I Finished the Course

This morning I finished reading the Bible from cover to cover, in 88 days.  The program I was using through Mom's Toolbox was a 90 day plan, but there were 2 days built in for make up days.  Thankfully, I didn't need to use them.  I kept with the reading plan and finished on time.  Wow!

It was wonderful reading from start to finish.  Some days were difficult and others were easy.  Most of the Bible read like a wonderful story, going in chronological order from the beginning of man to the end of days.  The prophetic parts were a little difficult for me, but they just require more in-depth studying in the future.

There were so many benefits of reading through the Bible from start to finish.  Here are a few:

• Reading verses and a song comes in to my head.  There are so many, many songs out there that stemmed from Bible verses!  For a musically inclined person like me, this was such a blessing to see where the songs got their origins.
• Reading verses and knowing them.  There are so many verses I have heard over the years that I just can't remember where they came from.  It was good to read them and to put them into the proper context.
• Reading verses and realizing they are a lot longer than I know them.  Being a Cubbies teacher at church, I teach verses to 3 & 4 year-olds.  These verses are usually shortened so they can remember the key parts of a verse.  I've been saying them for 6 years now and it was fun to see how some of them are so much longer than how we study them.  For example, according to the Cubbies, Romans 5:8 says, "While we were sinners, Christ died for us."  But Romans 5:8 actually says "But God shows His love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  The first part of that verse is wonderful!
• The blessing of knowledge.  Do I pretend to know it all?  Nope! (If I do, smack me.)  But reading through the entire Bible has allowed me to gain knowledge of God and His perfect plan.  It also helped me to understand and get a clearer picture of what happened to lead up to Christ's life, death and resurrection on the earth.  Admittedly, the Old Testament is what I have read the least in my life as a believer.  So reading through the entire Bible has been wonderful to see all the history.
• The blessing of time.  I don't know how He did it, but God granted me time each and every day to read His word.  Yes, my house isn't spotless, but everything that was essential to my household was completed every day.  I was able to add reading 12 pages of the Bible into my schedule and still get the essentials finished daily.  I've learned that in honoring God and putting Him first, He grants me time to still accomplish things I need to get done.

I've been asked if I'll do this program again in the future.  Yes!  Not right away mind you, this is something that does require a lot of time, for me it was 1-2 hours of quiet reading daily.  But in the future I would love to go back through and read it all quickly again.  For now, there were some books in the Old Testament that I would like to go back through and study, like Isaiah and the minor prophets.

If you've never read through the entire Bible, this is a great way to do it.  It's also a wonderful way to jump start your reading and get you in a daily habit of reading God's word.  There is another group starting up on Monday, July 11, if you are interested please head over to Mom's Toolbox and check it out.

Day 85

It's day 85 of 90.  Yes, I am only a few days away from reading through the entire Bible in 90 days.  Actually, I'll be finished on day 88, there were 2 "freebie" days built in that I didn't use.  Today I'll be starting in Hebrews and by the end of the day I will have finished James 3.  It really has been amazing reading through the whole Bible so quickly.

As I've said before, this isn't an in-depth study.  It's just a motivational tool to read through the entire Bible.  Has it been beneficial to me?  Oh yes!  I can honestly say my walk with the Lord has grown and I don't think I will go back to not reading my Bible once this is finished.  I don't believe I'll continue reading 12 pages of the Bible daily, but I will continue to read and continue to grow closer with the Lord.

On Friday I will be blogging about the whole experience.  I'm anxious to see what the Lord has in store for me this week. 

A Relaxing Weekend

I had an amazing weekend.  My husband and I got away for the entire weekend.  Alone.  No kids.  Just us.  It was heavenly.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but I love my husband too.  This was the first time that we have been completely alone together since, well, since a weekend when he was home on leave from Afghanistan.  I spent that entire weekend sick as a dog, so that doesn't count.  So before that... well, I honestly don't know.  I'd have to say it was probably in October of 2009.  Yes, that's right.  That was the last time that the kids spent a weekend at Grandma's house where Seth and I were alone together.  Needless to say, we had a great weekend.

We spent the weekend up in Harrisburg.  We ate at some local restaurants, went to a Hershey Bears game, and did some shopping.  Overall it was a quiet, relaxing weekend.

Surprisingly enough, I had some time to read.  Not much though, as I found myself still doing Friday's reading on Sunday morning.  But I had a little over an hour in the car on the way back and during random times during the day yesterday, I managed to get myself completely caught up in my reading.  In fact, it was 5 minutes to midnight last night and I finished Daniel 8.  I had to laugh because I don't know how He did it, but God sure stretched my time to allow me to finish 3 days worth of reading in 1.  I read from Ezekiel 31 through Daniel 8 in one day.  Wow. 

