Change of plans

Bible reading plans, that is.  :)

Last November, I tried to write about my new reading plan, but God had other ideas.  I was finishing up a chronological read through of the Bible (reading along with a great group of women on FB), which had followed my first EVER reading of the entire Bible.   After looking over several different possibilities, one plan just jumped out at me, despite the somewhat lengthy name: Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading System.  The concept was fairly simple:  Divide the books of the Bible up into several different lists (10, to be exact) and then read one chapter from each list every day.  Some lists would be completed quickly (reading through Proverbs), others would take much longer (Genesis through Deuteronomy).   Since one of the touted benefits was getting to really know where different books are located at in a physical Bible, I decided to set my Kindle aside and pick up my main Bible.  After printing off the bookmarks, I was ready to go, and began in late November.

I have absolutely loved reading through the Bible this way, to my surprise.  Being in so many different places in the same day really has allowed some of the bigger themes to show through.   Starting each reading in the gospels, but then reading from the perspective of the law, the epistles, Psalms, Proverbs, history, prophets, or the early church really gave a better feel for how the Bible fits together.  There were so many times in these past six months that a scheduled reading had to be God-set ~ like winding up on the story of David and Abigail on the first anniversary of the Abigail revelation.   Seeing so many of dates and notes jotted down in my Bible as I flipped back and forth was such an encouragement on days that were dark and dreary.  And yes, I really did gain a much better feel for where different books are at in the Bible.  :)

But for the summer, I'll be setting aside my ten bookmarks for a different plan.   Memorial Day through Labor Day, it's time to dig in for reading the Bible in 90 days.  The timing is interesting, as there's a possibility of some big changes to my husband's work coming.   And despite the outcome of that situation, we probably need to make some changes to the way we approach things as a family.  Wisdom and guidance on that will be much desired!

So as my scheduled reading in Psalms today reminded me:

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see what He has done and be amazed.  They will put their trust in the LORD.  Psalm 40:3

I can't wait to see where God meets us this summer, and where we are by the time Labor Day rolls around.