New Challenges - Old Words

I went to the church's womans retreat as I do much years this last weekend and was very challenged about my practice and habit of quiet time. Its interesting how this seemingly simple thing is so difficult for many long time believers, you would think we would have sorted this out long ago and yet the more we talked about it the more we saw how most of us struggled and did not have a good habit of it. So we have agreed to do a 50 day challenge of spending time in the word and in prayer each day for 50 days. Its been great already as the group decided to start yesterday and I already almost excuses it away and would have put it off and "just started tomorrow" but we all started together to there I was finishing my first days quiet time at 11:55pm. Nothing like sneaking in under the wire.

But last night as I was about to get started on the new book I picked up a few months ago, John: a Study of the beloved disciple by Beth Moore,  I was going to take a Bible to bed with me, and I wanted to leave my study bible by the couch were I like it and my small one in the bag I take to work, so I went to the family bookshelf's in the living room where all the family bibles are kept. What a discovery, I have not looked though them in so many years, and what I found lines up so very well with my Heritage of Grace theme. I loved the pages I found so much I took some pictures of them.
This was my Mother Mothers bible, from 1941

 This one I am unsure about, but it has the date 1893 and I love the writing in it.

Here is my Fathers Bible, in the front page he has written "bought after my conversion Klostermuhle June 1972" He has also written "remember Medulin" which I looked up and is a place in Croatia which I know is were he made the decision to follow Christ, as the side of a lake, just as the many disciples, came to follow Him. and as you can clearly see the reference to Easter which is an interesting choice, I wonder what he was thinking when he wrote that.

This is the inside of that same bible from my Dad after his conversion. I love seeing his writing in the margins, you can see faintly all the other pages writing also, and his handwriting is exactly the same, I would know it anywhere.

This last one of my Mothers Bible and all the notes she has in the front, ranging from 1974 to 1990. The first says in her clear unmistakable "Mother writing" "Either this book will keep me away from the devil or the devil will keep me away from this book" And another from 1982 the year I was born " the bible is only boring to those who disobey it or don't claim its promises."

What wonderful quotes she had in her bible, the same one she clearly carried well over 20 years. From the time of her wedding until long after we moved countries and she was home schooled three school ages kids, through each birth and many other hardships.  

There are many other wonderful books on the shelfs some from family members who had the word now on this shelf in their own hand and never claimed it as there own. Its been there through the generations, some grasping it for dear life and other laying it aside and not making it theres, but through it all its been there and available to any and all who might come and seek comfort in its pages. May I learn the lessons of the past and seek this book as my parents have all these years.