What is the Bible?

Did you know the Bible is always a best seller, the best seller? It is the single most published book with 150,000 copies sold EACH year! And it comes in 1200 languages. It's truth withstands the test of  ANY scientific discovery.

So...what is the Bible? What would you say to someone who really didn't know? Here are some bullet points that might be helpful:

• The Bible is the inspired and true word of God written by men. (if God could create the world, authoring a book is small potatoes.) It is God's love letter to us! God wants to be known. 
• It is one large book with  66 smaller books contained in it.
• All 66 books have a common theme running through them (Pretty amazing huh? Do you have 66 books with a common theme on your book shelves? Okay, 25? How about even ten books with a different authors?) In the 66 books of the Bible, the main character is God and the theme is God's plan of redemption for His people. His story is one great narrative of creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration. 
• Of those 66 books, there are 40 authors. The authors come from different walks of life: soldiers, kings, scholars, prisoners, and fishermen.
• There are various types of writing styles and purposes for each of the books, depending on how God used each author: Historical narrative, poetry, prophecy, and instruction are all contained in this one book.
• There are a many different published versions. The three most popular are The NIV ( New International Version, a thought for thought translation),  The New American Standard (word for word), and the Message (a paraphrased version).  
• The Bible, in its entirety, was written over a span of approximately 1500 years. The Bible is divided into two large sections: The Old Testament and The New Testament.  The word testament means promise or covenant.There are 39 OT books and 27 NT books. The Old Testament supports the New Testament and the New supports the Old. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

So..how many Bibles do you own? Maybe the better question is how many do you open? So dust off your Bible and crack it open, the God of the Universe is speaking to you.

With faith, hope, and love,

Lori Wildenberg

co-founder of 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting
author, speaker, licensed parent and family educator

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The Zappers

Theme for March: Rest. Rejuvenate. Recharge.
Verse:

"Someone touched me (Jesus); I know that power has gone out from me."

Luke 8:46

Mom's Musing:
Feeling zapped? Tweens and teens are emotional energy zappers. Remember the story of the bleeding woman who touched Jesus's cloak and he felt some power go out of him? Don't you feel like that sometimes? Hey..I can even feel like that from a look or an attitude.

Older kids can drain us. When children are little, physical exhaustion is the issue. Now the issues are the cause of emotional exhaustion. They must be dealt with in a timely fashion or they gnaw away at your energy supply. Also, self-care is very important as kids move through this phase. Rest, exercise, friendships, prayer, and God's Word help ease the burden of being a parent of a young adult. There have been mornings where I didn't want to face the day. I was looking at the storm instead at the one who can calm the sea. Burnout is certain if the child is the focus. As the teen spreads his wings, spread yours.

Parenting Tip: Don't stuff the problems, deal with them as they arise. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. Seek support if you feel overwhelmed. Keep your focus on God to maintain perspective.  Give your burdens to him. Pray.