Hi, welcome to Faithfield Living.
Speaker AThis is your host, Kristin.
Speaker AToday my guest is going to talk to us about using his gifts and abilities for God.
Speaker AHe created a new, easy to understand and read Bible and he's passionate to make God's word even more accessible to everyone through a simple to understand Bible.
Speaker AAnd we're going to talk about what that project was like, doing it and being faithful and stepping into what God was asking him to do.
Speaker AWelcome to Faith Fueled Living, the podcast that equips you to live well spiritually, emotionally, physically and purposefully.
Speaker AEach week we'll dive into conversations and biblical truths to help you strengthen your faith, pursue meaningful work, hear for your whole self, and live in line with what matters most.
Speaker AHi.
Speaker AStay on the podcast.
Speaker AI am so happy to welcome our guest, Dan Parr.
Speaker AI'm excited for this conversation because Dan is gifted at the work he does, but he also felt called to from God to take on a project to re or to record a version of the Bible that was understandable and that made sense to everybody so that we could all, on a daily basis get into God's word and really understand who Christ is and what that means to be a Christ follower.
Speaker AAnd so I'm excited Dan has, he's the publisher narrator of the new easy to understand Bible read Bible.
Speaker AAnd I'm excited we're going to talk about why he thinks or you know, what it was like to walk through making that project, partnering with God to do that, and then what it's just like to use our gifts and talents for the kingdom.
Speaker ASo I'm excited and I hope this conversation will encourage you in your own life stepping into what God has for you.
Speaker ASo, Dan, welcome to the show.
Speaker BThanks so much.
Speaker BIt's a pleasure to be here, Kristin.
Speaker AYeah, thanks.
Speaker ASo first of all, why don't you just tell us a little bit about life and then obviously you know your professional work and then this is obviously one of the many projects you do.
Speaker ASo maybe just tell us about what life's like and then what it was like doing this project.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo I'm a voiceover talent by trade.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BThat's how I earn my living every day, by recording audio scripts.
Speaker BAnd for me, this seemed like a natural progression of that.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BI'm a Christian.
Speaker BI'm a passionate follower of Christ.
Speaker BI want to show my love for Christ.
Speaker BAnd I thought one of the ways I can do that is by recording his word.
Speaker BNow, to be honest with you, Christian, I say I'm a reluctant Bible narrator and publisher because it was never My intention to come out with a new version of the Bible.
Speaker BIf you would have told me five years ago this is what I'd be doing, I would have thought you were insane.
Speaker BHonestly, it's just too much work, and I didn't want to do it.
Speaker BSo I'm a reluctant one, but yet God, in his wisdom and his gentle prodding, convicted me and convinced me that this is what I need to do.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AI mean, what I love about that is sometimes we're going to be called to do things, you know?
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AThis was beyond the scope of something you had done, and it took a lot more research and time to do it.
Speaker ABut that he used this gift you already had, right?
Speaker ATo be able to speak clearly, strong, you know, voice.
Speaker AYou're able to use your voice in ways that a lot of us maybe, you know, don't have that skill or haven't developed it.
Speaker ASo I love that, you know, he took something that you already knew how to do, and then he just kind of blew it wide open and said, hey, now I'm going to take you to this other place.
Speaker AAnd so what did that look like?
Speaker AI mean, I know there's a struggle in deciding that you're going to step into, like, what he's calling you to when it's not comfortable, because I know I struggle with that sometimes, right?
Speaker ALike, okay, I can do the podcast, but, like, am I sometimes still playing smaller than I should be?
Speaker ARight?
Speaker ALike, is he actually saying every day I should be, like, what rooms should I be in right in front of people?
Speaker AWhere should I.
Speaker AAnd so I struggle with that.
Speaker AAnd I bet a lot of the people listening this might struggle with it, too.
Speaker ALike, are we being faithful or are we kind of tapping the brakes?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BJesus is the gentle shepherd, right?
Speaker BHe leads you along with his voice, and he is very peaceful.
Speaker BSheep aren't going to follow someone who's harsh with them.
Speaker BAnd it's been the same with me.
Speaker BHe gently led me along with this.
Speaker BIt started simple enough.
Speaker BI'm in a life group, and in the life group, we often read scripture, and the instructor, teacher, leader, will ask for volunteers.
Speaker BAnd I would frequently volunteer.
Speaker BAnd one day the instructor said, you know, Dan, I love it when you read the Word of God.
