You can make a difference in the lives of others -- in your family, school, church, community, and world! The world needs you -- your ideas, your compassion, and your spiritual outlook. And, it’s never too late to start contributing. The best gifts are those from the heart.

Background:
It’s summer, so the Hot Topic this month is on Recreation. Usually we have more time during the summer to do things we enjoy -- relax, read, swim, vacation -- even if we have to work. Regardless of what we do this summer, we can’t forget the most important thing -- finding time for God. Our time with God will make the greatest difference in our own and others’ lives. Why not put the Bible and Bible-based magazines on your summer reading list?

You can make a difference by reading about God and applying what you’ve learned to situations that arise.

CASEY FEDDE, who just finished her freshman year of college, thoughtfully reviewed some magazines that will help you make the Bible part of your every-day life. Here are her insights:

Magazines with a Spiritual Purpose
Surviving the teenage years is tough. Marked with physical changes, mental maturity, and difficult decisions, the teenage years are made dramatically easier with a little spiritual intervention. Relying on God to help with those hard decisions and phases of growth can aid in a smoother transition into adulthood. With summer rolling around, having a good, meaningful magazine to tote to the beach or simply read while lounging on the bed is essential to any teen’s summer festivities. So, why not make it a magazine with a spiritual purpose!

To help teens keep spirituality on hand, the NCV has created several magazine-styled New Testament Bibles. Designed for teen guys, teen girls, and young women -- respectively, Refuel, Revolve and Revolve 2, and Becoming -- the magazine Bible addresses specific needs teenagers have. Each volume’s cover portrays teens in action, capturing the essentials of being a teen, from music to dating. Bold color schemes and modern layouts transform this New Testament into a true teen magazine.

After flinging through the introduction and other technical pages of any magazine, the reader can plunge into the New Testament of the New Century Version’s The Holy Bible. Characteristic of all the volumes is the integration of a translated New Testament text with boxes filled with tidbits, like Bible facts, surveys, mini stories, and advice.

For Girls
The teen girls’ volumes, Revolve and Revolve 2, slightly resemble an issue of Seventeen or Cosmo Girl due to the monthly calendars and quizzes filling the pages. The “Blab” sections provide an outlet for answers to teen girls’ commonly asked questions about life. One interesting part of the teen girls’ volumes, although similarly featured in the Becoming volume as well, is the “Bible Bios.” The “Bible Bios” highlight women of the Bible, who are often not as well known as the men.

As girls mature from teenagers to young adults (and older), they will relate more to the Becoming volume. My mom and I both enjoyed it, which indicates that it appeals to both young adults and adult women. With a slightly more subdued color scheme and more sophisticated style, Becoming highlights world events and the global community rather than just individuality and a local sense of community, which the teen volumes cover. Also, this magazine pushes a greater and more balanced sense of spirituality in one’s life by focusing on issues like love, church, and hospitality. The “Be Still to Know” column throughout this volume illuminates the precious time that should be devoted to spirituality each day in the midst of balancing a hectic family.

For Guys
For the teen guys, Refuel capitalizes upon “girls, cash, and cars!” Sports and music also play a key role in this volume by dishing up music reviews and ways to “get out there” and live life. “Radical Faith” columns pose questions about how to live a spiritual life and where exactly one falls in the bigger picture of life. “Inside Her Head” allows guys a chance at see into the head of a girl. With this section, guys get inside tips on whether or not to bring flowers to that first date and why exactly girls think they are fat. The “manly” color scheme and abstract cover graphics definitely mark it as a guy’s magazine, although it has a very small similarity to any car magazine or other guy magazine.

Overall

• After reading through each volume of the NCV’s New Testament magazines, it is apparent that effort has been made to get the message of spirituality into teen’s lives.
• Its message is more accessible to teens than the message we often get in a community of sometimes preset and decided adults.
• The magazine is advertisement free, with the exception of back or front cover Bible novel recommendations.
• However, the magazine has room for improvement.
  • Often, the tidbits littered throughout the magazine lack relevance to where they are placed in the New Testament text, which can lead to either a distraction of the intended text altogether or confusion when reading both at the same time.
  • Keep in mind that spirituality must be personalized; so, a little creativity may be needed to make connections between the Biblical text and the extras.
  • Due to the small text next to the large-scale columns and tidbits, one might question which is more important -- the Bible or the fun stuff.
  • So, remember why you are reading the magazine.
• Use the magazine’s positive aspects of spirituality to benefit you, and take this opportunity to build a relationship with God to improve yourself by gaining self-confidence, knowledge, and love for others.
• This spiritually packed magazine is truly hard to put down and will definitely help you relate the Bible to real-life situations.
• Enjoy your summer reading!