The Desk Series: Bible and Study Bible

The Desk Series :: My Meeting Place 
Bible and Study Bible - Part 1

Last week, I shared a simple picture of my desk that I lovingly called, "my meeting place".

After the kind response I received, I began thinking it might be nice to share just what goes on there. The more I thought, the more ideas I came up with. So what started with a picture has now turned into an on-going series simply entitled, The Desk Series. 

I want to begin with the most important item on my desk, that of my Bible. About six months ago, I retired the Bible that had served its 20 or so years of purpose, for one that I can now make notes, add dates and other small bits of meaningful sentiment next to what I am reading. I had been searching for that perfect one that would suit my needs and I finally found it! It is the hardcover NIV (New International Version) Journal the Word Bible from Zondervan.

Reasons I love it

~It has large enough font that does not cause strain on my eyes

~The pages are a rich cream color and they are not real thin or flimsy

~The words of Jesus are in red lettering (a must have)

~The margins are wide and go the length of the page and have lines to keep my writing neat and organized. 

~It does not have any maps, pictures, devotionals (my retired Bible had these) or anything that takes my focus away from the text at hand

~It has one red ribbon to use as a bookmark

~The style is plain and simple

~It has a black strap that holds it firmly together, protects it and trains it to lay closed when taking it away with me



Please note it does not come with the little rainbow colored tabs, they are an add-on that I love. You can find them on Amazon.

I do not draw, color, write over words, use pen or regular highlighters in my Bible. I use pencil with a neat gentle hand. However, I do use these wonderful highlighter pens that DO NOT bleed through to the other side. (my retired Bible had a lot of faded yellow marks and pen bleeding) I have a small notebook I keep with my Bible when taking it with me to church or ladies Bible studies, etc. There I use pen and write notes that mostly never are written neatly. Then, once home I add what I truly want from those notes onto the margins.

Of course, these are just personal preferences that we all hold to when choosing our Bible.
 We all love what we love.

The second item of importance is my Study Bible. It is the NLT (New Living Translation) Life Application Study Bible from Tyndale House Publishers. I have had this Study Bible for a very long time, and I think it is in it's second printing. It has everything that I need to take reading my Bible to another level of understanding. 

Every book of this Study Bible has a neat timeline at the top of the page. On the sidebar of the page it lists, "Vital Statistics" such as the following:

Purpose for the book

Author of the book

To whom it is written and the date it was written

The setting

Key Verses and Key People

Then, you have this wonderful outline of the entire book and maps that pertain to where it is written. It helps you understand the context of a passage, gives background and historical info, explains difficult words and phrases.

This Study Bible lies open on my desk, open to what I am concurrently reading in my Bible and being they are in different translations it gives me a unique word experience. I grew up using the King James Version and while I am glad I "cut my teeth" so to speak with that translation, I am happy to have this different version to use now. 

If you have not tried using a Study Bible for yourself, it would be a wonderful resource for you to add to your study time. It is well worth the small financial outlay to have it to use when you need it.