What I read was mostly prophecy, some of it was chronology for Daniel.  Some parts were easier to read than others.  All of it was wonderful.  I'm so glad that I'm still on track and reading so much of God's word right now.  This week I have 2 field trips and a whole house to clean before my grandparents get here next week.  I'm sure God will provide time for me to continue to stay on track and read His word.  It's such a blessing to be reading the Bible! 

DUH!

Have you ever had a DUH moment?  You know, one of those times where someone has to tell you something so basic, because you didn't get it?  I've had a few situations this week where I just wanted to curl up and hide because I missed something so obvious, it should have smacked me in the head.

Last week I reported that I was reading through Psalms and Proverbs and how difficult I found it to read through so quickly.  Well, they had nothing on Isaiah.  I confess, I'm reading Isaiah just to read it, but I know that I'm missing a lot.  I told my kids last night that I am looking forward to getting a good study guide and reading through Isaiah again.  If you have any suggestions on a guide to use, please leave me a comment with the name of the guide.

Again, like last week, God has chosen a few verses to speak to me.  I am so very thankful that through the Holy Spirit, I am still able to be blessed in my reading of the Bible in 90 Days.  I read the following verse last night and just started laughing.  I happened to be in bed with my hubby and read the verse to him and he started laughing too.  It was a total "DUH!" moment.

For thus says the LORD,who created the heaven,

(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it

(he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!):
"I am the LORD, and there is no other."

Isaiah 45:18

I did not add the parenthesis, they are in the ESV Bible.  Seeing those words in the parenthesis made me laugh.  I mean a true, LOL (laugh out loud).  Read it again, but this time add a DUH at the end of each parenthesis, go ahead, I'll wait.

"...remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
   I am God, and there is none like me..."

Isaiah 46:9

The Israelites had to be reminded repeatedly that God is God.  In these passages God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah telling them, God is God, the only God!  DUH!  I just have to laugh, because I'm not the only one who needs a slap in the face every now and then.  In fact, in 9 verses God says "I am God" in the Old Testament.  "I am the Lord" is written in 184 verses in the Old Testament.  Really?  God needed to establish Himself 193 times?  Wait, no He didn't.  God is God and it's us who needs the reminder.  Even I have to be reminded every now and then.  Do I doubt that God is God, no, but sometimes even I need a reminder that He is the center of my life. 

Picture from Stupid Fat Hobbit.

Repayment of Sin

Reading the Bible in 90 days is amazing.  I honestly never thought I would read the Bible in it's entirety, straight through.  It's been great to read each story and I have loved reading about the kings and the history of Israel.  But now I'm in Psalms.  Psalms has been a bit difficult for me. You'd think they would be easier to read since each chapter is a story unto itself, but for me, it's not easier. 

This program has me reading roughly 20 Psalms a day.  It does mean it won't take me very long to make it through Psalms, but with going through that many chapters a day, I feel like I'm not retaining much.  It's been rather discouraging to me to realize that. 

Of the books I've read so far (everything prior to Psalms in the Bible) I can give you a basic overview of each book with quite a bit of detail.  For Psalms, it's just all meshing together.  Someone asked me 2 weeks ago, "How can you possibly learn anything by reading the Bible that quickly?"  Thankfully, God reveals to us, what He wants to reveal to us when we study His word.

Today I read Psalms 81 - 108.  That's quite a few chapters.  But in there, God revealed to me a set of verses that stuck with me and I felt compelled to go back and review.

Psalm 103
⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ He will not always chide,
   nor will he keep his anger forever.
¹⁰He does not deal with us according to our sins,
   nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
¹²as far as the east is from the west,
   so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
¹³As a father shows compassion to his children,
   so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

Verse 10 is the one that stuck out to me the most.   Can you imagine what it would be like, if for every sin we committed, we were repaid how we ought to be repaid?  Let's think this through. 

What is the punishment for sin?  Death.  Not just death, that's not the scary part.  The part that should truly frighten you is the eternal separation from God.  I cannot begin to imagine being anywhere where God is not present.  I am so very thankful that "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities."  God is so merciful!  As a believer in Christ, all I have to do is ask His forgiveness and I am forgiven! 

Every word that I have read today is important and I look forward to the time when I can go back and read Psalms slowly.  For now, I am thankful that God is teaching me this lesson today.  Thank you Lord, for being merciful and not dealing with me according to my sins.

Regular Bible vs. eReader Bible

Top view of my bible, laying on it's back.

