skip to main |
skip to sidebar
In pastures green He leadeth me. Join me on the journey.
What's Going on Here?
We are reading our way through the bible one chapter per day. The idea behind my personal reading plan is to read through books chronologically, but not solely one book at a time. Thus on Monday we read from the books of the law, Tuesday the books of kings and judges, Wednesday the books of Jewish History, Thursday Books of Wisdom, Friday the Prophets, Saturday the Gospels and Sunday the Epistles. The next Monday we pick up at the chapter we left off in ancient history. You may think that this would be disjointed and would cause you to "lose your groove" but I have found the contrary to be true, the threads of promise, redemption and grace show up more clearly as I make my way slowly through these books in a parrallel fashion and when I pick up where I left off a week before I am reminded of things that stood out to me from last week's reading. Journaling is a big part of my processing scripture and fixing particular tidbits in my mind for the purpose of life application. I would love to have you join me!
Basic Reading Plan
Mon (Law): Genesis-Joshua
Tues (Rulers): Judges-Chronicles
Wed (History): Ezra-Psalms
Thurs (Wisdom): Prov-Jer
Fri (Prophets): Lam-Malachi
Sat (Gospels): Matthew-Acts
Sun (Epistles) Romans-Revelation.
The theme I have given each section is general. Joshua is not a book of the law and Psalms is not a book of history. The main chunk of reading in each section is, however, suitably classified as the theme it is under. In order to make the sections even out to have the same general number of books/chapters, this was the closest I could come. Otherwise one would be reading through certain sections (like the Law) for instance, much more often than the wisdom books, etc.
Posts
A Place of Fellowship....
(Fellowship is) an expression of both love and humility. [It] springs from a desire to bring benefit to others, coupled with a sense of personal weakness and need. It has a double motive – the wish to help, and to be helped; to edify, and to be edified. It has a double aim – to do, and to receive, good. It is a seeking by Christian people to know God better through sharing with each other what, individually, they have learned of Him already. J.I. Packer.
A few introductory words of encouragement....
Think of your time feeding on God's Word as a vital aspect of your health and wellness. You wouldn't go a week without brushing your teeth, or eating physical food, don't treat the nourishing of your soul by the Word of God with any less care.
Don't cram multiple chapters if you fall behind of plan, but *do* "back-read" if you have the passion and earnest desire to do so. My habit if I miss a chapter is usually to leave it until that book comes up again the next week (based on my own reading plan) and then read two consecutive chapters rather than the one I am scheduled to read.
Don't be legalistic about the when and how. If you don't get a quiet time in the morning, THAT'S OKAY. Find a moment in the afternoon to grab a drink, sit down and put your feet up, and soak up a chapter. And if that doesn't happen, THAT'S OKAY. Take 15-20 minutes at the end of the day to plump some pillows up in your bed and soak it up before you go to sleep. And if that doesn't happen, IT'S OKAY. Tomorrow is a new day. Don't let the enemy discourage you from spending time in the word TODAY because you didn't YESTERDAY. That's just dumb. Did you get that? DUMB.
If you don't have time to read, meditate. Allow God to bring a passage of scripture to mind and allow yourself to listen. Take time to be quiet in your spirit. While you are washing dishes, folding laundry, vacuuming... cleaning bathrooms.
Spruce things up. Get yourself a PRETTY journal and jot down little things that stand out to you. Use your favourite mug or a pretty glass to pour your favourite drink. Sit in your favourite spot (this could change from day to day and depending on the time of day you read. A sunny spot on the porch in the morning, a wing back chair and a blanket if it's chilly, a garden swing in the shade on a hot afternoon, or plumped up in bed with soft lamplight in the evening. Again, don't be legalistic about the location, pick a happy spot that fits the moment/opportunity.) Oh, and DON'T wait for the pretty journal. Plain lined notepaper or even a crumpled scrap paper will work just FINE until you get one....
Remember while you read, God's word is FOR YOU. yes, it was written to a particular audience in a particular time in history and for a particular reason. But it was also written with YOU in mind, TODAY in mind, and is designed to give you strength and wisdom for the journey.
Claim ONE part of the passage and take it to heart. Read through the chapter without too much introspection at first and see what part most stands out to you. Go back and look at that part more specifically and ask yourself what is in there for YOU?
Ask relevant questions. I usually look at a passage with 2 questions in mind. 1. What does this passage tell me about God's character? 2. What does this passage tell me about humanity (ie, ME, in relation to God? a final and very important question to ask is "What does this passage require of me on a practical level?" Write down one attitude, practice or truth you want you live out TODAY in light of what God has just revealed to you. This is how we take ownership of the Word of God and allow it to relate to us and shape us on a personal level.
