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Living in our rental house is not the only change we’ve been making in Roy’s life – we’ve been teaching him Christianity 101.

He’s been going to church with first his mom (Kevin’s grandmother) and then with Kevin’s parents all his life. And I’m not knocking church – it’s great if you’re getting something out of it. And by that I mean, you’re studying God’s word and learning how, and why, God wants you to live a certain way. It’s a great place to fellowship with other Christians and to make life-long friends. God wants us to fellowship with other Christians.

However. If you dread Church, or you’re not getting anything out of the lectures pastors give, then perhaps it’s time to step back and re-evaluate why you’re going or why you’re not receiving God’s wonderful messages.

That’s where we are with Roy. Roy’s churches have continued to use the King’s James version of the bible. And there’s nothing wrong with the King’s James version, it’s just an antiquated language that is not used anymore. It’s hard for people to understand because we don’t use that language anymore. And because people don’t understand the language (or the culture in which the Bible was written), then people just assume that the Bible is not meant for us to understand.

AND THAT’S BULL HOCKEY.

God WANTS us to know how to read the Bible. He wants us to live our lives by rules laid out in the Bible. He gives us examples of how to live our lives and what can happen if we choose NOT to live by his rules. If we don’t live our lives by His rules, then he is unable to protect us against Satan’s tricks. And of course, it’s Satan’s goals to trick people into thinking they are incapable of understanding the Bible because then he will swoop in and create havoc in our lives.

So. Roy has made the decision of NOT going to church for a while and sitting with us when we have Bible study at our house every Sunday evening after dinner. We watch a few videos from the Truth or Tradition YouTube channel and then we all take turns reading out of the New International Version of the Bible. He made the decision to not go to church because he never felt like he understood anything that was taught. Too many churches focus on the hell and damnation of the Bible and though that is part of God’s word, it’s a VERY SMALL part of God’s word. Or worse, pastors will pick and choose verses out of the Bible, taking them completely out of context, and use them to their own advantage. The first time I realized that was happening was the last time I set foot in a church. I have NO INTENTIONS of going back to church – ever.

God is about love and teaching us humility, compassion, forgiveness and HOW TO LOVE OTHERS. How is anyone expected to be inspired or moved into helping others when all they are fed every Sunday is scary crap about Satan and being fried alive in hell?

Think about it.

Anyway. After watching a video, I asked Kevin to bring up one of their older videos (we have it set up where we watch YouTube on our TV and Kevin controls it with his phone – TECHNOLOGY RULES!) where they talk about HOW to read and understand the bible. Kevin brought up this video:

We’ve been watching Truth or Tradition videos for as long as they’ve been making them and somehow, we missed this one. What a COOL summary of the Bible!!

And we started talking about buying Roy a Bible that he can understand – more like a children’s bible. I wouldn’t mind having a children’s bible to read the basic stories myself. I’m not even sure I know all of the basic stories, to be perfectly honest.

I think all of us, deep down, are searching for something in our lives. Whether that’s the meaning of life, how to make our marriages successful, how to raise a God-fearing child (and God-fearing is actually, more accurately translated, into RESPECTING GOD), how to seek forgiveness or how to cultivate patience … learning God’s word, living a Godly life, tends to satisfy that hunger and produce peace.

Don’t believe me? Try it. What have you got to lose?

*Oh, by the way – I just found out they have an iPhone/Android app. Which I downloaded and am looking forward to using on-the-go.

Filed under: Abundant Life

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I am on a mission. A mission to review everything I read this year. Well... all of the YA and MG that I read. (I'm sorry Sandra Boynton, Moo Baa La La La will not be seen here, even though we just read it 11 times this week.) But I've run into a little snag. And that snag is a sudden pile-up of books that I just don't especially care for. I hate writing negative reviews, but I also don't want to stop my review streak, so these are just going to be minis!

The Storm in the Barn
by Matt Phelan
I picked this one up because a) I'm trying to read more graphic novels and b) Matt Phelan was judging the first battle of the BoB and so I just felt like giving one of his books a go. Set in Kansas during the Dust Bowl, a young boy is feeling somewhat useless in the midst of his family's troubles. But then he discovers the storm in the barn, and a storm is just what his dust-filled world needs. I know that this is a graphic novel, so it's told in large part through pictures. But... I needed more words. It felt overly simplistic to me. And the personified storm was so creepy looking - that fantasy element felt out of place in the very realistic world of the Dust Bowl.

Glory Be
by Augusta Scattergood
I had heard good things about Glory Be, and planned to feature it in an upcoming MG guest post. But as I read this story about a little girl whose summer is turned upside-down over an influx of white "Freedom Workers" and the town council's efforts to fight integration, I was struck by the total lack of African American characters (with the one exception of Glory's maid). Glory was a tough little cookie, but her story would have had so much more oomph if she actually knew and interacted with some of the people who she was trying to stand up for. And maybe that's just what was realistic for a girl like Glory at that time, but it seemed like African Americans should have a voice in a story about racism and segregation. Emma (Glory's maid) was a good character, but we still very rarely got to hear her inner voice. It bugged me. The story felt incomplete.

The Way a Door Closes
by Hope Anita Smith
I'm on a NIV kick right now, and had heard fantastic things about this one. It is the story of a boy whose father loses his job and walks out on his family. Even though I knew that was coming, it was pretty shocking because the father seemed so close to his wife, children, and mother who lives with them. At one point the grandmother

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