Speaker BI always just enjoy hearing how it sounds coming out of you.
Speaker BAnd I thought, well, that's very nice, very flattering.
Speaker BSo that was the seed.
Speaker BAnd then I had this idea, well, for Easter one year, I'm just going to record a little bit about the resurrection and put it up on my Facebook account, see how that goes.
Speaker BAnd so I went to the Book of Luke, found the Resurrection, and I thought, well, I'm going to reword this a little bit, just to make it a little bit more understandable, easier to read and comprehend.
Speaker BSo I did that, put it up on Facebook, got some good reviews, some good comments, and I thought, okay, well, that was kind of fun.
Speaker BI enjoyed that.
Speaker BAnd I really didn't think too much more about it.
Speaker BI kind of thought I was done.
Speaker BBut of course, as he often does, Jesus comes knocking, right?
Speaker BAnd he seemed to be prodding me to do the entire Book of Luke, which I thought was just absurd, it's way too large to do.
Speaker BAnd I thought, well, yeah, I don't want to do that, but he's persistent.
Speaker BSo I finally caved in and thought, okay, I'll record the Book of Luke.
Speaker BAnd I was going to just pick up a Bible and read it.
Speaker BAnd of course, you can't do that if you plan on selling it, because I thought, if I'm going to put all this effort into it, I want to be able to put it on Audible or Amazon if people want to purchase it.
Speaker BSo I couldn't pick up, like, the NIV because it's copyrighted, trademarked.
Speaker BSo I had to find a version that was in public domain, found the King James version, read a couple of these Thous beseeches, Verilys.
Speaker BAnd I thought, nope, that's not going to work for me.
Speaker BSo I had to look for another version.
Speaker BCame across the World English Bible, which is a good, faithful translation.
Speaker BA lot of input from theologians, Bible scholars, teachers over the years, but still just, I thought linguistically it was a bit of a challenge for some people.
Speaker BThere was still some archaic phrasing in there, some weird sentence structures, I thought.
Speaker BSo I thought I could probably use this as my base and just reword it in a way where if somebody knows nothing about the Bible, if they know nothing about Jesus, it'll make sense to them.
Speaker BSo with that, I started with the Book of Luke and did the Book of Luke.
Speaker BAnd it was a hard process, but it was enjoyable as well, because it was like I was working with my dad on a project.
Speaker BI get frustrated at a passage and say, well, how am I supposed to say this?
Speaker BHe'd inevitably lead me to another version of the Bible or a commentary where I'd kind of get an idea and say, okay, now I get it.
Speaker BNow I know how to word this.
Speaker BSo I did that for the entire Book of Luke, and I got done with it.
Speaker BAnd I thought, glad that's over.
Speaker BEnjoyed the process, but glad it's done.
Speaker BYeah, well, you can imagine what happens next.
Speaker BWasn't too long before I felt him saying, you know, acts is really the Book of Luke Part 2.
Speaker BIt's kind of a continuation of the story.
Speaker BDon't you think people need to hear the rest of the thought?
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BSo I reluctantly did the Book of Acts and it just kind of continued that way.
Speaker BAnd as we were going through this, the funny part is, Kristin, is that I was telling God on a frequent basis, God, we don't need another version of the bible.
Speaker BThere's already 900 versions out there.
Speaker BWe don't need one more.
Speaker AYeah, yeah.
Speaker BSo we'd go through this book after book and I'd keep protesting, he'd keep knocking on the door.
Speaker BAnd finally I think he got to the point where he had heard it enough.
Speaker BAnd he firmly but gently said to me, dan, why don't you let me decide what we need and what we don't need?
Speaker BAnd I thought, okay, well, I guess that settles it.
Speaker BSo four years later, got the entire Bible done.
Speaker AWow.
Speaker AWell, first of all, congratulations, because I know it's a big project and not only just wrestling with, like you said, I mean, it meant that beyond your.
Speaker AThe work that pays your bills, you are going to spend a lot of free time writing or revising.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AThe translation that you decided to start with and then recording it.
Speaker AAnd as you shared with me before this, I think I'd heard it before, but not for some time.
Speaker AEvery hour that you actually had finished audio for, which is, I think 61 or 62 hours, takes four hours to produce, you know, that high quality hour of the Bible that you recorded.
Speaker ASo, you know, a pretty good sized project.
Speaker AAnd, you know, obviously you don't do it in just a couple weeks.
