Thoughts on Reading the Bible in a Year

Happy New Year Friends!!!
I have a ton of adventures to catch up on over here, but being that it's the first and all, I want to share with you a little about reading through the Bible.

A year ago, I committed to reading the whole Bible in a year.
I had just finished reading through the entire Bible in 2011, but it had taken me TEN YEARS to do it (book by book, mostly a chapter or so a day).

But I had a friend who had done it.

And felt like, this is was an accomplishable task.

And by the grace of God it definitely was.
Really, only four chapters a day. (Once in a while five).
Two from the Old Testament, two from the New.

And 366 Days later, I completed it.

I love this reading plan.
Because you don't end up stuck in Leviticus and Chronicles for years and get discouraged and want to give up.
Instead, you only read one of those chapters each day, and probably something from the Gospels, and  Psalms and Proverbs, and another random book.

The plan itself is the M'Cheyne reading plan.
And you can do it rather simply.
At first I had little four little bookmarks I printed out from here, and placed them throughout my Bible, and checked off each day's reading.
When I got an iPad I downloaded the awesome Reading Plan App which you can start on any day, sync to your favorite Bible app, and will track your progress.

I'll be honest, and there were some days that I just didn't do it.
In fact, I did both December 30th and 31st yesterday.

And occasionally, I'd get more than a day behind.
I was really fearful of that, getting so behind that I'd be too discouraged to pick up and catch up.
But God is so good, and I was never that overwhelmed. If I was behind, I'd just take it a little chunk at a time.

Most days, it was part of my routine. Every morning, I'd wake up an hour early, make some coffee, and spend time in the Word. But weekends, vacations, and days where routine got interrupted made it harder for me.

Sometimes I'd have 16 chapters to catch up on. And all I could do was just read 4. So the next day, I'd have another 16 to read. So, I'd read 6.  And only have 14 the next day. I'd whittle away, and eventually, I was caught up.

I share this, because I want to be honest, and tell you that reading through the entire Bible is NOT hard.  It's a task, and a commitment, but at least in my head, it seemed ominous and intimidating.

So, I want to encourage you, pick up your Bible. Start somewhere, start anywhere. Even if it takes you 10 years, or one year. God loves the offering that you make, by taking the time out of your day to spend it with Him. And you will certainly grow to know and love Him more.

Which is ultimately what the end result will be. And probably the biggest motivator of all.

Go get 'em tigers, for His glory, and your good.