Build yourself a monument. As I ponder a passages relevance to me I journal the thoughts that arise. Jotting them down somehow cements my convictions in my mind, almost like laying out stones in a monument so I can go back to that place later and be reminded. I also use those notes to come here and share my thoughts later with others.
Keep your actual quiet time concise. This will help make it more likely the habit will continue to happen on a regular basis. Better to spend 15 minutes in the word daily, than 1 hour once a week.
Don't require absolute "alone" and uninterrupted time (without kids around). If they are around, they can learn to not interrupt you for 15 minutes, just like you spend time with other people when they are around, you can spend time with the Lord with them around too.
Think of God’s Word as a love letter to you. When you read stories of God’s wrath in the Old Testament, think about WHAT love paid the price for all that wrath and how a hand that once smote anyone who dared touch the ark of His covenant now beckons YOU to draw near to the throne of grace. Read everything in light of who God is and how much He loves mankind that in spite of our being so deprived, His love story reaches out, encompasses us, washes us clean, and seeks to draw us near.
May you seek Him, may He be found by you, and may you be blessed on the journey.
Don't cram multiple chapters if you fall behind of plan, but *do* "back-read" if you have the passion and earnest desire to do so. My habit if I miss a chapter is usually to leave it until that book comes up again the next week (based on my own reading plan) and then read two consecutive chapters rather than the one I am scheduled to read.
Don't be legalistic about the when and how. If you don't get a quiet time in the morning, THAT'S OKAY. Find a moment in the afternoon to grab a drink, sit down and put your feet up, and soak up a chapter. And if that doesn't happen, THAT'S OKAY. Take 15-20 minutes at the end of the day to plump some pillows up in your bed and soak it up before you go to sleep. And if that doesn't happen, IT'S OKAY. Tomorrow is a new day. Don't let the enemy discourage you from spending time in the word TODAY because you didn't YESTERDAY. That's just dumb. Did you get that? DUMB.
If you don't have time to read, meditate. Allow God to bring a passage of scripture to mind and allow yourself to listen. Take time to be quiet in your spirit. While you are washing dishes, folding laundry, vacuuming... cleaning bathrooms.
Spruce things up. Get yourself a PRETTY journal and jot down little things that stand out to you. Use your favourite mug or a pretty glass to pour your favourite drink. Sit in your favourite spot (this could change from day to day and depending on the time of day you read. A sunny spot on the porch in the morning, a wing back chair and a blanket if it's chilly, a garden swing in the shade on a hot afternoon, or plumped up in bed with soft lamplight in the evening. Again, don't be legalistic about the location, pick a happy spot that fits the moment/opportunity.) Oh, and DON'T wait for the pretty journal. Plain lined notepaper or even a crumpled scrap paper will work just FINE until you get one....
Remember while you read, God's word is FOR YOU. yes, it was written to a particular audience in a particular time in history and for a particular reason. But it was also written with YOU in mind, TODAY in mind, and is designed to give you strength and wisdom for the journey.
Claim ONE part of the passage and take it to heart. Read through the chapter without too much introspection at first and see what part most stands out to you. Go back and look at that part more specifically and ask yourself what is in there for YOU?
Ask relevant questions. I usually look at a passage with 2 questions in mind. 1. What does this passage tell me about God's character? 2. What does this passage tell me about humanity (ie, ME, in relation to God? a final and very important question to ask is "What does this passage require of me on a practical level?" Write down one attitude, practice or truth you want you live out TODAY in light of what God has just revealed to you. This is how we take ownership of the Word of God and allow it to relate to us and shape us on a personal level.
Build yourself a monument. As I ponder a passages relevance to me I journal the thoughts that arise. Jotting them down somehow cements my convictions in my mind, almost like laying out stones in a monument so I can go back to that place later and be reminded. I also use those notes to come here and share my thoughts later with others.
Keep your actual quiet time concise. This will help make it more likely the habit will continue to happen on a regular basis. Better to spend 15 minutes in the word daily, than 1 hour once a week.
Don't require absolute "alone" and uninterrupted time (without kids around). If they are around, they can learn to not interrupt you for 15 minutes, just like you spend time with other people when they are around, you can spend time with the Lord with them around too.
Think of God’s Word as a love letter to you. When you read stories of God’s wrath in the Old Testament, think about WHAT love paid the price for all that wrath and how a hand that once smote anyone who dared touch the ark of His covenant now beckons YOU to draw near to the throne of grace. Read everything in light of who God is and how much He loves mankind that in spite of our being so deprived, His love story reaches out, encompasses us, washes us clean, and seeks to draw us near.
May you seek Him, may He be found by you, and may you be blessed on the journey.