Speaker AIt takes time because you had, like you said, you weren't just re recording it, you were also trying to look at it through a lens of somebody that you wanted it to be easy and inviting.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AYou didn't want there to be any barriers based on the words that were being used in the translation you decided to record.
Speaker ASo first of all, I love that and I will say that.
Speaker ASo I was just in D.C. for a gathering called Renew, but it was basically the church that Mark, author and pastor Mark Batterson planted.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo I was at that.
Speaker AAnd you know, but when you were talking, it was just reminding me so many times in his books he talks about, you know, just being faithful, like you said, and just kind of God is asking us to take a step of faith first and stuff he wants us to do, and then he shows up.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker ASo each time we're obedient and we do something, it might be something small, right?
Speaker ALike you thinking, you know, maybe for Easter, I'm going to do this thing, and then you faithfully just did it because you had that little inkling.
Speaker AAnd then he, you know, gives you a little bit more, like, hey, maybe you, you know, you do more with this.
Speaker AYou do more with this.
Speaker AAnd so I love that because so often I think we're waiting for God to kind of knock on the door and say, like, hey, I'm over here.
Speaker ADo this thing.
Speaker ABut it's not.
Speaker AUsually it's.
Speaker AIt is much more gentle and subtle, and we have to be.
Speaker AWe have to be present.
Speaker AWe have to be listening for that little whisper.
Speaker AAnd of course, we have to be in the word.
Speaker AWe have to be in prayer, make space in our lives.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AFor to hear God, if you will.
Speaker AI mean, however we hear him, obviously, sometimes it's just that feeling within us that we know it's not quite our voice.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ABut we know we're being kind of led or prompted.
Speaker ASo I love that.
Speaker ASo what would you share with us about.
Speaker AWas there anybody in your life that was encouraging you or, like, you know, kind of cheering you on to finish this?
Speaker AOr did you feel like, no, it was just God, And I didn't really have any support system because I think sometimes that's where we worry.
Speaker ALike, is my spouse or my friend or my parent, Are they.
Speaker ADo they even know about it?
Speaker AOne, did we tell them?
Speaker AAnd then two, are they encouraging us?
Speaker AOr are they kind of like, wait, you're gonna do what?
Speaker BWell, fortunately, I'm married to a wonderful woman who is very supportive and kind and giving and loving and beautiful.
Speaker BShe is my best friend, my rock, and she really helped encourage me along through this.
Speaker BYou know, I come out frustrated sometimes just saying, my gosh, this is way too long.
Speaker BThis is way too big of a project.
Speaker BShe's like, just do a little bit.
Speaker BDo what you can.
Speaker BYou know, let God fill in the rest.
Speaker BAnd so I go back in the studio, start over again, start recording, and she would just, you know, how's it going today?
Speaker BWhat'd you work on today?
Speaker BYou know, that kind of thing.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BAnd just giving up of the time.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BBecause obviously this took a long time to do.
Speaker BOver four years.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BSo she was just very giving with all that.
Speaker BAnd the funny part is, is after all of this was done, Right.
Speaker BI got it completely out there, I think, okay, well, that's great.
Speaker BI'm done now.
Speaker BShe's the one who says, well, don't you think people kind of need to hear about it?
Speaker BIt's like, well, yeah, but what am I supposed to do?
Speaker BAnd she had me listen to this podcast, and I listened to it, and really, I guess I'm slow on the uptake.
Speaker BDidn't get anything out of it.
Speaker BShe's like, well, what do you think about that?
Speaker BAnd I'm like, oh, sounds fine.
Speaker BShe's like, any ideas?
Speaker BAnd I'm like, no.
Speaker BAnd she says, don't you think you should go on podcasts and talk to people about this?
Speaker BAnd I thought, oh, well, I guess that is a pretty good idea.
Speaker BSo it's all credit to her that I'm even able to be out here and doing this now, right?
Speaker AWell, yeah, I mean, that is a good point in that if we are creating content or a product, whatever it is, even if it's right, like a faith, a Christian product, or whatever content, right?
Speaker ALike, yes, God controls the outcome, but we still have to be faithful, not only in creating the thing, but to your point, if we never share the thing, we did.
Speaker AAnd I've been there, like when I first started.
Speaker ASo I started a different podcast first, which I still have called Building a Life youe Love.
Speaker AAnd then I started this one maybe six months after that.
Speaker ABut when I first started this, it had a different name at the time.
Speaker AIt was called Spark of Faith.
