a little background
i mentioned in a previous post that i had decided to start this new school year (always kinda like a new year to me) by reading the Bible cover to cover. oftentimes i keep most of my Bible study in books of the Bible i am feeling the Lord highlighting to me in certain seasons. though this is a great way to get into the Word, i have found that since i have lost the habit of reading the Bible through once a year like i did in the past, there are many books that i haven't visited for several years (gasp!) such as romans or acts, simply because i didn't feel particularly drawn to them. i have been feeling the need to review the Bible, especially the parts i don't read regularly, for about a month now, so i decided now is the time.
my goal
my goal is to read some amount every single day, starting in genesis and ending in the revelation of Jesus. now, with 4 kids, there will be days when i honestly can only get in one chapter. i am totally going to try to do at least that much because the way my mind sometimes works is if it isn't as much as i wanted to accomplish, why even try. but i will do something every day, minus the very few exceptions.
the challenge
there are 1189 chapters in the Bible. this means that if i read 3 or 4 chapters every day, i will finish the whole Bible in a year. not too bad. if i read about 13 chapters a day, i could finish in 90 days. for some reason the challenge of that draws me, even though it is very unlikely i could average that every day right now.
i am going to stick with making a goal of 3 or 4 chapters every day. i think it is very realistic for where i am at and, of course, if i get on a roll i could read more than that on any particular day.
accountability
i started last wednesday and today i am on genesis 19. i will updated all my faithful readers on this blog on my progress from time to time as a bit of accountability. i am working on my yes being yes and my no being no (matthew 5), so knowing that i am making this commitment publicly puts on a bit of good pressure to keep my word.
filling wasted time
an even cooler idea popped in my head last week as well. i figured that with regular mommy duty car trips and now dropping off/picking up kids (includes taking my pre-kindergartener inside to sign in and out of class) to and from school, i am in the car an approximate of 3 hours 5 days a week. that seemed like an incredible waste of time to me and i was fretting about all i could be getting done during that time that i will not be able to do in this season. then this great idea popped in my head: i will listen to the Bible, cover to cover, on cd in the car! i remembered that both my mom and mother-in-law gave us the Bible on cd in two different versions, so i started right away.
so far so good. i am on disc 4, in the middle of exodus. i have only been listening since thursday, i believe. i am going to get through the Bible so much faster than i can sitting down and reading, so i will get a double dose of the whole thing.
my new addiction
it has been addicting, i will admit. my kids even asked me this morning as soon as they got into the car if i could turn on the Bible. we are all hooked!
several times i have almost cried as the Lord has revealed Himself in deeper ways through stories i have read before and heard before. i have been asking Him to open my heart and for the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to me as all the Scripture speaks of Him.
i can't wait to get back into the car to hear more. we had lost disc 4 and this afternoon i told my husband we had to find it immediately! i had finished disc 3 and couldn't skip one of my very favorite books in the Bible, exodus, and just move on. so we searched until we successfully found it and i could go pick up asher listening to the stories of moses and the signs and wonders in egypt.
invitation to the challenge
so, will any of you join me? how long has it been since you last read the Bible cover to cover?
maybe you never have read the whole Bible. no worries, now can be the time! i would love to know if you would join me in this challenge for this next year, or whatever time frame you decide to challenge yourself to. some of you may be able to go for the 90 day challenge. i have heard it coined b90x. haha. i think doing it in a year with reading 3-4 chapters a day is do-able for anyone. nowadays, we can even read our Bible chapters on our cell phones. talk about a great thing to do while waiting in line at the grocery store. maybe you would want to listen to it on cd, like i am, so that you can use that wasted driving time for something that will make your spirit man come alive on the inside.
leave me a comment and let me know what you think. let me know if you too want to tackle getting re-familiar with the whole Word of God and we will do this together.
join me on this journey!
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