Tackling The Good Book

After 24 years on Earth, 10 of which were spent in a Christian school, I have yet to read through the Bible. Recently, this has been something that's been tugging at my heart. I think it would be a shame for me to leave this Earth having read through hundreds of books, but not having taken the time to tackle the most important one. I have probably read through a good 75% of the Bible, but certain books (i.e. Deuteronomy) are just a beast to get through - no disrespect. So, this is it. Time for me to buckle down, chose one of my 10 Bibles (yes, I said 10. smh), and get to work.

Oddly enough, the final shove down this road came from a the most unlikely source. Personally, I believe that you can be mentally, physically, and emotionally in-tune, but unless you are spiritually on-point, your life will suffer and things will never perfectly be in sync - it's like the glue that holds the other three realms together. I had been praying for a good friend of mine, that he'd find that balance and realize the importance of having a spiritual side and a relationship with God. I love this young man to death, and like all of my friends, I have kept him in prayer as his self-admittedly atheistic (though I'd call it more agnostic than atheistic) lifestyle was making that spiritual development seem impossible. So, you can imagine my shock when he randomly brought up how he and a friend were planning on reading through the Bible together. I almost shed a tear! Nothing is impossible with God and He certainly does answer prayer. Then, about 2 milliseconds later, came the conviction, lol. In my head I was like, here is this man newly interested in God and desiring to read through the Bible, and I've been neglecting doing so for years upon years. Shame on me.

So, I'm putting it all on the line. 2009 has sucked. Perhaps if I had taken my own advice and relied solely on God during those tough times, things would have been easier or at least better dealt with. No more with my old ways, time to drive into His word and see where He leads me.

If you speak to me, I implore you to ask me when's the last time I read my Bible. If the answer is more than 48 hours, you have my permission to slap me - promised!

Today is Day 1. I'm not sure where to start. Having tried the "start at Genesis and read straight through Revelations" numerous times and failed, I'm considering a different approach. I'm also not a fan of reading part of the OT and part of the NT each day - I'd rather stay within one book each day. There's a great website with 5 different plans on reading through the Bible in a year. I'm considering either the New then Old Testament plan or the Chronological plan..more so towards the latter. Say a prayer for me everyone...this should be good! I'm psyched!!