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. 

word for this year...

a friend of mine wrote a post about the word she hopes will characterize the next year of her life and i found it inspiring.  the idea of summing up your year in one word before it has even happened... what a wonderful goal.  i wanted to do this myself, so i thought through various things that i would like to work on this year.  i could copy Janna and go with "patience" cuz i've been sorely lacking in that area.  or i could try for something like "joy" or "peace" both fruits of the Spirit and would be lovely to have more of.  but none of those seemed quite right.  yet once i thought about it, there was one word that just fit...

Daily - occurring, made, or acted upon daily; reckoned by the day

because...

that's how often i should be reading the Word.

i'm only given the grace to deal with each day as it comes, so i will not worry about the next.

i want to lift up my husband in prayer each and every day.

i can be a slacker when it comes to cleaning, so i'm determined to do a little bit each day to avoid it's ability to become overwhelming. 

all 4 of us need to laugh that often.

my sons grow so quickly, i have to stop and enjoy them daily, i must train them up daily, and i must read them the Word of the Lord DAILY!

and so i hope to take the next year of my life, daily.  i have a goal of reading thorugh the Bible in a year and although i have failed on day 1 & 2, i will not stop and wait until next year.  nope, this year i will daily read my Bible, even when i hit the geneologies and the measurments for the tabernacle.  because...

2 Timothy 3:16

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;"

i'm praying that this year might be slightly less eventful than the past several years.  and yet, that God will work mightily in my life over the next year. 

and so, here we go 2011...