The winner of a brand-new NLT Mosaic Bible is…

Katie V.!

Congrats Katie, I’ll be contacting you to find out the best way to get you your Mosaic.

In order to pick a winner, I listed everyone’s name as I got a comment or ReTweet in an excel file. In the picture below, contact info has been redacted for privacy. Literally. After doing that, I went to random.org and used their randomizer to give each contestant a number. The only truly random number assigned was the first one, as each after that would become n-1 chances. (Astute readers will notice that I added extra difficulty, but starting the numbering in the wrong row. Whoops!)

I then went back to Random.org and had it give me one last random number to give me the winner:

So, I’ve always wanted to do a give-away on my blog, but have never been able to do so. That is, until now. I am giving away a free copy of the The Holy Bible: Mosaic, thanks to the good people at Tyndale House Publishers. How do you get your copy? Well, it’s easy:

All you have to do is comment on this post, giving a reason for why I want to get the Mosaic. It doesn’t have to be why you “need” it, although that’s fine too. I really want to hear why you want. Commenting will get your name put into a drawing using super-secret, state of the art processes for determining a winner.¹ Of course, include an email (you have to anyways) so I can get in touch with you for mailing details if you win.

Bonus! Those of you who want can get your name put in a second time simply by tweeting the following:

@bryanlilly is offering a chance to win a free NLT Mosaic! Check out his blog for more details: http://bit.ly/3xZJPK

You must include the @bryanlilly, so that I can see the tweets in my replies and give you credit for it. That’s it!

The winner will be drawn and announced this following Monday, sometime after 2:30pm (i.e. after class and work).

Today marks the official release of the Holy Bible: Mosaic. To celebrate the release of this bible (see yesterday’s post for more information), Tyndale is sponsoring a contest where you could win a deluxe edition of the Mosaic Bible, as well as a chance to win up to $500 to spend at Amazon.com. On top of that, the blog tour in support of the Mosaic also started today with a stop at Polycarp’s blog.

You can purchase the Mosaic at Amazon: Holy Bible: Mosaic NLT

This leads to a few announcements for this blog.

1. I will be reviewing the new Mosaic Bible. I’m hoping to get this up soon, but I have been taking time to get familiar with it, starting with jumping into using the liturgical devotional for this week last night.

2. The blog tour will be making a stop here. The blog tour started today as I mentioned above, and this blog will be featured as a stop on the tour. On October 5th, I will be featuring a guest post from one of the contributors to the Mosaic. I’m really excited about this, as I’m a big fan of the contributor—whom I’m not going to announce just yet. Just make sure to tune in October 5th for a guest post!

3. I am going to be giving away a free copy of the Mosaic! That’s right… Tyndale has given me (along with 49 other bloggers) the ability to give away a free copy of the Mosaic Bible! I will be posting a contest in the next few days with the rules, and will be announcing the winner sometime after that.
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[Author's note: I don't want to have to point this out, but I know someone will miss it: I've posted this under 'fun.']

“I’ve started a new job this week.” That’s the part of the conversations I’ve had lately that has gone normally for me the past few days. Things would take an interesting turn soon thereafter, however, when I answered the inevitable follow-up question. “Oh, what are you doing?” “Janitorial work, mostly.”

Apparently, most people don’t leave one job to become a janitor like I did.

I have some definite reasons why I did—some holier than others such as wanting to serve the church I’m a member of, and making sure to get more definite hours throughout the week now that I’m married. The majority of reasons aren’t quite so sanctified though, and we’ll find out this Saturday just how easily the two I did mention just now will be kept in the front of my mind as I’m cleaning up after a concert that doesn’t even start until 8pm (Over the Rhine, at the 930; Doors open at 7! It’s going to be an awesome show).

So in light of the above reality, as well as the reality that as a sinner I am just plain prone to be lazy and hate work, I’ve constructed a theology of janitorialism. Enjoy, and adapt:
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This is probably the best thing I’ve seen on facebook.

Mike is the author of evepheso. Make sure to check him out if you like avocados.

Dr. Jim West has challenged all bibliobloggers to post a picture of their desktop. I am constantly changing my background, so I thought I would give you two shots. I’m a big fan of high-def backgrounds like this one:
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In an attempt to not actually do homework, I thought I’d throw out a pattern and see who can guess what it is. Have fun:

1
11
21
1211
111221
312211
13112221
1113213211
31131211131221
1321133113112211
11131221232113212221
…

No searching allowed. If you’re already familiar with the sequence, say so in the comment. Since they are moderated by me, I can hold your comment until others have a chance to figure out the pattern.