Speaker ABut I didn't tell anybody, like, about it.
Speaker AI didn't even tell my husband.
Speaker ALike, I was just like, oh, I'm going to test this out.
Speaker ALike, just this Christian podcast, because I wasn't ready.
Speaker ALike, I wasn't ready to be like, hey, look at me.
Speaker AI'm doing this Christian, specifically only podcast.
Speaker ABut my point is, is once again, the more I started getting comfortable with that, you know, I, of course, had to share, and then I had to, like you said, go on other podcasts, put it out there, share clips.
Speaker ABecause, you know, our job isn't how many people or how often or how many we sell, but our job is to also be out there, right?
Speaker ABecause we are then giving testimony.
Speaker AWe are then sharing the word of God, sharing other people's stories or whatever it is.
Speaker ASo that's so funny that, that, that your wife is like, well, what do you think?
Speaker AMaybe you should do this?
Speaker ASo I agree with you because I've been there and done that.
Speaker AEven with a project, I co authored a book many Years ago with.
Speaker AWith my mom, actually.
Speaker AAnd it's like, as soon as we did it, I was like, okay, I'm done.
Speaker AThat was a great project, but I don't really want to promote it.
Speaker AIt was nothing wrong with it.
Speaker AIt was like a parenting book.
Speaker ABut the point is, is of course, really not very many people were getting it because we weren't sharing it.
Speaker AI was kind of.
Speaker AWe had other.
Speaker AWe had a different company, so we were working on that.
Speaker ABut you people aren't going to know if you don't share it with them.
Speaker AAnd so.
Speaker AYou know what I mean?
Speaker ASo that's fun.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AAnd.
Speaker BAnd I'm not naturally kind of a little bit more reserved.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BGot that English background.
Speaker BSo I'm not out there promoting myself.
Speaker BMost of the time I'm.
Speaker BI'm happy to stay in the shadows.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BHowever, you know, God doesn't call us to stay in the shadows.
Speaker BHe calls us to bring our light in front of all the world.
Speaker AAbsolutely.
Speaker ASo why don't you tell us a little bit, like, besides just feeling God kind of prompting you to do this, what else might you just share with us or encourage us in being bolder with our faith?
Speaker ABecause I think.
Speaker ALet me just caveat that.
Speaker AI think in the last at least five years, maybe, maybe even 10.
Speaker AI don't know about you, but as a Christian, I mean, of course I have a platform online.
Speaker AI have this podcast and stuff, but on social media, I struggled to share.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AI didn't want to share about politics.
Speaker AI didn't want to share.
Speaker AI just like.
Speaker AWas so divisive.
Speaker AI think we all knew that and felt that, but so sometimes it felt unsafe, which is not how.
Speaker AWhat we're not called to.
Speaker ALike, God didn't say we're going to be safe, but you know what I'm saying?
Speaker ASo I think in that environment, how can we be bold with our faith?
Speaker ALike, how would you just encourage us what you've seen and learned from your own experience?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BWell, first and foremost, you know, there's lots of people who are bold.
Speaker BBeing bold is not necessarily a spiritual gift.
Speaker BThere are people who are anti Christ who are very bold.
Speaker BBut I would say we have to do it with a spirit of love.
Speaker BAnd for me, the best way I know to develop that is just to be in the Word on a regular basis.
Speaker BThe Word is transformative.
Speaker BLet it wash over you and change your heart and change your demeanor.
Speaker BBecause when you do, God takes up residence.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd you create space for him to do a work in you.
Speaker BWhen you Avail yourself to the Word.
Speaker BYou know, Hebrews tells us that it's alive, active, sharper than a two edged sword.
Speaker BSo I would encourage people first, you might have a great message to share.
Speaker BFantastic.
Speaker BBe in the Word first, right?
Speaker BBe in prayer first.
Speaker BBe in fellowship with other Christians first.
Speaker BThose are the three main things.
Speaker BBe in the Word, be in fellowship, be in prayer.
Speaker BAnd then after that, when you have those checks and balances in place, then start spreading the Word in love.
Speaker BThe world's, the world's not going to be persuaded by our arguments.
Speaker BThey're going to be persuaded by our love.
Speaker BSo that is the, the big overarching message.
Speaker BI think whatever you do, whatever you say, do it in the spirit of love and let the Holy Spirit have that space to work in.
Speaker AOh, I absolutely agree with you.
