Re: translations: I think I would agree with your assessment of the Good News Bible, excepting only that sometimes the wording used to render the text into "easy to understand" English results in a very poor translation of the original...which then can lead to misunderstandings of what is intended in the passage. It also tends to be somewhat clunky and lacking in euphony, to my fussy and sensitive ear.

Bearing in mind, also, that the King James is gorgeous but just as wrong in many places. For example, the Hebrew word that is most commonly translated "virgin" does not mean "woman who has never had sex." It means "young woman." Period. The implication may be that if she's young and unmarried, she has never had sex. But the word itself doesn't say young and unmarried. It just says "young" and "female." Which sort of makes a vast difference in how you read certain things...

And much love back to you, sweetie. I've been thinking as I read the chapters on fellowship that the author is a bit limited in his estimation of how fellowship grows; he seems to think geography matters. It does somewhat, I suppose, but...not as much as I think he thinks it does.
kls