Blessed Easter Sunday! He is Risen! Today is the most beautiful day on the calendar, bursting forth with hope, joy, and a promise for the future. I love Easter Sunday more than any other day of the year. And this year, best of all, the day coincides with new life springing up outside as spring arrives. I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful Easter Sunday.

Way back when, I reviewed a number of Bibles here on The Newsprint. The reviews are a little dated now, but they continue to be some of the most read articles on the blog. They include:

• The Crossway ESV Heirloom Study Bible
• The Crossway ESV Heirloom Single Column Legacy Bible
• The Crossway ESV Heirloom Wide Margin
• The Schuyler Quentel ESV
• The Crossway ESV Omega 80th Anniversary Thinline Reference Bible

I also have a few in the collection that I haven’t yet written about:

• The Crossway ESV Heirloom Personal Size Bible
• The Schuyler Quentel Personal Size ESV Bible

In some shape or form, I use nearly all the Bibles. The Study Bible is my most-used Bible, as I truly love the explanatory notes on each page to help decipher the old stories and language. I use the Single Column Legacy as a reader-style Bible on my nightstand and the Omega is my pick to bring with me to church on Sunday mornings. My wife uses the Schuyler Personal Size Bible. And I’ve gifted the Heirloom Wide Margin to a reader.

The Heirloom Wide Margin Bible was the last Bible I received from Crossway for purposes of review, and it’s my fault. At the time, they had a rule that I had to review the previously provided Bible before I could request a new one for review.

The problem came when I received the ESV Heirloom Personal Size Bible, the model originally manufactured in China and since moved to Royal Jongbloed in the Netherlands. The Chinese-produced Bible was simply sub-par — the worst-crafted Bible I had in my collection and not even close to recommendable. I was stunned at other reviewers who were saying they loved the quality. It was a tremendous swing and a miss from Crossway, and I simply couldn’t understand how that product could be in line with their mission and vision. I felt at the time that future production of Bibles in that form and quality would likely cause the company to spiral out of contention in the years to come.

I couldn’t bring myself to criticize the fine folks at Crossway. Everyone I dealt with there was so easy and fun to work with. Heavily critiquing something like a Bible also went against my ethos — I truly only want to say positive words here on The Newsprint.

So instead of writing that review, I just stopped writing about Bibles. I didn’t write about the Heirloom Personal Size. I didn’t end up writing about the Schuyler Quentel Personal Size. I fell right out of the loop on the latest premium Bibles.

I kind of miss it, though.

I’ve since been researching EVBible.com once again, as I’m looking to purchase my wife an Heirloom Study Bible for her own deeper study. And I see Crossway made the right choice to revert their production back to the Netherlands. They have a number of amazing options available once again. I want to pick this one up, in particular.

I’m going to return to that dreaded Crossway ESV Heirloom Personal Size Bible review in the weeks to come. I’m going to write the review, get it over with, and move on. I’m going to be honest. I’m going to be reasonably thorough. And I’m going to forget about it after I’m done.

I’m excited.

Because the Man on the Middle Cross Said I Can Come

It’s Easter Sunday and I’m likely going to set a tradition: to share this wonderful three-minute segment from Alistair Begg about the thief on the cross. There are no more simple words than the truth spoken here.

Faith, the Scriptures, the Resurrection — these are all interesting elements. Some people believe they weren’t designed to understand these three things. Others point at them and say they are responsible for so much of the evil in the world today.

From human eyes, sure.

A key for me was making one core realization: In Genesis, the story goes that humanity is tricked/coerced/deceived into believing we can understand the knowledge of good and evil. God tells us that the knowledge of good and evil will surely destroy us. (He actually says “Ye shall surely die”, but we will talk about life and death, sin and holiness another day.)

In today’s societies, human beings define and instill values and laws based on their understanding of ”good and evil”. But God says that we, as humans, do not get to define “good and evil”. That we cannot and will never understand it. That the knowledge of those two things will surely destroy us.

