I’m Reading Through The Bible in 90 Days…Wanna Join Me?

MomsToolbox

In December 2009, I wrote out my goals for 2010.  One of them was to read through the entire Bible…and I did it…twice!  I joined up with Amy from Mom’s Toolbox in January of last year to read through the Bible in 90 Days.  I was so excited and I jumped in with both feet and somewhere along the way, I completely got derailed.  To make a long story short, it took me a little less than 6 months to read through the Bible.

I knew that Amy was leading another Bible in 90 Days group in July, so I signed on and I am thrilled to be able to say that I read the entire Bible in 90 days (and I even have the t-shirt).

I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing it is to read the Bible in such a short amount of time.  I learned things I never knew.  I made connections I’d never made before.  I got a clearer picture of God’s redemptive plan!  It was such a sweet time for me!

I’m not going to delude you into thinking this will be easy.  It will require discipline and time on your part, but it is so rewarding!  Plan to set aside 1 hour a day to read.  Be intentional with your plan.  Determine when you’re going to read.  Maybe you’ll need to get up an hour early every morning.  Maybe you’ll need to bring your lunch to work every day and eat at your desk while you read.  Whatever it is that you plan to do, I want to encourage you to make a plan and follow through!

There is a great community that will be reading the Bible in 90 Days!  It’s a great place for support, encouragement, and to have your questions answered!  Sign up here to read the Bible in 90 Days and be a part of the awesome community of readers.

I also encourage you to read from The Bible in 90 Days: Cover to Cover in 12 Pages a Day (New International Version).  There is nothing magical about this Bible (it’s a regular NIV Bible), but it’s divided up so that you can read 12 pages every day and finish in 90 days.  I used The Bible in 90 Days (Kindle edition) to read through the Bible.  You don’t have to have a Kindle to be able to read The Bible in 90 Days (Kindle edition). Check out these free downloads to read Kindle books on the devices you already have.

Kindle for PC

Kindle for Mac

Kindle for iPad or iPhone

Kindle for Blackberry

Kindle for Android

If you don’t want to use one of the Bible in 90 Days Bibles, you can download this reading schedule.  Last, but not least, there’s always people chatting about reading the Bible in 90 days over on Twitter.  Consider joining in and use hashtag #B90days.  Also, there is a weekly Twitter chat on Monday nights from 9pm – 10 pm eastern time.

Whoa…We’re Halfway There

Actually, I’m a little more than halfway there, but I’ve always wanted to turn a song lyric into the title of a blog post.  Mary over at Giving Up On Perfect has a knack for using song lyrics as blog post titles, but I digress.  I finished Day 48 of my Bible in 90 Days reading.  I’m a little behind schedule, but that seems to be the story of my life lately! :-)  I had hoped to blog through more of my Bible in 90 Days journey with you.  Every time I pick up God’s Word, I am amazed by what jumps out at me.  I can read the same passage 10 times, but each time I get something new out of it.  I wanted to be able to share more of this with you, but it seems like it usually comes down to getting my reading done or sharing what I’ve read with you.  I’ve chosen to spend time in God’s Word and it’s a choice that I believe He is honoring!  I hope that those of you who are reading along are enjoying this as much as I am!

Bible in 90 Days: Day 1

Today I started reading through the Bible in 90 Days again.  Even though it took me 150 days to get through it the last time, I still made it through!  I gained so much insight into the Bible as well.  Things make so much more sense when you read them in a concentrated amount of time and remember and understand the connections!  I am praying that you will join me and that this will bless you as much as it has blessed me!

If you’d like more information, please check out Mom’s Toolbox.

Mixed Bag Monday

Here are a few things I’ve read this past week that I thought you would find helpful and interesting!

Today (Monday July 5th) is the kick off for Bible in 90 Days.  This will be my second round of Bible in 90 Days.   Read what Amy has to say about Blogging through the Bible in 90 Days.

If you’ve ever struggled with how to organize your coupons, you need to read the post “It’s Raining Coupons and You Don’t Have a Binder?” over on Couponing to Disney.

Ever wonder which items lose their values quickly?  Check out 21 Things You Should Never Buy New written by Lynn Truong the co-founder and Deals Editor at WiseBread.

Think you’re doing yourself and your family a favor by buying “hypoallergenic” products?  Think again!  My friend Lynn over at Smiling Green Mom wrote a great post that unlocks “The Mystery behind Hypo-allergenic“.

Why Christians are Jerks Online – Jon Acuff from Stuff Christians Like tackles this subject with honesty and humor.

Enjoy!

Resolutions Revisited

This year has been flying by!  I had grand intentions of posting monthly updates on my New Year’s Resolution progress, but that obviously hasn’t happened!  Since we’re almost halfway through the year, I thought I’d give you an update on where I am this year!  Since I originally linked my New Year’s Resolutions to Top Ten Tuesday over at OhAmanda, I thought it was only fitting that I link my update!

1. Lose weight (average at least one pound/week for the year)

So far this year, I’ve lost 45 pounds!  I’ve worked my tail off, but it’s been totally worth it!

2. Exercise at least 10,950 minutes

So far this year, I’ve exercised 5,490 minutes! That’s over 91 hours!  I’m pretty sure there’s a direct correlation between the time spent exercising and the weight loss!

3. Stick to our budget…every single month!

I am horrified and ashamed to tell you that we haven’t been doing a great job of sticking to our budget.  Although we haven’t been overspending, we haven’t really been tracking like we should and we haven’t sat down for a “budget update” in months! {hanging head in shame}

4. Track all of our income and spending.

This ties directly in to the above resolution!  We definitely need to get back on track with our budget meetings and tracking our spending!

5. Read through the entire Bible.

I made it through the entire Bible, however I didn’t make it in 90 days as planned.  It took closer to 150.  I’ll be starting the Bible in 90 Days again on July 5th.  Feel free to join me!

6. Take a trip with the kids to Disney World or Disney Land.

In February, our family headed to Disney World for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference!  It was an absolutely amazing trip!  I can’t say enough good things about Disney!  I wish we could visit Disney every month!!!

7. Post at least 5 times/week on my blog.

Although there are a couple of weeks where I missed the mark on this one, for the most part, I’ve posted at least 5 times each week!

8. Try 2 new recipes per month.

I’ve tried at least 1 new recipe each month, but I’ve been in a terrible rut with our busy schedule!  Hopefully this will improve over the next few months!

9. Read 1 book or listen to 1 audiobook each week.

I’ve made it through 17 books this year (so I’m a little behind schedule), but I’ve been much more consistent lately with the audio books, so that’s definitely helped.

10. Take a creative writing or public speaking class.

I didn’t sign up for a formal class, but I did join Toastmasters.  I’ve been amazed at how much my public speaking has improved.  My husband, my mom, and my dad all joined as well and it’s been so fun to do this with them!

So there you have it!  Overall, I’m pretty happy about what I’ve accomplished so far this year!

I’d love to hear how are you doing with your New Year’s Resolutions! Leave me a comment!   If you’ve blown it, it’s not too late to get back on track or start over with new goals!

Bible in 90 Days – Round 2

One of my goals for 2010 was to read through the Bible in a year.  After setting my goals, I heard about the Bible in 90 Days Challenge hosted by Amy over at MomsToolbox.com.  They were going to start reading the Bible on January 1st and finish on March 31st.

I decided to join the challenge and although I didn’t make it through in 90 days (it took me 150), I did make it through and it was life changing!  There’s something about reading through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in a small amount of time that makes everything seem more connected.  I would HIGHLY recommend the Bible in 90 Days to everyone…which is why I’m starting again on July 5th and this time I’m really going to do it in 90 days.   I hope you will consider joining me.

The Bible in 90 Days: 11 Down…79 To Go!

Bible in 90 Days

It’s hard to believe I’m on Day 11 of the Bible in 90 Days!  Somewhere between work, church, working out, hanging out with my kids, volunteering, blogging, and spending quality time with my husband, I managed to read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and a large chunk of Numbers.  Although I’ve read the Bible before, I’ve come across so many things that I didn’t remember or never realized.  It amazes me that a concentrated, focused reading time yields such insight into the Bible. It’s also kind of shocking how much scandal is in the Bible…I’m talking PG-13 kind of stuff!  It’s interesting that they struggled back then with the same sins we do now…jealousy, lying (and even twisting the truth a little to protect yourself), complaining…

Genesis starts off with a whole lot of nothing…and then God starts creating and it is all good! Until Eve decides she knows better than God and it wouldn’t hurt to have just a little itty bitty piece of fruit.  She of course shares it with Adam and they both get kicked out of the beautiful garden they live in.

We also see the first murder…as the result of sibling rivalry.

Then we move on to Noah and his big boat…a boat that took him years to build, but that saved his whole family from a wordwide flood.

I was shocked to see that Abraham tried to pass Sarah off as his sister twice…apparently he didn’t learn the first time.  But I could also see his logic when I found out that Sarah really was his sister.  The gene pool back then was quite small and they had  the same dad!  Isaac pulled the same stunt his dad did when he tried to pass his wife off as his sister. And of course there is more sibling rivalry in both the story of Jacob and Esau and in the story of Joseph and his brothers.

In Exodus, we see Moses trying to worm his way out of talking to Pharaoh.  He gives God a bunch of excuses why he shouldn’t be the one to lead the people out of Egypt.  And just when Moses finally agrees to go talk to Pharaoh, you stumble across these strange verses.

At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.  But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it.

I’m pretty sure those are the strangest verses I’ve ever read, especially given their context.  I’m pretty sure that Moses’ son wasn’t thrilled with the spur of the moment circumcision either.  (OUCH!)

We then see Pharaoh refuse to let the people go despite the pleadings of Moses and Aaron.  Plagues fall on Egypt (including boils and locusts which I dreamed of after reading this passage…ewww), yet Pharaoh’s heart remains hard.  After more plagues including the death of the firstborn son of every Egyptian, Pharaoh lets the Israelites go.

Fast forward, you see the parting of the Red Sea which I find to be absolutely amazing (over 600,000 people walked through it) followed by lots and lots of complaining.  I have to say that I probably would have complained too.  They ate the same food for 40 years! And although I’m sure the food tasted great since God made it, it would still get old after a while.  They also complained about how much better life was in Egypt which I found to be quit odd considering how horrible their situation was, however, I realize that it’s easy to make your past seem better than it was.  When we first adopted our girls from Ukraine, they were thrilled to be in America…until the first time things didn’t go their way.  Then they cried and complained about how much better it was in the orphanage and that they wished they had never been adopted. Now that they’ve been here over 2 years, this rarely happens, but I was reminded again that although we’re in a very different place culturally, we still have the same heart issues.

In Leviticus, we find lots of information on the sacrifices. {Word of Caution: Do not read Leviticus before or during a meal unless you are trying to lose weight!} There is so much blood and guts and fat…  They also talk about testicles. (Told you it was shocking stuff!) I definitely would not plan on going through the book of Leviticus if you teach a Jr. High Sunday School class  although they might actually pay attention to this kind of stuff…

So far, Numbers has been a part census, part detailed job descriptions.  Although it’s been a little bit of a struggle to make it through the 1000s of people listed, I am reminded of how amazingly personal God is.

There is so much more than I could possibly share in one post (or even 11).  I highly recommend you consider the Bible in 90 Days.  It’s been truly amazing so far!  You can check out Mom’s Toolbox for more details.  Also, if you’re on Twitter, you can follow along using the hashtag #B90Days.

You can purchase The Bible in 90 Days and The Bible in 90 Days for Kindle on Amazon.

The Bible in 90 Days: I Can’t Wait to Begin

Bible in 90 Days
The Bible in 90 Days Challenge (hosted by Mom’s Toolbox) is beginning in only 4 days. When I read Amy’s post, I knew I wanted to be involved. I’m thrilled to be joining a great group of bloggers in digging into God’s Word!

As I’ve thought about the time commitment and the already hectic pace of my life, I have come up with a plan. I will get out of bed 30 minutes earlier each day in order to start my day off right. I know there will be days when I won’t finish it all in one setting and where I will have to read in bits and pieces throughout the day, but I know that the time I invest will be worth it. I was really excited to discover that Amazon offers The Bible in 90 Days for Kindle. This will make it easier to accomplish my goal…especially while I’m traveling.

I hope you’ll prayerfully consider joining us! To sign up, visit Mom’s Toolbox (and please leave a comment here as well). Also, if you’re on Twitter, look for the #B90Days hashtag.