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Reading the Bible is a hobby that can bring more peace and wisdom and patience over time. Plus, it fits into any budget. Even if you don't have a Bible or the money to buy one, I'm sure that you could go to the local Presbyterian church or Episcopal church or nondenominational church or hopefully any Christian church and ask if they have a Bible you could read. At the very least you would find someone who would buy you a Bible if you were willing to give the church a little help in one of their ministries, like packing lunches for migrant workers or the homeless. Remember, when you are traveling, many hotels and motels have a Bible in every room.

Have you ever seen those buttons that say, "Please be patient - God isn't finished with me yet"? Not only do most of us want others to be patient with us, we also need to be patient with ourselves and give ourselves time to become "all that we can be", like those commercials tell us. Of course, it goes without saying that we need to be patient with others. I believe that Bible reading can help us on the path to becoming much more than the "be all you can be" training that those commercials promise. If we actually read the Bible and we are willing to be patient.

I am only in my forties and I have read the bible more in my second couple of decades than in the first two. I am far from perfect, but I [and others!] have seen much improvement in my life. One aspect of Bible reading that may seem obvious is that you become more familiar with what is in it through reading it. Did you know that "God helps those who help themselves" is not in the Bible? Here is a verse that many people, even those who read the Bible, have overlooked. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." That is from Psalm 37, verse 4. I'm not going to delve into the complete meaning of that verse, but it is one of my favorites and seems pretty hopeful to me.

That brings me to a benefit of becoming more familiar with what's actually in the Bible. You become more familiar with various passages and the words are more easily brought to mind. There are some very encouraging passages in the Bible and you don't always hear the uplifting words from people who say that they are Christians. To be fair, you don't always hear inspiring or encouraging words from a lot of people, self-proclaimed Christians or otherwise. I guess what bothers many people is that you would think that you definitely would hear positive messages from Christians

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