Blog Archive
- May (2)
- April (5)
- March (4)
- February (3)
- January (3)
- December (5)
- November (4)
- October (5)
- September (3)
- August (4)
- July (5)
- June (5)
- May (4)
- April (6)
- March (6)
- February (4)
- January (5)
- December (4)
- November (4)
- October (5)
- September (4)
- August (5)
- July (6)
- June (6)
- May (31)
- April (30)
- March (32)
- February (28)
- January (31)
- December (31)
- November (30)
- October (32)
- September (30)
- August (6)
- July (24)
- June (30)
- May (31)
- April (31)
- March (32)
- February (30)
- January (31)
- December (31)
- November (30)
- October (31)
- September (30)
- August (31)
- July (31)
- June (30)
- May (31)
- April (29)
- March (31)
- February (28)
- January (32)
- December (31)
- November (30)
- October (31)
- September (20)
6 comments:
"Did Luke have any idea that millions of us would benefit from his study? I doubt it. All he did was share the truth with a friend.
Can you imagine what would happen if we all did the same?"
(from the intro to Luke in my Max Lucado devotional bible.)
those words really hit me in my soft spot this morning. Last night I was once again wimping out on Prairie Passages. It's such a discipline to come here, and one that doesn't really benefit ME when noone else is here. I wonder why I spend all this time coming here and writing day in and day out, but then something like this reminds me... you have NO idea how the testimony of your life will affect eternity. You have NO idea what is going on behind the scenes, or what domino effect will occur because you took the time. Luke had no idea.
I read a short story in Chronicles of Avonlea the other week about "The Brother Who Failed". By all accounts, to the onlooker, they thought this one brother of five was the big failure of the bunch. The others had gone on to be bank managers, renowned authors, famous elocutionists, I don't remember what all, and he stayed home, quiet and steady, running a not very successful farm that allowed him to just squeak by.
One weekend when all of the siblings are reunited at the home of their childhood he overhears his aunt telling a boarder in her home how it was such a pity that he, of all of them, was such a shame to the family name. He was the brother who failed. Who never amounted to anything. The brother of no account.
He went away feeling wretched and shamed. Did his siblings really feel this way about him? Did everyone look upon him in such a light? He hadn't felt the failure, but to know that people viewed him as such...
the poor boarder saw him slipping away and knew that he had overheard the aunt's wretched words. She informed the siblings of what had taken place as soon as she could and they rallied together to go in search of their brother. That evening at the dinner table they stood one by one to honor him. It was a story to bring a knot to your throat and tears to your eyes. Basically each one of those siblings said they never could have done what they had done, or become who they had become, if not for that brother. He had sacrificed to put them through school, had believed in them when noone else did, had stood up for them, fought for them, encouraged them, supported them.
This story touched me so deeply. How often do we look at our lives and say, none of this counts for anything, when really, we have no idea. Who knows if one day one of my grandchildren might stumble onto this site, and start reading the bible and my daily thoughts because they are here. Who knows if this in the future won't prove to be a means of evangelism when I am no longer here. Who knows. But these thoughts give me the fortitude to keep up with the discipline even when I question "but why am I doing this?" Who knows. It's a way of planting seeds, and I will continue to sow.
"since I myself have studied everything carefully from the beginning... it seemed good for me to write it out. I have arranged it in order to help you know that what you have been taught is true."
If we want grow in faith, if we want to know what we believe, we need to study carefully. Writing things down is such a great way of enforcing what one learns. Another confirmational nudge for me to keep on keeping on.
"Mary responded,'I am the LORD's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants.May everything you have said come true.'"v 38
If I were Mary I would be very scared when the angel of the LORD came to her.It would feel strange to know that you were to be the mother of Jesus,one of the most important person,who would die so that we could live.To know that your son would be the son of the LORD God almighty.
Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come and set his people free! vs-68
I think we should give praise to the Lord for everything that happens to us, if something bad happens to us god always has some good reason for it. There are many reasons why you should praise the Lord. Elisa.
As usual, I am one day late with my comments, so I hope you read this, PC.
I am so glad that you do this! I generally come here after everybody else, sometimes a day or two late if things have been busy, so I don't often post, but I appreciate your wisdom and insight so much! And to see how Shailey and Elisa are following in your footsteps in reading the Word and letting the Holy Spirit speak to them is so precious!
I'm sorry so many of us are silent, and that is discouraging to you, but that doesn't mean that we aren't listening, and learning and growing.
:) Don't be sorry, dear Lois. It was one of those days of testing but I was so encouraged in the Lord the morning I did this devotional. It wasn't that I was even "discouraged" more just feeling lazy and tired of the discipline of coming here and questioning if it was really worth the effort (pathetic, it takes me 5 minutes... like I said, it was just laziness!) but God met me where I was at and spoke to my heart and encouraged me and strengthened me to keep sowing. It was a beautiful experience and I am thankful to have documented here.
But thank you also for your words of encouragement, they bless my heart to know you are here, to know I am not alone :)
Post a Comment