working diligently under her mother’s eye when the Annunciation took place.

 We know that her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy was kept in secret for five months, and not made known until the sixth month when the Angel Gabriel proclaimed it to Mary. We know Mary then rushed to be at her elderly cousin’s side for three months (the remaining duration of Elizabeth’s pregnancy), and that this rushing appeared to be in response to Elizabeth’s pregnancy (to congratulate her), not an attempt to hide Mary’s pregnancy. Note how all of this is connected to Elizabeth’s pregnancy rather than Mary’s circumstances. As Mary was married to Joseph, he likely would have been informed of the trip. Had the intent been to hide Mary, she would have remained with Elizabeth until Jesus was born, not returned to her family after the first trimester, which is just about the time that her pregnancy was visible and obvious.

 So we these misconceptions clarified, we can put Mary’s example within an even deeper context and more fully relate to her experience. We can imagine living in a faith-filled family who raises their child in strict accordance of God’s word. The extended family members may not understand, and certainly their community will not, so Mary, Anne and Joachim, and Joseph face extreme scandal as well as possible action from Jewish authorities. But they faced this together steep in conversation with God, providing a model for today’s family.

 Although sometimes scriptural interpretations are flavored with modern-day eye, overall this book will be more than just a quick read for a young mother (or new bride, or teen aspiring to overcome the challenges of American culture, or single parent losing her mind). It is a heartwarming reflection with many examples that open up conversation with God. As an experienced psychotherapist, the author’s examples are spot on and easy to relate to. We do not need to have had the same experiences to empathize, reflect, and pursue meaning; we see it around us in everyday life. As such, a reflective look upon these examples can help one overcome an impasse in their own relationship with God and also open the reader up to self-knowledge as Hi

James, Bethan & Yorgos Sgouros. 2008. My Toddler Bible. Published by Tyndale.

This is a Bible story collection board-book featuring sixteen stories from both the Old and New Testaments. What stories do we have? Creation (But no Adam and Eve), Noah's Ark (Noah gets two of the sixteen actually), Joseph (coat, no slavery), Moses (as a babe with great promise), David (just David and Goliath, no being King), Jonah (but without the temper tantrum at the end), Daniel (lion's den), the rest of the stories are devoted to Jesus--from birth through resurrection. The stories are presented simply and matter-of-factly. Here's an example of Moses:

This is baby Moses.
His mother hid him from the mean king in Egypt. God made sure he was kept safe. When the princess found Moses, she looked after him.
God had a job for Moses.
When he was grown up, he led God's people out of slavery in Egypt to a land where could love and worship God.

Currie, Robin. 2004. Baby Bible: Stories About Jesus. Illustrated by Cindy Brownsberger Adams. FaithKidz.

and

Currie, Robin. 2008. Baby Bible: Stories About Jesus. Illustrated by Constanza Basaluzzo.

This board book story-bible is great for young readers--babies, toddlers, preschoolers. The book presents a nice variety of stories centered on Jesus--from his birth to his ascension.

Each story is two pages. One of text. One of illustration. The text consists of title, scripture reference, narrative (with interaction prompts), and a concluding prayer.

For example,

Jesus At the Temple
Taken from Luke 2:41-50

Jesus and His family went on a long trip to the temple in Jerusalem. They walked and walked.

Lloyd-Jones, Sally. 2008. Old MacNoah Had An Ark. Illustrated by Jill Newton. Harper Blessings.

Old MacNoah Had An Ark is an interesting twist on the classic song, Old MacDonald Had A Farm. It is always intriguing--to me--to see how various artists--both authors and illustrators--choose to tackle the Bible Story of Noah and the Flood. This is an important story in the Bible--a foundational one. But it is often--if not always--cutesified for children, sometimes in verse. And there's nothing wrong with that particularly--focusing on the "oh, look, here are all the animals. See how cute they are!" rather than the doom and gloom of destruction. I liked the premise of this one. It begins simply (and predictably) with

Old MacNoah built an ark, Ee-i-ee-i-o.
And for that ark he got some wood, Ee-i-ee-i-o.
With a bang! bang! here
And a bang! bang! there,
Here a bang! There a bang!
Everywhere a bang! bang!

Old MacNoah built an ark, Ee-i-ee-i-o.

Readers meet a few of the traditional MacDonald characters: cows, ducks, pigs. Then the rain starts and Noah and the animals are ready for the adventure. Lest you think that those three animals are all that made it aboard, the illustrations show other animals as well throughout the books.

Some of the verses include the Splish Splash of the rain, the Burp! Slurp! of the eating, the Poo Poo of the you know what. (Yes, it goes "with a poo poo here, and a poo poo there...here a poo...there a poo...everywhere a poo poo.) I didn't care for all the verses of the book. But most of them were fine with me. (I didn't care for the Oopsie-Daisy and Yahoo verses.)

One small thing irked me about this one. It's all well and good for Noah to become MacNoah. And the song itself wouldn't have needed to include mentioning Noah's family--his wife, his three sons, his three daughters-in-law--but the illustrations could have shown that Noah wasn't all on his ownsie. I mean, maybe a three year old or a six year old wouldn't have wondered about how Noah all on his own could have repopulated the earth...but one man can't "go forth and multiply the earth." And for Noah's redemption to have meant anything--anything other than a delay of the inevitable, his own death--he'd have needed other humans with him--men and women.

As I said, I don't think this one little thing would keep me from recommending this one. And it doesn't make it a bad retelling by any means. It just isn't quite as complete as it perhaps should be.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

It had me at hello from the very first story or chapter--appropriately titled The Story and The Song--in which readers get introduced to God, to the Bible, to the Gospel.

The Bible is most of all a Story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne -- everything -- to rescue the one he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is -- it's true. There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle -- the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

And this is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend. This is the Child who would one day -- but wait. Our story starts where all good stories start. Right at the very beginning...

I honestly didn't know what to expect from this one. I've seen other Bible story books. I've read other Bible story books. Some I remember from my childhood. Others I've come across as an adult. So what makes this one special? I think what makes this one work--really work--is how Sally Lloyd-Jones has every story whisper His name. Her ability to connect each story with the Big Story, keeps everything in perspective, keeps everything connected and relevant. It also helps that she's a good storyteller! She has a definite way with words! She keeps the stories on a child's level, but yet, the stories are beautifully and compellingly told.

So Moses went to Pharaoh.

"Pharaoh," Moses began, "God says -- "

"God?" said Pharaoh. "Never heard of him."

Moses kept g

0 Comments on The Jesus Storybook Bible as of 1/1/1900

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag