Book Review; "The Voice New Testament" Bible

The Voice New Testament Bible, is a one of a kind.  As I read it I knew that many long hours of work, preparation and prayer was put into this Bible.  The Voice takes the reader into the actual story of the New Testament and reads as if it is a story.  The authors and collaborates used both thought for thought and word for word in its translation creating this unique Bible. The Bible itself offers a four different daily reading plan options as well as a very thorough explanation of the process and uniqueness of the this particular translation.

I had a very hard time reading and getting into this Bible.  For a while I used it in lieu of my regular study Bible and after a couple of days I just quit.  I really like the concept of the Bible, however, I would never recommend it to any of the students or adults I work with. I understand that the Bible is in fact a story, but it is also said that it is "sharper than any two edged sword" meant to bring correction, instruction, clarification, wisdom...and so on.  So I personally feel that we should be handing people the one tool as close to the way it was written.  If people just continue to read it as a "story" and not the Word of God I believe we can get even further from the truth of the Bible.  I appreciated that "trendy language" was avoided, however, I felt like this translation itself was "trendy". 

I have not actually seen the hard copy of the book as I was emailed an e-book.  The look was nice and fonts were very easy to read.  All in all, I would definitely not recommend this Bible to new believers or youth. 


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> :

Book Review: " The Little Red Book of Wisdom" by Mark DeMoss

 

I will say this was one of the best books I have read in a while.  Wisdom is the one area in my life I desire to continue to grow in—don’t we all.  I enjoyed how he broke down the book into two practical areas professional and personal wisdom.  At first I considered skimming the chapters on “Wisdom for your Professional  Life”  but I was captivated within the first few pages.  Each chapter caused me to think and evaluate myself personally. 

 I ended each chapter feeling challenged to have a paradigm shift.  There were seriously so many ah ha moments. In fact, Mark’s commitment to who he is, who God created him to be, his businesses purpose, and Marks convictions were so compelling.  They weren’t compelling because I wished I was as successful as him, but rather to always be moved with compelling conviction that would run my life. 

“I’ve learned that great leaders are first of all great servants—and that the greatest service is modest, understated, in speech and action.  Understatement is self-restraint, and self-restraint is hardly a sign of weakness.  On the contrary, wisely used, few things carry more power.”  Come, on WOW!! The book is filled with wisdom and one liners that make you go “Ouch. Okay suck it up and figure it out” This book could have spoke volumes to me simply because I am at a place in which I need to be pruned and shaped. Let’s put it this way, I lack wisdom…so I am daily searching and seeking it out. 

One of the biggest stand outs in this book is Mark’s call unto Jesus. He never shy’s away from how having a relationship with Jesus has been the tipping factor in most of his life and life decisions.  But he spends his very last chapter of his book extending and inviting those who aren’t in relationship with Jesus to come into one. He does, in my opinion, a phenomenal job of not only making a case for Jesus, but pursing a growing relationship.  Mark truly understands the implications of being in a relationship with Jesus on life verses not having a relationship.   His personal life experience has been anything but easy, but his foundation is set upon a rock.  In the end, I would of course recommend this book to ALL. Period! If you don’t think you need wisdom I think you definitely need this book. 

I will leave you with his last thoughts which ironically weren’t his, “I close with words of author Max Lucado: “You can afford many wrong choices in life.  You can choose the wrong career and survive, the wrong city and survive, the wrong house and survive.  But there is one choice that must be made correctly, and that is your eternal destiny.” 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The cost of parenthood

Last night I had the pleasure of tossing and turning with my Samantha for about 3 hours in the middle of the night.  She is one of those children who are up when they are up no matter what time of the day it is.  She rises early with words instantly on her lips.  Samantha is the kind of girl who throws up at 2 AM and once done begins discussing what she will be doing later that day.  Needless to say, when she is up, she is up.

So at 3 o’clock this morning I begin to think of the cost of being a parent.  Here is my simple list I came up with. 

1)      It has cost me my sleep.  I believe that I have been sleep deprived for the last six years…wait lets go with seven and a half. Losing sleep began way before Micah was actually born. He began disrupting my sleep within five months of being conceived. 

2)      It has cost me money. Seriously I don’t know where it really comes from.  The average cost to raise a child from birth to the age of 18 is $301,000 per child. (I have the pleasure of multiplying that by three.) Other factors to consider…college cost vs them living with us beyond their 18^th year.  Either way there is a huge financial investment being made.

3)      It has cost me my body.  Since I am not a model whose body is contractually obligated to stay a certain size, weight, or appearance I look different than I did nine years ago. Now to all the naysayers who say “well Suzie, you know you can do something about that” I must remind you finding time and making this a priority, is not a huge priority when you are sleep deprived. 

4)      It has cost me my personal space. Ha, privacy…a word that is not in the vocabulary of my children.  Seems to be a tough one to learn and doesn’t compute with a  two year old.  If you don’t mind me being honest. It is rare I have a moment in the bathroom alone for longer than 2 minutes without someone all of a sudden needing me. And as well as my husband tries to intercept any one of the three children seems like someone always slips through the cracks.  Let’s not forget that our bed is now always open for business for any child who is sick, has a bad dream, or simply gets up to go pee and is too sleepy to make it back to their room. 

