Webinars for BibleReader
Jan 23rd
At Olive Tree, we are committed to “Live the Bible” in 2012, and we’ve made it a goal to encourage you to get deeper into the Word as well. One way we hope to make it easier for you to study the Bible is through our new live webinars. Led by our helpful Customer Support representatives, webinars are an interactive way to learn how BibleReader can enhance your Bible study. In them, you can ask questions and follow along on your screen and on your device.
Covering a variety of topics, Olive Tree webinars are designed around each operating system. Whether you have an iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android phone or tablet, Mac, or PC, you will learn how to use BibleReader on your device. Join Olive Tree for the “BibleReader Basics” webinar that features a short presentation on topics like using bookmarks, highlights and notes, and for the “BibleReader Intermediate” webinar that covers topics including advanced searching, the Resource Guide and Strong’s numbers. If you have any suggestions for topics you would like to see covered in a webinar, let us know at support@olivetree.com.
Take a look at our schedule and sign up for one of the upcoming sessions. The webinars are well worth the time and they’re free!
Lunch, Learning & Laughs (and a little competition)
Jan 19th
This week Olive Tree held the first-ever Employee Chili Cook Off. With six different varieties of chili, ranging from so-hot-it-will-melt-your-eyeballs to pleasantly mild, no employee went hungry. While a clear winner wasn’t crowned, one thing is certain, Olive Tree employees can cook!
After fellowshipping around our chili bowls, Olive Tree CEO Drew Haninger shared our company goals and achievements from 2011 and discussed the future of Olive Tree for 2012. 2011 marked great milestones for Olive Tree, including the release of BibleReader for Nook, Kindle, Mac and a beta for Windows. We also reached 1,000 titles (now over 1300) available on our Olive Tree store for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android. Our book formatters kept track of our progress, completing the “unicornometer” of titles at the end of August.
Our company lunches often include a time for our employees to learn more about the features and resources we offer. At this recent meeting one of our knowledgeable book formatters presented information about two original language resources: HALOT and Louw-Nida Greek Lexicon. HALOT, or the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, is a new resource soon to be available in the Olive Tree store. Over 80 years in the making, HALOT is widely considered to be the standard scholarly lexicon for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. Learn more about HALOT and its extensive features by visiting the Olive Tree store.
A resource that has often led to confusion for our Olive Tree customers, Louw-Nida Greek Lexicon is a uniquely different Greek lexicon. Based on “semantic domains”, Louw-Nida groups similar words under contextual categories. Best used for advanced and intermediate Greek translators, find out more about this resource at the Olive Tree store.
As proud as we are of the achievements, resources, and software that we’ve produced in 2011, we look forward to 2012 as a year for even greater improvement. Olive Tree’s mission, however, remains the same: “Inspire people to connect with God and the Bible.” We strive to encourage everyone not only to study the Bible, but to “Live the Bible” in 2012 (Matthew 4:4).
BibleReader for Windows 7: Beta Preview
Jan 10th
After releasing BibleReader for Mac, the latest in our line of Bible study apps, we had an outpouring of requests from our Olive Tree users for a PC version. We’ve been keeping you updated on our progress with BibleReader for Windows 7, and I’ve got more exciting news for you: we are giving users a preview of the BibleReader beta for Windows 7 and you can download it here!
Sync your notes, bookmarks and highlights from your other devices, download your purchased books, and use the resource guide to dig deeper into the Bible. Most of your favorite BibleReader features are already available in the Windows 7 beta preview and our engineers are hard at work adding more tools to enhance Bible study. While this is just a preview of our software for PC, we are encouraged by the feedback from our users already testing BibleReader on their Windows 7 PC. If you have tried it out, let us know what you think on Facebook. Click on any of the images below to take a look at the Windows 7 BibleReader beta preview in use:
Live the Bible in 2012
Jan 5th
We want to wish our Olive Tree Family a blessed New Year! As a community passionate about the Bible, we know that God’s love and kindness brings us back to new beginnings, making commitments to grow in our faith.
