992 ratings (4.26 avg)
917 reviews
more photos (1)

Jeff

Add friend

http://bickleyhouse.wordpress.com

https://www.goodreads.com/jeffbickley

Jeff’s currently-reading shelf

My Utmost for His Highest Journal by Oswald Chambers

The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics by C.S. Lewis

Enduring Grace by Concordia Publishing House ...

When I'm on My Knees by Anita Corrine Donihue

More…

Jeff’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (3554)
currently-reading‎ (11)
read‎ (1000)
did-not-finish‎ (0)
librarybook‎ (224)
justread2024readingchallenge‎ (116)
justread2023readingchallenge‎ (109)
nonfiction‎ (105)
justread2025readingchallenge‎ (86)
mystery‎ (63)
fantasy‎ (62)
devotional‎ (51)

justread2026‎ (46)
justread2022readingchallenge‎ (43)
horror‎ (38)
science-fiction‎ (35)
justread2021readingchallenge‎ (24)
kindle‎ (23)
memoir‎ (23)
scifi-fantasy‎ (23)
spiritual-disciplines‎ (21)
short-stories‎ (19)
children-s-book‎ (16)
biography‎ (15)

cats‎ (15)
historical-fiction‎ (15)
prayer‎ (15)
arc‎ (13)
lent‎ (13)
cozy-mystery‎ (12)
thrillers‎ (11)
liturgy‎ (9)
music‎ (9)
poetry‎ (9)
theology‎ (9)
interlibraryloan‎ (8)

christmas‎ (7)
church-year‎ (7)
giveaways‎ (7)
graphic-novel‎ (7)
literary‎ (7)
picture-book‎ (7)
spiritual‎ (7)
tbr-challenge‎ (7)
advent‎ (6)
baseball‎ (6)
dystopian‎ (6)
humor‎ (6)

Stats | More…

Jeff is Currently Reading

Jeff is currently reading

Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms (An Illustrated Devotional Prayer Book with 75 Daily Free-Verse Poetic Prayer Responses - One for Each of the 1st 75 Psalms)

by Ryan Whitaker Smith

bookshelves: devotional, justread2025readingchallenge, nonfiction, prayer, psalms, currently-reading

Reading for the 3rd time

read in June 2025

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jeff said: " I ran across this book one day, when I was perusing the Rabbit Room store. IYKYK. It sounded interesting, so I ordered it, and it wound up being the final addition to my Lent season reading list. It's quite a bit past Lent, but I finally finished it. I ran across this book one day, when I was perusing the Rabbit Room store. IYKYK. It sounded interesting, so I ordered it, and it wound up being the final addition to my Lent season reading list. It's quite a bit past Lent, but I finally finished it. The reason it took so long was this: I started out trying to read it straight through, like I would a "normal" book, but quickly surmised that that wouldn't work.

Let me just say that this is a beautiful book. It is almost overwhelming, and in some cases, goes beyond "almost." This is, as the subtitle states, a book of prayers "inspired" by the Psalms. Since Psalms is my favorite book of the Bible, I was definitely intrigued. And I was not disappointed. My only disappointment was that this book only covers half of them, 1-75. And more than just prayers, these are poems. But that makes sense, doesn't it, because the Psalms are poems. Songs, in fact, probably originally the Hebrew songbook and prayerbook. Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls them the "prayerbook of the Bible."

I have very possibly prayed more psalms in my life than I have original prayers. Especially in the last decade or two. But this isn't a personal testimony, this is a book review. I have nothing negative whatsoever to say about this book. Except that thing I said earlier about it only covering the first 75 psalms.

The prayers are beautifully, poetically written, with great grace and exquisiteness. Is that a word? I guess so, there's not a red squiggly line under it. And they are definitely prayers. I found myself verbalizing quite a few of them during my morning and evening Jesus Times. There is one in particular, inspired by Psalm 72, that is called "A Prayer for Those in Power," which I have started praying every morning, verbatim, when I reach that part of my daily prayer focus.

As an added bonus, there are footnotes on every single one of them that give the various Scripture references that are alluded to in the prayers. But one doesn't have to look all of those up unless one just wants to. The prayers are just as meaningful without doing that.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves prayer and loves the Psalms. Buy it. Devour it. And then devour it again. That's what I'm doing. Because I am who I am, I read it straight through the first time, cover to cover, just so I can add it to my reading log. But it remains on my Jesus Time shelf, because I will be using it over and over and over.

Further bonus! I discovered a few nights ago that the author has written the second book of prayers to cover the rest of the Psalms, called Endless Grace. It should be arriving in a couple days. My pastor already has it, and has shown me the prayer inspired by Psalm 139. Stunning. As expected.

Even further bonus!! He is releasing a book on Proverbs in September of this year. I have already preordered it! It is called Abiding Wisdom: Prayers Inspired by the Book of Proverbs.

I have now read this book twice this year, as I have been reading one Psalm per day, along with its corresponding prayer from this book. It continues to move me greatly. 💜💜 ...more "

Oct 14, 2025 11:49AM · see review

Jeff is currently reading

This we believe;: Meditations on the Apostles' creed

by John A Ross

bookshelves: currently-reading, justread2026, lent, liturgy, theology

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Apr 03, 2026 03:17PM

Jeff is currently reading

Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life

by Paul David Tripp

bookshelves: currently-reading, devotional, bible, justread2026

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jan 27, 2026 07:41PM

See all 11 books that Jeff is reading…

Jeff’s Notes & Highlights

Book cover for On Living Well: Brief Reflections on Wisdom for Walking in the Way of Jesus

On Living Well: Brief Reflections on Wisdom for Walking in the Way of Jesus by Eugene H. Peterson

7 highlights

When the Word is treated casually or carelessly, we wander away from the essential personal intimacies that God creates…by his Word.

See Jeff’s 11 books with notes and highlights…

Jeff’s Quotes

“What is truly profound is thought to be stupid and trivial, or worse, boring, while what is actually stupid and trivial is thought to be profound. That is what it means to fly upside down.”
― Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God

38 likes

“If you can't annoy somebody, there is little point in writing.”
― Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim

tags: annoyance, writing

1349 likes

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
― Corrie Ten Boom

tags: forgiveness, hiding-place

2048 likes

“She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.”
― Annie Dillard, The Living

tags: books, literature, reading, words

3800 likes

“We must understand that God does not "love" us without liking us - through gritted teeth - as "Christian" love is sometimes thought to do. Rather, out of the eternal freshness of his perpetually self-renewed being, the heavenly Father cherishes the earth and each human being upon it. The fondness, the endearment, the unstintingly affectionate regard of God toward all his creatures is the natural outflow of what he is to the core - which we vainly try to capture with our tired but indispensable old word "love".”
― Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God

68 likes

More of Jeff’s quotes…