GENESIS from GNT My Book --God

The following post is taken directly from my hand-printed Reader's Journal. I will be sharing these reflections each week on the Rivera Runs Through It blog. The date at the end of each post is the date of the original writing, which is typically the date I completed the book. The reflections are short, but represent my initial reactions to a book, a brief summary of the book or the questions it raised for me at the time. I hope you enjoy this segment in my blog and feel free to comment on what you read here.





GENESIS from GNT My Book --God

I have decided this Lent I will read the Bible. I doubt I will finish by Easter, but I have set the goal. The Book of Genesis had its highs and lows for me. I enjoyed the stories - Creation, Noah Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, etc., but I found it very difficult to follow the chapters about descendants and such. I can see why people read this book over and over again - it's hard to remember all of the details of every story. I've only completed Genesis and I've already forgotten the details of the creation!

Dated: 03/07/04

The Story Behind this Book

In 1999, after his boot camp and training, the first place my brother was stationed as a United States Marine was in Pensacola, Florida. My mother, my boyfriend (now husband) and I took a road trip down from New York to go visit him in his first official home away from home. While there is a book worth of stories that can be told from that trip, the one that I am thinking of now is the seed planted that lead to me reading this strange black-covered Bible. 

I saw a sign. Well, I saw a bunch of signs. Not the mystical religious type; actually giant billboards on the side of the road, from God. Did you see them? I thought they were just awesome. Black backgrounds with white lettering, each sign contained a simple statement or question and was signed "-God." I wondered why I hadn't seen them anywhere else, or where they came from, but they were not marked in any way for me to find any information.

I never forgot the signs and one day I was hanging out in the book store when I saw a black book with simple white type on it saying "My Book -God": I couldn't help but laugh. The book looked just like the signs and, when I started flipping through it, actually had pictures of the signs inside it, along with the story of the "God Speaks" campaign:

In 1998, an anonymous donor contacted an advertising agency with an idea for a local billboard campaign that would create a spiritual climate and get people to think about a daily relationship with a loving and relevant God. The agency came up with the idea of creating a series of quotes from God to be placed on billboards.

The billboards would be simple and easy to read—black boards with white type, and all “signed” by God. No logo. No address or phone number. Not religious or condemning. Just straightforward messages that would rightly represent God.

There was something so "user friendly" about these signs. These billboards reminded me of the God I had always imagined was in my corner. So, while the idea of reading the Bible always seemed to be too daunting a task, with this particular book, I felt that it could be possible.

That was 2004. It is now 2012 and I can tell you that I still have not finished reading "The Book" cover to cover, but it is always on my to-read list. I'll tell you one thing, though, just in what I have read so far, I have gained a new perspective of the role of this piece of literature in my religion and in my culture and it is fascinating.

Have you ever read the Bible cover to cover? If so, what edition?

Have you seen the "God Speaks" billboards?

For those who believe in God, does the "God Speaks" campaign represent the voice of God as you imagined Him/Her?