JoySightings and DayStarters Moving Locations

This is a really quick information podcast, recorded on my phone, because I am leaving for Indonesia in a few hours and I wanted to get this news to you.

The new web site for the JoySightings and DayStarters series WILL BE http://JoySightings.info. I am deleting the 134 episodes of DayStarters immediately, because I think that they are really messing up the search results for lots of listeners. So if you are listening to either of these series, please send me a message and tell me what series and number you were ready to listen to, and I will try to prioritize getting these ready for you. I will delete the 48 JoySightings episodes in a few days.

In a day or two from this posting, I hope that the iTunes/Apple Podcast app subscription link will be at the new web site: JoySightings.info.

For those who don’t know what these two series are, the JoySightings series are primarily a collection of Parables. Most of them are by Safed the Sage (the pen name of William E. Barton) who was a pastor in the Eastern USA over 100 years ago. He wrote his parables for the Sunday School Magazine he edited for the Congregational denomination. Another part of the JoySightings series are two wonderful children’s books by David and Karen Mains, Tales of the Kingdom, and Tales of the Resistance.

The DayStarters series was made at the request of Hannah, our daughter who is currently in Jakarta, Indonesia. She asked last year for 7 minute NT readings and a prayer to be made into separate podcasts. I chose the GNT recording series, and the books that I felt would be best for Ava and Joel who were 8 and 7 years old last year.

I recently moved the GNT series to a new podcast location, which is dailygntbiblereading.info.

One of the main reasons I have separated the original DBRP podcast into 3 podcasts is because of the terrible Apple podcast app, the native app that has the purple icon. For those of you who are using that app, I hope that the changes will eventually help you. But for some, like my son, David, the new GNT podcast when accessed in the Apple Podcast app still is not showing up in the proper order.

In my last news update, I recommended the Podbean app for all those who have trouble seeing the DBRP podcasts in the order you are listening to them. I was wrong about it not showing much advertising. It shows advertising all the time you are listening. However, if you are just listening and the screen is off, you won’t see the advertising. Podbean only shows the most recent 200 episodes, so it can’t find all the episodes for a whole 365 day year.

The very best app for listening to the DBRP (now three different podcasts) may be the one you have on your phone already: your favorite web browser. Just keep a tab perpetually open that has one of our  three sites. All three sites will be listed at the original site: dailybiblereading.info.

Here is a link to our most recent letter giving our prayer requests for my time in Indonesia. I was supposed to be on my way today already this morning. But the Lord evidently had different plans. I am thankful for a little more time at home, and for being able to give this news to you just before leaving. My letters are normally posted at the Digging Deeper Daily Facebook group which is also linked here in the episode notes.

May the Lord bless you ‘real good’.

Check out this episode!

GNT Podcast Moving Locations

Hi, friend!

This is to let you know that I have moved the GNT Bible Podcasts (the Good News Bible podcasts) to a new location. The way to subscribe to the GNT podcast series has changed. This is being done primarily to help the many folks who listen via the Apple podcast app or iTunes. This will make it so that listeners of the GNT podcasts won’t have unlistened to NLT podcasts cluttering their display. If you are listening to the NLT series, do nothing. If you listen on the Apple Podcast app,soon you won’t have the GNT podcasts cluttering your display. If you listen to the NLT series, just continue as you have before.

If you are a listener to the GNT series, the new website address just adds GNT to the name: That new GNT website is now DailyGNTBibleReading.info. If you listen on an Apple device, going to that site should present you with a link to subscribe so you can then find the GNT series in the podcast app.

For those of you actually listening to this podcast on an Apple device, open the episode notes and click on the iTunes/Podcast App subscription link, and you will be able to subscribe to the GNT podcast series with another tap. HERE’S the LINK.

This change also means that I am discontinuing the dedicated DBRP podcast apps for Android and Apple. I am not sure how long the current apps will continue to work. (Probably not long.)

If you are using the Android app, then let me suggest that you install a better Android app. And if you would like to join the many people who have ditched the now-broken Apple podcast app, I have the same recommendation for you: I recommend Podbean. Here are some of its great features:

• Podbean works on both Apple and Android.
• It shows nicely formatted episode notes.
• It is easy to follow/subscribe to the either the Daily GNT or the Daily NLT Bible Reading podcast. Just search by the podcast name.
• There are good controls for listening speed and silence reduction, and even optimizing volume.
• You can easily choose episodes to pre-download. I wish the Apple podcast app was this intelligent.
• The app includes almost no advertising. The only advertising I see is for the Pro version which is 99cents per month. You only see that advertising in the settings and probably when requesting certain kinds of content.
• Downside: Podbean won’t list really old episodes. It only shows the most recent 200 episodes. So if someone wants to start listening today starting at episode 1, they won’t find it. People wanting to start from Day 1 should probably use the website.

New info about listening on Alexa:
I figured out my problem with getting Alexa to play the DBRP on an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet. The Alexa skill invocation phrise is Daily Bible Reading. That won’t work out of the box. First start the Alexa app with the on-screen icon. Then find the Skills section, and manually type in the name of the skill, Daily Bible Reading. Then and only then will you be able to say, “Alexa, tell Daily Bible reading to play the newest episode.” (Otherwise Alexa keeps wanting to play an Audible Bible recording, which is most annoying.) Other skills are listed right on that page in the Skills section, which can be used for going back or forward x number of episodes, etc.

I will register a new Alexa skill soon for the GNT podcast.

There are many great podcast aggregator apps out there. A quick way to follow the DBRP on many apps is to supply the app with the rss feed (which is a special internet link). The rss feed for each podcast can be found right in the top information bar, among the icons, at our two web sites.

I’ll be leaving for Indonesia on the 11th of September, and be away from home until November 1. I’ll give another update on that soon. See the Digging Deeper facebook group, where I will try to share a picture or two.

May the Lord bless you ‘real good’!

Check out this episode!