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I don't ever want a new one

The first time I ever stepped into a church was in 10th grade. After the service (99% which I did not understand, and felt completely out of place about), my friend Patty went up to her youth pastor and asked, "Hey Pastor Steve, do you have any extra Bibles? My friend is new and doesn't have one." He went to his office to get one, but when he came back he said, "Sorry we don't have any more Bibles--but someone left their Bible behind and it's been sitting in the lost & found for months! Here, you can have it."

I didn't like the idea of receiving a second-hand Bible at first, so when I received a *new* leather-bound study-Bible (the two-tone smooth leather kind with the gold page edges), I immediately put this first Bible away. Over the years, I received several other Bibles which was honestly frustrating--I was so disappointed when I received a Bible from my LG as a baptism gift (c'mon how many Bibles did I really need at that time?)

I returned back to my first Bible two years ago when I started carrying my Bible everywhere. Bringing it was mandatory at first to missions training sessions, but later on I couldn't imagine trying to go anywhere without my Bible. When talking to a stranger on the Diag, another lifegroup member, or accountability partner, I just felt ill-equipped without a Bible available in my bag to guide me. Hebrews 4:12 says the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword, and I really felt it--there was no other equipment I wanted when entering into unforeseeable situations.

In the four years I've been walking with Christ, there have been countless passages and verses I found particularly meaningful at specific parts of my life. The pages that are now filled with underlines, highlights, and comments remind me of some of those key lessons and points of my faith ("stones" according to the life story template PAndrew made us do lol). My compact paperback Bible is beginning to show signs of wear and tear, but I don't think I ever want a new one :P

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