Monday, January 19, 2015

My Bible Reading Goals for 2015

Recently I wrote about the Bible being our spiritual mirror.

Have you ever let that reflection get so foggy, you hardly recognize yourself? If so, you are not alone!

I know as moms, we can get so bogged down with every day life that we get away from the most important thing. The reason we do anything at all: God! His Spirit. His Words.

They are life-giving, and every time I read them, I see myself a little more clearly.

Once upon a time, I wasn't yet a wife, I didn't have children, and I pretty much only had myself to think about. Whoo! I was so spiritual! Can you relate to that? I thank God that I had time to myself early on to dive deep into His Word and get to know my way around the Bible, but thankfully, He had more in store for me!

I was soon married and quickly (really quickly!) became a mother, and then became a mother again...and again, and now I'm expecting our fourth blessing. I can be exhausted sometimes. It can be so hard to get up earlier than everyone. It can be a challenge to get to bed at a decent hour, because I spend time catching up on things after everyone else is in bed. In the most recent times that I've gotten up and have been able to spend uninterrupted time in His Word, it has been glaringly obvious to me that I've become distant from Him.

I don't want that to be the case in 2015! So, I'm pressing on. I mentioned a while back that I had found a great Bible reading plan in the YouVersion app on my phone. Guess what? I'm still plugging away at that plan! Project 345 Plus is a 365 day reading plan, most days having four chapters to read. Needless to say, it's taken me much longer than 365 days to read through it! But that's okay. I was pregnant with my third child when I started it, and that plan has seen me through a pregnancy, a postpartum period, a growing infant turned busy toddler, all while homeschooling my two older children, and now another pregnancy.

My plan is to be purposeful about waking up earlier than everyone so I can have that uninterrupted time to read and soak in His Word. I need that time to replenish my spirit! I need it to give me the mental, emotional, and spiritual energy to keep things going smoothly around here (I plan to do a better job at that this year! Only by His grace).

Will you join me? Pick out a Bible reading plan on YouVersion or somewhere else (even the back of your Bible might have one) and just get started. You won't have to waste time hemming and hawing over your Bible in the morning about what you should or shouldn't read. You'll know what's next. And amazingly, so will God. I'm always astounded that whatever I'm reading is exactly what I need for today. He is so good!

What Bible-reading goals do you have this year? Share in a comment!