I recently read a book that I REALLY enjoyed. It’s about a guy who decides to follow all the rules in the Bible for a year as literally as possible. Not just “love thy neighbor,” but also all the weird rules about facial hair, dietary needs, etc. I thought I’d just be amused by this book, but it’s actually made me think quite a bit! The author is not a Christian, yet he treats the Bible with quite a bit of reverence, and allows himself to be open to new ideas and theology.

I won’t go into too much detail about the book because I really feel like it’s worth the read! But part of what struck me so much about this book was the amount of research that A. J. Jacobs put into the different rules he was reading about (and the reasons behind them). He read hundreds of books during this process, and shared a lot of his findings throughout the book. Here are a few of the books that I’ve added to my wishlist as a result of reading this book:

- Reading the Bible Again For the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally, Marcus J. Borg
- Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture, John Shelby Spong - very divided reader reviews on this one!
- God: A Biography, Jack Miles
- Unauthorized Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible, Robin Lane Fox - more divided reader reviews
- Daily Life in Biblical Times, Oded Borowski

Also, Jacobs uses the website Charity Navigator to help him figure out how to tithe his money. I think this is a really neat site, and I’ve added it to my bookmarks!

There’s also another website that he mentioned called MoveOn.org. I’m still not 100% what this website’s purpose is, but I’m intrigued.

And on the rare off-chance that A. J. Jacobs is “self-Googling” (pg. 151) - I LOVED your book!  I have Post-It notes all over my book and send a copy to my mom.  Thanks for the great read!

One year ago today my grandmother died. Here is my post that I made.

Things went well today. My dad’s sister left today, but before she did she and Daddy talked about how their mother is now gone, and I think that he’s been doing quite well. We all loved her very much, and Christmas this past year was a little difficult.

In other, more happy, news, Leanne launched her new weight loss group blog called Pounds2Go, and I have signed up to be a contributor! Head on over to check it out! Perhaps this will help me out with #11-13 and #15 on my 101 in 1001, LOL!

Things are still progressing well for Reading Red Letters - I have been researching a bit more to get some material to present on the site, and I’ve been contacted about my design request, so I’m getting pretty excited!

Unfortunately I fly back to school tomorrow. I’d really rather stay home a bit longer - I love spending time with my family, and I always miss them terribly when I have to go back. Still no more word from the dean about my status, so I’m still praying about that! I hope that the new year is going well for everyone so far!