Monday, June 6, 2016

Blog Sabbatical

Hello friends and loyal readers.  Something that I have wrestled with over the past year or so is how much longer this blog would continue.  As a number of you know, my wife and I just recently had our third child, which makes for a very busy household.  And speaking of household, we also just moved into a new house as well....not to make things any more hectic!  :)  (Emoji alert!)  :)

Those realities, along with the fact I work two jobs, have made this past year a difficult one in keeping up on the blogging.  I don't think, particularly during the past year, the content that I have provided to you has been of the "quality" of past years.  "Quality" being a relative term, since my skill in writing has never been that great to begin with!  Honestly, though, I simply do not have the time (or desire) for lengthy reviews anymore or the more detailed evaluations of particular translations.

So, as of today, I will be stepping away from blogging for at least the next few months.  I am not 100% sure where this will lead or whether it will be permanent.  Over these next few months I am going to spend some time in prayer discerning what will come next, if anything.    Perhaps in silence, if that is possible, I will find the next path that is before me.

But before I do that, I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have stopped by this blog since 2008.  You have all been a real blessing to me.  I remain grateful to all of you who have sent photos, guest posts, and comments over these past years.  A number of you I count as friends today, while all of you I consider brothers and sisters in Christ.  I would have liked to mention some of you by name, but I would have certainly left off a few names some, so I won't.  All of you will remain in my prayers.

I started this blog because I couldn't find a place on the web that was solely dedicated to Catholic Bibles. My first post, back in August of 2008, concluded with: "It is my hope that many Catholics (and all who will read this blog) will come to appreciate the various Catholic Bible translations, from the Douay-Rheims to the NRSV-CE. I also plan to update regularly the various Bible resources that become available."  I hope that I have, in some small way, achieved this over the past 8 years.  


"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen!" 
-Revelation 21:21 (NRSV)

30 comments:

Deacond Dave said...

WOW! As the father of 6 also working two jobs, I totally understand. I have to say I cannot imagine logging into my computer and not going first off to your blog! It has meant a lot to me over the past 7 years and I have learned so much from it...not least of which is that fact that someday (soon!?) I will own a Catholic edition of the NLT that will be so useful for my recovery ministry work.

A huge THANK YOU, Timothy, and an even larger blessing upon you and your growing family: through the intercession of Our Lady and St. Joseph, parents of the Family of Nazareth, may God bless you and yours, Father + Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN!

Fondly, a farewell (for now).

Brian M said...

Thanks for all of your help over the years and best wishes for your and your family's future.

JDH said...

I knew this would happen! Every time I find a blog I love, it is several years old already and the blogger quits! No one has suffered as I have suffered!

:-) But it's totally understandable. Your family comes first. Thanks for making this blog a reality for so long.

Perhaps some of us readers can keep something going, to take most of the pressure off of you?

Tate said...

I too have made your blog my first stop every time I logged onto my computer! You have made my scripture study more fruitful and hugely expanded my knowledge of and interest in the wide wide world of Catholic bible versions. Good luck and God's blessings to you and your family. Hope you come back soon.

Anonymous said...

We will all miss you but can certainly understand why a time of reappraisal is at hand.

Thank you for all your efforts and for a job well done!

May the Grace and Peace of God be always with you.

Pax Vobis,
John

rolf said...

Timothy, I knew this was coming sooner or later, you have too much on your plate! Enjoy your time with your family! I like the others, have enjoyed your blog for the last eight years and it was fun contributing to it! We will still be freinds on facebook and I will see you on the other Bible groups that we both belong to. You and your family will continue to be in my prayers, God bless!

Anonymous said...

Tim,

Thank you very much for all your work over the past years. Of course, we, the recipients shall have a bit of emptiness as you step aside for a while. Yet, a reminder that we have been spoiled. I have seen a few (good) Catholic bloggers step aside permanently, and am understanding of this. There are challenges far more important than "caring" for a web page. Your family is at the top of that list.

If you are lead back to this page, I write presumptively, we shall be waiting.

James

Unknown said...

Tim,
You helped me discover that, "it's just one, you don't have to if you don't want to, you can quit anytime," now doesn't appliy to translations of God's word (as well as Star Wars action figures and trumpet mouthpieces). Thanks for help putting... uh... (can't count that high) copies of the Bible on my bookshelf. My wife wants me enrolled in "Bible collectors anonymous" now.

Seriously, if you decide you want to keep the blog going in reduced form with guest posts, let me know and I'll send you one every now and then (especially if the Jerusalem Bible compact readers edition sheepskin I just bought online for $4 really does turn out to be sheepskin). Thanks for all your help and patience helping me find the best six translations for me. If you ever have something you want to trade for diapers, let me know. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Timothy, For at least the past five years, your blog has been the first Internet site I've visited each day. I understand why you're taking a sabbatical; but I'm selfish enough to wish the reasons you're doing it had never occurred to you. The one bright spot - as I'm fast running out of shelf space, your absence may reduce the rate at which I've been accumulating Bibles.

Thank you so much, and God bless you and yours.

Joe

Anonymous said...

Timothy,

Thanks for running the blog. I always found out about new Bibles and books from your blog. Where will I go now for that info???

I wish you and your family well!

vladimir998

Unknown said...

Thank you for all the help and information you have given here. God bless you and your family!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Tim for taking my advice to you to inform the readers that you will be taking a break from blogging (as many readers of this blog hope) .

Well, as I would have wanted, is that you keep the blog active at least in the Web. The archives and the past posts are still useful for many new Catholic Bible readers starting out there.