Speaker AI mean, 100%.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo yeah, great.
Speaker AI love how you said that too.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd I think that is kind of where it feels like sometimes it appears some have lost their way.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ABecause you know, people that'll say they're Christians and I'm not saying they're not, but sometimes the behavior online and I think it's also because you're online, it's at this distance.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker APeople just push stuff out instead of really thinking about to your point, like what's behind that, like what's the heart of my message and am I being kind and loving and you know, showing up how Jesus would have shown up in that situation, in that conversation, you know, in that room or whatever it is.
Speaker AAnd I agree with you.
Speaker AAnd that's why sometimes I won't, I won't show up in those spaces because I don't think there was anything I could have added without it becoming something else.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AAnd so, and to your point, that's why often it's in the moments.
Speaker AThat's the other thing I was sharing in my email today for my faith email was just talking about holy moments, which we've heard that before, but I was talking about the book by Matthew Kelly, but he's just saying like that's when we just.
Speaker AA holy moment is just when we make ourselves available to God in that moment to kind of use us.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ALike we're here, God, like how do you want to use us in this situation, in this moment, in this conversation, you know, in the world?
Speaker AAnd it's when it's not about our self interest, but it's about what does want God want to do through us and with us, you know, and so I think if we all, to your point, come from that posture, because we are letting the Holy Spirit be part of the situation, be part of the moment, then that's when, like you said, he can work through us.
Speaker AAbsolutely.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker AOh, sorry, were you going to say something?
Speaker BNo, I was just going to say, you know, we talk about how divisive things can be, especially when it's online.
Speaker BAnd I think of it.
Speaker BYou know, I don't engage in a lot of online debate, admittedly, because I don't think it's very fruitful.
Speaker BBut, you know, the times I have, it tends to come out a little bit more harsh than I would if I was speaking in person.
Speaker BAnd I think about just driving in traffic.
Speaker BYou know, I speak much more roughly to people when I'm in my car by myself than I would if they were in front of me.
Speaker BYou know, you just have to be aware of your surroundings, be aware of your circumstances.
Speaker BAnd remember, you know, God sees, hears, knows everything.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo just.
Speaker BI always have to keep that in the back of my mind that, you know, Jesus is sitting right next to me.
Speaker BDo I really want to be talking like that to that person in that car who just cut me off?
Speaker BProbably not.
Speaker AYeah, absolutely.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo what would you just say going through this process, you know, like you said, it was a lot of hours.
Speaker AYou know, your wife had to also be willing for you to give up some of the time.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AThat you might have been.
Speaker AYou all might have been doing something else, but, you know, you knew it was important, obviously.
Speaker AWhat else would you just share with us about things you've learned, you know, or how your faith grew by doing that, you know, that bigger project?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BOne of the things that just became abundantly clear to me is just how much love God has for us.
Speaker BYou know, I've read the Bible before, you know, a couple of times through, and.
Speaker BBut working with it in this level, you know, you get very intimate with God because you have to, because you're taking his word and kind of trying to make it available to a new generation.
Speaker BBut his love just really shined through the pages of this.
Speaker BYou know, we see it in the Garden of Eden.
Speaker BHe hung out with Adam and Eve.
Speaker BHe was there with them.
Speaker BHe had fellowship with them.
Speaker BAnd then even after they messed up, he made a way for them to be restored.
Speaker BSame thing happens with the Israelites, right?
Speaker BTime and time again, they turn away from God.
Speaker BTime and time again, he is the one who initiates them coming back and makes a way for them to come back.
Speaker BAnd of course, we see all of that fulfilled Through Jesus, right.
Speaker BHe comes down to earth.
Speaker BThis is how you're supposed to do it.
Speaker BPeople follow me, watch me do what I do.
Speaker BAnd it's just incredible amount of love that he continues to show us in his grace and his mercy.
Speaker BAnd, you know, something we obviously don't deserve, but because of his goodness, he just extends to us.
Speaker BSo that's one of the things that I came away from this with, is just an appreciation of how much he loves us and what a good father he is and just how forgiving and kind he is.
Speaker BSo that was probably the biggest takeaway for me.
Speaker AYeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker AThat makes so much sense because I think that's true.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AThe more time we spend in relationship with him, the more time we spend in His Word.
Speaker AIt does.
Speaker AIt just fills you with more of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker AIt fills you with more understanding.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ATo your point of that relationship.
