At the start of the new year, my hubby and I decided that – each night – we’d set aside some time to read the Bible together. Days 1 and 2 we did great. We missed day 3, and got back to it day 4. Day 5 and 6 were a miss…and we’ve been on and off since then. We really enjoy the time together reading and discussing, but haven’t been able to make it part of our routine. I knew I really wanted to read to better understand the “stories” inside, the timeline for how things happened (we were reading in chronological order), and see how it all fit together.
Enter: The Story! This wonderful book is written as a seamless tale based on the Bible. It starts at creation and follows every “story” in the bible, using actual Biblical Text (NIV) for a majority of the book and “summaries” where needed to keep the “story” moving along.
I absolutely loved it! It has the drama, romance, murder, action, and change that traditional books have – yet this one is all in God’s (modernized) word. I couldn’t put it down, and simply loved how the authors carried the storyline from start to finish. It’s definitely abridged, but for those like me – who may not have read cover-to-cover before – it was simply perfect. The best way to describe this is a very detailed and thoroughly Cliff Notes…it’s definitely shorter (by far!) than the Bible itself, but it has a similar impact. You’ll gain insight into the STORY in such a different way than you normally would.
While this doesn’t take the place of actually reading our own Bible together (in fact, nothing can replace that), this was a great way to get a full picture. It’s actually made the readings we’ve done since then that much meaningful as we already know the storyline…whether it be the story of Noah, Joshua, Ruth, or the many more amazing examples God has provided us with.
Have you read the book? I’d love to know what you thought of it!
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Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
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NOTE: This post also appears on Catholic Bloggers Network.
Hi Jen, I have not read the book but now I want too! I do think it helps to have it in a more readable format. The morals, values and traditions are the same but it makes it clearer, I would think. Kind of like when our priest does his homily. It makes it more understandable and relatable. Lots of "Aha" moments.
Are you a reviewer for the Catholic Company?
Noreen, I had so many "aha" moments when reading this – you said it perfectly! For me, the best take-away was the fact that it truly read like a story. I always had an issue wondering, "did xxxx happen before xxxx?" Reading this in such a condensed, chronological order, was such an aid. This book is so much more than a "Cliff Notes", but (for me) had the same impact.
No, I don't review for The Catholic Company – in fact, I haven't heard of them. Tell me more 🙂
Then it's a book I would like to read. I too, would appreciate it for it's sequencing of events, so to speak!
I believe the Catholic Company is looking for more bloggers to review their books. They will send you free books to read and then post your honest review. No monetary compensation is given. Here is the link for the Catholic one:
http://www.catholiccompany.com/content/Catholic-Product-Reviewer-Program.cfm
Then there are other ones too, non-Catholic if you are interested. I like to read and get free books, so I review for a couple of them.
Thank you for the tip!!! I just registered. Owe you one 🙂