I never heard of this translation before so I was a little interested in it. When I first got saved and started studying the Bible I used the King James Version. While in college I tried the New American Standard Version. Then while in seminary (the first time) I switched to the New International Version. I have used the NIV in my preaching and teaching for many years. I am also familiar with the English Standard Version. I own other translations as well.

My plan is to begin by posting the same verse using different translations. This way the reader can compare the CEB with other common and widely used translations. I will post once a week for a while and will work in some information on the team that produced the CEB. The background on the translation team will have much to say about the translation.

Some personal preferences first off. It is not a red letter edition and I do prefer red letter Bibles. That is just my personal preference though. The Bible itself is nice looking. It is simple and two-tone in color with “Holy Bible” etched in the upper right. It really is a good looking Bible. The print size is good for reading. The color and weight of the paper are both very good. There is not much room in the margins to write in if you want to take notes.

There are footnotes describing words or subjects but there are no verse references to other passages. To me, that is a big negative because I think people should study the Bible and not just read it. I don’t know if the CEB may be available as a study Bible or with references in other styles. The CEB was copyrighted in 2011.

The table of contents and list of information in the beginning of the CEB are helpful. I am looking forward to going through the CEB and comparing it with other versions. You can learn more about it at: www.CommonEnglishBible.com.

For my review I chose to start at the beginning of the Bible. I am comparing the CEB with the New International Version (NIV); the New American Standard Bible (NASB); the English Standard Version (ESV) and the King James Version (KJV).

(1)When God began to create the heavens and the earth- (Genesis 1:1 CEB)

(1)In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NIV)

(1)In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NASB)

(1)In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 ESV)

(1)In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 KJV)

Four of the translations are pretty similar in their presentation of the Hebrew translated into English. The CEB is a little different and leaves the sentence open. This may seem like a slight change, but we will have to wait and compare other Scriptures. A deeper study of the Hebrew would be helpful. Next week I will be comparing a familiar New Testament Scripture.

I received the CEB without charge for the purpose of reviewing it.

Much GRACE and peace to you,

Bill

(Romans 15:13; Psalm 21:6)

You can connect to them here: www.staufs.com. Let them know that Take Courage and Bill and Kim sent you.

I am sure the coffee drinker on you gift list will appreciate what you get them.

Much GRACE and peace to you,

Bill

(Romans 15:13; Psalm 34:1)

The first brew was with the auto-drip and this whole bean coffee is dark. The good thing is that it is not over roasted. The aroma is somewhat spicy and sweet. Mountain Dream is a blend of Nicaraguan and Sumatran beans. There is a somewhat spicy and fruity taste and a medium mouth feel to the coffee. We liked it and were looking forward to trying it in the
French Press.

Next up was the French Press and we thought we detected some chocolate notes in both the flavor and aroma. It has a good, smooth, balanced flavor and a fuller body with this brewer. It is not too heavy a coffee and the acidity is medium. There is a chocolate aftertaste too. This
was our favorite way to brew and enjoy this coffee.

We finished with the Chemex coffee brewer. The flavor seemed to be brighter with some fruitiness. There also seemed to be a spiciness that came out in the flavor and aftertaste. The coffee is roasted really well and even though it is pretty dark, it is not over roasted at all.

All in all this is an enjoyable cup of coffee no matter how you brew it. We shared it with friends and all of them thought it was pretty good too. If you are interested in trying a blended coffee we suggest you give Mountain Dream a try.

Now here’s another good part to this coffee drinking experience. A portion of each bag sold is donated to Kentuckians for the Commonwealth to support their work to stop mountaintop removal mining. You can enjoy a good cup of coffee and help a good cause at the same time. We received this coffee for free and offer an objective review. Until next time remember to stop and enjoy the coffee and conversations.

Much GRACE and peace to you,

Bill and Kim

(Romans 15:13; Psalm 21:6)

He had seemed to get sick more since being in the
Marines. We attributed it some vaccinations he got. But he worked out regularly
and was a part-time college student and a full-time police officer. But he kept
getting worse though he didn’t miss work. He had been to a VA Hospital where he
lives a couple of times in the last few months and didn’t seem to be getting
any better. Then one day another officer said he looked terrible and should get
another opinion.

