Life With Jules, and other stuff

And what a journey it has been! I am in the process of applying to graduate school...again! This time for a terminal degree. That's right! I want to earn a PhD in History. That has been the goal all along. I knew from the start that I really can't get anywhere in my field without it and I figure now is as good a time as any. I'm not getting any younger. I'll be 50 in less than 2 years. OMG! I created another blog devoted to that journey: https://julesdoctoraljourney.blogspot.com/ It will be a slow start as I go through the application process, but I hope it takes off once I actually begin school again. Picture it: Dr. Julie Hayes. Has a nice ring to it!

Recently, I decided to do Bible roulette. Not the typical way I read the Bible, but I felt the need to just let God guide me this time. Anyway, after saying a prayer I opened my Bible to see what I needed to read that morning. It opened to Proverbs 19:23. "The fear of the Lord leads to life, an he who has it will abide in satisfaction;  He will not be visited with evil." (NKJV) Of course, the version I read was the NIV: "The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble." But after looking at a few translations, I found the NKJV was the one I preferred. I think because of the word "evil" being used. So, I then decided to do a quick word study and looked up the following words: fear, life, satisfaction, abide. Here's what I found: fear (Hebrew = yir'ah) - reverence life (Hebrew = chay) - alive satisfaction this word gave me some difficulty as the Strong's only showed  2 occurrences in the book of Numbers. So I we...

I began reading Exodus again yesterday. Yes, again! I lost my place so I started over. Is that silly or what? Nah!! Anyway, I didn't make it past verse 5 in the first chapter! D'oh!! I couldn't get past the names for some reason. So it made me think "Why are names so important in the Bible anyway?" I began to do a little research on each of the names of Jacob's sons. There was: "Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin; Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher." (Exodus 1:2-4, NKJV). I looked up the meanings of each name. Reuben = behold, a son Simeon = obedient; listening Levi = attached or pledged Judah = praised Issachar = reward; recompense Zebulun = to honour; to dwell (zaval) or gift; dowry (zeved) Benjamin (hebrew: Binyamin)= "son of the right hand" or "son of the south"           (this one is interesting because he was originally named Ben-oni, which means "son or my             pain") ...

What is the best way to read the Bible? Do you start at Genesis and read through Revelation? Or do you follow a specific plan such as Matthew 24, Daniel and Revelation to understand better End Times? Maybe there's a better way. No matter how you read the Bible, you should do just that: read the Bible. Study the Bible. Learn the origins of words that may have been taken slightly out of context through several translations. Oh, and find the Bible version that best works for you. Personally, I enjoy the New International Version (NIV) and the King James Version (KJV). The KJV because I love the sound of the words in old English. We don't speak with thou's, thy's and thine's anymore, so it can be a bit more challenging at first. Have you ever read Shakespeare? Yeah, it's something like that. I also am prone to read the New King James Version (NKJV). The idea is to find a version that hasn't removed verses because we have to face it, some versions are incomplete....

I have read through Chapter 3 in the book of Job so far. I am taking part in a Bible Study through Good Morning Girls . If you're not familiar, click on the button to the left or on the link in this post. So, as I said, I have read through chapter 3. Normally when I read Job I just plow right through it. I have read it several times in my life. It is my all time favorite book. This time, however, I am reading it in a different manner. I am taking my time, moving at the pace of the Bible Study, and reflecting on what I read. So far, I feel like I am getting more out of it than I did in previous reads. This book is primarily about suffering and what we do in difficult times. Namely, how we handle the storms in life. I know I need a lot of work in this area. I think that's why Job appeals to me so much: I can relate. I just wish I would allow these teachings to sink in; like the phrase "Storms in life" referring to Peter walking on water and keeping his eyes on Jesus. On...

I recently read on a bank's sign the following sentiment: "Anger is just one letter short of danger." There is so much truth in this. Anger is "a strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a wrong; wrath; ire" according to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anger. We all get angry at times. But what does the Bible say about anger? Well, I did a little digging and came up with some verses about anger that I want to share. I especially like the one in Ephesians and try to live by that; not going to bed angry. You see, anger is not just a sin. It's unhealthy. But it IS a SIN! I found this verse while searching the others and thought it a fitting way to end this post: In our anger, we can oftentimes find ourselves in the midst of a dangerous situation. I encourage you that if you have issues with anger, please turn it over to our Heavenly Father. We can do all things through Him who gives us strength.

Have you ever read this verse and wondered what does this mean? The more I read and study the Bible, the more questions I have. Especially as I find myself lacking patience waiting on the Lord to show me His will for my life. I was told that one way to study is to break down each verse. Chew on the adjectives, if you will. Like the word "patient" describing "love". What I have found is interesting in and of itself. I first looked up the terms for the different forms of "love" as found in the Bible. There is "agape" which is the very nature of God - an action, "phileo" or having affection for (not to be confused with "eros"), and "storge" which is familial love & affection. Understanding that this verse is speaking more to the action of love, I moved on to understand the word "patient". This is what I found. Patient, or hupomone (hoop-om-o-nay) in Greek, is being willing to wait. Another term used in the...