I have blogged about reading the Bible this way before, but this week’s studies have reminded me again just how thankful I am to have this fresh new insight into God’s Word.
     We are currently studying Unit 3 of Tapestry of Grace Year 1.  The topic this week is the Assyrians.  We are learning about them as a people group and how they affected the Israelites.  Last week we studied how Israel became divided after the reign of Solomon and became known as the seperate Kingdoms of Judah and Israel - each having their own unique kings, prophets, capitals, triumphs and troubles. 
The Daily Bible tells these stories in chronological order which is a HUGE help to the boys (and me!).  It is hard to explain, but here are some examples of why this Bible makes it SO MUCH EASIER to understand the flow of history:
The boys’ reading assignments were
2 Kings 11-17, Jonah, and Amos

Joash
In 2 Kings we learn about Joash, King of Judah.  He is crowned at the young age of 7 and reigns for 40 years under the guidance of Jehoiada the priest.  2 Kings tells about the reign of Joash – the devastation of the locusts, how he rebuilds the temple, etc. 
     But in The Daily Bible, the story continues . . .  sharing how, once the priest Jehoiada dies, King Joash accepts paganism, abandoning the temple he worked so hard on rebuilding and worshiping idols.
     Had we not been reading from the Daily Bible we might not have known that part of the story because it is actually found in 2 Chronicles, not 2 Kings.  Had we just read 2 Kings we would still get lots of good information but not ALL the information available on Joash and God’s people.
     Chronicles and Kings often overlap.  They tell the story of the same Kings, same time periods, some of the same details but also some different information.  The Daily Bible puts those different parts into one complete whole story to give you the big picture of what is happening and why.

Joel
Early in Joash’s reign, a great disaster befalls Judah - and army of locusts swarms, completely destroying crops and food storages. The prophet Joel seizes the opportunity to use the locust invasion as an example of a future invasion which is to come from the north. 
     If you just read Joel separately you might not appreciate the analogy or fully understand the circumstances.  But here, in The Daily Bible, the prophesies of Joel are interspersed right in the middle of the story of Joash and Judah – right when the people of Judah would have been hearing those words and experiencing the aftermaths of the locust swarm.  The words of Joel have so much more meaning when read in context.

Jonah
2 Kings 14:25 mentions Jonah, but The Daily Bible puts Jonah’s entire story in here, putting it in its historical context.  It makes the story come to life even more than just reading the book of Jonah independently.

The Daily Bible has made learning about the ancients, and God’s Word more alive, understandable and real.  It is not a narrative - it is the actual Scriptures.  Psalms are arranged by theme, Proverbs arranged by topic.  Mine is NIV, but other translations are available as well.
I highly recommend it!  Here is the link if you want to check it out:

This is a great book for my boys to have around.  Now they can look up the spelling or definition of a word if they don't know how to spell it correctly!!!  My boys have been frustrated many times with this problem.   This handy dictionary alphabetically lists the most common misspellings of more than 15,000 frequently used words, and gives the correct spellings in easy-to-read boldface type.  I am sure not everyone will agree with this method of letting them look it up by how they "think" it is spelled.  Some might think seeing the word misspelled in print reinforces the misspelling - but my guys have really found it helpful.  Just thought I would pass it along!   http://tinyurl.com/2644zv

We read this book last year and currently it is loaned out to friends, but I stumbled across it again in a used book store and it reminded me of just how wonderful this book truly is.  I am sure most of you are very familiar with the books of David Macaulay.  He has written and illistrated favorites such as Pyramid, Castle, and Underground to name a few but our all time favorite is his Motel of the Mysteries.   I don't think this book is as well known as some of his other works but it is definately worth your time if you study or enjoy history or archaeology.  We crack up every time we read this book!  We loved the "great altar" (a tv on top of a dresser) and the inner chamber (the bathroom).
Here are some comments off of amazon reviews:
this book is about future archaeologists / explorers "discovering" the burried ruins of an American motel room in the 41st century ... and the miss-identification of just about every item found.  It perfectly explains the traps that we may fall into when trying to explain the past using present day knowledge and sensibilities. The events portrayed in this book show the reader just how easy it is to make a mistake ... even when one's best intentions are at stake.
the book makes quite clear what archaeology legitimately can and cannot do. I think it also points out that what is taken as "The Reality" of the past is often as much a function of current cultural biases and of the personal motives of individual researchers as it is of what actually occurred in the past.
One of my college archaeology professors displayed some images from the book as overheads, as well, and I thought he made a poignant point: that archaeologists sometimes make things up when they don't know the answers. Mysterious objects suddenly take on supposed religious significance. The author made his point clearly and humorously.
I hope you get to read this book - you really will enjoy it!  Dee