Bible Reading #29 and more...

Sunday, July 12, 2026

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

   

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17. We Are Home When We Are Together: Trusting God Through Life's Changes. Jean Stoffer and Grace Start. Illustrated by Megan Lindsey. 2026. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, Christian picture book, moving]

First sentence: "An exciting change is coming," says Mom,

"a change bigger than the weather.

And just in case you don't remember,

we are home when we're together.

"Families move from time to time

from one place to another.

They pack their things, head on their way,

and PLANT NEW ROOTS together.

"God is calling our family

to move to a different home.

"We chart our course.

We plan our steps,

but HE makes them His own."

If this wasn't a Christian book written by I'm assuming Christian authors and published by a Christian publishing house, then I probably wouldn't be as generous in giving it three stars. 

Not every picture book needs to rhyme. Join me in saying it again, not every picture book needs to rhyme. If you don't understand even a smidgen about rhythm, then it's best you don't write in rhyme. This book lacks rhythm. It painfully lacks rhythm. If it wasn't trying to rhyme, rhythm wouldn't even be an issue at all.

The forced rhyming--which is unnecessary--also keeps the conversation (the dialogue) from having any natural flow to it. Is it important for dialogue to sound natural???? I will say when dialogue sounds more natural, more true to life, more authentic then it is less distracting to the reader. It just feels right. 

The premise of this one is simple. A family is moving. The parents--mom does most of the talking, I think--want their children to know that moving can be a great thing, a wonderful thing, a God-thing. The message isn't a bad one. In fact, if it wasn't trying so hard to rhyme, forcing the rhyme into dialogue where it doesn't fit or belong, the message would be more impactful. I do like seeing families pray together in books. 

The three stars is not because I disagree with the Christian message. It is not because I dislike Christian books for children. It is not because I want to keep God out of picture books. None of those things are true. I just wish that the book didn't try so hard. Relax with the narrative. 

18. You Always Belong: Knowing God's Love and Finding Your Place. Jinger Duggar Vuolo and Jeremy Vuolo. Illustrated by Sara Romero. 2026. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars]

First sentence: Look all around you--what do you see?

A world filled with wondrous things,

Like oceans and mountains and big hairy beasts

And colorful creatures with wings. 

And there at the center is little ol' you--

God's greatest creation by far.

Created to be part of his family,

Made to be loved just as you are.

If this one was a song instead of a picture book, the chorus would be, "You were made to be part of God's story, a beautiful note in his song. So let his light shine as you walk through the world, and remember....you always belong.

You Always Belong is another rhyming book. Is it made better by the rhyming? I wouldn't go so far as that. BUT it does manage to a fair, decent, respectable job with creating rhythm with the rhymes. 

This one has dozens of little insights that might be just what a child needs to hear in that moment. In some ways, it is "another" picture book about self-confidence, self-esteem, about building up one's sense of self. HOWEVER, I think this one differs in that while it does do that to a certain extent, God is never far away. God is not pushed completely to the side of self. The message is we are made IN GOD'S IMAGE. We are GOD'S CREATION. We are CHILDREN OF GOD. We were created to do God's work in this world--to be his HANDS and his FEET. We were meant to shine as a light in this world TO POINT OTHERS TO JESUS CHRIST. So while there are a few lines here and there that might be misunderstood as puffing up egos because you are the most awesome thing ever and God is in awe of you. I think taken as a whole, the message works for the most part. HUMANITY was made in the image of God. And every single person has VALUE and WORTH and should be treated with kindness, respect, love, compassion. 

One small insight that I loved was when a girl is being laughed at, and the rhyme goes, "Remember that God isn't laughing. He's there by your side day and night. So say a quick prayer...and trust in the Lord...that he will make everything right." 

That is just one of many insights in how to live the Christian life as a child. 

Readers should know this is a Christian book with a Christian message. It is written by a Duggar, yes, but shouldn't be bought for that reason. And the reverse is also true. Completely ignore who the author is and judge the book by what it is. 

   

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Sunday, July 5, 2026

KJV MacLaren Large Print Reference

Ephesians, Philippians, 

NASB 95 Inductive Bible

Ezekiel 8-16

NASB 1971 Reference Bible

Job 1-7

Monday, July 6, 2026

KJV MacLaren Large Print Reference

Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians

NASB 95 Inductive Bible

Ezekiel 16-24

NASB 1971 Reference Bible

Job 8-15

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

KJV MacLaren Reference Bible

1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon

NASB 1971 Reference Bible

Job 16-29

NASB 95 Inductive Bible

Ezekiel 25-48

NASB 1977 Nelson 522BG

Genesis, Exodus 1-20

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

KJV MacLaren Reference Bible

Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter

NASB 95 Inductive Bible

Daniel, Hosea, Joel

NASB 1971 Reference Bible

Job 30-42

Thursday, July 9, 2026

KJV MacLaren Reference Bible

1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

NASB 1971 Reference

Psalms 1-5

NASB 95 Inductive

Amos, Obadiah, Jonah

NASB 2020 Music Bible

Matthew 13-15

Friday, July 10, 2026

KJV New Marked Reference Bible

Genesis 1-3; Joshua 1-2; Psalms 1-2; Matthew 1-2;

NASB 71 Reference Bible

Psalms 6-10

NASB 95 Inductive Bible

Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai

Saturday, July 11, 2026

KJV New Marked Reference Bible

Genesis 4-5; Joshua 3-6; Psalms 3-7; Matthew 2-4

NASB 95 Inductive

Zechariah, Malachi

NASB 1971 Reference Bible

Psalms 11-17

NASB 2020 Music Bible

Matthew 16-21

   

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5. KJV (King James Version) MacLaren Large Print Reference (Thomas Nelson). 2021. 1504 pages. [Source: Gift] [5 stars, Bible, King James Bible]

First sentence: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 

Start date: April 23, 2026

Finish date: July 9, 2026

I love the King James Bible. I love new King James Bibles. I love old King James Bibles. There are pros and cons to both old and new. This one is decidedly new. It uses comfort print font. It is 10.5 font size. The chapter and verses are in a distinctive blue. The copy I read was imitation or trutone or "leather" like. It was decent. DOUBLE column, not single. Words of Christ in BLACK. The cross references appear at the BOTTOM of the page. There are paragraph headers though it is verse by verse reference edition. This one is not broken into syllables with a pronunciation guide. (Older KJV Bibles often are like this). 

It is relatively light weight. The size of the font makes for a mostly comfortable reading experience. It isn't GIANT print or SUPER GIANT print. 

It would be a good introduction to the King James Bible. It isn't particularly intimidating, it has many of the things you'd expect in a "modern" Bible. It is line-matched. It does lay flat. 

   

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Sunday June 28, 2026

KJV MacLaren Large Print Reference

Joshua 20-24; Jeremiah 10-14; Romans 1-3

NASB 1971 Reference

2 Kings 8-12;

NASB 95 Inductive Study Bible 

Jeremiah 1-8

Monday, June 29, 2026

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Jeremiah 14-29; 

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Jeremiah 30-33

NASB 2020 Music Bible

Matthew 1-6, Genesis 1-14;

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Jeremiah 34-52; 

NKJV Alexander MacLaren Study Bible

2 Samuel 1-5; 1 Corinthians 1-6;

Friday, July 3, 2026

Lamentations

NASB 2020 Music Bible

Matthew 10-12

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Ezekiel 1-7; 

NKJV Alexander MacLaren Bible

2 Samuel 6-8

   

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