On-Line Bible Games

My kids love to play computer games, but I find that I must be diligent in keeping track of where they play those games. I watch like a hawk and have worked hard to make sure they understand, as best they can at their ages, why it is important to be careful about where they go and what they do when online.

Because of this, I was thrilled when I found this site. It's full of games that are safe and that teach kids about the Bible. There aren't a lot of cool graphics like can be found in many of the newer online games, but it's safe and it teaches something far better than so many of the other games out there.

There's a wide variety of games that cover age ranges from around 5 yrs to probably around 10 years of age.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Friday Facts - Random Bits of Info

For today's post I'm pulling together a number of random facts from the Bible. I hope you enjoy and maybe learn something new. I pray you all have a superb Friday and an even better weekend!

~ Abraham is the first person in the Bible to be called a Hebrew

~ The greatest warrior in the Bible is Gideon. He defeated the 135,000 Midianites with 300 men, 300 trumpets, and God.

~ King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

~ The number 7 appears many times in the Bible. It is often linked to perfection or completion.

~ There were 12 tribes of Israel and 12 disciples.

~ The number 40 is used many times in the Bible. It often means God is about to usher in a new event or era. For example, rain during the flood lasted 40 days, spies explored Canaan for 40 days, Jonah warned Nineveh for 40 days, and Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days.

~ The first bok of the Bible tells of a serpent tempting Eve. The last book of the Bible calls Satan "that serpen of old, who is the Devil." (Genesis3; Revelation 20:2).

~ "Do not be afraid" appears 365 times in the Bible. Interestingly enough, that is the number of days in a year!

~ Two men in the Bible never died. They were Enoch and Elijah. God brought them right up to heaven.

Friday Facts - Origin of the Word "Bible"

I've just got one item for today's post, but I thought this was kind of neat!

The word Bible is from the Greek word Biblia. Biblia literally means "books". Hmmmm... isn't the Bible made up of 66 books? And, wasn't the Bible written by over 40 different authors? So, reading the Bible is really like reading multiple books written by multiple writers. Pretty neat, huh?

Ruth - A Little More Background Info

So, today I'm going to share some more background info and then next Monday I'll start sharing more from my study of this beautiful book of Ruth.

Do we know who wrote the book of Ruth?
It is not known for sure who wrote the book of Ruth. The Talmud suggests that Samuel wrote this book. Others believe that Nathan may have written Ruth during the time of King David's reign. Still others believe it to be written during the time when Israel was exiled.

During what time and in what setting was the book of Ruth written?
As Ruth's grandson is King David, we know that the story in the book of Ruth took place two generations prior to his birth.

As you can find by reading the book of Judges, the land was in a period of time where it is ruled by selected leaders that were called judges. These judges included Gideon, Deborah and Samson. These people were usually both judicial officials and military leaders. Two of these judges, Deborah and Samson, were also prophets. The timeframe of the rule of the judges was approximately 1220 BC to 1050 BC. During this time the land of Israel went thru many difficult and sinful times. At the same time, we see stories of truly memorable persons that stand out, as well. These include Ruth, Deborah and Hannah.

It is thought that the events recorded in the book of Ruth probably occurred around 1000 BC. As we see in Ruth 1:1, the story happened "when the judges judged". At its earliest it was completed around the time that David was anointed king and at its latest at the end of David's reign.

To get a true feel for the happenings of the time and the state of the country, read Judges 17-21. I found in reading this that I understood so much more of the challenges that faced persons living during this time and how the country was ruled.

Who are the main characters in the book of Ruth?
Elimelech - Naomi's husband. His name means "My God is King".
Mahlon and Kilion - Naomi's sons.

Naomi - her name means "pleasant". At a time after her husband and sons died she renamed herself Mara which means "bitter".
Orpah - her name means "deer" or "fawn". Ruth's sister, wife to Kilion, and daughter-in-law to Naomi.
Ruth - her name means "friend". Ruth was Mahlon's husband and daughter-in-law to Naomi. Also, great-grandmother to King David.
Boaz - relative of Naomi's deceased husband Elimelech, he later marries Ruth. They have a son Obed, who is the father to Jesse, King David's father.

