change of plans...

ok, so i have a confession to make.  i have utterly failed with the whole read through the Bible in a year plan.  like... disastrously...  yeah... 

i was completely frustrated with myself.  then, i had coffee with a friend on monday night.  we talked through my difficulty and she shared some tips with me (that had been shared with her by a very VERY wise woman) that i will be implementing in my daily reading.

it seems that with the period of life i am in at the moment, i need something more flexible.  especially because i don't just want my reading to be about covering ground, but rather soaking in the Word.  i may have days where 4 or 5 chapters is totally doable.  and then i have days where i sit down to read and am constantly interrupted by screaming boys, poopy pants, throw up, phone calls, etc.  so any reading that does get done is in one ear and out the other. 

 

the new plan:
a-  i will continue through the Psalm as i have been doing ever since we moved back to NE in June.  i'm only just into the 70's, so i have a bit to go.  but i have found that often i need to re-read a chapter and stew over it for a couple days before moving on. 
b- i will be picking a "theme verse" as God so directs.  i'm hoping this will be about one a week.  this verse will go on an index card and hang next to my kitchen sink (a place i find myself many times throughout the day).  i will read this verse throughout the days and really chew on it, find other scriptures that support it & parallel it.  i will not go to commentaries or other "christian" books, because at this point in time i don't need more things to do & a bunch of opinions of man... i need the WORD!  and in bit size pieces. 

now i'm not wanting to stick with "milk" when i should be eating "meat."  i'm not looking for something less offensive or that makes me feel better about myself. 

rather, i'm hunting for a way to get daily doses of my Lord that will not make me dread sitting down with my Bible.  i'm looking for a way to tuck in bits of God's wisdom to help me grow. 

soon enough, i'm sure my boys will get bigger and become more able to help themselves potty, get a drink, or play quietly for a reasonable amount of time.  but until that happens, i must get more creative about consuming the Word. 

i think of it kind of like how right now, i'm coming up with tricks to get my boys to eat the veggies they aren't so fond of.  i know they will ignore big chunks of steamed carrots sitting on their plate.  however, they will munch away on spaghetti sauce that has those carrots pureed into it.  not that i turn up my nose at the Bible like i would cauliflower... but i know i need it, so i'm cutting it down and tucking it in throughout my days.

and so, this is the new plan.  who knows.  in another couple months, the plan may change again.  and, Lord willing, i will do my best to roll with it and still get some Bible in every day. 

questions for you to think about:
are you getting the Word daily?  why not?  is there a way to change up your daily plan to make it more manageable?

are you allowing other things to take priority over the Word that you really just need to set aside?

praying for you guys as well.