If you change who gets to define “good and evil”, suddenly a lot changes. If you release the idea that you can and do understand what “good” looks like, suddenly a lot changes. Suddenly, your thinking can transform.

Suddenly, a man can walk on water. Suddenly, a man can allow the blind to see.

Suddenly, the tomb can be empty.

Faith is a long, long journey. There is so much learning to do. But the first step seems to be submitting to that one core concept: You don’t know as much as you think you do. Your trust needs to be put in something other than yourself.

Parenting: Who is it really for?

Derek Sivers in an article that I wholly agree with(!):

Whatever he’s doing right now, that’s the most important thing. So I encourage him to keep doing it as long as possible. I never say, “Come on! Let’s go!”
We’ll go to the beach or forest, and make things with sticks and sand for half a day before he’s ready to switch.
Other families come to the playground for twenty or thirty minutes, but we stay there for hours.
Nobody else can play with us like this. Everyone else gets so bored.
Of course my adult mind wanders to all the other things we could be doing. But I let it go, and return to that present focus.

I love this idea as a father. Albeit, I don’t know if I can live up to it.

Focus is such an important skill. The way Sivers is instilling this in his child also likely entrenches patience, practice, and more.

Really great parenting idea worthy of emulation.

The Second Cup

How to Take Progressively Less Stupid Notes

Long article, but my highlight from long ago:

There may well be some interesting threads of thought in the marginalia, but the only issue is that I would basically have to re-read the text to even begin to work with this text and arguments again.

Lucrin Golf Logbook

For the avid golfer in your life.

Changing My Relationship with the iPad

No two-faced comment from me for Chris Lawley. No “I told you so”, over here. I’m just glad Chris — and we all — have the option to pick tools that make our lives easier, more productive, and more meaningful.

Gemini 2.5 - Our most intelligent AI model

Google’s latest updates to Gemini are impressive. I’ve been using Gemini instead of ChatGPT for the last couple weeks and I wonder if this will be the moment where Gemini finally sticks for me.

Happy Easter Sunday. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.

It’s another Sunday morning, suddenly! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week. It was a beautiful 20C yesterday, ensuring everyone was on the deck barbecuing for their family. There’s nothing like that fresh spring air after a long, long winter.

This week, I want to share my opinions on phone calls. The opinion: Phone calls are power moves that are unproductive, anxiety-inducing, and the least effective method of communication. There are certainly positives to phone calls — if executed effectively, a person’s tone can be productive and a quick answer can be provided — but phone calls do not produce much value. They are also unreferenceable (unless you record the call, which still feels taboo).

Let’s start with an unscheduled phone call. This is the worst method of communication available. At best, an unscheduled phone call catches you at an opportune moment and you are able to answer the caller’s question quickly. At worst, well, it’s awful.

• The caller drops a complicated question on you that you cannot answer effectively on the spot.
• If you attempt to answer confidently without the proper information, you risk leading them down the wrong path. This can cost money, time, confidence, and more. I don’t feel this is the best course of action.
• If you say you don’t have an answer, this is often construed as though you may not “know your stuff”, which bears the risk of lowered confidence in you in the future.
• If you say you don’t have an immediate answer, you have to find the time to research the question, either call or write out the answer, and send that answer in the future.

Unscheduled phone calls turn what the caller thinks should be a 10-minute discussion into a multi-hour affair for the recipient. The recipient often has to eat crow by not knowing something on the spot, the caller doesn’t achieve the quick answer they’re looking for, the recipient has to spend time researching and worrying about answering, and the recipient has to schedule time to provide that answer, either via phone or some other form of communication. And this is all assuming an unscheduled phone call back to the original caller is picked up at an opportune time to discuss.

Don’t be the person who calls people unannounced. Send a text or an email ahead of time. Ask if the recipient has time to discuss a particular topic. This allows them to be prepared for your call, research the topic, and make the best use of everyone's time. They can also perform the research part whenever works best for them, ensuring they can do it efficiently. They can respond in a referenceable format.

