THE VOICE

We recently got yet another translation of the New Testament. This one is called The Voice and is written in story form. I found it easy to read and I decided I would share just a little of it on my blog. Since last Sunday was Easter, the resurrection is still on many people's minds. As it should be - not only on Easter, but every Sunday and actually not even just on Sundays.

We pick up after Jesus had appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection.  Luke 24:33.

33So they get up immediately and rush back to Jerusalem―all seven miles―where they find the eleven gathered together―the eleven plus a number of others. 34Before Cleopas and his companion can tell their story, the others have their own story to tell.

Other Disciple: The Lord has risen indeed! It's true! He appeared to Simon!

35 Then the two men report their own experience―their conversations along the road, their moment of realization and recognition as He broke the bread. 26At that very instant, as they're still telling the story, Jesus is there, standing among them!

Jesus: May you have peace!

     You might expect them to be overjoyed, but they aren't.

37They're startled and terrified, they think they're seeing a ghost.

Jesus: 38Why are you upset? Why are your hearts churning with questions? 39Look―look at My hands and My feet. See that it's me. Come on; touch me; see for yourselves. A ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can see that I have!

[40Then He shows them His hands and His feet.]

41Now their fear gives way to joy; but it seems too good to be true, and they're still unsure.

Jesus: Do you have anything here to eat?

42They hand Him a piece of broiled fish, 43and He takes it and eats it in front of them.

Jesus: 44I've been telling you this all along, that everything written about Me in the Hebrew scriptures must be fulfilled―everything from the law of Moses to the prophets to the psalms.

45Then He opens their minds so they can comprehend meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Jesus: 46This is what the Scriptures said: that the promised Anointed One should suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47that in His name a radical change of thought and life should be preached, and that in His name forgiveness of sins should be preached, beginning in Jerusalem and extending to all nations. 48You have witnessed the fulfillment of these things. 49So I am sending my Father's promise to you. Stay in the city until you receive it―until power from heaven comes upon you.

50Then He leads them out to Bethany. He lifts up His hands and blesses them, 51and at that moment, with His hands raised in blessing, He leaves them and is carried up into heaven. 52They worship Him, then they return to Jerusalem, filled with intense joy, 53and they return again and again to the temple to celebrate God.

~  ~  ~ 

I like the way this new translation of the New Testament reads almost like the script for a play. It is inexpensive too. The paperback edition which we have is only $6.99. 

Thank you for letting me share this with you. You will find links to lots of inspiring posts by clicking HERE. That's the Spiritual Sundays blog, of course.

BOOK REVIEW

When you read a book that makes you cry one minute and a few pages later you're laughing hilariously you know that book is a winner. We were at a Border's book store that was going out of business and some books had been marked down 60%. I really had no intentions of buying a book. I had just gone there with hubby because he is the "real" book lover in the family. But when I saw Susan's book marked down to $11.00, I couldn't resist it. I fell in love with her along with the rest of the western world when we all discovered what a wonderful voice she has.

Susan tells the story of her interesting life beginning when she was born in a little village in Scotland through all her experiences to become the woman she was born to be. If I had paid full price for the book it would have been well worth it.

My hubby reviews books all the time for different publishers. He has many many books on his sidebar. You can click on any one of them to go to his review of that book. You can click HERE to visit his blog.

 Now I think I'll open up iTunes and listen to some of Susan's music.

BOOK REVIEW - GIVEAWAY

In my last post on this blog I told you I had started reading Joyce Meyer's new book called eat the cookie ... buy the shoes. (I didn't capitalize the title because as you can see it is not capitalized on the book cover.)

Joyce Meyer, a #1 New York Times best selling author, has written over 80 inspirational books and two novels plus thousands of audio and video teachings. I have heard her teach on TV but have not had the privilege of hearing her in person. I did not realize she had written so many books, but when I learned that this book was available for review, and being a cookie and shoe person myself, I jumped at the chance. I also liked the shoe connection because my daughter had seen her in a shoe store a few years ago looking for a pair of brown shoes. I mentioned it in my last post.

After finishing this delightful book, I was tempted to eat a cookie to reward myself, but alas, there were no cookies in the house. Perhaps I should go out and buy a pair of shoes. No, what I need to do right now is finish writing this review.

Joyce wants to help readers of her book to experience joy and celebration. She says it took her many years to learn this important concept. She calls it giving your soul a vacation. She states that the entire premise of "eat the cookie ... buy the shoes" is designed to let your soul rest. It is not wrong to let go of life's demands and circumstances for a while and do something you enjoy. She also emphasizes the need to not try to fix all the problems in life by yourself, but to turn them over to God who can do a much better job of it than you can anyway. She also points out that time after time God ordered his people to celebrate. She also states that fun and enjoyment are needed in our lives, and we can't be healthy without them. She says that for too many years she was addicted to guilt and the only time in life she felt right was when she was wrong. I think there are a lot of people who can relate to that. She says we need to lighten up, give our souls a rest and in the long run we will get more accomplished. She gives little nuggets of advice all through the book. Here's one I like. "See how many days you can go without getting into a bad mood or finding something in your life to complain about."

You may be fortunate enough to win a copy of this book. If not, I think it would be a good investment to obtain a copy from a bookstore or from Amazon.

The generous folks at Hachette Book Group are allowing me to host this book giveaway for five (5) copies!

• Winners are restricted to the US and Canada. No PO Box mailing address please. You do not have to be a blogger to win.

• I must have a way of contacting you, so be sure to leave your email address in your comment.

• Some choose to omit the @ sign and the . dot by writing it in "code" like this: you (at) your email (dot)com.

• I'll close the comments May 27 and pick the five winners. I will contact the winners via email to get their mailing information. The winners will have three days to respond. If I do not hear from them within three days, I will select another winner(s).

BOOK REVIEWS

"What?" you say. Charlotte is getting into book reviewing and book giveaways? As many of you know my hubby has been doing this for some time and he has encouraged me to start. He started blogging way before I did and couldn't understand why I didn't want to blog too because he was enjoying it so much. I really wasn't interested until I visited a few women's blogs and then I got interested. This time I decided to take his advice and give it a try. 

So, my first book to review arrived by UPS late yesterday. I have only had a chance to thumb through it and read a few pages. I have to tell you I am very impressed with the book and am eager to get more into it. 

How Not To Look Old - that was something I didn't need to be worried about for a long time, but now when I look in the mirror, I think, "When did it happen?" When we were first married people who came to our front door would ask me if my mother was home. This made me furious. I was well into my 20s.  Anyway, it has been a long time since anybody has asked me that question. LOL

Now, I want you to be aware that in the next few days I will be posting a review on my Charlotte's Weblog blog with instructions on how to win one. 

Windows of the Soul

Nannykim left a comment on last Sunday’s blog where I talked about this wonderful book that I had discovered. It has been around for over a decade, but I just started reading it.

Nannykim’s comment was: “Well, what’s it about.”
It’s a book that is hard to describe what it’s about so I looked it up online. I got this picture there and the following description..

Are you straining to hear the still, small voice of God through the noise of your life? In this insightful book, Gire reminds us that God whispers to us through the ordinary experiences of our lives---music, laughter, the beauty of creation, even tears---to get our attention and to nourish our souls. 208 pages, hardcover from Zondervan.

This is a much better description of the book than I could give. I'm still reading it. There are a lot of inspirational stories in there.