Free Stirring Up Strife (2010) by Jennifer - a Hope Street Church Stanley

register. I recommend the chocolate peanut-butter balls." She led Cooper to the back of the store. "Here's the Ecclesiastes workbook. Do you need the leader's guide or the student guide?"
     
"Oh, I'm definitely not the leader!" Cooper laughed at the idea. "To tell the truth, this is my first Bible study and I'm a little nervous about the whole thing. I haven't cracked a Bible since the other Bush was in office."
     
The girl smiled. "I just started my first one in the fall. We're doing a Beth Moore study called Breaking Free and I totally love it. Don't worry, it'll be awesome. Let me know if you need anything else."
     
Cooper thanked the enthusiastic young woman and surveyed the different workbook titles. She then meandered over to a wall filled with shelf after shelf of assorted Bibles. Though she had an illustrated children's Bible at home as well as a King James Version given to her as a confirmation gift almost twenty years ago, she was hoping to find a Bible that presented Scripture in plainer language.
     
She flipped through a hardcover adult study Bible, but decided that it was too cumbersome to carry to class. A New Living Translation with a smooth brown leather cover appealed to her, but the print was way too small. Another New International Version seemed like the perfect size, but the pages were so thin Cooper feared she'd tear them each time she searched for a passage. Having no idea what an amplified version was or the difference between a 21 st Century King James or an American Standard Bible, Cooper sank back on her heels, a pile of Bibles strewn out around her on the floor.
     
"You look like you're building yourself a Bible enclosure," a man standing behind her said. "It can be overwhelming to choose one, I know." He squatted down next to her and chuckled. "My wife said it was harder for her to shop for a new Bible than it was to find a husband. Lucky for me, she's stuck with both her Bible and me for over twenty-two years."
     
Cooper looked for a name tag on the man's polo shirt, but didn't see one. He carried a white LifeWay plastic bag weighted down with purchases in one hand and his car keys in the other. She held out her workbook so that he could read the cover. "Any idea what would be the best Bible to go with this book?"
     
The man flipped the workbook open. "Looks like the author refers to passages in the NIV." He gestured at the wall and grinned. "Well, that at least narrows your search to a few hundred. I'm the manager here and I'm late pickin' up my daughter from dance class, but I know the right Bible will find its way to you. And if you're still here in the morning, I won't be a bit surprised." Smiling, he saluted her playfully and walked away, leaving Cooper alone with six rows of the New International Version before her.
     
Passing on the illustrated, large print, daily, and study Bibles, or those geared toward a specif c gender or age group, Cooper's fingers brushed against the caramel spine of a novel-sized Bible with a soft leather cover. As she opened the pages, she was pleased by the font size and the summaries presented in the front of each book. She liked the chocolate-colored ribbon that would help her mark her place and the manner in which the Bible was fastened with a slide-tab closure in the same dark walnut hue. Everything about the Bible felt right. Just holding on to it seemed to instill Cooper with a sense of strength and hope.
     
Gathering her two books, Cooper made her way to the register feeling excited about her new adventure. She added three peanut-butter meltaways to her pile and handed the cashier her Visa card.
     
"I hope there's enough room on there for this stuff," she told the young male cashier ruefully.
     
"Almost maxed out, huh?" he inquired kindly.
     
"Yeah. I used to split the payments with my boyfriend, but now I've just got memories of happier times and a whopper of a Visa bill."
     
"Well, from where I'm standing, that guy's crazy." The cashier