Yes, this is a generational issue. But an entire generation can be wrong about something.

Simply Scripture

I discovered this AI tool when viewing Tim Wildsmith’s video about choosing the right study Bible. I jumped in for free and gave it a shot and was underwhelmed. I could see the paid version being much more helpful (and it’s a reasonable price too), though I believe you can achieve most of the functionality with a free customGPT in ChatGPT as well.

But this begs the question: Should Bible study be supplemented by AI? Should you rely on AI to help make scriptural connections? Can AI help a pastor to build out a sermon?

For most, the answer will be an emphatic “No!”. AI is a soulless computer, effectively building a barrier between your study and the Spirit guiding you. I sympathize with this.

But I also think this is short-sighted. When used right, AI is effective at quickly finding references and connections to other information. You may know that reference is there and you just can’t remember the specific details. You may not know that reference is there and something becomes unlocked in your thinking.

I liken it much to our use of BlueJ, AI software built out for tax lawyers and tax accountants to make short work of tax research for complex problems. After years of study, I know of many topics addressed by the Income Tax Act. Do I know each topic like the back of my hand? No. AI is good at unlocking much of the topic in short order. To me, Bible study can and should be treated the same way.

I would never advocate for AI to take the place of patience and prayer when studying or building out a sermon. Never, ever, ever. God must do His work in those moments with you. A computer must not take that place.

But when used as a supplemental tool — to quickly compile multiple references to a particular topic — I don’t think AI should be overlooked by those looking to study the Word.

Oliur’s Four-Year Look at the Pro Display XDR

This video isn’t so much a review of the Pro Display XDR, but rather a look at whether Oliur feels the Pro Display XDR was a good purchase four years ago. Spoiler alert: He feels it was a great purchase.

Oliur focuses on the cost of the Pro Display XDR here. Which makes sense — the display is a $5,000 USD purchase, let alone the stand. He specifically states the display is made for businesses and professional users who are making money with the display.

Now that I’m on this side of the coin — both the “Business-owner” side and the “have enough money to buy this kind of thing” side — I feel Oliur is correct. It’s easier to spend business money on a tool that improves your work; may improve your work. And improving your work takes many forms — either productivity and efficiency improvements, or morale improvements, or long-term durability savings — ensuring it’s easy to throw money at good tools like the Pro Display XDR or the Studio Display.

I’ve purchased three Studio Displays in the last two or three years, which feels outrageous. Do they improve my efficiency over a less expensive display? Almost surely not. Could I get a better specced display for the same money? Almost surely, yes.

But the Studio Display improves work morale, looks excellent on my desk, and just works no matter what. I never run into technical issues with the Studio Display. We have LG displays and Dell displays in the office too, and they certainly run into glitches. Each glitch has to be addressed by the in-house tech guru, and each glitch costs time and money. I hate technology issues in the office.

I don’t see myself buying the current Pro Display XDR, but I do see myself buying yet another Studio Display. There’s something about the way these displays drive creativity and productivity, and how they just work, no matter how you use them.

I have many favourite devices these days, but I would reckon the Studio Display is at the tippy top of the list.

The Second Cup

Tiger Inspirat

Nice-looking wallpapers inspired by the old macOS Tiger era. I feel this is a pure copycat of Hector Simpson’s Aqueux (which unfortunately hasn’t been updated with versions of the latest macOS.)

This is number 10,000

Seth Godin has written 10,000 blog posts over the last 25 years. That’s an impressive catalog of work.

Invisible Stand

Found this one via MacStories. Moft has been active recently, with both the Invisible Stand garnering great reviews and the new Dynamic Folio coming out soon. There’s still some innovation going on in this space.

Kat’s Vitsoe 606 Universal Shelving System

I still love the simple design of the Vitsoe 606 system. You probably need a specific aesthetic where this would fit — something tells me it wouldn’t fit in a farmhouse or rustic aesthetic. But one day, I want one of these in a home office.

Happy Sunday. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.