It is day 36 of 90 and I am very pleased at where my bookmark is in my Bible.  Technically, I just put a bookmark in my Bible where I'm supposed to be at so I could see it, because I'm doing this reading on my eReader version of the Bible.  But the view is wonderful.

I am reading in Nehemiah today and heading into Job as well.  It's been wonderful reading in the Old Testament and learning things that I've just nodded my head and agreed to when people were talking before.  I was able to have a relevant conversation with my husband last night and our questions challenged each other.  Even more special than that, I was able to directly look up the verses I wanted to use because I had read them and knew where they were at.  WOW!

A bonus of reading in my eReader is that I am able to insert a bookmark at each stopping point.  If I ever want to go back and read the Bible in 90 days again, I'll be able to just read to my next bookmark.  To leave 90 bookmarks in a paper Bible would be a little ridiculous, at least for me.  I keep 4 in my regular Bible as it is, and to me, those are too many.  My eReader is light, easily transportable for reading on the go, has a print size I can adjust and is a pretty pink color too. 

Don't get me wrong, I love my Bible.  It's also pink and it is an ESV Study Bible.  It has these great columns on the sides of each page so I can take notes in it.  (I'm all for taking notes in my Bible to read later.)  But for this reading plan, the bulky Bible wasn't working for me.  In this fast-paced reading outline, I'm not reading to study, I'm reading to read.  It sounds almost blasphemous to read the Bible and not study it, but even with the amount that I am reading through, I am still learning. 

What is your preference in reading the Bible?  Have you tried reading it on your eReader?  Do you prefer one translation to another?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Short and Sweet

It's Monday and one of my monthly goals was to post Monday updates for my Bible in 90 Days reading.  Today I read 1 Chronicles chapters 1-9.  With that reading accomplished, I am up to date with the reading plan. 

Tomorrow I'll post my update on the rest of my monthly goals along with my goals for February.  As for me today, I've been living on the couch just trying to warm up.  For some reason I am extremely cold and my stomach is upset.  Could it be I've finally caught the dreaded stomach bug going around?  I sure hope not!  Back to the couch I go...

Choices

If I put a chocolate cupcake in front of you, covered in delicious frosting, would you eat it?  If you're like me, you probably would have it gone before it was even offered.  If I put some broccoli in front of you, how fast would you eat that?  Probably not as fast as the chocolate cupcake.  Knowing the cupcake is high in fat and calories, I would still choose to eat it over the broccoli, no matter how well I am sticking to my diet.

Why is it, that when it comes to choices God has laid before me, I want to choose what is wrong?  I know it's my sinful nature.  I can not say, "The Devil made me do it!" because in all reality, that's not true.  But, I'm not the only one who struggles with making the right choices.

2 Samuel 15 tells us of how the Lord spoke to King Saul through Samuel and told him what to do with the Amalekites in battle.  Everything was to be destroyed; people, livestock, all of it.  But Saul chose not to obey.  He chose to spare the Amalekite king as well as some of the livestock.  The Lord was displeased and told Samuel, “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” 2 Samuel 15:11  King Saul claimed he wanted to give the best of the livestock to the Lord in an offering, but that's not what the Lord wanted.

I look at this passage and think of two things.  One - it has nothing to do with me, I certainly don't sacrifice animals to the Lord.  Two - Are there things I do, that I think will be pleasing to Him, but really, it angers the Lord?

This week I am going to take a good look and what I do in my life.  Things that I do to serve Him and things that are not worshipful at all.  The Lord is my priority and I need to cut out things that do not please Him.  It's always hard to give up things, but in the end, as long as what I do is pleasing to God, I will be blessed by it.

Lyrics for Rebecca St. James' "I Can Trust You" can be found here.

Chocolate Cupcake Photo from Sweetest Kitchen

Back to Reality

I got up this morning (around 10:00) and had breakfast.  I watched a little tv and then took a shower.  After my shower I did something I haven't done since January 3rd... I got dressed in day clothes.  I've been wearing pajamas since January 4th.  Yes, I've changed them and I've showered too, but today was the first day I've put jeans and a shirt on.

Since my surgery I've been living either in my bedroom or on one chair on the first floor.  My husband, my kids, and my parents have waited on me hand and foot.  While I've loved it immensely, I can't take it anymore.  I feel like a slothful glutton.  It's time for me to get back to reality.

After I came downstairs this morning (closer to noon) I did the dishes, put dinner in the crock pot, and sat down to do my Bible reading.  (Everyone went to church without me this morning.)  I've been reading the Bible straight through since January 3rd and I'm in Deuteronomy now.  The Israelites are being given a lot of information by Moses before he dies and they are allowed to enter into the Promised Land.  All I have to say is God gives a lot of rules.

