Never Giving Up

This post is a little different than usual ... but I just couldn't help myself!

I can be a very determined person when it comes to puzzles and logic things ... never giving up until I've worked it out. Sad but true! So, a few months ago when someone challenged us with finding 30 books of the Bible hidden in a passage, I have to admit I didn't do anything off my 'To Do' list that afternoon and persevered even when I got frustrated, until I'd found them all! 

It honestly doesn't sound all that exciting does it? But if you're anything like me once you look at it, you won't want to give up until you've found them all ... and some are a LOT more obvious than others!! Enjoy ... (you may find it easier to print it out!)

This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much that he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his John-boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it, she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column.

Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving that she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot - that’s a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the books are not necessarily capitalised. Truthfully from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in these paragraphs. During a recent fundraising event, which features this puzzle, the Alpha-Delta-Phi Lemonade booth set a new sales record.

The local paper, the Chronicle, surveyed over 50 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, “the books are all right here in plain view, hidden from sight”. Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books Timothy and Samuel appear without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mass exodus, there really are 30 books of the bible lurking somewhere in these paragraphs waiting to be found.

SPOILER ALERT

OK, so it's a little over a week after I posted the challenge ... here are the 30 books of the Bible in the order they appear in the passage ... believe me, even knowing them doesn't necessarily make them easy to find! ;)

Amos, Mark, Luke John, Joel, Judges, Job, Hebrews, Esther, Acts, James, Ruth, Romans, Titus, Matthew, Genesis, Philemon, Chronicles, Daniel, Nahum, Hosea, Lamentations, Revelation, Timothy, Samuel, Numbers, Malachi, Peter, Exodus, Kings.

How did you do?