Just to let you know, Google already returns some of your blog posts in their search engine.

Leighton said...

Timothy,

Blessings to you and your family. Thanks for all the hard work you put into the blog for us Catholic Bible nerds.

Echoing others, the hidden blessing may be that I purchase fewer Bibles in the future. Your blog has inspired a "few" purchases in my house over the years.

Great job!

Peace,
Leighton

Steve Molitor said...

Timothy,

Thank you so much for this blog. I have learned so much about bibles and bible translations from this blog. My favorite bible is my NOAB RSV. I read it every day. It's all marked up with my notes. I love it. I would never have even heard of this bible if not for this blog.

I think you've touched many lives in a positive way through this blog.

Thank you.

Steve

Anonymous said...

Timothy,

First, my belated congrats on your family's newest arrival.

I have returned and read your announcement several times and held off commenting in hopes I could find some adequate expression.

I can't.

I keep thinking perhaps one of your wonderful audience could step in for awhile to keep the blog alive. I certainly hope you plan to maintain the site as an archival depository.

I believe that your site has been invaluable in demonstrating that there is a viable and vibrant market for quality bindings and innovative editions.

Thank you.

Keith

Anonymous said...

Timothy thank you so much for the last eight years. I have learned so much from your blog and it has been invaluable on my faith journey. I will pray for you and your beautiful family. Blessings from Texas! Sharon

Anonymous said...

Timothy,

I agree with one of the commentators above. Find a person of your readers whom you trust. Assign then as an administrator of the blog. Solicit your readers to review or share news. This administrator can collect posts and publish them. All it would take is finding that person and then letting them have a go at it for awhile. If content isn't forthcoming, no harm. If it does, it may give you the break you need and allow you to resume contributions on a limited basis.
Keith

James Ignatius McAuley said...

Tim,

First, congratulations are you new child - it is good to have three children and I know you, like me would not trade your children for the world. So, enjoy your time off, as family is first

Some great commentators on hear (what ever happened to Theophratus, or what ever his nom de plume was?).

Thanks to you and this blog I spend most of my spare time reading patristic bible commentary - Jerome and Origen on Ephesians at the moment.

Keep up your prayers for Father Peter Scagnelli!

This was just the best Catholic bible blog. Thank you and God bless you and your family!

owenswain said...

Cheers mate, dear across the River friend. Well done. You are welcome to come back and you are welcome to not come back - words given to me as you may recall that gave me life.

wxmarc said...

I'd like to add my voice to the chorus of thank-yous, Tim. I came upon your blog more recently -- about 2 years ago, I think -- and I've learned a great deal since then, thanks to you and your knowledgeable commenters! You convinced me to give the NRSV a try, and thanks to Rolf, I bought a copy of the REB and fell in love with that translation. It's now the primary bible I read each day.

It's hard to overstate how much your blog has deepened my biblical knowledge and given me tools to study the bible in greater depth. Thank you for everything! And if you do decide to return to blogging or allow other readers to contribute, I would eagerly welcome it!

Congratulations on the newest addition to your family, and best wishes as you move into a new home!

losabio said...

Congrats again on the new member of your family, and thank you for everything that you've done for the Catholic community over the years.

birnbaum said...

Guten Tag, Timothy
Though I have contributed a few times to CB only, I will definitely miss this perfect opportunity to find out old and new information about the Catholic realm of Bible translations. The fact that there is a blog and there´s an individual who spends hours and hours including `Herzblut`, as we say in German (heartblood, or, better life–blood), is worth words of gratitude. This website was always open on my laptop, together with BiblesWiki (where most of my contributions go) and the non-catholic Bible Hunter. Some of my English Bibles I purchased after I had read the respective article on CB, and only recently I was lucky to find the Douay / Westminster HB for under € 10.- from a British seller! I do earnestly hope you will return online after the sabbatical! Unfortunately we do not have a similar page in German. As my home is not in the r.–c. church, (but I read, pray and study with all kinds of Bible translations) I am not qualified to open up a specific r.–c. website. So this CB is unique and needs to be kept alive! I will definitely miss it!! Thanks & be blessed! Simon, from Karlsruhe, Germany (2nd attempt to get it posted)

Jason P said...

Thanks for all you have done and good luck and Godspeed to you and your family

Thomas said...

For anyone who's interested I emailed Ignatius about the story bible this is the response I got:
The process for the Old Testament has taken longer than expected, unfortunately. We are currently working on it and publishing the individual booklets as they are completed (1&2 Samuel is going to be released this fall), but at this time we do not have a projected date for its completion (likely at least more than a year before it’s completed from what I can tell). Between the long process of the writing itself, there’s the addition of the imprimatur process, which also adds to the delay.
Marianne pedrelli.

Anonymous said...

I think I'm going through Catholic Bible Blog withdrawal. There's no cure.


vladimir998

Unknown said...

MISS YOU!!

Jerry Mc Kenna said...

I've only come to this blog recently. I would hope you update this on an irregular basis, since I find the information useful. I've been trying to find information on Catholic bibles and blundered into this site. I am glad I blundered.

Even if you choose not to update it, I would hope you keep this up for a while.

Russ Stutler said...

Wow, I just discovered on the web what for some of us is the biggest Catholic Bible news, what we've been waiting for for years: a truly pocket size (3X5) RSV-CE New Testament from Scepter. Ironic timing, to say the least, since that was the news I was looking for here every day.

Timothy said...

Russ,

If you happen to purchase one, I'd be happy to post a review if you were up to doing one.

Russ Stutler said...

I'll definitely do that!