I am Queen of the Snooze Button. (All my former roommates will agree.) And this morning, I only pressed it once. One snooze, friends! One snooze! Of my accomplishments, this falls in the “epic” zone.
I fell asleep last night humbled. Humbled that people would do this challenge with me. Humbled that people cared to read about it. Tweets, texts, emails . . . I am not alone in this. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Armed with coffee (obviously), the Bible, my Moleskine journal and a candle, I began.
My goal in making Bible reading and prayer a daily part of life is to build a foundation in my heart. Unlike past attempts, my hope is to not rush through what I’m reading. No deadlines, no lists to check off. The perfectionist in me loves the thrill of crossing off and checking off and getting things done. But I know that I need to digest and understand and grasp what I am reading and what I am praying. And lists, for me, keep me from going slowly.
To begin, I’m spending time in three books: Matthew, 1 Peter and the Psalms. History + Epistle + Poetry. I was inspired by a year-long reading plan from the full-of-wisdom resource that is Ransom Fellowship. Called the Bible Reading Plan for Slackers and Shirkers, it breaks the week up by topic. A few days are spent on history, a few on epistles, a few on poetry. So I adapted this plan for daily reading, reading a little of each category every morning.
My biggest takeaway from Day One was found in Matthew: Immanuel. God with us. Three short words, full of greater meaning than we can grasp. Overwhelmed, really, that God is with us. Day in, day out.
Thank you, friends, for praying for me and joining me on this journey. If you’re doing this too, how did the first day go? What are you reading? What are you learning?
inspiration-driven life 
Last night Margaret Feinberg posted a question on Google+ asking readers to share spiritual gems from the Word that have special meaning to them. One man posted 2 Chronicles 20:12b: “For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Right now I feel like I have a great horde coming against me; beloved enemies, spiritual forces, the lies I repeat to myself in my head. We’ve lost our church home this week. My husband and I are now both unemployed, which is connected to the church fallout. We moved to Chicago 18 months ago for a perfect job, the expectation of community, and the hope of finding home finally. In the last 8 months, we’ve lost all of it. And we are powerless. And we do not know what to do. But Jehoshaphat summed it up. Our eyes are on him. I’m going to camp in this story a little longer.
Thanks for your insight, Tammy! It’s hard to hear at first, but such a treasure: “And we are powerless.” Because God Himself is powerful. Thanks so much for visiting and sticking with me on this journey!
“Immanuel. God with us.”– Yes! Sounds like today was a great start. This morning I did the homework sesssions of a Bible Study I go to on Tues, but I think I’m going to start starting my mornings with strictly the Word and work on my Bible Study materials later in the day. (Just a personal conviction). 🙂 I love your reading plan- sounds awesome!
Jennifer, your plan sounds great too! It’s tough to manage the balance between a group study and a personal study for sure. Excited though, friend, that you’re on this journey with me! I feel like we need happy face cookies . . .
I too spent time preparing for my Bible study (Titus 2 – this meeting focusing on “loving husbands”) but agree that it’s important to balance that with personal study. I was convicted, though, by passages in 1 Peter commanding us to love and respect our husbands even when they’re wrong and seem undeserving. This is universally hard to do and reminded me why God is such an important part of a healthy marriage.
universally hard to do . . . you are SO right. God is, absolutely, such a critical part of a healthy marriage. So glad that the daily study is going well so far!
Favorite verse from my quiet time yesterday: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6
I have been in Galatians for a few weeks now, slowly making my way through. It’s been amazing to have the reminder that I am not held captive by laws. I then flip back to Proverbs for bits of wisdom. I too try and spend time in the word before work because it gets my mind focused on God and not the “things” I need to get done that day.
I end the day with a Psalm that Chris and I read together before bed. Sometimes we discuss it, sometimes we don’t. But it’s a way to spend a few minutes in the word together everyday.
Hope day number 2 is just as great!
Summer, that verse from Galatians is just a treasure, isn’t it? I love that you and Chris read a Psalm before bed. Such a good habit to have.
Fantastic! I’ve really liked reading about your first two days of habit-forming. I think I’m on the way to forming a morning Scripture habit like you–I started January 3rd and have been at it for almost 1 month. It’s a part of my day that I really look forward to–and that’s saying a lot, since I’ve never been a morning person.
Jenna, thank you! I have never been a morning person either, which makes this more difficult than I thought. Praise God for coffee, right?
ooooh is it too late to sign up? My word for 2012 is kaizen (simple mom did a few blog posts last month – this one word stuck with me). Anyhow making small changes that will eventually fill the bucket that is my goal. I would really like to follow your progress and thus be held accountable! Sunshine
Sunshine! Such a great, great word for the year. And no, it is never too late to start! Please join up with me! I’d really love to have you along on the journey. (And hey, if you blog about it, send me a link! Would love to link back to you.)
I’m so glad you posted this bible reading program. It FITS me. Thanks for sharing it!