BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Read Through the Bible August Old Testament/New Testament Sat 1 Job 12-13 / Rev. 5 Sun 2 Job 14-15 / Rev. 6 Mon 3 Job 16-17 / Rev. 7 Tue 4 Job 18-19 / Rev. 8 Wed 5 Job 20-21 / Rev. 9 Thu 6 Job 22-24 / Rev. 10-11 Fri 7 Job 25-26 / Rev. 12 Sat 8 Job 27-28 / Rev. 13 Sun 9 Job 29-30 / Rev. 14 Mon 10 Job 31-32 / Rev. 15 Tue 11 Job 33-34 / Rev. 16 Wed 12 Job 35-36 / Rev. 17 Thu 13 Job 37-39 / Rev. 18-19 Fri 14 Job 40-41 / Rev. 20 Sat 15 Job 42; Prov. 1 / Rev. 21 Sun 16 Prov. 2-3 / Rev. 22 Old Testament/Psalms Mon 17 Prov. 4-5 / Ps. 1 Tue 18 Prov. 6-7 / Ps. 2 Wed 19 Prov. 8-9 / Ps. 3 Thu 20 Prov. 10-12 / Ps. 4-5 Fri 21 Prov. 13-14 / Ps. 6 Sat 22 Prov. 15-16 / Ps. 7 Sun 23 Prov. 17-18 / Ps. 8 Mon 24 Prov. 19-20 / Ps. 9 Tue 25 Prov. 21-22 / Ps. 10 Wed 26 Prov. 23-24 / Ps. 11 Thu 27 Prov. 25-27 / Ps. 12-13 Fri 28 Prov. 28-29 / Ps. 14 Sat 29 Prov. 30-31 / Ps. 15 Sun 30 Eccl. 1-2 / Ps. 16 Mon 31 Eccl. 3-4 / Ps. 17 “Read Through the Bible in a Year Plan” written by Marilyn Hickey, and used by permission. ************************************************************ +++++ article continues below +++++ Down Into Darkness “I felt as though I was going crazy standing in that woman’s apartment and I don’t remember a single word she said,” Peggy Joyce recalls. “There was no history of mental illness in our family and I hoped that my mind would just snap back to normal, but it didn’t. I tried to hide from Jack what was happening to me and made an appointment with our pastor. He listened to my story but had no explanation for what I was experiencing. He simply told me to stay busy. “I took him at his word and stayed very busy, but it didn’t help. A week later, I called to make another appointment with him. I was told he’d already left for the day, but I lived close to the church and saw him slip out the back door a while later. He looked in every direction and then ran for his car. I was devastated. If a pastor couldn’t help me, what hope did I have? I loved the Lord and knew my salvation was real, but doubts bombarded me. I wondered if I was in the wrong religion. “My muddled mind came up with a plan. I would go to the library and read about all the religions, disproving them until only Christianity was left. I must have been acting strange because after one of my trips the librarian called Jack and told him something was wrong with me. He told me not to go back. I didn’t, but every time I visited my mother I hid an encyclopedia in the diaper bag. I got so bad that I couldn’t be left alone. Each morning before work, Jack took our daughter and me to stay with my mother. She did all she knew to do, but nothing helped.” After months passed with no improvement, Jack located a Christian psychiatrist in Fort Worth, Texas. He counseled with Peggy Joyce for quite a while before suggesting shock treatments. Grasping at straws, they agreed. The shock treatments caused her to lose her short-term memory. When her memory returned she was as tormented as ever. Desperate Times For two more years the nightmare dragged on as Peggy Joyce gave birth to a son. Depression and fear continued to plague her. Now at his wits’ end, Jack took her back to the psychiatrist and said, “Look, I don’t care how much it costs—I’ll pay you. Just get her well.” “No one knows the cause of mental illness so all we can do is treat the symptoms,” the doctor explained. “She’ll be on antidepressants the rest of her life and she may end up institutionalized.” For the first time, Jack felt panic rise in him. He’d put his faith in doctors and they had no answers. Thinking about the situation night and day, he finally came to the only conclusion he could live with. He’d married her for better or for worse. The first few years had been better than his wildest imagination; this was worse. His goal was to take care of her for the rest of her life and keep her out of an institution. For eight long years, Peggy Joyce was tormented every day. So desperate she felt like giving up, she walked outside one dark night, looked up toward heaven and made a heart cry to the Lord. “God, I’ve searched for You everywhere I know to search. If You’re still there, find me and bring me back.” 12 : BVOV

• Cover