So he called me to talk and ask about the church I
had just accepted a call to pastor the day before. During the conversation he
tells me that he is going to another doctor this morning and his neck is swollen
today. I ask him all the questions I can think of, plus his mom’s a nurse and I
know she will ask me some questions too. We joked about sci-fi movies and how
his neck looks.

Then he calls me back about two hours later and
tells me the doctor thinks he has an aggressive form of lymphoma. The doctor
wants to run some tests right away, not next week or in the future, but today and
tomorrow. My son told me that he told the doctor to give it to him truthfully
and that he isn’t afraid of the news. I pray with him and tell him that I love
him and that if I don’t see him again down here, I will see him in heaven. Yes,
we really do believe that and say that!

That night they confirm the aggressive lymphoma and
it is reconfirmed the next day. They want to start aggressive treatments as
soon as possible. I tell my wife and we pray and make plans to go and help him.
This was in early February. There is more to the story and that will come
later.

Celebrations! While the above is going on we were also making plans to move to a new ministry and
city; but the best was that our youngest son would be getting married. We moved
at the end of March and the following week we were in New York for our youngest
son’s wedding. We were glad to see how God had worked out all the details of
the wedding. Our daughter in-law looked beautiful and our son looked very
happy.

We stayed with our new in-laws and were glad to get
to know them a little better. The day before the wedding it rained most of the
day. The temperature was cold and nearby areas got snow. That may not seem like
much, but the reception was planned for outside their church. There was not
patio or tent. But God was gracious and the rain stopped and the grass dried
up. Everyone had a good time. The ceremony was very nice and we couldn’t have
been prouder.

We welcomed our daughter in-law into our family that
day. We are glad to have her. Some of our family attended the wedding as did
some friends from Massachusetts. It was a great day. We also got to take part
in a traditional Chinese dinner for a wedding. The food looked beautiful when
it came to the table and tasted great too.

We are looking forward to having another reception
later this year when our son and daughter in-law come to visit. When we came
back from the wedding we had a welcome service and potluck lunch at the church.
It was very well attended and we had a great time. There is more to this story
and it will come later.

Control! This is something that people usually have issues with. Since moving to our new
location a little over four months ago we are still in temporary housing. Most
of our things are in storage. We feel displaced and unsettled at times. We make
due and try to keep a good attitude. Sometimes we still can’t remember where we
put things. I almost have the location and contents of the boxes in four
different storage areas memorized!

We got our favorite coffee brewers together so we
can brew and review. Plus there were times I just missed having a good cup of
coffee. That will all change this week. We are still looking forward to being
in our own home and getting all of our stuff out. We are looking forward to
family and friends visiting. But we are not in control, God is.

God knew that a day after I said yes to a new
ministry that one of our son’s would be diagnosed with cancer. God also knew
that he would be too sick to attend the wedding of his brother. This same God
also knew what the weather would be like in April in New York on a specific day
and time. I had emailed and called friends and asked them to pray for good
weather and a dry wind to blow over the grass and dry it up. You have not
because you ask not. Remember, we are not in control, but God is.

God knows how much we would like to be out of
temporary housing and have our own place. “Be it ever so humble, there’s no
place like home.” Even though we have to wait a little longer and I don’t know
how little is little; God is in control. Through all of this our sovereign
Father God is in control. We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know
that He holds the future. We are trying to be joyful and give Him thanks during
all of this. Yes, there is more to this part of the story too, and it will come
later.

Yes, our God cares about the big things and the
little things in our lives. I don’t want to get too introspective, but I do
want you to know that I appreciate what God is doing. I appreciate that He is
in control. We haven’t always been the most joyful and thankful of Christians
during this time of cancer, celebrations, and control, but God gave us a
special blessing along the way. One of them was finding Korean food and a good
local coffee shop that roasts their own coffee beans. In fact the roaster gave
us some beans to brew and review even while we felt displaced.

In the coming weeks I will be posting more about
each part of this story. There is much more to tell about the cancer, the
celebrations and the control. Look for some book reviews, some coffee reviews and
some other articles as well. Thanks for your time and remember, “He who
sacrifices thank offerings honors Me, and he prepares the way so that I may
show him the salvation of God.” (Psalm 50:23 NIV)

Much GRACE and peace to you,

Bill

(Romans 15:13)

During our travels we have been able to try coffee in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas. We have had some great coffee and some average coffee. Some coffee that we had was even a little disappointing. We have been in some great coffee shops and met with owners and roasters. Talking with some of the owner/roasters was a great diversion during some difficult times.

