this goal has been a blessing and I can’t really tell how things are happening, but it just seems this is the first time in my life I’ve taken this really seriously. or maybe that’s not quite right. I feel like I’ve been working toward this (or He’s been bringing me to this) over the last 4 or 5 years, getting more and more consistent. And it’s all about discipline teaching the heart, or… that’s not quite right, but it seemed a back and forth thing and I got to the point where even if I wasn’t sure I was in the ‘right’ mood or mode I would do it anyway, and though it wasn’t always a spiritual high or a deep lesson or even a time of understanding at that moment, those readings all added together to increase my understanding overall and bring me closer to God. ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my eyes.’

I was reading in Psalm 119 last night and this verse seems appropriate:

I run in the path of your commands,
for you have set my heart free.
~Psalm 119:322 years ago

a full week of reading every day – wow – I didn’t even make that a goal b/c I thought it would be too big a goal – PtL alone for this one – He’s been holding me close the last few weeks.

3 days away from a full month in which I missed no more than a day between readings!!!!

the Maker of Heaven and Earth can handle little me too :D 2 years ago

this is like an extra gift since I was really just pushing for at least every other day for a month, but the last week I’ve been reading every day. I haven’t done extra readings each time, but every single night I’ve done one day’s worth of readings.

I’m in 2 Samuel, Psalm 115, Mark, and Galatians at the moment

thankfulness :) 2 years ago

even better than the energizer bunny 3 years ago

loving this – spending lots of extra time in the word the last few days, and it has felt like soaring on the wings of eagles, where shortly before I was slogging through a mud pit. So thankful
still going forward, with His grace 3 years ago

so I’ve caught up to May – I’m 20 days behind.
not quite every day but getting pretty steady
I’ll count this ‘Thing’ as accomplished when for the period of a month the greatest number of days I miss between readings is 1 3 years ago

I’m behind on the reading schedule but I’m okay with that. my teaching schedule makes it difficult to read every day and with the beginning of the term I got waaaay behind. Now I’m reading 2 days’ readings at a time. really thankful. and I think I’m still more steady than the last time through and certainly more so than during the fall term. thankful too for the extra boost from reading both Brennan Manning and Dietrich Bonhoeffer – it’s not about performance but it is still a calling. God present in each moment 3 years ago

...on this – hoping once I get into this term’s new and crazy schedule I’ll do better on this. Trying to get ahead with lesson planning and need to remind myself that this only takes 15 minutes and that it’s the most important thing. 3 years ago

classes started and I have lapsed, which is what I was afraid of. :P time to get back into it! 3 years ago

feel like I’m waking up—still reading every day, although now that I’ve caught up with the reading plan and I’m only reading 1 day’s assignment at a time it doesn’t feel like enough. Have to admit I’m wondering how consistent I’ll be once the new semester starts and I have to be places and do planning and grading. This vacation has been a true blessing, though different than I had thought it would be. One class starting next week, but I have another week until everything starts with a vengeance. A little bit longer for general planning and resting and reading and running. :) Thank you, Lord 3 years ago

so thankful for a week in which I think I’ve read every day and often more than 1 day’s worth of reading. I started this in part to catch up since I started the year schedule on January 20th. But I’m truly just basking in the light of God’s word – sounds so cliched or something, but truly, this has been a celebration – enjoying the revelations. I really like this reading schedule too for how each part seems to feed so effectively into each other part. It starts with Matthew, Acts, Psalms, and Genesis and I’m amazed at how often their words echo or reinforce or enlighten each other. I’ve always understood the wholeness of scripture, but truly they are talking between each other. Thank you Lord for this week! 3 years ago

so I think I’ve restarted :) I’m on ‘vacation’ right now, so trying to get certain patterns established, including seeking God first before all other things.

I should thank my kittens for constantly knocking my stuff around because in the midst of picking it up I found a couple things I had printed out at least a couple years ago, trying to achieve just this goal. One was the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan which can be found on their page of Bible Reading Plans for anyone who’s interested. The other is a 2 page general guide called “How to Study the Bible” (not sure actually where I got it b/c the url isn’t printed on it, nor is the name of the page) which gives you general process. It’s not really new information but I found it helpful anyway.

The reading plan I chose has a schedule in which you start from 4 places and read a bit in each every day; this way you read the whole Bible in 1 year, but have a sense of the larger context of each portion you’re reading. This was something I was trying to set up on my own, but I think their schedule will work a lot better. :) 3 years ago

not going so well on the daily thing. still about every 3 days or so. perhaps I’ve given myself too much to do, but I think it’s more a case of sitting myself down to it. 3 years ago

I’ve been listening to some of the lectures/sermons from the New Attitude conference in 2006 and I’ve found them to be true food for the soul. There was also some real encouragement for developing a steady Bible-reading habit, something I’ve been longing to have for ages (“have”, not “do”, you notice – doing/developing is so much harder than simply having a habit ;) ). They also had some really practical suggestions so I thought I’d give it a try again. I’ve really benefited the last 2 years from a goal to read straight through the Bible and I think reading /every day/ would multiply this many times over.

You can find mp3s from the 2006 New Attitude conference (and all the other years too) here: http://www.thisisnext.org/resources/ The one that was particularly helpful for this goal (though I’m just starting) is Mike Bullmore’s “Feeding on God: Cultivating a Fruitful Life in the Word.”

So I started this morning. Hoping I’m not starting w/too much, but really want to do some reading in both Isaiah and John, so I’m trying for a chapter in each for each day. Then I’m also starting another straight through read of the whole Bible, aiming at, but not insisting on, that Zondervan read-through-the-Bible-in-90-days plan of ~12 pages each day. Made it from Gen I – Gen `15 where Abram and Lot part ways.

Heading to bed late tonight, so I’m hoping that won’t have a negative effect on things. 3 years ago