A New Year Resolution: The Bible in a Year

This past year I made a new year resolution to read the entire Bible in a year. Well, mission accomplished I did it! Now for some take aways. 

To start, I used the Youversion Bible app it has different reading plans to choose from and it kept track of the days that I read, which was very helpful. After reading through a book of the bible I would post it on Facebook. This gave me a sense of celebration and was encouraging when my friends would send a like or comment. Facebook also has a memory feature. For years to come my posts will pop up again encouraging me to read the Bible in the future, at least however long Facebook has that memory feature. I found that if I was consistent about the time of day i read it was easier to remember to read everyday. For example, I made it a habit to read the Bible first thing after I woke up. It was hard to do sometimes.  I felt like i didn't get that much out of it but i reminded myself that the plan was to continue reading the Bible throughout the year and the following year. If I missed reading in the morning than I would read smaller chuncks throughout the day.

 On the more spiritual side of things, I kept coming to the thought "give us our daily bread"(Matt 6:11) throughout the year. This may not be exactly what this scripture is talking about but I was able to hear God's word everyday. Sometimes I didn't understand or remember as much as i should have.  There were some  mornings I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to read. I believe that even if I didn't catch everything I was reading. The act of reading became a discipline that if I just kept reading God would show me what I needed for the day. So don't get discouraged if you fall a sleep or don't remember much of that days reading. After all you don't stop eating breakfast if you can't remember what cereal you ate. I also hope it was encouraging for my Facebook friends to see the regular posts about my journey through the Bible. There were always a group who liked the posts and even encouraging comments along the way. Thanks to everyone who did that. There were 2 people who asked what Bible reading plan I was using so hopefully I was an encouragement to them.

This year my plan is to read the Bible through again. I would like to try to read it in Chronological order. I'm a History nerd so I think that will be interesting. In what ever order you read the Bible, I do hope you read the Bible this year there is a lot of good stuff in there. Happy New Year. #read2024 #BibleinaYear #landmarks 

Double Feature: Have Yourself a Dark Little Christmas

I watched two of my favorite Christmas movies this year and I realized they are both a little darker than your typical classic Christmas movie. These two dark comedies are as charming as Miracle on 34^th Street or Its Wonderful Life but deal with more the macabre themes. From conmen and mobsters to murderers and crooks here is a double feature to give yourself a dark little Christmas.

 

Lemon Drop Kid (1951)

Bob Hope stars as the titular “Lemon Drop Kid” a conman who touts horses.  He touts the wrong horse to the mob boss Moose Moran’s girlfriend. Now the Kid has to pay back the money by Christmas Day or he's "going to find his head in his stocking." To keep from being killed for Christmas he cons “old dolls” into staying at his “Old Folks Home” so he can raise the money through donations. Then run off with all that that money. The film contains three musical numbers including Bob Hope’s rendition of Silver Bells. The question is can a musical be a "dark comedy?" Watch the film, it is Bob Hope so how dark can it be? 

 

We're No Angels (1955)

One of my favorite films of all time. Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray are three escaped convicts from the infamous prison Devil’s Island.  

The film is light hearted in a lot of ways, while also dealing with the idea who should be in prison who shouldn't be. The three convicts boast of their exploits, Bogart’s character is said to be "the Michelangelo” of forgery. He goes on to boast that his only regret is "getting caught." While his two colleagues joke of the murders they committed. Joan Bennett's character Madame Ducotel says she envies the convicts of their "courage" and even imagines ways to kill her cousin. She says "that's as far as it would ever go just a thought in the back of her mind." Then there is Paul and Cousin Andre played by John Baer and Basil Rathbone respectively. Cousin Andre descends on the scene bullying relatives and convicts alike. His nephew Paul’s greed shows through as he burns his uncle’s will and claims his entire fortune.  The whole cast of characters show different degrees of humanity’s faults. As Bogart’s character observes, “I think everyone on this island is innocent except me.”

 

A slight Historical/geographical note, the story takes place in the colony French Guiana on the north eastern coast of South America. In the movie it is implied, if not actually stated, that the convicts are trying to get off an island while hiding out in Cayenne the capital of French Guiana. There are three islands off the coast of French Guiana, Devil’s Island, of course, Royale Island and St. Joseph’s Island and all have prison facilities on them. Cayenne is on the mainland which also includes prison facilities. It is a slight historical inaccuracy that they are trying to get off of Devil’s Island since the actual Devils Island is only roughly a mile across with no cities but this is understandable since the entire prison complex is known as “Devil’s Island.” The last prisoners left Devils Island in 1953, two years before the film was released.

 

To be fair, these are probably more "grey" than "black" on the dark comedy scale both deal with criminal characters that do “the right thing” in the end. They are two holiday classics that are fun and should get more love than they do.

Kanter, Stefan. Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife.New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.

"Britanica." accessed 12-17-2023. https://www.britannica.com/place/Iles-du-Salut.