Thank a Dad today.

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…Father to the fatherless,
defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.

PSALM 68:5 NLT

Thank God for dads.

Think back on the “father figures” in your life. Who are the men who have helped you? Maybe someone spoke into your life with wisdom, or showed you kindness when you needed it. Whether it was your own dad — or a teacher, neighbor, or family friend — who was there for you?

For every special Dad in your life, why not send him Scripture to let him know how much he means to you? Call him. Text him with a Verse Image, or even post one on his Facebook page. We’ve included a few of our favorite inspirational passages below to get you started. (Just tap one of the buttons beneath a Verse Image to share it.)

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Joshua 1:9

…Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (NIV)

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Ephesians 6:10-11

…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (NIV)

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Proverbs 20:7

The righteous who walks in his integrity—blessed are his children after him! (ESV)

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Become a Dad Who Inspires.

If you’re a dad looking for godly insight for how you can inspire the people who matter most to you, we’ve put together a list of several Bible Plans that can help you:

	12 Leadership Ideas to Do with Your Kids Dr. Tim Elmore and Growing Leaders, 12 days
	Jesus-Centered Family Devotions Lifetree & Group, 7 days
	UNCOMMEN Role Models UNCOMMEN, 5 days
	Learning to Lead Like Jesus iDisciple, 7 days
	Becoming a Fulfilled Father Manhood Journey, 8 days
	Chris Tomlin: Good Good Father Devotional Chris Tomlin & Capitol CMG/sixstepsrecords, 5 days
	Called to Greatness Jimmy Page and Dan Britton, 4 days

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2016-06-162016-06-16

Now Your Children Can Experience the Bible App for Kids in Afrikaans!

Today, together with our partner OneHope, we’re pleased to announce the launch of the Bible App for Kids in Afrikaans. Now, more children than ever have the opportunity to enjoy a Bible experience all their own.

Switching between languages is easy, right in the app’s Settings! Just make sure you’ve updated your app to the most current release, then look under Settings for “Language.” Choose between Afrikaans, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Mandarin audio with either Simplified or Traditional Characters), Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. The audio will play in that language, and any text will appear in that language, too!

Please help us celebrate this great news!

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About the Bible App for Kids

Developed in partnership with OneHope, the Bible App for Kids is the newest app from YouVersion, makers of the Bible App. Designed to give children a delight-filled Bible experience all their own, the Bible App for Kids has already been installed on over 11 million Apple, Android, and Kindle devices, and it’s always completely free. Kids from all over the world are now enjoying the Bible App for Kids—in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Mandarin audio with either Simplified or Traditional characters), Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and now… in Afrikaans!

Get it now

2016-06-112016-06-09

Bible App Android Update: Audio, Tablet, and Offline Features

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Bible App for Android update:

Listen more, see more, and do more offline.

At YouVersion, we never stop working to bring you the best Bible experience we can. And while we don’t usually announce every update we make to the Bible App, the features in our latest Android release are worth celebrating. (Many of these same features are also available in the most recent release of the Bible App for iOS.) Tap below to update now, or keep reading to see why we’re so excited!

Update Now

Listen how you want, however long you want.

All-new audio Bible controls let you adjust your playback speed.¹ Make God’s Word the soundtrack to your life: start the Bible App reading to you, and use the new Timer to tell it how long to play.

Breathe new life into your tablet.

Enjoy the same features you already love on your Android phone, now optimized to take full advantage of your tablet.² Study versions side by side with the all-new Split Screen parallel Bible feature for Android. This is the best Bible experience we’ve ever offered for Android tablets, with better performance and smoother transitions between screens.

Your Plans for today, made clear.

We’ve made the ‘Day’ view for Bible Plans simpler than ever. Now when you tap on one of your subscribed Plans, the Bible App shows you everything you need to flow smoothly through today’s selection: devotional content, Bible passages, calendar, and more.

Connect with Scripture… even offline.

Great opportunities to engage daily with God’s Word often happen when you don’t have a reliable Internet connection: on trains, on airplanes, or when you’re enjoying the outdoors. That’s why many Bible App features now also work offline. Sometime when you do have a connection, take just a few minutes to download a few Bible versions and subscribe to a Bible Plan (or several), and you’ll have them whenever you need them, even offline.³ And when you’re able to reconnect again later, the Bible App will sync your offline activity to your YouVersion account, making it available on all your devices.

Updating is easy.

This new release also includes several other improvements: bottom navigation that conforms to Google’s Material design specification, more refined control over your language settings, and a smoother sign in / sign up experience. Even with all of these improvements, we still managed to reduce the app’s size! How can you take advantage of all these great new features?

Update Now

¹Adjustable playback speed available on devices running Android version 6.0 (Marshmallow) and newer.

²Although optimized for Android tablets running versions 5.0 and 5.1 (Lollipop) and 6.0 (Marshmallow), all versions will see noticeable improvements.

³Audio Bibles not available offline.

2016-05-112016-05-09

How a single Bible verse can unite your family

Looking for a great way to lead your family spiritually?

Start with Scripture.

Do you have a Family Verse? A Family Verse serves as a compass point for your family, a helpful reminder of the principles that you value most together. Your Family Verse can be a single Bible verse or even a short passage that you choose together as a family, memorize together, and discuss how to live out—together.

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Share your Family Verse as a Verse Image, and your family could win.

Creating a Verse Image is easy in the Bible App. Just tap a passage to select it, then tap the orange Image icon. Many popular verses already have Verse Images that you can choose, designed by professional graphic artists. (We included some examples for you below.) If you’d rather make your own, select one of our background images or choose a picture from your own photo roll. Customize your image with fonts, colors, and other effects. Tap Save, then Share.

Share your Family Verse Image with us on Instagram, Twitter, or at Facebook.com/YouVersion. Just be sure you include the hashtag #OurFamilyVerse so we can find your entry!*

Some Family Verse Ideas

	“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you…” Jeremiah 29:11–13, NIV
	Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 NIV
	“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20 NIV
	And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16 NIV
	Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak… James 1:19 NLT
	…Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults… Ephesians 4:1-3 NLT
	And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. 1 John 4:21 NLT

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Tell us: What does the Bible mean to your family?

Tell us your family’s Bible stories.

…I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…

ROMANS 1:16, NIV

For this, the third day of Family Bible Week, we’d like to hear a story from you about what the Bible means to your family. Maybe you have an inspiring story about how you’ve used one of our apps together as a family—the Bible App or Bible App for Kids. Or maybe you’d like to share how the Bible led your family to faith in God.

As long as your story is about the Bible and your family, we’d love to hear it.

You’re welcome to include pictures with your story if you want. Or, if you’d like to make a short video to tell us your family’s Bible story, we’d love to see it. Choose one of these two ways to get your story to us and we’ll share some of them on our blog this week*:

Share Your Story

*When you submit your story, all content provided may be used publicly in whole or in part at the discretion of YouVersion. YouVersion reserves the right to edit your written content for length and spelling.