A Special Gift

As you all know if you've read my other posts, I went home to see my parents over last weekend. While I was there, my mom said to let her know if there is anything I want to take home with me. So, as I looked through her books (I love books!) I remembered to ask her if she has a KJV Bible. I 've been looking into buying one for some time, but I haven't decided which one yet. I have several reasons for this. First, both churches that we have attended use the King James Bible extensively. And, if I want to read along, it would be easier if I were reading the same version. Secondly, I have read that the KJV is the 'original', therefore better. I guess the 'true' original would be the Hebrew version but I think we all know I do not read Hebrew! :) Anyway, when checking this out, it did come to my attention that there are some verses in the KJV that are not in the NIV, which is the one I use. I thought it would be nice to have both, so that when I'm studying or just reading the Bible I can refer to each if I like, to see how they compare. Lastly, in homeschooling my children I have discovered that many of the books we read are written in a more old fashioned way of speaking. Some might even say it's archaic. Things written by Shakespeare, for instance, are quite different from the way we speak or write today. So, since we read from the Bible each day anyway, I thought using the KJV would be a good way to help the kids become familiar with those 'older' words. Back to my visit with my parents. My mom and dad both said they had a KJV Bible. As I looked, I found a really old one, bound with duct tape at the spine. It is the Holy Bible (KJV) Eighth of the World edition. What makes it so special is that my mom's Aunt Anine gave her this bible. I never knew my Great Aunt Anine, but she was my Grandmother's sister (on my mom's side of the family). My grandpa died before either my brother or I were born, and our grandma died when I was just 3 years old. So, we never really knew them. We've heard many stories about them over the years from our mom, and our aunts and uncles, though. To have something that was owned by someone who would have been close to my grandma means a lot to me. I've been looking through it, finding passages that my mom said she herself probably hi-lited. It's very exciting to read those passages and wonder what the words meant to my mom. I'm so grateful for the gift, and I look forward to using it in our schooling as well as my personal bible reading. Thanks Mom, I love you.