A Place of Healing: Free Download of First Hour Narration

The first one hour narration of A Place of Healing by Joni Eareckson Tada is available as a free audio download until July 31 at Christianaudio.com. The audio is part of a new book soon to be released by the author both as a print edition and an audiobook, with the full title A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God's Sovereignty.

The author met with an accident years ago that left her a quadriplegic. Today, she continues to struggle with physical pain and suffering. Despite these struggles, she has ministered to people as an advocate and an author. You can learn more about her work at www.joniandfriends.org as well as from her Facebook page.

You can also get a free copy of the interview of the author by Christianaudio.com. And finally, you can pre-order the whole audiobook if you've benefited from the first hour download for only $2.98, also from Christianaudio.com.

The Lazy Bible Reader Reading Plan

Yesterday was supposed to be the start of the 4th week, and consequently the end of the 3rd week, of the 9-week Bible reading plan that I had been trying to follow, as I discussed here. Right now, I am exactly two weeks late from the schedule!

So I guess I better stick with a commitment that I have a better chance of accomplishing, before I think of graduating to something more structured. Or I just might not need to.

So drumroll please...

To read at least a chapter a day (or a portion thereof - give me a break, some portions would require closer and slower reading ). That should take me through the New Testament in about 8 months, and the entire Bible in about 3 years.

Let's see how this turns out.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Lately I've been doing some online research on other Bible versions that I can use as an alternative to the usual KJV and NIV. The research has been interesting, sometimes disturbing, and I hope to talk about it in a future post. But for now, I would be focusing on my newest find, the Holman Christian Standard Bible or HCSB.

The HCSB has been around for quite some time, appearing as early as 1999 for its New Testament. But it's not really known to many people I suppose. I, for one, only found out about it very recently. Probably because it has not been that widely advertised or talked about, or it could be for some other reasons that I didn't really found out even during my online research. What I noticed though is the seemingly minimal amount of negative reviews, especially when it comes to the manner of translation and general content, as well as the lack of controversy surrounding the people who produced it (more about that in future posts). So, so far so good.

I don't know exactly how I did it, but I eventually ended up on this website of B&H Publishing that offers for free a complete HCSB download that also comes with a Bible reader that indexes the entire Bible book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. I decided to try using it in conjunction with the start of a 9-week Bible reading plan (see previous post). You can find the HCSB download as the last item in the Downloads section at the left side of the page.

I have to say I enjoyed it so much that I am actually using HCSB as my main Bible version now. The English is quite understandable, and the parenthetical aids are really useful and not too overwhelming. I have yet to check a local christian bookstore and hopefully get a printed one as well.

For additional discussions on the HCSB, you may check out this site that I just found out through a Google search.

Getting Back to the Bible: A 9-Week Reading Plan

I've been following a 9-week Bible reading plan, after I found out about it from a friend's Facebook post. It was actually a reading plan prepared by John Macarthur for a friend that has stopped reading the Bible for some time and needed a bit of a guidance on getting back on track. I've been reading through Psalms when I found out about this, and since the 9-week program has got a considerable number of Psalms chapters in it, I decided to give it a try as well. If you click on the pic at the left, it will take you to the article itself at the Grace To You website.

I'm supposed to be on my second week by now. The first week was all about the book of Mark, and this second week has Psalms 1 - 27 scheduled. So far, I've only managed to finish Mark and the third week will already start on Thursday!

But despite this setback, following a reading plan that is designed to be accomplished on a weekly basis appeals more to me. I guess John Macarthur was right (in my case, at least) in his observation that the rhythm of daily life will oftentimes necessitate that you get to read more of the Bible on some days as compared to others (admittedly, some days I didn't even get to read some). Also, I find that I get to retain more of what I am reading if I concentrate on a certain book of the Bible for the week, in contrast to some reading plans that takes you to a chapter or two each of the Old and New Testament, with a sprinkling of some Psalms and Proverbs. Nevertheless, some people actually enjoy and benefit from such a reading plan. Whichever way it is, so long as the Word gets read, I guess.

Hopefully I would be able to get back on track with the reading plan. I tell myself that this is a habit I need to develop, so some slips are likely along the way. But like I said, the design of a weekly reading plan allows for a smoother chance to get back on track with minimal disruption.

Try it yourself, especially if you are currently reading the Bible somewhat aimlessly.

Hooking up with Empire Avenue

Just need to put up this verification code so I can add this blog to my Empire Avenue account. If you want to know more about Empire Avenue, click the pic.

EAVB_XULTHOWSDC

The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer: A Free Audiobook Download for July 2010

For the month of July 2010, Christianaudio.com is giving away a free download of the audiobook The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. The offer is available for the whole month of July 2010 for new and existing members of the site (membership is free, by the way).

I have read The Pursuit of God several times and have been blessed by what Tozer has to say about the topic. Having this audiobook around will allow me to refresh my memory of what I have read before. An audiobook would be especially useful during those times when it is more convenient to listen to something than read it, like during long travels.

Christianaudio.com has a free audiobook download every month, and that particular audiobook is free for that month only. So you better hurry over to their site to get your copy of The Pursuit Of God before this month ends (it actually retails for $12.98 regular price).

At the beginning of each month, I will be announcing the free audiobook for the month in this blog, so you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed so you won't miss it. Likewise, you can also subscribe to Christianaudio's email alerts to get updated of new free audiobooks as well as other updates.

Lastly, do let us know what you think of The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. I hope you will enjoy it.