Speaker AAnd I remember seeing something by a. I think it was a. I don't was a monk or who it was, but it was some person of faith.
Speaker AAnd they said something to him about his faith and he said, well, if you spend an hour or two hours every day in the presence of God for 25 years, 40 years, you would have this too.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AIn other words, like, it's because of the time you're committing that you have this deeper understanding.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AThan somebody that just first meets Jesus, just gets in the word.
Speaker AI'm not saying they don't feel something, but the more time we spend, the more we can know his heart and know his.
Speaker ALike you just said that it's how much love and how much he wants to have that relationship with us.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BFaith is a seed.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIt starts small, but it just continues to grow.
Speaker BAnd you can make the environment better by watering the seed, by putting it in good soil.
Speaker BAnd you do that by spending time in his presence and in His Word.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AActually, that reminds me when you were saying that earlier about that you did the first small.
Speaker AYou know, you were going to do the.
Speaker AWell, I forget what part of it, but it.
Speaker AWas it the resurrection.
Speaker BYeah, yeah.
Speaker ABut when you were saying that, you were talking about the seed.
Speaker AYeah, I was going to say, you know, I saw something interesting.
Speaker AI can't remember the name, the guy's name.
Speaker AI'll have to look it up and share it in the show notes.
Speaker ABut he was saying that.
Speaker ASo he helps people use, I mean, with their faith, kind of figure out how to get out of debt, how to, you know, to become financially, you know, have financial freedom and stuff from a Christian Lens.
Speaker ABut he was saying that so many people, there's things right in front of them that they already could be using.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AJust like examples in the Bible to first serve the kingdom.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker AThat's first.
Speaker ABut then also often it could actually reap them some benefit.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker ABecause maybe you already have a skill and talent.
Speaker AAnd we, we keep looking around, like, what do we have?
Speaker AI don't have anything.
Speaker AI can't.
Speaker AI didn't get this degree or I didn't do that.
Speaker AAnd it's like, that's actually not true.
Speaker AThere's so often things that we already do or people want to learn from us or they.
Speaker AYou bake beautiful sourdough bread or you.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AAnd so what I thought was interesting, it's that whole seed.
Speaker AI think sometimes we don't realize all these seeds have been planted.
Speaker AFor instance, the person that encouraged you in your small group or your.
Speaker AOr your Bible study or whatever it was, we forget that our words have such power over each other.
Speaker ASo when we encourage people just by something small by saying, like, you're so good at this thing or that really, you know, bless my family that you did this thing for us, or even if it comes easy to use.
Speaker ASo one, we have to remember to speak life into other people, Right?
Speaker ALike encourage them.
Speaker AEncourage them when we see something in them or when we see where they can.
Speaker AWhat they can become.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker ABecause I think sometimes we get stuck in the here and now.
Speaker ABut God is calling us to actually encourage people for who they can become in Him.
Speaker BYeah, absolutely.
Speaker BI mean, God has given everybody gifts and abilities, right?
Speaker BNobody is walking around without any gifts or abilities.
Speaker BSo whoever you are, if you're in Christ, you have gifts, abilities and skills that probably could be used for the kingdom if you would just let them out of the closet and let them shine and go to him in prayer and just say, what am I supposed to be doing?
Speaker BWhen you come to him with sincere heart, he's going to show you what you should be doing.
Speaker BHis sheep know his voice, so you will hear it if you just spend that time.
Speaker BAnd, you know, for me, I've always been a shortcut kind of guy.
Speaker BWhat's the way I can get done with this the fastest?
Speaker BYou know, does it have to be perfect?
Speaker BNo.
Speaker BCan I get it done quicker?
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BWell, God showed me that, you know, this is something you can't take shortcuts with.
Speaker BAnd it's the same thing with our faith, right?
Speaker BYou have to spend the time developing it.
Speaker BSpending time.
Speaker BIn His Word, there's no shortcut.
Speaker BTo it.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIt's a relationship.
Speaker BSo just spend time with him and he'll show you your gifting and how you can make a contribution.
Speaker AYeah, absolutely.
Speaker AOkay, so what would, what do you want to share with us about the easy to understand read Bible?
Speaker ALike, are there just some, I don't know, some takeaways or maybe there's a.
Speaker AYour favorite scripture within it after having gone through this whole project.
Speaker ABut what would you just want to share with us about that translation in that Bible?
Speaker BYeah, so I think if somebody has been put off by traditional Bible language, King James Version or what have you, this is a version that says, come try this.
