October 17–23, 2026

TGIF! Piper’s busy week, less paperwork waiting, and fewer inbox gremlins 📖☕

CalvinEllis.dev • October 17–23, 2026

TGIF, everybody! 🎉

Yes, this one is arriving a little late. Apparently “one more thing before I write the newsletter” is how you accidentally start next week. 😂

Bible Breeze got most of my attention this week, with new ways to explore Scripture, follow a reading plan, and organize the passages you want to keep. Quietly Sober had some useful improvements, too, and my website learned that a robot filling out a contact form at the speed of light probably isn’t stopping by for a friendly chat.

📖 Piper rearranged the library

Finding your place in Bible Breeze should be easier now. The new Books of the Bible picker lets you choose a book and chapter from a centered list, or type a reference such as John 3:16 and jump straight there.

One-chapter books such as Jude now open correctly, too. A short book should not require a lengthy investigation. 😄

The verse tools are gathered into a sheet for highlighting, copying, sharing, notes, saving, and prayer, while keeping the passage in view. These changes went live, with more phone, Safari, and accessibility checks still ahead.

🔎 “What does the Bible say about…?”

Bible Topics went live with nearly 5,000 topics, using the credited OpenBible.info topic index.

You can look up a subject such as anxiety, grief, or forgiveness, then read the associated passages in your selected Bible version. A reading strip helps you move through the passages, and you can open the surrounding Scripture for context.

Topics also have public discussions, with comments, replies, hearts, reporting, and blocking. The pages and supporting services passed their automated and browser checks; a real posted-comment walkthrough and more device checks remain on the list.

There is plenty to explore. Piper may need a larger card catalog. 📚

🌱 Devotionals without the attendance sheet

Bible Breeze now includes ten starter devotionals, plus a guided builder for making your own multi-day devotional from passages you choose.

You can keep private journal answers as you work through it. If you want to share the devotional itself, you can share a copy by link or through the community shelf. Your journal answers stay private.

There are no streaks to protect and no little digital hall monitor shaking its head because Tuesday got away from you.

The feature is deployed and its live service checks passed. Walking the whole experience on phones, checking accessibility, and reviewing the translated wording still need their turns.

📅 Reading plans joined the bookshelf

Reading Plans moved forward this week, too.

The live system includes 21 curated plans, and Friday’s update added member-created plans, public plans, and a discussion on each plan.

The plans support flexible schedules, private progress, pausing, and reminders. Scripture comes from the Bible version you’re reading.

The rule I like most: missing a day does not mean spiritual failure. A reading plan should help you return to Scripture, not turn your calendar into a disappointed school principal. 😄

The update is deployed, and public checks confirmed the new catalog and discussion features. Phone reminders and the full hands-on experience still need checking.

✍️ A place to reflect—and a little organizing

Daily Bread now has a full-year Scripture calendar and public community reflections. Visitors can read without signing in, then sign in when needed without losing the reading context. The accompanying editorial entries are still being reviewed, with drafts clearly labeled.

The Prayer workspace also moved forward. Its community feed is activated, while private journal writing stays separate. That is still a work in progress: a successful real-world prayer post and the complete device experience have not yet been verified, and photo and composer improvements have their own rollout steps.

I also worked on My Notebook, Highlights, saved verses, and Verse Baskets. The changes include clearer cards, better filtering, ready-made baskets, and fixes for saved passages getting stuck during synchronization. One basket did make it through to the iPad after the fix—a small but satisfying victory over the “I know I saved that somewhere” department. ✅

Some of that work has passing code checks without a completed visual or device walkthrough. The smaller Daily Bread reflection box is also implemented, but its own release checks remain separate.

🎮 Something playful is on the drawing board

I planned a set of seven Scripture memory games, including Flip & Match, Verse Vault, and Timeline Trek.

These are plans and mockups, not released games. The direction keeps personal scores private and leaves public rankings out.

Piper has enough responsibilities without becoming the commissioner of competitive Bible homework. 😄

📄 Quietly Sober stopped watching the clock quite so stubbornly

Quietly Sober had a practical attendance fix this week.

Previously, a meeting helper could be stuck waiting until an hour after the scheduled start before approving attendance—even when the meeting had already ended.

That artificial wait is gone. Approval can now happen after the meeting starts, once the attendee’s observed departure has actually happened. The existing checks against signing for future attendance remain.

The change went live and basic server checks passed. Automated tests were not run for this change, and approving a real early-ending request still needs its own walkthrough.

Sometimes progress is a big new feature. Sometimes it is letting somebody finish the paperwork and get on with their morning. ☕

💻 Windows got some workshop attention, too

I repaired the formatting and code-check problems that were stopping Quietly Sober’s Windows build process before it could reach the actual build.

The repaired source passed 1,798 automated tests, with six specialized visual checks skipped. That proves the repaired code passed those checks; it does not prove a new Windows installer passed installation or Store review.

The Windows download work also moved to the 2.1.10 installer, and the uploaded file’s delivery was checked. Installation, upgrades, and Store availability remain separate things to verify.

🌅 A warmer welcome for A Kinder Tomorrow

I made matching sunrise artwork for A Kinder Tomorrow: a meeting image and a waiting-room background with “We’ll Be Right With You.”

Simple, calm, and welcoming. The artwork is made; checking its actual cropping and appearance inside Zoom is still a separate step.

A Kinder Tomorrow remains an independent meeting that Quietly Sober lists, rather than a meeting operated by the app.

🤖 My contact form learned a little skepticism

CalvinEllis.dev got a spam guard after bots decided my contact form looked like a promising recreational facility.

The live form now refuses submissions returned implausibly quickly and quietly avoids keeping or emailing the same exact message repeatedly from the same address within a day.

A live bot-style check was refused. A normal accepted message and its actual email arrival still need checking separately.

The goal is fewer junk messages without asking every visitor to identify seventeen blurry traffic lights. 🚦

📚 Everybody else gets an honest paragraph

I checked the other project libraries, too.

Gabby had behind-the-scenes development-workflow cleanup, but I found no new player-facing feature release for this reporting window.

For the Gumdum website, Hardcore, SMP, and Bedrock Control Center, the reviewed records showed no new public-facing feature work to announce. Shared infrastructure and project-recordkeeping changes did not produce another reader-facing story for this edition.

No imaginary road-trip games, surprise Minecraft expansions, or claims that Brix rebuilt civilization before breakfast. The newsletter can survive an honest quiet paragraph. 😄

❤️ The part that matters most

I’m grateful for another week of building, learning, fixing things, and staying sober. Some days the progress is a big milestone. Other days it’s one less broken button and remembering to appreciate how far things have come.

One day at a time. One step at a time. Occasionally one very stubborn newsletter at a time. 😄🙏

God is good. Have a wonderful weekend, everybody! ❤️

— Calvin

calvinellis.dev

♡ Thanks for reading this Build Week.