Skip to main content

My Favorite Book?

A few years ago, a teacher I was working with challenged her students to think of their favorite book and come up with three reasons why they liked it. For her example, she used the Bible, and that got me to thinking, is the Bible my favorite book? I know when I'm asked what my favorite book is, I normally respond by saying a novel I enjoy, but could it actually be that the Bible is my favorite book? What would that entail?

  • Reading it through more than once: I have read it through a total of six times, two of which were in traditional order, three of which were in chronological order; and one of which was via a year long devotional program with daily readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. I have also read the New Testament twice as part of a Lenten challenge, once in the order they are believed to have been written and once in traditional order. 
  • Having favorite parts: I have many. My favorite book of the Bible is Esther, my favorite parable is the Prodigal Son, and my favorite Old Testament story is when Solomon used his wisdom to solve the dispute between the two women with the baby.
  • Quoting lines from it: There are many verses I have memorized, and I do quote them in conversations. I actually find more relevant quotes from the Bible than any other books I have read, so I quote it more often than any other book.
  • Liking the book more than the movie(s): This is true with every book I have ever read that had a movie based off of it that I have watched. With most books, the movie can not match the depth of the story contained in the book. This is especially true of the Bible because so many of the movies cut out things that many Christians would like to see included. Even the best Bible-based movies cannot compare to the greatness that is the Word of God.
  • Studying it: The Bible is really the only book I have studied by my own choosing. I have studied other books, but they were all assignments for classes.
  • Reading it daily: This is the only book I can say this about. In fact, this is likely the only book anyone can say this about. I have done nightly devotions since I was in 7th grade, and except for rare occasions, have read at least a few verses every night since them. As much of a fan as I am of The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, I would probably tire of them if I started reading something out of them every night for 14 years.
So is the Bible my favorite book? All of these things considered I would have to say yes. What about you? Is the Bible actually your favorite book? If the answer is yes, than don't be afraid to tell people that. I'll be starting to use this as my response to the question, "What is your favorite book?" Will you join me?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Outside Looking In

(My post Life>Death  chronicles my struggle with suicidal depression. This story is based on the vision God used to save my life.) It all started after the knife sliced through my wrist. As I watched my life drain away, I felt a sense of peace. I knew my pain was finally over. Soft arms lifted me up and carried me off to Heaven. There I watched as my parents found my body. They started to cry, which I had expected. What I hadn't expected was what they were saying. "What did we do wrong?" they cried out. "Nothing!" I screamed. "You did nothing wrong!" But they couldn't hear me. What had I done? As my friends and other family members found out about my death, they said the same thing, and I continued screaming that it wasn't their fault. Their reactions caused me to be in agony, which struck me as strange. If indeed I was in Heaven, wasn't I supposed to be pain free? That is what I had always been taught. Then came my funeral. It...

My Fun October

This last month has been a blast, and I wanted to share the highlights with you, my loyal readers. So here, in chronological order, are the events that made my October a great one. Kansas Authors' Club Convention:  This took place the first weekend of the month right here in my hometown. Even though I have been a member for a few years, this was the first convention I had been to, mainly because I didn't want to pay for the convention and a hotel room. I am so glad I went, and I enjoyed it so much that I'll probably keep going every year even if it involves travel and a hotel. I learned so much from the sessions I went to about honing my craft that I came home eager to write more often. I also met some awesome fellow writers including the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Kansas. He was very fun to talk to and loves to eat bread, a fact I later wrote a poem about. One of the sessions I participated in was a poetry and music event. Each poet read their piece once, then two jaz...

Casting the First Stone

 "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." ~ John 8:7 As many of you probably know, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl last Sunday. Many of you probably also know that at one point in the game, tight end Travis Kelce was seen shoving and yelling at coach Andy Reid. Many people, Christians included, have said that he should have been benched and fined for that incident, with some even going so far as to say he should be kicked off the team. There was a mass shooting at Wednesday's victory parade. However, Thursday morning, the DJs at the Christian radio station I listened to were more focused on Kelce's comment that he would leave the team if Coach Reid retired, and speculating that he just said that to cover himself after the televised outburst. They didn't even mention the shooting at all. What all of these comments have in common is that they are judging someone harshly for nine seconds of irrationality. Who among us ...