Book Review

I recently received this book in the mail:

Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts, 3^rd Edition

At almost 500 pages, this volume is filled with tables, charts, maps and diagrams for each book of the Bible. This book goes beyond providing just charts and maps, as it also contains background information, cultural norms of the time, outlines and summaries for each book. Of course, the summaries are on the brief side, as this is not a commentary.

As a Bible teacher I am often in need of a visual aid to help in explaining the Bible. I was impressed with not only the many charts and maps, but especially some of the Comparison Charts (for example, themes in James are compared to the Sermon on the Mount).

I found this to be a really handy reference and I know that I will turn to it again and again. When you purchase the book you are also entitled to download all the maps and charts online. This is a wonderful resource, which I am sure to use. I would have preferred if the downloadable maps were labeled better, but this does not take away from the value of this book.

I received this book courtesy of Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for reviewing it.

The opinions expressed are my own.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

They do celebrate it here in Japan, but it is a little different: girls will buy chocolate for boys and boys don't have to do anything! Of course, they also have "White Day" in March where you are supposed to reciprocate.


Being a Sunday, we decided to have a "Love Feast". Basically a potluck with a love theme. We transformed the sanctuary with tables and decorations.


There were a lot of games and music, and I was priviliged enough to speak on love. I mentioned how God expects us to have agape love (unconditional love) towards others, and that includes our spouse.


It was a fun night!

Josh Hamilton Video

Tonight was day 1 of the Mark Cahill Men's Leadership Conference. It has been great so far; I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I didn't get any pics, but they started the conference with this really interesting video featuring Josh Hamilton, who plays for the Texas Rangers.