5)      It has cost me relationships.  I have plenty of friends who do not have children. When you don’t have children you really never fully understand what life with children is like.  Friends are generally sympathetic, but there is a level of patience that wears out on other people’s end.   I avoid having people over for dinner simply because I see that level of intolerance that occurs when my children are unruly, out of control, or simply so excited to have people over that they about pee themselves.  People without kids are quicker to judge and tell you how your child should be acting or how you should be raising them.  A unique aspect of my life is that my kids are pastor’s kids (PK is the correct term I think) they are constantly in the shadows of the church. Being watched, corrected, followed, thought of, loved on, shun upon and the list can go as to what life as a PK is like.  So their home is where they can grow and be trained.  I have opted to wait until I have trained them a little better before having too many people in the house; it keeps it a safe place for them. Please understand I have people I have chosen to speak into my children and pour into them.  But I have handpicked them. My children are my priority and if I get this wrong our problems will be greater than the excitement and unruliness others perceive. 

6)      It has cost me my life.  The moment we said yes to children was the moment I surrendered what could have been had we never had children.  I said yes to something I honestly didn’t have a clue to. I said yes to surrender my time, my fun, my needs, and a choice to live how I pleased. It will in the end cost me all of who I am.  While becoming a parent isn’t a death sentence it very much more than just playing house with a really hot guy!

You may be reading this and feel like I am confirming every reason as to why you will never become a parent.  You may be reading this lamenting over the very things you have lost.  Either way there is a list that is actually priceless….no cost could ever be put on it. In fact people pay thousands of dollars in hopes of creating a list of priceless moments with their own children. 

In the most cliché voice you could imagine, I have the following to say, “I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.”  I wouldn’t go back in time to give me and Jay more time together, I wouldn’t have waited until we were more prepared, and in a heartbeat I would say “yes”  to another child.  My reasons will only be priceless to me, because you could never love my children as much as I do.  You can really never see their full potential as I could see it, you will never be so far in with my kids that you would move heaven and earth if possible for them. 

The most miraculous thing about children is you never know. You never know what will come out of their mouth next, you never know when they will finally get it, and you will never know when they will choose to love each other and others.  You will never know what kind of people they will become until they become it, you will never know how much a tender touch from a child can change your day, you will never know the moment they will hear God speak to them directly, you will never know if they will be the next best football player, doctor, or plumber.  You will never know how priceless having children really is until you they arrive.  

  

Up until then it really is all a cost. 

“Mom, I know my penis better than you do” - Micah (age 6)

Um, wow. Let’s start by saying I was speechless and had no clue how to respond.  In fact, I had to laugh and say “yes you do Micah, yes you do.”  Within one moment I realized that Micah and I had entered a new season.  He was too old for me to be monitoring his bath time, yet alone washing his hair.  Yes, at six I was still monitoring his bath time, while he washed all his private parts.  In regard to raising two young boys, I have realized I have no clue as to what I am doing or how I should be responding.  While there is something very intrinsic regarding motherhood, it is all so very foreign. 

It was in that moment that I realized how I needed to let go, and allow my son to do the things that he has been trained to do.  I am by no means suggesting I am no longer to engage in parenting, but as I continue to teach my children, the more they will be able to function on their own.  We live in a society filled with parents who are pressured to “over parent.”  I believe that we do this because of fear. You see when I am honest with myself, I choose to monitor his bath time out of fear he won’t wash himself well enough and I will be the one with the smelly boy.  Even further, I fear that Jay maybe won’t care enough to make sure he is clean, leaving me with a smelly boy.  I see parents, including myself fear our children will be last in the class, undereducated, not liked by others or even worse “that” child.   

I recently read a bumper sticker quote that said “fear makes people do stupid things” So true.  I can look at my life and see the moments I have reacted out of fear.  Being a parent is one of those areas where it is hard not to let fear rule or dictate what you do.  Fear that someone(often our husbands)will betray us in some way so we never let go and love them freely, fear people will not like us for who we really our  so we create this facade hoping we will never  be found out.  We hold back all that we have for fear of losing it all, missing out of what it is like to give with freedom and joy.  Or simply fear to pursue God. 

It is a battle. We are trained and conditioned to become better people based on our strength, we can actually do something that will eventually lead us to find our inner peace, if you don’t control ever move of your child, have them in every possible extracurricular activity, they will always be in the “B” group (code for your child isn’t good enough, but why be honest when we can just put them on the B team and make every feel okay about themselves).  I can go on and on as to how we live life based out of fear, but this isn’t the life God has called us to or created us for. 

God has called us to live life through love which is the complete opposite of fear.  He sent His Son Jesus out of love. He conquered death out of love. Paul says in the Bible, “Love never fails”— But the reason love never fails is honestly because God never fails.  He is love!  In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul breaks down what love looks like.  Yes, love has a look, just as fear, pride and anxiety have looks.  

Here is the reality. My children will never excel at much if I parent out of fear and not love. My husband and I will never get to the next level if I operate out of fear (and mostly pride) and not love.  I will never fully accept myself if I don’t recognize the love of my Heavenly Father towards me and how much of a game changer that can be.  

 

Today, as we approach this new week I challenge you to see what areas of your life you live out of fear.  Why you fear what you do? How can you love differently this week? How can you love your children and not parent out of fear?  It is a hefty task, but I know as you begin to pursue God and His love, His love can cover all inadequacies.