We have been learning a lot more about coffee and coffee shops too. Since January we also learned more about cupping coffees and barista judging. We plan to look into home roasting in the future too. We have been trying some new coffees and sharing beans with friends. I have introduced some people to the French Press and Chemex brewers too.

Today I want to give you our suggestions for gifts of coffee if your mom likes coffee and has a grinder. If you live close enough to one of these shops then take your mom out for a good cup of coffee. In my reviews you can read what I look for in a coffee shop. The shops I mention here are very good. I will suggest a coffee too, but we have had more than one coffee from each of them and they were all good. I am already thinking that there are other shops I could mention, but I’ll start with these:

www.bostonstoker.com  Costa Rican La Minita; Dayton, Ohio area

www.cafevolio.com  Founder’s Blend, West Side Market, Cleveland, Ohio

www.hemispherecoffees.com Nicaraguan Maragogype, Mechanicsburg, Ohio

www.staufs.com  Dominican Republic Café Femenino, Columbus, Ohio

www.coffeelabs.com  Ethiopian Amaro Gayo, Tarrytown, New York

www.buongiornocoffee.net/  Venezie Blend, Grapevine, Texas; the picture at the top is their roaster.

Each of these coffee shops is worth going out of your way to get too. We have had more than one coffee from each of them and thought they were very good. The staff of each was very helpful and friendly. It was a really good experience. From our point of view you should be glad if you live close to one of them. If you don’t you can still order coffee from them and give your mom some great coffee. Time for me to take Kim on a date to a coffee shop we have never been too. Until the next time, remember to stop and enjoy the conversations and coffee.

Much GRACE and peace to you,

Bill

(Romans 15:13)

I have just posted a review of Warren Wiersbe’s Jesus In The Present Tense. You can read it by clicking on my Book Review page.

There are other things going on in our lives too, both good and bad, or encouraging and discouraging; whichever way you want to describe them. No matter how you look at them or describe them, we know that God is in control. We have rested in Him and His plans for us for too long to give up now. These circumstances involve both of our sons. Two completely different circumstances or events, but they are linked because of family. No matter the outcomes we know that God is in control here also. They were both dedicated to the Lord when they were babies and we have trusted God to watch over them and teach them.

That brings me to today and blogging. Sometimes I like blogging and sometimes I don’t. I have been busy and preoccupied so I have chosen not to blog consistently over the past few months. I was going to start earlier this week, but then I decided to start with a hymn for Sunday. I have a couple of things in mind with this hymn. First, I want to do some hymns that have an Easter type theme to lead up to Easter Sunday. Second, I hope to encourage people with hymns they may not know or have not sung in a while. Third, I hope to reaquaint some people with great old hymns and introduce some people to some hymns they may never have heard of.

So I hope this hymn blesses you and encourages you to think about what Jesus did for you. He died a painful, terrible death on a cross to pay for your sins (and mine of course). But there is more to that story. God raised Him from the dead and seated in Him in heaven and gave Him the Name that is above every name. Now God the Father offers new life and forgiveness of sins by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, what a Savior! I think there is a hymn by that name, but that is for another Sunday.

Much GRACE and peace to you,

Bill (a fellow-laborer)

Romans 15:13; Ephesians 1:15-23

He Died For Me

by John Newton (1725-1807), sung in 6/4 time

1.      I saw One hanging on a tree, In agony and blood;

He fixed His loving eyes on me, As near His cross I stood.

(Refrain) Oh, can it be, upon a tree The Savior died for me?

My soul is thrilled, my heart is filled. To think He died for me!

2.      Sure, never till my lastest breath. Can I forget that look;

It seemed to charge me with His death. Though not a word He spoke.

(Refrain)

3.      My conscience felt and owned the guilt, And plunged me in despair;

I saw my sins His blood had spilt And helped to nail Him there.

(Refrain)

4.      A second look He gave, which said, “I freely all forgive;

This blood is for your ransom paid, I die that you may live.”

(Refrain)