“Along the lines of your encouraging your church family to study God’s Word, my dear friend Kelli Anderson has written a beautiful book called Divine Duct Tape. It is a verse-by-verse study of Luke, in which those studying Scripture can really learn to stop as they read and listen for His voice speaking to their everyday life. It is such an excellent way to get into the Word and learn to study it in context—but it is not overwhelming to those whose lives are very full. I’m thinking of young moms, women working, parents of special needs children, single moms. As a Bible translator who loves deep study of the Word, I find Kelly’s book refreshing and thought-provoking.”
I was copied on the above email a few months ago, which a word-loving (and Word-loving) friend of mine had sent to my pastor, friend, and fellow writer Jason Perry. At the time, I had not read Divine Duct Tape, but I have since received a copy. And I agree with my friend’s assessment in the email above.
I’ve blogged before about why Christians don’t read the Bible, and I’ve confessed my own struggle to stay faithful in this area. I’ve used a number of different tools to help develop my discipline—the Journey, a verse-of-the-day iCal calendar, journaling, blah, blah, blah.
All of these tools are helpful, but I find I need a fresh approach now and then—not because of any weakness in a particular tool itself, but because of my own fickleness.
The difference between Anderson’s book and several other tools I’ve used is that she combines Bible reading, journaling, and personal stories—and she does this verse by verse. The version of her book that I have offers day by day readings and journaling prompts, and at the end of 60 days you’ll have studied only the first five chapters of Luke! My guess is, this technique is particularly helpful for Christians like me who are familiar enough with the Bible that we tend to glaze over what we’re reading, rather than letting it soak in and change us.
I’m also impressed with the quality of Anderson’s book, which I believe is self-published. Not only is it well-written and engaging, but it has a professional cover design and page layout. I appreciate it when freelance writers show respect for their own work by investing in whatever help they need to compete against the resources of a traditional publishing house.
The current devotional tool I’m using (the Journey) has taken me through the whole Bible, one chapter a day for about four years. That Journey will end in a few weeks, and then I plan to begin applying Divine Duct Tape to my devotional life. If you are interested in trying it too, you can buy it from Amazon.com as a paperback or ebook.
So would it be lazy of me to say that I agree with your agreement? :-)
I too found the book fresh and engaging, As a writer of devotions myself, I was impressed by the discipline and the spiritual insight that it takes to be able to write about every single verse (as opposed to topical thoughts from various passages).
We hope to have some copies of Divine Duct Tape (I love the title!) in Living Springs’ book store soon.
Now… I want my copy back from a certain unnamed blogger. :)
Okay, okay, you’ll get your book back! And I’m glad to hear that Living Springs will have a supply available soon.
Thank you, Melanie, for your encouraging words. I only just put a copy in the mail yesterday for you (and hadn’t realized that Jason had lent you his) so you can imagine my surprise when I read this review! You’ve put a smile on my face this morning and that’s even without my morning coffee! Blessings to you!
Kelli, thanks for stopping by! And thanks for sending me a copy of Divine Duct Tape! When I looked for it on Amazon, I found a copy with a different cover. And when I looked around elsewhere, it seemed like there was a version that dealt with more than just the first 5 chapters of Luke. Are you continually updating the book, or are there several different versions available at the same time?
The confusion is understandable and a little unfortunate…the copy you saw with a different cover was an early version of the book (only half as long) that still appears on Amazon because someone is reselling those old copies even though I discontinued it. The copy I sent to you is really the only one I intend to share with readers! Originally, I thought I would write a series that would go all the way through Luke and readers have asked me if I will continue it but for now, I am just working on promoting the one you were so kind to review! Blessings :0)