So far, I have liked Nehemiah 8 best of all.

The wall around Jerusalem is build and the people are settling in. Nehemiah is governer.

The people "gathered as one man" What did they do?

They sent Ezra for "the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel." And he read it. He read from early morning until mid day. When he opened the book the people stood. When he prayed, the people lifted their hands and answered "Amen". When they worshipped, they bowed their heads. When the Word was read, their ears were attentive.

When they heard the Words of the Law, they wept.

The priests were there to help them understand and the Levites taught the people.

They read the Word and found that it was the time of the "Festival of Booths". For the first time since the Jews were exiled, they celebrated this holy time. God's people were again connected with the Law, the temple, with Jerusalem.
The "Second Temple Period" had begun.

Today?

I remember when I returned to God - about 16 years ago. Digging into the Word was again new. I grieved for a while, for the time that I had lost.

During those first months I learned from a wonderful Christian woman (a pastor's wife) that taught me a lot about life, about marriage, about God.

What drew me back? It wasn't good preaching, it wasn't "doing the right things", it wasn't hanging out with the right people.

It was the Word.

To be sure, it was the Word that was written in a very unusual place (we were on vacation). This "monument to women" had Scripture that I was familiar with from childhood and I knew that in order to do my job as a mother, I would have to return to God. NOW.

My son was 4, so that would have been 16 years ago.

I've "adjusted" since then. Studied a lot. I've had some very good leaders and good pastors. But in everything, the Word was central to my education.