Ruth - A Little Background

Before we get too deep into the story of Ruth, I thought I'd begin this week by sharing some background information. I always love it when I can find out a little more about the timeframe, the country, and/or the culture at the time when stories take place. Many times these are of significant relevance to the story and I also like how it gives a more personal look at the persons involved in the story, as well.

In first chapter of Ruth there are several insights into this beautiful story of Ruth and Naomi. Consider these.....

~ There was a famine in the land of Judah. Due to famine, Naomi and her husband Elimelech are forced to leave their home and go to another country to find food. Can you imagine going to the grocery store and finding it empty? And then learning that all the grocery stores were empty?

~ A man (Elimelech) from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner. How desperate would we have to be to go to another country to find food?

~ Elimelech's two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. The name Mahlon means unhealthy and the name Kilion means puny or weakly.

~ Sometime later Naomi's husband Elimelech died.

~ Naomi's sons married Moabite women. Her sons married outside their faith.

~ They continued to live in Judah for about ten more years.

~ Nami's two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. Can you even imagine losing your spouse and your children? And, then, being plunged into poverty?

At the time that the book of Ruth begins, Naomi's life is at a point of desperation. I would imagine Naomi felt as if her life had ended. She had no reason to believe there was so much good ahead for her. Or, that she had such a friend in her daughter-in-law, Ruth.

This is truly a story of hope. A story of friendship. A story showing that God NEVER abandons us. A story that shows how circumstances that appear to be the end of the story are really just the beginnings.

Friday Facts - Books of the Bible

Today's Friday Fact post shares some info about the types of books that are in the Bible. Such as, historical books, poetical books, gospels and so on.


The Old Testament has 17 Historical, 5 Poetical, and 17 Prophetic books in it. These are grouped as follows:

17 Historical Books
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

5 Poetical Books
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon,

17 Prophetic Books
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.


The New Testament has 4 Gospels, Acts, 21 Epistles, and Revelation. Thse are grouped as shown below:

4 Gospels
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

21 Epistles
Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

Friday Facts - Bible History Part 3

Back again for one more week is more interesting and fun facts about the Bible. The week includes fun facts about the verses and words in the Bible. I would love to meet the person that did all the counting to come up with these numbers! Wow... what a job that would be! :)

There are 31,173 verses in the entire Bible

23,214 of these verses are in the Old Testament

7,959 verses are in the New Testament

Psalm 118:8 is the middle verse of The Bible

2 Chronicles 20:17 is the middle verse of the Old Testament

Acts 17:17 is the middle verse of the New Testament

John 11:35 is the shortest verse in The Bible

The longest verse in The Bible is Esther 8:9

Verses that are alike are Psalm 107:8, 15, 21 and 31

Ezra 7:21 contains all the letters of the alphabet except 'J'

Daniel 4:37 contains all the letters of the alphabet except 'Q'

In the whole Bible there are 773,692 words

In the Old Testament there are 592,439 words

In the New Testament there are 181,253 words

The longest word in the Bible is "Mahershalalhashbaz" (18 letters) which is found in Isaiah 8:1.

Several of the words that are only found once in the Bible:
Eternity - Isaiah 57:15
Reverend - Psalm 111:9
Grandmother - 2 Timothy 1:5
Gnat - Matthew 23:24

Friday Facts - Bible History Part 2

So, here are some facts about the books and chapters of the bible... they include number of books, what is the longest book, what chapter is the longest, etc. All kinds of fun "trivia" about the Bible. Happy Friday!


There are 66 Books of the Bible

There are 39 Books in The Old Testament

There are 27 Books in The New Testament

Proverbs is the Middle Book of Old Testament

2 Thessalonians is the Middle Book of New Testament

Psalms is the Longest Book of Old Testament

Luke is the Longest Book of New Testament

There are 1189 chapters in the entire Bible

There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament

There are 260 chapters in the New Testament

Job 29 is the middle chapter of the Old Testament

Romans 13 is the middle chapter of the New Testament

Psalm 117 is the middle & shortest chapter of The Bible

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in The Bible

2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37 are chapters that are alike

Friday Facts - Bible History

On Fridays for the next few weeks, I'm going to post some interesting facts (or, at least I hope they are interesting to you) about the Bible. Today will be the history about when and how the King James Version of the Bible was written and translated. Next week I'll post some facts about books in the Bible and so on. I just love this sort of information. Trivia I guess some people would call it. And, just in case you were wondering.... YES, I do enjoy a good game of Trivial Pursuit! :)


The Bible was written by approximately 40 men over a period of 1600 years dating from 1500 BC to about 100 years after Christ. These men wrote the scripture as they were inspired by God. (2 Timothy 3:16)

The first translation of the English Bible was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed by John Purvey in 1388.