Speaker BYou know, I, I read some reviews that I get and one of them was on Audible.
Speaker BI think the man read the Book of John and he was saying, you know, I grew up in the church, had the King James Version, but really didn't get much out of it.
Speaker BOver the years, he drifted away from his faith, got into New Age.
Speaker BHe said he read over 50 new age books, happened to come across this, the Gospel of John, and thought, all right, I'll give it a try.
Speaker BAnd he said something clicked for him.
Speaker BYou know, the phrasing, the wording, the voice, whatever the Holy Spirit is, what it really was.
Speaker BBut something clicked for him.
Speaker BAnd he said, since this, I've come back to my faith, I've come back to Jesus.
Speaker BAnd for me, you know, oh my gosh, that God would use a simpleton like me to help somebody along in their faith.
Speaker BIt's just remarkable.
Speaker BSo I would say if there's anyone who's struggled with Bible reading in the past, give this a shot, see what God can do and approach it with an open heart.
Speaker BYou know, I try to, every time I open the Word, just say, God, help me to get something out of this today, Help me to hear from you today.
Speaker BAnd when you do that, he shows up.
Speaker BNot every time, but as you make it a practice, it becomes more evident you get more out of it.
Speaker BSo I would just say get in the Word every day and spend time with God and just watch him do a transformation.
Speaker AYeah, absolutely.
Speaker ASo what are your.
Speaker AMaybe either your, your daily faith practices or maybe one that's your favorite, you know, like if it's a review or is it, do you like to do a certain journaling or anything that's related to your faith?
Speaker BYeah, so for me, faith is all encompassing.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIt's the foundation of my life.
Speaker BAnd you got to do things that's going to put you in the right mindset.
Speaker BSo that Includes exercise, right?
Speaker BI feel better when I exercise, and when I exercise, I'm more in tune with the spirit.
Speaker BI can listen to podcasts when I exercise, so that's one thing that helps me out.
Speaker BI can listen to good Bible teaching as I exercise and then spending time in personal praise and devotion.
Speaker BI have a hymnal that I bought several years ago, and every day I'll sing a couple of hymns out of it.
Speaker BYou know, I'm a lousy singer, but I can sing it to myself.
Speaker BAnd God still enjoys it, I know, so I'll do that.
Speaker BAnd then I get into the Word.
Speaker BAnd what I've really enjoyed lately is using AI to help me with my Bible understanding and Bible reading.
Speaker BI'll get to something, I think, well, that's a little interesting.
Speaker BWhat does that mean?
Speaker BSo I'll go on chat GTP and put.
Speaker BAnd you have to be careful how you phrase things, but I always put, what do Bible scholars and theologians say about this verse?
Speaker BBlah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker BYou know, whatever my question is.
Speaker BAnd it'll come back and it'll say, well, you know, Matthew Henry says this, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker BSomeone so says this.
Speaker BSo it gives you a curated understanding of, you know, how people have traditionally interpreted verses.
Speaker BAnd I find that just really enhances my knowledge and understanding of the Word.
Speaker BSo that's what I do in the evening.
Speaker BI have a grown son who lives with us.
Speaker BHe just graduated from college, but you know, around 9 o' clock every evening, me, my wife, him, we all gather around and have a time of Bible reading and prayer.
Speaker BIt's just a habit we started when he was young and we continue it today, even though he's now in his early 20s.
Speaker BSo those are a couple of things that I do just to help me stay grounded in the Word.
Speaker BAnd of course, being involved with a small group life group.
Speaker BSunday morning, you know, I'm at church and we have a Bible study life group.
Speaker BAfter that, Wednesday evening I have a men's group that I lead a little table group.
Speaker BAnd then even Tuesday nights I'm taking a seminary class.
Speaker BSo just things like that, opportunities God puts in front of you to have fellowship with other Christians to learn.
Speaker BI just try to take advantage of those things.
Speaker AYeah, I love that.
Speaker AWell, yeah.
Speaker AAnd when you mentioned the AI, whether it's from there or you're reading, you know, you have a study Bible with other information, translation in it, you know, just even reading the original language, right, where you can dig into the meaning the word, because so many times the way it's Written to your point, we might interpret it from a contemporary lens.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AWe're our understanding.
Speaker ABut then digging into what that meant, how the word was used in the Bible based on that sometimes that it's just like such a shift to your point.
Speaker AAnd you can put that in AI too.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ABesides saying the Bible scholars and whatnot, it's what was this word?
