639: Two Gems for Your Spiritual Life Both in Church … and Way Outdoors!


I
tching to get outdoors again?
    The warm weather blowing through the northern U.S. has all of us eager for spring. And, today, we’re sharing 2 gems for your spiritual life—one that’s great for groups in your church and one that’s terrific for heading outdoors in all weather!

FIRST: Our great-with-groups suggestion …
     If you’re just catching up with ReadTheSpirit on the weekend, we’ve been sharing terrific small-group resources on the 2 most recent books by N.T. Wright. I know from personal experience leading small groups—and as a journalist covering religious life in America—that there’s not a more sure-fire way to gather a crowd in thousands of Protestant churches these days than to announce an N.T. Wright discussion group.
    Well, if that’s your aim, start here—our ReadTheSpirit N.T. Wright Resource Page. We’ve got cool stuff to help you with “Surprised by Hope” and “After You Believe.”

SECOND: Our way-outdoors suggestion …
    Millions of Americans can’t wait to get outdoors again and, often, springtime adventures involve water: rain, mud and spills while opening up cottages, putting boats in the water for the first time and so on. Even a casual walk through the woods might splash through unexpected puddles.
    Now, there’s an answer for the pilgrim who wants to wander equipped with a Bible: The Waterproof Bible.
    Actually, these high-tech Bibles, printed on special paper that fully repells water, have been around for a few years. Earlier, these Bibles offered the King James Version but now there’s a new NIV option—and various designs from which to choose.
    We road tested the “waves” edition in bright blue (cover is shown at left).
    Since we envisioned these Bibles as most useful for family hikes and camping trips, we invited kids to test them. Why not? They’re the ones we hope to engage in family outings. And they’re the ones most likely to mix outdoor adventures and water. So, high school students from the Divine Light Media crew led the way. They designed a cool test for the new blue edition of the NIV—with younger kids playing a role as well.
    You should see the result of their test—a 2-minute video that the Divine Light crew produced, filmed, edited and posted on YouTube. (NOTE: If you don’t see a video screen below, you may be reading this story via Email or some other feed. Click on the headline of this story, above, you’ll jump to our Web site and the video screen will appear.)
    If you’d like to visit the online home of Waterproof Bibles, here’s the Web page at Bardin & Marsee Publishing.
    Here’s a link to order the same “NIV Waterproof Bible: Blue Wave” that our film crew tested via Amazon.

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NOTE on Divine Light Media: This is an educational project for
high-school-age students at First United Methodist Church
in Ann Arbor, which includes: Alex DeHart, A.J. Gay, Sarah Higdon, Joey
Houghton, Alex Koukios, Blake Martin, Michael Saunders, Eric Seitz and others. The Divine
Light crew also recently photographed Ann Arbor’s Fairy Doors for an inspiring family story by author Lynne Meredith Schreiber
.

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    (Originally published at https://readthespirit.com/)

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