The Bible has since been translated in part or in whole into over 1200 languages and dialects.

The Bible was divided into chapters by Stephen Langton in 1228. The Old Testament was divided into verses by R. Nathan in 1488 and the New Testament by Robert Stephanus in 1551.

The entire Bible divided into chapters and verses first appeared in the Geneva Bible of 1560.

Today the Bible is the largest seller of all books published.

Friday Facts - Bible Geographical Locations

The stories of the Bible take place in many different places, covering many different types of geography. Below are a list of different Biblical stories along with where they took place geographically. Enjoy!

The meek will inherit……
The earth
"Blessed are the gentle (the meek), for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5

Jesus gave his ‘sermon’ starting in Matthew 5 from which geographical feature?
On a mountain
"And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Matthew 5:1

Lebanon was at one time known for its….
Forests
"Send me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed, my servants will work with your servants." 2 Chronicles 2:8

Matthew speaks of famines, pestilences, and these in various places:
Earthquakes
"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes." Matthew 24:7

In the beginning, the earth was without form and covered with:
Water
"And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." Genesis 1:2

Although raised in Nazareth, Jesus was born in this city near Jerusalem:
Bethlehem
"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David." Luke 2:4

To escape the Egyptians, the Hebrews crossed this body of water:
The Red Sea
"Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water." Exodus 15:22

David was king in this city before he reigned in Jerusalem:
Hebron
"And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months." 2 Samuel 2:11

This church in Asia was mentioned in Revelation and means ‘brotherly love’:
Philadelphia
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens says this:..." Revelation 3:7

From which Philistine city was Goliath?
Gath
"Then a champion came out from the armies of the philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span." 1 Samuel 17:4

The queen of which land came to meet Solomon?
Sheba
"Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with difficult questions." 1 Kings 10:1

According to Jesus’ parable of the sower, a person who receives the word happily, but falls away due to persecution is described as this type of ground:
Rocky
"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy." Matthew 13:19-20

The Psalmist describes the Messiah’s kingdom stretching from:
Sea to sea
"May he also rule from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth." Psalm 72:8

The Apocalypse was written from which island?
Patmos
"I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Revelation 1:9

These were more noble… in that they received the word…. And searched the scriptures daily:
Those in Berea
"And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so." Acts 17:10,11

According to Zechariah, in that day his feet shall stand on:
Mt of Olives
"And in the day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south." Zechariah 14:4

Job was a native of this land:
Uz
"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and the man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil." Job 1:1

The Lord will gather all nations and plead with them in the valley of:
Jehoshaphat
"I will gather all the nations, And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land." Joel 3:2

Joseph (surnamed Barnabas) sold land in this country:
Cyprus
"And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means, Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet." Acts 4:36-37

The location of the palace of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes):
Susa
"...in those days as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was in Susa the capital..." Esther 1:2

Information for this post found at www.biblequizzes.com.

"Our Father Who is Near Us"

My husband and I have been attending a series of Bible Studies at our church that have just been wonderful. The last two weeks we have been talking about the 4 habits to develop if we want to grow in Christ. We've had some great discussions and I plan to share some of it with you over the next few weeks.

I'll start tonight with just a small bit of history/insight in regards to the Lord's Prayer. We were discussing prayer (habit #2) and this was just one of those tidbits of information that gives a whole new vantage point from which to view a passage of scripture.

In our society today, we typically believe and talk about heaven being above us... in the sky. However, at the time Jesus was on the earth, it was commonly believed amongst the Jews that heaven was all around us. The air that surrounded us. The molecules that touched our skin. So, when Jesus taught us how to pray in the New Testament with the words "Our Father Who Art in Heaven..." what He was saying in the understanding of people at that time was "Our Father Who is Near Us...". Changes your whole perspective as you read the verse, doesn't it?

My prayer today is that we all will experience "Our Father Who is Near Us"!