Today marks the beginning of Lent; I'm sure most of you know that. Since I'm Catholic, we typically give up something for Lent. That can be a real challenge for people, and it's supposed to. It's supposed to be a time that helps us grow closer through Christ, through our sacrifices.
I think that it's also becoming more common for people to consider doing something extra for Lent instead of giving something up. That goal is to do something that will again, help us grow closer to Christ.
I'm doing that this year. I'm vowing to spend more time in prayer with the Lord, to center myself before I begin my day. To spend time with Him, uninterrupted. [With a mind that wanders like mine does, a million miles an hour, that uninterrupted part is kind of tough.]
I am also vowing to read the Bible. I have to admit that I've never read the whole Bible. I think it's safe to say that I've probably heard most of the Bible at one time or another over 24 years of weekly mass. But. I haven't read the Bible cover to cover before.
I've tried. A lot of times. I've started in the beginning, and that lasted a few books. I started over again, and dwindled. I started at the beginning of the New Testament. That dwindled too. Then I started over again, and didn't get too far.
I want to try again. I won't be able to read the whole Bible in 40 days. But. I want to read Scripture. I need to.
So - I want to pose a question to you all:
What is your favorite book[s] in the Bible?
If you were to tell someone new to the Bible a book or two to start with, where would you direct them?
I think I'm going to start with Psalms and Proverbs. Since I love quotes, this is an interesting and intriguing place for me to start.
I welcome any input you may have -
-favorite verses
-favorite stories
-favorite books
-stories about how you conquered the Bible
Feel free to share!
If you are uncomfortable leaving a comment that others can read, feel free to email me too.
lauraradniecki@hotmail.com
God bless you all and hey, Lent means Easter's coming, which means SPRING is coming! Hoorayy!
<3
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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This is a great idea Laura and I am with you on the uninterrupted part... my mind wanders like NO other. It's so difficult for me to focus. One way that I read the whole bible is the Bible in a Year- Bible. Or something like that. It was a Bible that was actually separated into each day. There was some old testament, new testament, and then a little psalms and a little proverbs. I find that I don't get as distracted and it mixes things up a little bit. And my favorite by far is proverbs or song of solomon. Also... not to do with the bible verses or anything but have you heard of the author Francine Rivers? She's a christian author and her book redeeming love is AMAZING seriously one of the best, I have a feeling you may enjoy it :) Hope the scripture and prayer is going well!
ReplyDeleteI love the book of John - it has a lot of stories that Matthew, Mark, and Luke don't, and feels more like a personal tale of what it was like to be right there with Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI bought a chronological Bible a few years ago - it puts all the events in the order they happened, and splits it into 365 sections so you can read the entire Bible in a year. Some parts are kind of dull - Chronicles and Kings are basically repeats of each other, but some parts are really interesting - each Psalm is just after the event in David's life that inspired it, for example. It's also useful to compare the different versions of the same event in the first three gospels.
I've started the chronological Bible a few times, and actually read all of it one year. My goal was to read the whole thing again in 2010, but I haven't started yet.
Sara, I'll have to look into Francine Rivers! I've never heard of her! I will also be looking into the Love Dare too, thanks to you! Matt and I had talked about doing it but just never got around to it yet... I'd love to do it though, and your story is motivating already!
ReplyDeleteTeri - the chronological Bible sounds fantastic! I might have to look into that. I think that would be an amazing New Years Resolution. I want to be able to tell my kids that I've read the Bible through and trough. There's probably a few years until kids come around, but that's my goal - to finish it by then. Now's as good of a time as ever to start your resolution too - let's grow in faith together!
-Laura