Cramming Two Months' Worth of Study Into 52 Weeks: Books I Read in 2025, Vol. XVIII

 

EXPERIENCING THE HEART OF JESUS FOR 52 WEEKS: A Year-Long Bible Study
Max Lucado

Jesus' name is familiar and his story is universal, but few of us could really call him a close friend. Just as over time we learn the familiar expressions of our closest friends, so we can come to know the personality of our Savior. This book is about really knowing him. In this study, Max Lucado invites you to step closer to Jesus.

I started this workbook in January, aiming to complete one of its 52 chapters each week as designed—and for the first time in a long time, I actually met that goal! I suppose I was successful partly because the "work" part of each week consisted of 6-8 content-oriented questions about two short Scripture passages...certainly not a week's worth of reading or contemplation. (When I say "content-oriented," I mean that the questions asked to follow up each reading had very little to do with considering how the truth I had just read might influence my attitudes and behaviors, and an awful lot to do with testing whether I actually read the verses, e.g., Having read a statement about Jesus similar to "I have come that you may have life and have it to the full," the workbook would then ask, "What did Jesus say he came to accomplish?").

In terms of a good collection of Lucado stories and analogies, I give it 5 stars. In terms of a Bible study resource, 2.5. There is more Scripture in Beloved's 9-week study, Blue Tassels, than in this 52-week "study."

First Line: When I was young, we used to take our family vacations in Colorado.

Page 56 / Line 5: We come to Christ as is  -  or we cannot come to him at all.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: We say our prayers as casually as we would order a burger at the drive-through: "I'll have one solved problem and two blessings, cut the hassles, please."

Last Line: What especially stands out to you about what you have learned?

A Good Read that Needs to be Proofread: Books I Read in 2025, Vol. XVII

 

THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE: A Brit in the FBI Thriller
Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison

FBI Special Agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine are the government's Covert Eyes  -  leading a top-notch handpicked team of agents to tackle crimes and criminals both international and deadly. But their first case threatens their fledgling team when the enigmatic and dangerous thief known as the Fox calls from Venice asking for help.

Fourth in the series, this adventure brings back a villain from the first book: the aforementioned "Fox." It's a quick-moving story, and I was three-quarters of the way through it before I knew it. On an unrelated note, I just about had a cardiac incident when I read the following un-proofread "sentence" on page 350: Ajax tooks her hand, squezed her fingers."

First Line: The light was dying, and so was Da Vinci.

Page 56 / Line 5: They took up nearly all the wall space, and he sat in the center in front of them at his solitary command post, his comfortable chair on wheels so he could easily scoot across to any of the screens he wished.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: Ten minutes later, Cassandra sat at her cypress desk, shining with the rubbed-in oil the housekeepers used that smelled of sweet oranges. [I will leave it up to you to decide whether it was Cassandra or her desk that was shining!]

Last Line: And she nodded at his small son.

Roth Christmas Epistle 2025

The Year That Was

January  -  Curtis turned 38.  *  Debbie spoke at a church-wide Ladies’ Birthday Party for Valley Christian Church.

February  -  Thomas turned 11.  *. Debbie spent 3 1/2 days in San Luis Potosí, Mexico getting Casa de Ninos ready for its new house parents and children.  *  Dewey got to see Anawynn in “SpongeBob the Musical.”  *  We thoroughly enjoyed the movie, The Unbreakable Boy.  *  On the 23rd, Shonda turned 42 and Kelly Jo turned 36.

March  -  Ivy June turned 5.  *  Enjoyed a meal with nephew-in-law Raju during his overnight stop in the Twin Cities. (Raju is a flight attendant.)

April  -  Anawynn turned 12.  *  Debbie was interviewed (mostly about her book Blue Tassels) by national women's speakers advocate, Marnie Swedberg.  *  Dewey preached at Valley Christian Church on the 6th.  *  Debbie spoke to almost 200 ladies at Hosanna Church.

May  -  Curtis & Abbey said hello to Shepherd Arlo Roth, born 10:18 AM, May 23, 9lbs, 9 oz, 21.25 inches. We welcome Goober to the clan!  *  Dewey preached again at VCC on the 25th.

June  -  The first weekend had us attending The Well Conference for Christian Creatives in Hudsonville, MI. Debbie sang for the assembled masses and they each received a copy of her book, Drenched: Only Hope in the Storm.  *  The 9th was our 46th anniversary!

July  -  Crazy month. Debbie drove to Grand Rapids, MI, to attend Carol Kent's Speak Up Conference, but skipped the final day to be able to see her oldest niece for the first time in 35 years! She then drove down to Fort Wayne, IN, to meet that niece's husband and son and hang out with dear, dear friends from Markle until I flew in on Tuesday to attend Norwell High School Class of 1975's 50th Class Reunion on Saturday. A lot of laughs and too much food all week long.

August  -  Dewey turned 68.  *  Road trip to Wyoming and back that included the wedding of Debbie's great-niece, Shania, and ended up being one of our most fun, spontaneous vacations ever, e.g., a helicopter ride around Mount Rushmore, a day in Yellowstone, the Wyoming State Barbecue Championship & Bluegrass Festival.

September  -  LOTS of birthdays: Ezra Ann 4. Clarence "Clay" 2.  Angel 45. Debbie 67. Maverick 9.  *  Debbie spoke and sang to a group of about 70 ladies at an area-wide retreat in Texas.

October  -  A nice-but-too-short visit in Arkansas with Shonda and her family. Their new house is fairly amazing.  *  Enjoyed the 3rd year of greeting trick-or-treaters as SantaDewey.

November  -  The 1st was the official release date for Dewey's book, The Best of Truth Is.  *  Dewey had a good time with Dustin and Curtis at a 40th anniversary screening of Back to the Future.  *  Shonda was thankful for the end of the government shutdown so she could get back to work.  *  Thanksgiving found us at Curtis’ in-laws, and the following Sunday, Angel and Curtis brought their crews to our place for round two. #TrueConfession: Curtis and Shepherd represented their household solo, as the rest were under the weather.  *  On Black Friday, our only excursion was to the movie theater for Wicked: For Good.

December  -  Jesse turned 14.  *  Debbie celebrated 27 years of cancer-free living.  *  Thanks to Angel's in-laws, we experienced the Hosanna Christmas Concert for the first time. What an impressive display of talent and creativity!  *  The 30th, Debbie had (will have) surgery on her left shoulder to repair the rotator cuff.  *  The Most Wonderful Time of the Year was celebrated with 3/4 of the Rothchilds gathered with their families under our roof (SOME year, Shonda!), an event that makes whenEVER it happens one of the best days of the year for us.

Many warm wishes to you all. May the light that has come into the world (Jesus) illuminate your life and fill you with joy all year long!

On Our Unpresidential President

 

I refuse to lay down and accept all the hurtful, ugly, immoral words and actions of the U.S.A.'s current president.

Say what you can about his policies, it's his character that I cannot condone.

Now, there are plenty of things about his policies and executive orders that anger me to no end, but I recognize the possibility of reasonable people having different opinions about economics, immigration, and EBT cards.

What I cannot comprehend is allowing a pass to someone who treats people with the utmost disrespect while expecting unflinching loyalty. This man talks and behaves like a spoiled preschooler, ignoring the rulings of judges and the intent of the laws of our land.

You wouldn't allow your child to behave this way. Why are you accepting it from a grown man? How can you say, "He's doing what I voted for?"