Hey everyone,
How was your weekend? I hope you had a fun one. I had a pretty good one with my sister's birthday on Friday, brunch with my cousin and Cocoa on Saturday, taking my niece, nephew and Cocoa to the park on Saturday evening, and of course, shooting our weekly talk show Tea With Cubes yesterday! I feel like my weekends are always packed, and I long for a Saturday where I have no plans but to sit home and laze about.
Today I want to write about reading my Bible, and share some tips that have helped me be a little more consistent than before. I'm far from a perfect Christian, and I wish that I was much stronger spiritually, but I know that keeping up with my devotional and prayer time, I will grow over time.
You know how at the beginning of every year, we all come up with different resolutions. Well, every single year, I have said that I will read the entire Bible. And every year, by February/March, I've dropped off. Something that I have noticed is that once I slip up with a devotional, it's very hard for me to get back on it. Another resolution I have every year is to read my Bible every single day. Again, after a few weeks of doing it, I somehow miss a day and then it turns into a week, and by the time I'm ready to get back into it, I feel too guilty (condemned instead of convicted). However, this year, and in the past month or so, I've discovered some practical tips to help me stay on track and keep up with my Bible reading.
Before, I start, please note that I use the Youversion app as my preferred Bible app.
1. Read with Family/Friends - This is a feature that Youversion introduced within the past year if I'm not mistaken. I absolutely LOVE it! My girls and I have read several devotionals together this year, and it was always nice to see what other people got from a devotional entry or Bible passage. I recently completed one with my mum and aunt as well. I think this is also a great feature for couples to use - there are all kinds of plans on dating, marriage, parenthood and more.
2. Read Shorter Bible Plans - My main "problem" with the Bible in One Year devotionals was always just how long they were. It always seemed like no matter how long I read (which was only 1/12th if I'm being honest), there wasn't any end in sight! I've noticed that with shorter devotionals (ranging from 3 days to 10 days), I've done a lot better with completing them and having to look for a new one to start - BTW, I have 200 devotionals on my saved list right now. I may try the 90-day Bible devotional one of these days, but for now, shorter plans keep me more consistent.
3. Read According to Your Needs - What I mean by this is that if you're going through a particular issue, or facing a problem, or even just want to know what the Bible says about a certain subject, look for devotionals or plans that address them specifically. When I was hurting out of my mind, I searched for plans that could help me deal with the pain. While trying to conceive, I read a number of devotionals for that season. This helps you be more intentional about your quiet time and more likely to keep returning to your Bible.
4. Write along or Keep a Bible/Prayer Journal - I'm not too good with this one in particular, because of time, but if you're into journaling, this is a great way to be consistent with your Bible reading. Some people keep prayer journals and write out their prayers. A popular method of Bible journaling is the S.O.A.P. method. S stands for Scripture - you write out the verse of the day or which ones stood out to you. O is for Observation - what did God say to you about the verse, what stood out to you about the passage, what did you learn? A stands for Application - how does the verse apply to your life, what can you change or improve on? And finally, P is for Prayer - write out your prayer/response to God, and ask for help in living out what you learned.
5. Use a Daily Reminder - Youversion always prompts me with a Verse of the Day, so that even if I don't have a plan I'm following, there's something that gets me to open the app. The plans on Youversion also have optional daily reminders. Whether you forget or are too busy, you'll get notifications from the app to remind you to read your devotional.
6. Have a Dedicated Quiet Time - I think most people like to pray and read their Bibles as soon as they wake up. Obviously those aren't people who are rushing when they wake up. I try to get mine done when I wake up, but if Cocoa wakes up, then I have to catch up in my office parking lot before work starts, or during one of my breaks. Sometimes if I'm reading 2 different plans, I'll read one in the morning and one at night. There's something soothing about quieting down and spending the last few minutes of the day communing with God. But whatever floats your boat - whether you're a morning person or night owl - setting aside a particular time of the day, will also help you stay consistent with your Bible reading.
Do you have any more practical tips that you could share on how to read your Bible? Please share them in the comments.
Have a pretty week, and God bless!
Hi Berry. Thank you for sharing these tips. I had previously always wanted to read the bible in a year, but I found that it wasn't really helpful for me as it led to a lot of rush-reading and feeling condemned once I fell off. But I love all your other tips! I have seen the "read with friends" function on the YouVersion app and have previously ignored it but I'd love to read a devotional with my husband now that I've read this post. Many thanks again and have a nice week.
ReplyDeleteMadeline
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