Speaker AYou know, what did this mean right.
Speaker AIn the Greek or Hebrew.
Speaker AAnd then kind of digging into it, you know, to me sometimes it's like wow, I didn't real, I didn't realize that.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AIf you don't really.
Speaker ASo, so I like that.
Speaker AI think that's, that's great.
Speaker ASo, so, so great.
Speaker ASo can you share with us what is just fueling your faith right now?
Speaker AObviously you're doing so many godly biblical things to stay in his word, to stay within groups.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ATo just kind of build up your faith, build up your, the King of Kingdom groups.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ABut is there anything that's just feeling fueling your life, filling your faith right now besides the things you already shared?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo I'm working on a devotional, a 365 day devotional for Gen Z and it's going to be called something along the lines of A Dad's words to Gen Z, A guide for Walking through the Bible in a Year.
Speaker BBasically I'll guide them through several chapters of the Bible a day, suggest what they read and then have a devotional based on the reading.
Speaker BSo I've been working on that, putting that together.
Speaker BI've got it all written in the editing process now and then I'll have to go into recording, but it's been enjoyable.
Speaker BGen Z as you know, probably has a lot of things coming against them, you know, mental health being one of the things that they struggle with.
Speaker BSo I just want to encourage them and help them in any way that I can.
Speaker BI've been around for 50 plus years now.
Speaker BI've learned a few things from being with God and if I can pass on that knowledge to them, help them save some time, not make some of the mistakes I've made, learn some of the things that I've picked up over the years, I hopefully it'll just be a blessing in their lives.
Speaker AThat's wonderful.
Speaker AAnd you're so right.
Speaker AI have three college age sons and so absolutely there's, there's a lot coming against them to your point, you know, and you know, we all just pray and want them to have all the resources and, and to have a relationship with Christ, you know, and but they're all at different, even having three sons, they're all at different places with that.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AYou know their faith right now.
Speaker AAnd so, you know, just continuing to try to get things in front of them is so important.
Speaker ASo that's great additional work you're doing.
Speaker ASo thank you for that.
Speaker ASo Dan, can you share with us, how can people connect with you?
Speaker AWhere can they find your, your the version of the Bible that you've recorded and all of that good stuff?
Speaker BYeah, I've got everything on audible.com and Amazon.com so if they want to check that out, just look up Dan Parr EUR Bible.
Speaker BEverything will pop up for them.
Speaker BThere's, I've even found that it's showing up in places I don't even know how it got to.
Speaker BBarnes and Noble Online has it for some reason.
Speaker BSo I guess that's fine.
Speaker BBut I direct people to Audible or Amazon if they want to connect with me.
Speaker BPersonally, I don't do a lot of social media, Honestly I'm on LinkedIn but they can connect with me there as well.
Speaker BJust put Dan Parr Bible guy and I'll pop up there on their LinkedIn.
Speaker AOh fantastic.
Speaker AWell, thank you for joining us today.
Speaker AThank you for sharing how you stepped into and were faithfully doing this project that you felt, you know, God called you into and for doing this.
Speaker ABecause to your point, the more versions of the Bible there are that are easy to understand, you know, like you've just done it matters.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker ABecause to your point, I get it.
Speaker AI've read versions of the Bible or sometimes I go up and look at different, some of the different versions and I mean I'm like that what like the 1 out of 6 will make more sense right to me than the other ones just because of a several word shift.
Speaker AAnd so yes, thank you for the work you're doing and you know, how you're just showing up and just, you know, encouraging people in their faith because it is so important as we know.
Speaker ASo thank you again for joining us and I will share all of that in the show notes as well.
Speaker BThanks Kristen.
Speaker BIt's been a pleasure.
Speaker AI also wanted to remind you, if you haven't already signed up for my community by joining my weekly email, go ahead and go on over to KristinFitch.com and you can grab either my joyful devotional 15 day devotional or you can grab my Reignite youe Passion workbook.
Speaker ABut I will send an email most Fridays called Faith Fridays that's just going to uplift you encourage you inspire you with God's word and what he's calling each of us to do in our lives.
Speaker ASo head over to KristenFitch.com or click the link in the Show Notes to join our community.
Speaker AIf you enjoyed today's episode, if you could leave a rating review on Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts, it helps the show get discovered by more people so that we can continue to uplift and encourage people in their faith journey as well as all of the other parts of their lives.