With the start of a new year upon us, we want to encourage you to commit to live the Bible every day. For some that may mean connecting with God by reading the Bible and praying daily. For others, it might mean an even deeper commitment to understand and study God’s Word.
All of us need a reminder to take what we’ve read and put it into action. We encourage you to make a new beginning with God and Live the Bible in 2012. As we read in James 1:22: “…be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” We are cheering you on!
We are passionate about living the Bible in 2012 because we know that God’s Word changes lives. We are excited to share that passion with you through great Bible study software and resources in 2012. Together we can be partners in knowing God through his Word, making Him known in our communities and across the world.
Have a blessed New Year!
Olive Tree Team
p.s. If you have a story of how the Bible has changed your life in 2011 let us know here!
Mac a hit, Windows 7 to Follow
Dec 21st
If you haven’t seen it yet, we released our Mac BibleReader app and we are overjoyed at the response from our users. That is why we are pleased to announce that after a lot of hard work from our engineers, the Windows 7 PC version of BibleReader is well on its way to release. We have been testing the new BibleReader in house, and we can’t wait until all of our PC users can try it out too. Click on the thumbnails below to see actual screen shots of our PC BibleReader in production!
A few of the PC features we are excited about include a full Resource Guide, multi-window reading, and free sync capability from the PC to mobile devices and Mac. As always, the Olive Tree BibleReader software will be completely free. Look for more news and release information for the PC BibleReader in January and February.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates!
Joy to the World! Olive Tree Company Christmas Party
Dec 8th
Olive Tree Bible Software employees and their guests gathered last night for our second annual Christmas party. Overlooking the lights of Spokane and with fresh cranberries floating in our punch glasses, we enjoyed an evening of food and activities.
The evening began with a fun mixer and time to catch up and talk together. Drew Haninger, company president, opened our dinner with prayer and a reading from Isaiah 9:6-7. After getting our food, two employees read the Christmas Story from the Gospel of Luke and another employee treated us with a reading from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.
During dinner, we enjoyed delicious food and conversation around seven tables. After dinner and dessert, we had a white elephant gift exchange with many clever gifts, lots of good-natured stealing, and frequent bursts of laughter. Perhaps the most popular gift was a pair of plush toy Angry Birds. And with the number of Starbucks gift cards in the gift exchange, our staff should be wired and ready for the push of the Christmas season.
As we finished the night by singing Joy to the World and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, we were reminded of our privilege as a Bible software company to be a part of proclaiming the Gospel message with the angels of heaven:
“Don’t be afraid…I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today…Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Luke 2: 10-11,14 NLT
From the staff at Olive Tree Bible Software, we pray that the Word of God, in both the form of Scripture and Christ himself, Emmanuel, would dwell richly in your hearts this season.
Some Features on Mac
Dec 2nd
You may have noticed that we recently released BibleReader for Mac. We are thrilled to bring the same amazing software that you’ve known and loved on your mobile devices to this new platform. Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some of the special features that you will find on the BibleReader for Mac.
Cloud Sync
Here at Olive Tree, we are constantly refining and enhancing our products to make them the best they can be. We take pride in our software and gladly offer our customers the latest updates for their devices free of charge. We’ve continued that same philosophy with our new Mac software. Not only are we offering Mac BibleReader for free, but your books, notes and content on your other devices are shared with your Mac BibleReader with our free Cloud sync feature. With an Olive Tree account, your library, notes, bookmarks and more are accessible for future study and editing from any of your devices, including your Mac. You will never have to pay for a book more than once.
Resource Guide
As you read along in your Mac BibleReader, instantly discover new insight into the people and places in your text. The Resource Guide will search your library for all the information relevant to the passage you’re reading and present right alongside your Bible text. Maps, images, charts and more in the Resource Guide bring the Bible to life on your screen. Check out our new Resource Guide video on YouTube!
