Monday, January 31, 2011

Day 31!!!

     I did it!!!
     Sorry there was a bit of a hiatus on the blog. I've been busy, reading of course, among other things. I'm not going to say it was easy. It wasn't. But, I'm so glad I did this!
     I read diligently until I left town almost two weeks ago. I continued to keep up on the road until the last 2 days I was at the wedding. I didn't read at all the Saturday of the wedding or Sunday. Sunday I was on the (snowy!!) road for about 4 hours. In the few days following, I just had to double up on my reading. I would read one day's worth in the morning, and one in the afternoon. It was A LOT of reading, but God's timing is perfect, and I didn't have many other obligations during those days, so it worked out!
     And...today was the LAST day! Sure enough, I finished up the last few epistles, and the book of Revelation, which I ended up reading OUT LOUD :)
     Of course, it took a little longer to do it that way, but it was the end!
     The next month I'll be reviewing each day and hopefully typing out a few thoughts on what the Holy Spirit highlighted to me during this time, especially relating to the theme I chose.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Day 15

     Half way through! I'm more than half way through the Bible! I just started the book of Isaiah tonight.
     Read through the entire book of Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon today! I love the book of Song of Solomon so much that I entirely forgot to pay attention to the theme. I guess I was too at ease, too swept away in the love story! Such a nice break - lest I forgot the author of that book is the same author who inspired the entire Bible! And He never changes. The love He pours forth in the pages of that book extends to the "stiff-necked" version of His people in the first part - Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, etc...

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day 13

     Through Job and into the Psalms!
     I mentioned near the beginning of the journey that I had chosen I theme for my reading. That theme is "ease." As in, being "at ease," and doing things "with ease." The idea was just something that stood out to me as a was preparing to begin the journey. I looked up the word, and this is what I found:
    
1. the state of being comfortable: as  
a : freedom from pain or discomfort  
b : freedom from care  
c : freedom from labor or difficulty  
d : freedom from embarrassment or constraint : naturalness <known for his charm and ease of manner> 
e : an easy fit 
2. relief from discomfort or obligation 
3. facility, effortlessness <did it with ease>
   
4. an act of easing or a state of being eased
ease·ful \-fəl\ adjective
ease·ful·ly \-fə-lē\ adverb
at ease
     1: free from pain or discomfort
     2a : free from restraint or formality <feels most at ease with old friends>        b : standing silently (as in a military formation) with the feet apart, the right foot in place, and one or both hands behind the body —often used as a command 
     
      Pretty neat, huh? Well, thus far (Genesis through Job, basically) I've been at a loss to find things that relate directly to this. No one seems to be, uh, at ease (to say the least!) But, I think today, God began highlighting some really outstanding ideas that I didn't see before. Stay tuned next month when I start elaborating on each days reading...

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Day 12

     Made it to Job -- and almost through Job thankfully. Technically, I am still one day ahead! (Just finished reading Day 13) I'm going to have to get even more ahead if I want to reach my goal seeing as how I'm leaving town next week for about a week and a half. I'll have to plan my time wisely while on the road!
     It's going well. I'm not comprehending everything, which makes me kind of excited to go back and study certain books in depth later. Esther, for example, I have done an in depth study on, which made it very enjoying (and much more comprehendable) to read all in one sitting, today!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Day 4

     I've finished 8 days worth of reading and am in the second book of Samuel. I try to vary the places I'm at when I read, because it's boring to coop myself up in my room. So, sometimes I stay in the room with people who are conversing with each other quietly, or watching TV. Sometimes this has gone alright, but usually, it is a pretty big distraction, slows me down a great deal, and really hinders my comprehension. I'll probably keep varying the location where I read, but I'll try to knock out larger section, more quickly, when I'm alone.
     Oh...and if you're wondering why I'm mostly just talking about the mechanics of the reading and not the substance, that is because I'm planning on doing that the month after I finish. I'm planning on going back and reviewing more in depth the quick notes that I'm making now during my readings.
     Also, as I mentioned, I am reading with a focus, a theme that I'm searching for. I'll save talking about that for next time!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

"Official" Day 1!

     So, today is "officially" my first day of bible reading, although, in reality, I have already completed 6 days worth of reading! This puts me near the end of the book of Joshua. I think that I managed to get this far ahead because I thrive on the feeling of being ahead. I hate being behind!
     The Bible I'm reading is 868 pages. Since I'm reading through it in January, I divided that number by 31 (instead of thirty), and therefore am supposed to read 28 pages per day to finish in the month of January. So far, I've read that amount each day except once, when it took me two days to finish it.
     I think the feeling of being ahead has been my biggest motivator so far. Also, I try and read my Bible reading before I read anything else that day, or spend too much time on the Internet. Most days I've read in big chunks of an hour or two at a time. Today, I read slowly throughout the entire day.
     I admit, the reading is getting tedious!!  I keep thinking that the next book will get easier, and though it is encouraging to finish an entire book in a day and move on to the next, each book so far has been HARD to get through. So... much... repetition!! (which, I hope, makes things easier in the future because I'll be more familiar with things). But honestly there have been times I've been completely lost in lists of sacrifices, lists of laws, lists of cities. I'm having a hard time finding a frame of reference to make meaning out of the redundancy. I know there is meaning, even for me today, but the majority if it, so far, I have not figured out.
     Not too discouraged. Going to continue on :-)