As I've been reading Leviticus - Deuteronomy, I've been amazed at how many rules there are.  They are so very detailed too!  There are rules on how many lambs to slaughter on each day of the feasts, there are rules on what animals they can or cannot eat, there are even rules on owning slaves.  I've sat here and thought, "I'm so glad I didn't live during that time."

I've spoken to a few people about these detailed rules.  One person told me that there were so many rules is because of how disgusting sin is to God.  Specifically in reference to the disgusting smell of the burnt sin offerings.  Another person said there are so many details because God cares about all the details of our lives. Both of these suggestions I agree with.  God loves His people and He cares about every little thing that we say, think and do.  He also detests sin, it is disgusting and repugnant to Him.

Do I treat sin that way?  I should.  There are certain sins that I just sweep away, others are worse.  It doesn't matter though, sin is sin.  Do I look at the little details?  I should.  I had a fit when I first came downstairs this week because there were no clean kitchen towels and someone wrote on my calendar in a sloppy manner.  Yet, I really don't care if there are crumbs on the floor or if all the toys are picked up.  Am I focused on the right details?

I should be focused on the right details.  Making God first in my life will allow me to focus on Him and focus on making every detail of my life a blessing to God.  Reading and learning His word and His laws will keep me focused on Him eternally.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 

Psalm 119:11

Week 1 Wrap Up

I've completed week one of my Bible in 90 Days reading.  I've read through Genesis and Exodus.  There was a lot in there that I had never read before.  I had no idea the elaborate detail that went into the Tabernacle that Moses erected for the Lord, or in the garments that Aaron and his sons wore.  It makes sense to have them so elaborate, wouldn't any gift I give to the Lord be like that?

After I finished reading today, I spent some time thinking about what gifts I give the Lord.  I tithe, I serve at His church, I honor Him in the way I follow His commandments.  Those are all well and good, but are my gifts elaborate?  Do I honor Him in the way that only He deserves?  I don't think I do.

While constructing the tabernacle, the Israelites brought gifts of gold, silver, and bronze; fabrics in blue, purple, crimson and fine linen.  I don't exactly have those gifts to give the church, nor would my church have a use for them. 

And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people 

of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept 

bringing him freewill offerings every morning.  Exodus 36:3

Here's the kicker.  The Israelites kept bringing gifts.  More and more gifts.  And they did it of their own freewill too!  Is that how I'm bringing my gifts to the Lord?  Do I go to church and pass out the Sunday school roll sheets with the heart of a servant who wants to serve the Lord with this gift?  Or do I pass it out with the mindset of, "they better fill these sheets out right this week"?  I think I know the answer to that question.

I don't have to have gold and crimson fabrics to give.  I do have me to give.  I have my attitude and my heart to give to the Lord and my service.  But I continually need to refocus my attitude and serve Him elaborately and with all my freewill. 

Falling in Love with a Good Book

Most of you know I had outpatient surgery yesterday. Needless to say, because of the drugs and sleeping afterwords, I didn't get any of my Bible in 90 Days reading accomplished. So today I played catch up.

I just finished reading Genesis chapter 40. So in a few days, I have read 40 chapters. I've never been able to do this before. But for some reason, it's easier this time. I've read a lot of tips on the Mom's Toolbox site and during our Twitter party Monday night, someone gave what I think is the best tip of all... Read the Bible like a story.

The Bible is a story, a true story written by God. It is perfect and error free. 2 Peter 1:16-21 attests to the validity of the Bible. It's not a chore for me to be reading this book. It is a story for me to fall in love with. If I can read novels and other books happily, why shouldn't I read the Bible in the same way?

Using that outlook has totally changed how I desire to read the Bible. Here God has given me a book that allows me to learn about Him and grow closer to Him. How can I not read this book that has an amazing story to fall in love with?

If you've never read the Bible completely through, I encourage you to reevaluate how you look at it. Do you see it as a duty to read your Bible? Or do you see it as a great story with a bonus of growing closer to God? It's easier than you think to read the Bible.

Day One ... or Three

Today is the day! I began my Bible in 90 Days reading program today. I read through Genesis chapters 1 - 16. Yes, it may seem like a lot, but I am so glad to be doing it. I've read the main stories of the Bible, but usually I skip over the "begat's". Not this time!

I say Day Three because this is January 3rd. It was my NY's resolution to read the Bible every day. So far so good! I'm glad to say that this is the first year that I didn't give up on day 2.

Tomorrow will be tricky though. I go in for surgery at 6:00 a.m. and I'm not sure what kind of happy meds I'll be coming home with. As long as I can find time to read through my verses, I'll be happy. Keep me in your prayers tomorrow!