The new and improved features offered in the Mac BibleReader will soon be available in a PC version of our software. Our engineers are working hard to take BibleReader to Windows 7. Keep checking back with us in the coming months to find out more about all the exciting things happening at Olive Tree Bible Software.
Desktop Here!
Nov 22nd
It’s official. Our BibleReader is in the Mac Store.
For over 12 years Olive Tree has dedicated it’s time and resources to providing premier Bible study tools to your mobile device. With the advent of the iPhone, Olive Tree quickly became a leader for Bible study in the app world. And the iPad…Olive Tree brought you one of the best looking and best study tools available on a tablet.
Now, after meeting everyone on their favorite mobile platform, Olive Tree is stepping it up once again.
Olive Tree is excited to bring you a desktop app for Mac (PC coming soon)!
Taking the concepts from our iPad and iPhone app, we’ve brought a whole new experience to desktop Bible Software. Whether you just want to read with no distractions, study with the Resource Guide, take notes while you’re reading, or searching your library, you will find Olive Tree’s desktop app to be just as simple and beautiful to use as the app on your phone or tablet.
For more information about the BibleReader on Mac you can look here.
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Billy Graham – Nearing Home
Nov 9th
Do you have a mentor or an elder that has shaped your life in an unforgettable way? Have you watched a loved one age with such grace and dignity that you desire to model your life after theirs? While we may look up to our elders, many of us still tend to shy away from the difficult issues that the older generation face. But we can only ignore the truth for so long. We are all getting older and for some of us, that reality is beginning to rear its ugly head. If you’re like me, getting out of bed in the morning produces a symphony of groans, pops and creaks that aren’t coming from the bedsprings.
For believers, more than failing physical bodies, growing older brings its share of challenging questions: What is God’s purpose for this time in my life? How do I serve God with my growing limitations? How do I remain hopeful when I’m surrounded by pain and loss?
These concerns are addressed honestly in Billy Graham’s Nearing Home: Life, Faith and Finishing Well. Written for more than just the elderly, Graham teaches readers of all ages how to prepare for the challenges of growing old. At ninety-three Billy Graham is no stranger to the difficulties of advanced age, but he doesn’t let it keep him from faithfully ministering to people around the world. His new book shows that old age is “not a time to be despised or a burden to be endured with gritted teeth.” Instead, Graham uses examples form Scripture to show how God continues to work through His people, no matter their age.
No one knows God’s plans for the future, but we can know for sure that whether or not we live to be ninety-three, someday all of us will be called home. It is Graham’s desire and ours here at Olive Tree that we would learn to grow older with grace and, like our mentors before us, find the guidance needed to finish well.
Declare His Glory Among the Nations! –Psalm 96:3
Nov 8th
It’s so easy to focus on the Word of God and our passion for it. BibleReader was created to make it easy to not just read the Bible, but truly absorb God’s messages to us. Most of you love your own personal Bible studies and we are happy to keep developing technology that connects you with God and the Bible.
But here’s the concern: all these valuable resources can focus us so much on what the Bible says that we can neglect to focus on what the Bible says to do. Even beyond Bible study, our passion here at Olive Tree is going into all the world to make disciples. In fact, one of our mottos is “ Mobilize Your Bible Study,” reflecting the value such portability gives when you are doing just that: going into all the world.
That’s why I’m excited to announce that this week we’ll be exhibiting at Catalyst Inland Northwest. The featured speakers are Luis Palau, Ajay Pillai, and George Verwer. Do you know how rare it is to be able to hear these three dynamic and missions-minded speakers in the same place, let alone the same continent? Millions have been touched through God’s use of these brothers and the people in their ministries.
And Olive Tree Bible Software will be there. If you’re in the Pacific Northwest, stop by and see our display at Calvary Church in Spokane, Washington.